Eating, Drinking & Merrymaking All Over NYC

Visiting the Statue of Liberty is considered a must for most first-time visitors. Unless you are dying to climb up her insides, I recommend that you take a "free ride" on the Staten Island Ferry to view Lady Liberty up close and personal. You won't need to pay for an expensive ticket to Liberty Island, and you get to cruise around lower Manhattan on the world's most famous ferry. And, this may be the only free thing you get during your visit!

Quick Tips:

For the "World's Best Awards 2005," Travel + Leisure magazine's readers ranked New York City the sixth best city in the world.

For 2005, New York City ranked as the 13th most expensive city in the world according to CNN Money. Click here to see the complete list of the World's Most Expensive Cities.

Many years ago, a comedian on MTV's Half Hour Comedy Hour stated his theory about New York City - "If you can touch it, it's been peed on." This is probably true.

The Rough Guide to New York City correctly states that The New York Times crossword puzzles increase in difficulty as the week progresses. However, Sunday is the largest, but not hardest, crossword to solve. Puzzle fanatics know that Saturday provides the most frustrating challenge.

Twenty streets equals 1 mile, and the distance between two avenues equals two streets.

When the "Don't Walk" sign stops flashing, you have 8 seconds to cross the street before being mangled by NYC traffic.

Addresses in Queens are listed by neighborhood, such as Long Island City, NY, rather than by borough name.

Best Way To Get Around:

Riding the New York City subway is something that every visitor should do at least once. It operates on a 24-hour schedule and reaches most neighborhoods throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Track work is performed on an ongoing basis, so possible delays may occur during early morning hours and on weekends. Visit the official Metropolitan Transportation Authority site for updated maps and service advisories.

Large neighborhood maps are posted at each subway stop next to the 24-hour toll booths. They are especially helpful in areas like Greenwich Village and Soho, where streets don't follow the grid system.

Caveat Commuter - Latin for Rider Beware (not really). An empty subway car usually means a pungent odor emanates within or the absence/excess of air-conditioning/heating.

Subway maps - available for free at all token booths - make excellent wrapping paper for gifts purchased for friends and family

In 1994, a restoration of Grand Central's "Sky Ceiling" depicting the zodiacal constellations began and was completed in 1998. It was meticulously cleaned to reveal its aquamarine color, and shimmering paint along with gold leaf was applied to the stars to help them shine. However, sixty of them, such as Betelgeuse and Aldebaran, are actually illuminated by fiber-optic lights. For a few weeks around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, laser shows or video displays are projected onto the vaulted ceiling.

Renovators left a small black square along the arched portion of the ceiling above Michael Jordan's The Steak House NYC to record just how dirty it was before the restoration.

Stargazers may notice that the constellations are painted in reverse. While the ceiling was being cleaned in the late '90s, a plaque was posted to provide an explanation for the error. The sign says "Grand Central's famous zodiac ceiling depicts a Mediterranean winter sky with 2,500 stars. Said to be backwards, it's actually as seen from a point of view from outside our solar system. You can watch the stars come out as we clean the ceiling in sections with a simple solution of soap and water." In reality, outside of the solar system, the stars will look almost the same as they do from Earth... they are much farther away than any object in our solar system.

If you love sculpture and Keith Haring, you don't want to visit New York and miss the Tom Otterness display at the A, C, E, and L station at 14th Street and 8th Avenue. It will cost you $2 to enter the station or some free time to make an out-of-the-way stop during another ride, but it is well worth it for this Metropolitan Transit Authority and Arts for Transit commission.

In a New York Times' review for one of Tom's exhibitions, Ken Johnson wrote that "Mr. Otterness can animate public spaces with amusing pudgy bronze cartoon characters acting out parables of modern life without pandering to either sophisticates or ordinary folks."

Many of Manhattan's subway stations feature some type of artistic detail meant to distract riders during train delays. My personal favorite is the collection of Tom Otterness sculptures appearing throughout this station. The man is a unique genius in creating themed figures that perfectly adapt with the public spaces where they appear. Visit the the official Tom Otterness site to learn more about the artist and his current exhibitions. A coloring book and 9-11 poster are also available for sale on the "About Tom" and "Contact Us" pages.

What is the best parade in New York City? Most Americans will likely reply with "Macy's Thanksgiving Day". While Macy's remains the most well-known, I would have to argue that New York's Village Halloween Parade is probably the more entertaining.

Greenwich Village (a.k.a. the West Village) will always be one of the greatest scene-making neighborhoods in New York City, if not the world. Its residents are a melting pot of ethnicities and lifestyles, as well as a unique blend of personality types. Celebrities, artists, writers, tastemakers, brainiacs, gays/lesbians, bohemians, social misfits, and their hangers-on can all be found within the charming little apartment buildings that fill the neighborhood.

