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INFORMATION ABOUT NYC This information is mainly for those of you who are coming from out of town. If you haven't been to NYC in a long time, you will find that many things have changed. Some changes are good; some are not. If you've never been to NYC, you're in for a surprise. It's not like the movie. If you come into town on a weekday, the first thing you will notice is that the City is more crowded, far more crowded than it used to be. There are times of day when you are barely able to walk on the sidewalk without zigzagging to avoid bumping into people. At "quitting time," there are so many people heading for Penn Station that the sidewalks are full and you see people walking in the street. Even more than in years past, the subways are like a can of sardines. However, the weekend is different. Many Manhattanites leave town for the weekend. And NYC becomes a pleasant place to stroll and take in the sites. This is one of several reasons we decided to hold the reunion on the weekend. Here are a few tips to help you get oriented or re-oriented to NYC. It is a wonderful town! And I hope you enjoy your visit.
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION CAR RENTAL Unless you plan to travel outside of NYC, you will not need a car. Car rentals in NYC are much higher than anywhere else in the USA--especially on weekends. If you need a car, your best bet might be a package deal that includes a car rental. All major car rental agencies are represented at the NYC Metropolitan airports and in Manhattan. If you rent a car, be aware that parking rates in Manhattan are horrendous. On the other hand, some hotels have parking available at rates less than you will find in public parking lots. Call your hotel of choice and find out what the rates are.
THE TRAINS Public transportation will get you just about anywhere you want to go in the NYC Metropolitan area. For Long Island, there is the Long Island Rairoad. For upstate New York and Connecticut, there is Metro North. For New Jersey, there is the PATH and Jersey Transit. And there are buses to anywhere.
THE SUBWAYS Within Manhattan and the boroughs of NYC, you can ride our famous subway system. FYI, a ride on the subway or an MTA bus costs $1.50, but we now have Metrocards available in many denominations that provide discounted travel anywhere on the system. Metrocards allow you to transfer between subway and bus free of charge if your transfer takes place within a limited time. There are also bus-to-bus transfer coupons. You can get free subway maps at any toll booth. Remember when a subway ride was 20¢?
TAXIS AND LIMOSINES And, of course, there are taxis and limousines. All taxis are metered. Limosines are not. So-called "black cars," are now allowed to pick up passengers on the street. Be sure to inquire about the cost before you are "taken for a ride."
WALKING Finally, there is walking. On the weekend, walking in NYC is a pleasant experience. You can walk to all of the famous sites, museums and parks. You can walk from the Eastside to the Westside of Manhattan in less than an hour. You could even walk from Harlem to South Ferry in a few hours, seeing many wonderful things along your way from the skyscrapers NYC is famous for to thousands of restaurants, night clubs, bars and many other interesting places.
HARLEM Speaking of Harlem, you should take a ride on the A Train (or one of many others) uptown to see the second coming, the renaissance of that famous section of town. A lot of highly rated restaurant and jazz clubs have opened in the past year or so. And there are many tours you would not only find educational, but also entertaining. Some tours include brunch or dinner at a jazz club. You will also find the largest unfinished church in NYC in Harlem. It's the Cathedral Church of St. John The Devine. This is a high spot on some Harlem tours. And speaking of churches, there are many to choose from. If you're into architecture, you'll find churches in all historical styles. If your bent is music played on the grand pipe organ, many churches have performances.
SHOPPING NYC has always been a shoppers paradise. Where else in the world could you find a store that can survive since 1827 selling nothing but fireplace accessories and a few blocks away a store selling handbags that start, let me say that again, that start at $10,000? Many of the old, fine department stores are gone, but Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Lord and Taylor, and Tiffany remain. If you're in the market for electronic items, you'll find what you want here. There is Circuit City, The Wiz, Compusa and J&R Computer and Music world. For the high-end HiFi fan, Harvey Electronics is a must stop. Their main store is located at 2 West 45th Street just off Fifth Avenue. We're in an era when everything is on sale somewhere and where "retail" and "list" price is totally meaningless. Buy a copy of the Sunday New York Times or The Daily News and you'll find sales flyers for most of the stores mentioned above. The Sunday Times is available late Saturday night at all newsstands. Be wary of electronic stores along Fifth Avenue and around Times Square. Many of them have very bad reputations for selling used, defective, discontinued and refurbished equipment as new. Buyer beware! If in doubt, stick to the reputable electronics stores mentioned above. Reliable stores for cameras and video equipment include Willoughby's (136 West 32nd Street and other locations) and B&H (420 Ninth Avenue @ 34th Street). If you're shopping for that hard to find Slim Whitman recording of "Indian Love Call," you're likely to find it in NYC. Try these sources for CDs: Virgin Megastore (I like the one on Union Square the best) and J & R Music World next door to their computer store at 15 Park Row (you'll find a lot of hard to find jazz and pop CDs here at very good prices). There is also Tower Music, Sam Goody's and many boutique music stores specializing in a certain genre. There are even music stores that specialize in vinyl albums. At prices that are now unbelievable.
