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I'm going to NYC. Advice please.

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cbrandtw

Active member
Sep 12, 2008
1,573
1
Daphne, AL
So my 12 year old daughter and I are getting on a plane tomorrow to check out the Big Apple. Already have plans and tickets to Yankee Stadium, Broadway show, 9/11 Museum, Lady Liberty. What can't we miss? May try to squeeze a Mets game in. Anything remaining with Ebbett's Field or Polo Grounds that is worth the time and energy? Card shops (I collect 90s ARod and HOF RCs)? Any and all info is appreciated. Thanks
 

Musial Collector

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
5,671
2
Take the train over to Brooklyn (High street stop) and Walk the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan.
Go to the top of the rock during the day for some of the best views of the city. If at night do the empire state building.
Check out the inside of St Patrick's Cathedral.
If you are a Seinfeld fan, go to tom's diner up by Columbia University and the nexus bar on 1st and 1st.
Eat to Katz Deli
Trinity church and St Pauls Chaple (both are down by the freedom tower)
 

Austin

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
5,706
41
Dallas, Texas
Don't be in a rush to go everywhere.
Spend a lot of time just walking around Manhatten, Times Square, experience the atmosphere and the culture and food, look at the skyscrapers, go to the top of the Empire State building, walk around Central Park (right next to Mickey Mantle's restaurant).

You'll recognize more than you'd imagine from what you've seen on TV and the movies just by walking around, like the wedge-shaped Flatiron building, the deli on Seinfeld, the Shake Shack, the Ghostbusters hotel and landmarks, the Museum of Natural History, Wall Street, the famous bridges and so much more.

Just walking down the major streets is the most fun I had the last time I was in NYC because you constantly get surprised by walking past famous places.
 

Lancemountain

Active member
Apr 11, 2009
8,313
5
Philadelphia
Have fun! It's a great city. You could spend months and not see half of the city. Just from what you've listed you have a full itinerary and those alone will keep you busy a few days. I'd add the Met museum for some culture, it's a great museum

FYI Ebbits and the Polo Grounds are long long long long long gone.
 

banjar

Well-known member
Mar 22, 2015
2,540
883
Lafayette, Colorado
The way I see New York is unlike any other city in the world. You can't possbily see and do everything in a few days, or a few weeks, or a few years. Maybe a lifetime.

For a short visit, just do things that interest you and forget about the rest. And walk around a lot - along the way you will start to absorb some of big apple. And bring your sense of humor. It is a very intense place, and only the truly hardened, or the truly mellow, can ultimately function there. Just my $0.02...free advice is usually worth what you pay for it :)

And see a baseball game if you can! It's still baseball in New York.


So my 12 year old daughter and I are getting on a plane tomorrow to check out the Big Apple. Already have plans and tickets to Yankee Stadium, Broadway show, 9/11 Museum, Lady Liberty. What can't we miss? May try to squeeze a Mets game in. Anything remaining with Ebbett's Field or Polo Grounds that is worth the time and energy? Card shops (I collect 90s ARod and HOF RCs)? Any and all info is appreciated. Thanks
 

MatthewN

Active member
Sep 30, 2015
257
47
Coralville, IA
I've been to NYC six times. I think one of the things to do is find some of the nicer residential areas and just walk around. If you stay in midtown the entire time, you don't really experience the city, but up by Columbia University it feels different, and it's an easy Subway ride.

In terms of baseball beyond NYY and NYM, the Staten Island Yankees park is nice, easy to get to from the SI Ferry. Generally the Brooklyn Cyclones park gets a little better reviews, but they are both pretty well regarded (I haven't been to a game at Brooklyn).

Ebbets and Polo Grounds are long gone, but there are some remnants/markers. You can find the info via Google, or a great reference with really detailed info is "Green Cathedrals" by Lowry. I have not been to the Ebbets site. At Polo Grounds I was by myself and did not go into the housing complex where the park actually sat due to some safety concerns I had read about, but I did view the site from the hilltop, and there is a stairway on the hillside that has been recently rebuilt and rededicated. A few blocks to the north and west of the old Polo Grounds site (and there a couple of Polo Grounds facilities at that site) is the old site of Hilltop Park (home to the Yankees prior to Yankee Stadium I). There used to be a historical marker there, but when I was there in March 2016, it had been removed due to construction. The site of Hilltop Park is now a courtyard at a hospital. Seemed quite safe.