Since its humble beginnings on October 31, 1973, the participants and crowds have grown to make it the nation's largest public Halloween parade. With the creativity and bizarre imaginations displayed by the village people on this evening, you will wonder how Turkey Day's large inflatable cartoon characters remain so popular.

For more information, go to the parade's official site at:

www.halloween-nyc.com

Want to really enjoy Thanksgiving in New York City? Then sleep late and skip the crowded parade route.

From 3 to 10pm on Thanksgiving Eve, the smart set gathers near the American Museum of Natural History to watch the animated airships getting pumped full of helium gas.

Some people consider this better than the parade itself due to the much smaller crowd and an up-close and personal glimpse of old favorites and new character additions. Plus, inflating these dynamic dirigibles is quite a process to behold.

Professional balloon wranglers and Macy's employees must unfold each of the balloons as carefully as a mother laying out her child's clothing. Then huge nets, weighted down with sandbags, cover the balloons to keep them from floating away once the gas starts flowing into their many segmented compartments.

Once the balloons have had their fill of helium, this is where they will stay before exciting the throngs of parade watchers, the ones, unlike you, who don't know any better than to stand elbow-to-elbow for hours in the freezing cold.

A whispering gallery is an area with a domed ceiling where two people can softly converse even though they are standing many feet (or meters) apart. The two most famous examples are found within St. Paul's Cathedral in London and Statuary Hall in the US Capitol.

There is also one located in the dining concourse in front of the entrance to the Oyster Bar in NYC's Grand Central Station. There is no sign marking the gallery or any instructions posted on how to make it work. However, by waiting a few moments, an in-the-know couple will walk up and show you the way.

If that doesn't happen, you and a partner need to stand in opposite corners below the tiled ceiling. You need to be facing very close to the corners, around 2 to 3 inches from it. Speak in a soft to normal tone and your friend should be able to hear you quite clearly, as if you were standing next to one another.

Over the years, Grand Central's Whispering Gallery has become a romantic spot for paramours wishing to quaintly exchange sweet nothings. It's also a popular scene for proposing marriage, especially around Valentine's Day, so be careful what you are getting yourself into.

If someone asks you how or why it works, try to recite some of the following explanation and use lots of the big words. A whispering gallery occurs beneath a domed ceiling constructed in the form of an ellipsoid with a parabolic dish at each focus (usually a corner). When someone faces one dish and whispers, the sound telegraphs from this focus until it reaches an opposite dish, where another person waits to receive the message.

Technically, this entry is about an area to visit outside of New York City, but Pier 78 is located in Manhattan, so that's why it has been included.

When I moved to NYC 9 years ago, I began my career within the advertising industry as a media planner. My job was focused on determining the optimal media vehicles to place my account's advertisements.

I realize this sounds fairly boring based on how exciting the advertising industry is usually portrayed. While media planning may be less enticing work than a position within the creative department, it offers plenty of perquisites. It is a position built upon strong relationships between the media planner and various media sales representatives.

To strengthen these relationships, the sales reps would arrange lunch meetings at top NYC restaurants or invite you to attend exclusive events. I was exposed to people, places, and things that I would never have experienced toiling away in another occupation. Of the many things I was personally exposed to, a few memorable activities stand out from the rest. Going on three West Point Football Cruises are some of the most enjoyable experiences that I can remember, even more so than meeting the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models!

For home games during the Army football season, a service called NY Waterway offers a West Point Football Cruise up the Hudson. As football season takes place in the fall, you will thoroughly enjoy the picturesque views of the changing foliage along the Hudson River Valley. Also, the NY Waterway ferries provide a pay-as-you-go snack and cocktail bar to keep you nourished during the trip.

While Conference USA does not showcase the top teams within NCAA Division I football, it is hard not to be taken in by the pageantry of the pre-game parade and the uniformed cadets cheering on their team. The "tailgating" atmosphere on the West Point grounds is also something that shouldn't be taken lightly; it’s more for the affluent picnicker than the shirtless, face-painted, cooler-full-of-beer crowd.

This is not an inexpensive outing, as tickets, which include ferry service to and from the West Point campus and a game ticket, are $80 each. You can order tickets for the West Point Football Cruises through the NY Waterway site. You will find them listed by placing your cursor over "Sightseeing Cruises" and selecting "Full Day Cruises" from the menu on the left-hand side. Please note that, in the past, theses cruises have sold out many weeks prior to the scheduled home games.

2005 Army Football Schedule (Home Games Only)
Saturday, May 17 - Baylor @ West Point
Friday, September 23 - Iowa State @ West Point
Saturday, October 1 - Connecticut @ West Point
Saturday, October 8 - Central Michigan @ West Point
Saturday, November 12 - Massachusetts @ West Point
Saturday, November 19 - Arkansas State @ West Point

Check out the official Army Athletics site for the most up-to-date schedule and game times.