HANGOUTS AND EATERIES Though most of the "hangouts" that NYC personnel and visitors from other IAL offices went to are gone, some actually are still in business. Primeburger from which Reservations personnel in Rockefeller Center ordered food is still in business and hasn't changed a bit. Smilers, one of the few all-night delis that those of us who worked the late shift depended on, is still around. But it's now more like the many Korean buffet restaurants that have popped up all over town. El Charro in Greenwich Village, a popular spot with many of us, is still in full operation and busier than ever. Reservations on the weekend are now a must! That would have been unheard of in the 1970s and 1980s when you could walk in at anytime and be immediately seated. They still have the best margaritas in town! But gone are Top of The Sixes (now a private cigar bar), The Rainbow Room (as we knew it), the Mayan Room (later The Assembly Steak House), Bun N Burger, Zum Zum, Plaza Burger, Orange Julius, Nedicks, The English Grill, The French Cafe, Schrafts, Chock Full of Nuts, The Automat and even Hurley's Bar.
PLACES TO GO, THINGS TO DO Times Square has become a zoo and is busy all of the time including weekends. If you want to see MTV live, you can stand on the street and watch it through a second-story window. If you want to stay around until Monday morning, you can stand outside the Today Show studio and have your friends back home see you act up for the TV cameras. The studio is in Rockefeller Center. Don't expect to find the Times Square (especially 42nd Street) of old. Major Giuliani has destroyed Times Square as it was known and enjoyed for decades. He says it's been "cleaned up." What that means is that it has been sterilized and sanitized. Locals who oppose what has happened refer to it as "Disneyfication." The Great White Way (Broadway) is alive and doing very well. So, if you're in a mood to see a play, there are many choices. Despite the record high prices for performances, you should be aware that you can get day-of-performance discount tickets at the TKTS booth located opposite 2 Times Square. The discounts range as high as 50%. If you're looking for something less mainstream and more eclectic, Off Broadway is the way to go. And maybe even Off Off Broadway. check out the listings published every day in The New York Times. No visit to NYC would be complete without a stroll through Greenwich Village (just "The Village" to us insiders). It has stayed more like it has always been than most other areas of the City. You won't find Bob Dylan singing at Folk City, but you will find many restaurants and bars from the far past still in operation. Although The Front Porch is no longer around, The Back Fence is, virtually unchanged from the 1960s. And Minetta Tavern (113 McDougal Street) survives and thrives. Go there if you have a hankering for Italian food. But don't ask for Chianti, especially by the glass. This is the only Italian restaurant in the universe that doesn't serve it. If you're a jazz fan, the premier venue is The Blue Note (131 West 3rd Street). They have a Jazz Brunch on Sunday. You can also catch an acquaintance of mine, Chuck Braman, at various locations around town. If you're a Les Paul fan, believe it or not, he's still performing. But only on Monday night at the Iridium Jazz Club (48 West 63rd). For a great bar, restaurant and live music, visit The Metronome, a nightclub located at 915 Broadway and 21st Street. And, as previously mentioned, there is El Charro at 4 Charles Street. (I am the self-appointed Public Relations Executive for the restaurant.) It's hard to find a good pizza in NYC now. Hard to believe, but that's true. Too much artificial cheese and cardboard tasting crust is used in the making of that true New York favorite. However, Johns (260 West 44th Street and the original at 278 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village) and Lombardi's (at 32 Spring Street) still serve the real thing. And if you like authentic Neopolitan pizza and fine pasta, go to La Pizza Fresca Ristorante at 31 East 20th Street. If you're into Mexican food, find the real thing at Rosa Mexicana (1063 First Avenue) where the best guacamole in town is prepared at tableside. For Tex-Mex, goto Chevy's (259 West 42nd Street) for "No Can" Fresh Mex including a great salsa. Steak houses have proliferated in NYC. Though The Cattleman and Charlie 5's and Steak and Brew are gone and Manny Wolf's is now Smith and Wollensky (at 201 East 49th Street), you can now find every major US steakhouse in NYC. The most highly rated steakhouse remains Peter Luger's in Brooklyn. In Manhattan, consider Angelo and Maxies, Smith & Wollensky and Sparks. Since the restaurant in the Associated Press building is long gone, it has been difficult to find a quality chopped sirloin in NYC. However, you kind find a good one at Charlie O's at 218 West 45th Street right in the theater district. If cow flesh is not to your liking, maybe you'd like some seafood. For seafood you'll find nowhere else in the world except France, goto Le Bernardin, a top-rated 4 Star restaurant specializing in French style seafood. Reservations are absolutely essential for lunch or dinner. Bring your large wallet. They're at 155 West 51st Street. For the other white meat, have it barbecued, pulled and served on a roll at Brothers at 225 Varick or Virgil's at 152 West 44th Street. For Chinese, you can't do any better than Shun Lee Palace (155 East 55th Street @ Lexington Avenue).