I've been to a lot of Lost Ballpark sites and enjoy checking them out even if nothing remains, but you're in NYC with a 12 year old, so I'd say hold off on these for another visit.
 

tramers

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
23,284
2,283
hickory nc
If you're from Alabama just listen to the locals don't talk they will think you are an alien . Check out the dirty water vendors - don't buy LOL. Subway ride is like a Star Wars movie . Most are very helpful just don't ask for directions .
 

Musial Collector

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
5,671
2
Don't be in a rush to go everywhere.
Spend a lot of time just walking around Manhatten, Times Square, experience the atmosphere and the culture and food, look at the skyscrapers, go to the top of the Empire State building, walk around Central Park (right next to Mickey Mantle's restaurant).

You'll recognize more than you'd imagine from what you've seen on TV and the movies just by walking around, like the wedge-shaped Flatiron building, the deli on Seinfeld, the Shake Shack, the Ghostbusters hotel and landmarks, the Museum of Natural History, Wall Street, the famous bridges and so much more.

Just walking down the major streets is the most fun I had the last time I was in NYC because you constantly get surprised by walking past famous places.

Mantle's closed in 2012

Building more off of the above, what I did when I went for 36 hours in April is pick out everything I wanted to see, then went into google maps and saved every location. Then I picked a starting point and went walking and subwaying it from there. Now I had been to NYC 10x prior to that, but this was my first time solo so I could do and see what I wanted at my own pace. It was so much fun and an amazing time. I made up the craziest itinerary possible and hit 90% of my destinations. As others have said, you could spend days, weeks, months in NYC and not see it all. So pick out the things that interest you and your daughter and go at a pace that works for you and your daughter. As for the things listed in this thread, if you were to say to yourself, I will be in NYC only once in my lifetime, what are must sees, to me they are the following:

Statue of Liberty
Freedom Tower/ 9/11 memorial
Brooklyn Bridge
Wall Street
Little Italy/Chinatown
Empire State Building (at night)
Times Square
Central Park

That can easily eat up a weekend in NYC at a leisurely pace. Yeah, most of these are tourist traps but if you were to only be in NYC once, they are the things to see and remember.
The more you go to NYC, the more you will gravitate away from these places and see the real beauty of NYC. IMO, you and your daughter will fall in love with the city and want to go back again and again.
 

smapdi

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
4,397
221
I still like the Empire State Building. But I agree, walking around and through Central Park is great. So many landmarks are visible from there, Columbus Circle, the museums, the Dakota. I've not been there in a long time, and I'm really curious about the razor superskyscrapers they've been throwing up around it.
 

cbrandtw

Active member
Sep 12, 2008
1,573
1
Daphne, AL
Thank you so much guys. I truly appreciate the input. She is super excited.

How long does it take Subway to get to Yankee Stadium and Battery Park from Times Square respectively ?
[MENTION=2026]tramers[/MENTION] Funny! I know I have an accent but we all don't talk like Forrest Gump
 

Musial Collector

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
5,671
2
Thank you so much guys. I truly appreciate the input. She is super excited.

How long does it take Subway to get to Yankee Stadium and Battery Park from Times Square respectively ?
@tramers Funny! I know I have an accent but we all don't talk like Forrest Gump

TS to Battery Park about 20 mins
TS to Yankee about 25-30 mins
A lot depends on time of day.
Get a NYC subway map for your phone, they are extremely helpful (locations, times, routes, etc) all at your fingertips.
 

tramers

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
23,284
2,283
hickory nc
Thank you so much guys. I truly appreciate the input. She is super excited.

How long does it take Subway to get to Yankee Stadium and Battery Park from Times Square respectively ?
[MENTION=2026]tramers[/MENTION] Funny! I know I have an accent but we all don't talk like Forrest Gump

You are in L A [lower Alabama ] my family from UA -- Arab / Fort Payne / Sand Mountain and they talk S L O W .
 

cbrandtw

Active member
Sep 12, 2008
1,573
1
Daphne, AL
[MENTION=2026]tramers[/MENTION]

How ironic !!
ImageUploadedByFreedom Card Board1470969869.283563.jpg

Thanks again for everyone's input. We have a lot to look forward to.
 

Topnotchsy

Featured Contributor, The best players in history?
Aug 7, 2008
9,446
168
For the walking around and seeing the city part, check out the Highline.
 

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