Bike New York's Five Boro Bike Tour is the largest recreational cycling event in the United States. The route takes you on a 42-mile tour through all five boroughs of New York City, which must be where they came up with the creative name. It's not only offers good exercise, but an interesting trip for people who have yet to venture outside of Manhattan. The event takes place every year on the first Sunday in May, and it will return on May 7, 2006, for its 29th running.

An estimated 30,000 cyclists participate in the Five Boro Bike Tour, and you will see many unusual, bicycle-esque types of transport. The city temporarily closes major thoroughfares in each borough, so you don't have to contend with dodging NYC traffic, but, with so many riders, you need to be cautious at all times. There are frequent accidents (with injury), and I've even heard rumors of an occasional death.

I participated in the event a few years ago with six other people. With such a large crowd, keeping your group together is close to impossible. About halfway through the ride, I was only in the company of my friend Dana's boyfriend. The rest of my crew was nowhere to be seen among the thousands of cyclists. You can attempt to regroup at the periodic rest areas that provide first-aid, water, and restrooms, but they are an equally chaotic mass of people. I didn't reunite with my friends until we reached the end of the route at Staten Island.

New York City weather can be fickle, so you should be prepared for every condition (with the exception of snow). There was an absolute downpour for 30 minutes during my ride, and one of the tunnels along the FDR Drive became flooded. There is the point where I went "ass over tea kettle." Everyone seemed to slow down to ford the foot-deep puddle, and just then, someone cut directly in front of me. My knobby mountain bike tire got caught in his spokes, and I found myself thrust from my seat and lying in the water. My first thought was of being crushed by an untold number of cyclists behind me, so I quickly remounted and escaped unscathed.

Happily, that was the only danger I faced that day. My new Cannondale bike was a little scratched up, but that gave it some personality. The greatest personal hazard is a sore rump. I'm not a frequent rider, so my posterior was more than a little tender following 42 miles of uneven pavement. I had a gel cover for my seat, but its benefits were negligible. My best advice is, if there is an extremely comfortable saddle, buy it before subjecting yourself to the rigors of NYC's streets.

All in all, it was a great way to see the Big Apple. For additional information, on the Five Boro Bike Tour or other Bike New York events, visit the official Bike New York site.

The Rough Guide to New York City does have a "Shopping - Used Books" listing for Housing Works Used Book Cafe, but simply referring to the place as a bookstore is doing it a disservice. While the store does offer over 45,000 new, used, and rare books and records for sale, both established and up-and-coming musicians and authors (such as John Mayer and Chuck Klosterman, respectively) stage performances and readings there regularly.

The Used Book Cafe provides an intimate setting that evokes a classic, mahogany-paneled library with spiral staircases leading to bookcases overlooking the main floor. Hipster paintings, mixed-media assemblages, and installations are strewn throughout the space to enhance the bohemian feel. For special events, a small stage is set up in the back, surrounded by limited cafe seating and ample standing room. The complete absence of imposing security and nervous handlers offers backstage-type access between the crowd and the featured guests.

Tickets to a music performance are usually $20-25 and typically sell exceedingly fast, especially for big names. The recommended donation to view a live reading is $10. No matter what you spend in regard to the store, 100% of the proceeds go to Housing Works, a non-profit organization that provides housing, health care, job training, advocacy, and other services for homeless New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS. Take comfort in knowing that the more beer you consume from the cafe, the better humanitarian you become.

I've seen two musical performances at Housing Works Used Book Cafe, and the dynamic between the artists and the crowd just can't be replicated elsewhere. I haven't visited the bookstore during regular hours, so I can't describe its ambience during the day. However, the store has a prime Soho location which draws an attractive and trendy clientele of every age.

To view a list of upcoming events, go to the official Housing Works Used Book Cafe site.

If you are ever interested in schmoozing your way past the clipboard Nazis and velvet ropes keeping guard at an exclusive event, Steve "Shaggy" Kaye would make a great mentor. Despite his well-deserved reputation as persona non grata, he frequently receives bold-type mention within The New York Post's Page Six for his presence at NYC's most publicized gatherings.

One of this magician's tricks used to gain entry is presenting an official-looking business card promoting himself as Nightlife Correspondent for the aforementioned NY Post. Also, when questioned by anyone about his status as an invitee or presented with a bill (as food and drink are typically covered by event sponsors), he promptly enacts a celebrity tirade before storming off of the premises.

These days, his pseudo-socialite status has earned him a PR rep and the occasional formal invitation. Rumors of a reality show based on his party-crashing exploits are also being bantered about. Two things you will know for certain if you ever spot him in the crowd are 1) he is most likely 99% not supposed to be there and 2) you are at a pretty happening spot, so look for other celebs canoodling in a dark corner.