TOURS There are many guided and un-guided walking tours that take place on the weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Information about these tours is available at many Tourist Information booths scattered throughout the City. You'll find one at the Empire State Building and at Grand Central Terminal. Information is also available on the Web. Check out some of the information sources below, if you're interested. Century Walking Tours conducts some of the more unique walking tours of NYC, two in particular worth noting. One is Ayn Rand's New York and the other is Revolutionary New York about the Revolutionary war in NYC. Call Fred Cookinham at 718-397-9019 or send e-mail to fcookingham@juno.com. Neither of these tours is scheduled during the weekend of the reunion, however Fred provides private tours upon request. Contact him if you're interested in an perspective on NYC. Always fun is a Circle Line Sightseeing tour around
Manhattan (Pier 83 @ 42nd Street and The Hudson River). The last time I
took the tour I had ptomaine poisoning. But I didn't get it on the tour, so
don't worry. Even if you do get sick, you can brag about having retched into the
Hudson River. Take a photo. I'll put it on the website. The Friday Metro Section of The New York Times lists many things to do on the weekend. Check out the "Spare Times" column in this section. Believe it or not, many events and shows, especially at the museums, are still free. For more New York City information, visit nytoday an online service of The New York Times. If you're looking for a good restaurant or a restaurant specializing in a certain cuisine, visit zagat. For events, restaurants and entertainment, visit Timeout New York at tony.
SMOKING When you see a group of people standing outside an office building, it used to mean that there was either a fire drill being conducted or that that some terrorist had called in a bomb threat. Now you can add a third possibility: smoking. There is a virtual ban on smoking in NYC. Most restaurants and most office buildings and all public areas are off limits. In spite of this, there has been an outcropping of cigar bars and smoking a stogie has become a big deal. The result is that prices for cigars have tripled in recent years. So, if you're a cigar smoker, maybe you should import some. Only politicians like the Major can smoke Castro's Cuban cigars and get away with it. So, hide them well in multiple plastic bags or don't bring them at all. But, come to think of it, you are allowed to smoke in jail. . . . .for the time being. But if you're a smoker in general, be aware that there are few places that you can indulge in what some view as a filthy habit and others a source of pleasure. A good place to indulge in cigars, booze and steak is Angelo and Maxie's. There are two of them: 233 Park Avenue South (the original one) and a new one around 51st Street and 6th Avenue. You used to be able to buy a freshly rolled cigar at the original location; I seem to remember you can do that at the new location now. Check it out. Finalizing my comments on cigars, pay a visit to Nat Sherman at 500 Fifth Avenue at 42nd street for some great smokes. You won't find Nat Sherman cigars anywhere else.
VISITORS CENTER The City of New York operates a Visitor's Center at 1560 Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets. It's hard to find because there is scaffolding obscuring the entrance. But its sort of diagonally across from the TKTS discount theater ticket booth. In the Visitor's center you will find all kinds of brochures, maps and guides to New York City attractions. You can buy tickets for some of them at the center. There's an ATM inside. You can buy Metrocards there. And you can access the Internet courtesy of Yahoo! Additionally, if you get homesick, you can probably find a paper from your city at Hotaling's which specializes in out-of-town and international newspapers. The Visitors Center is open 7 days from 8AM to 8PM.
ROCKEFELLER CENTER Memo To: All former and current employees You can't come to NYC without visiting Rockefeller Center where so many of us got our start in the airline business (at Icelandic, of course). You can still "Meet at the Atlas," though you can no longer sit there and "watch people watching people pass." The City Ticket Office is long gone as are Reservations and other offices at 630 Fifth Avenue. To the uninformed, there is no evidence left of Icelandic Airline's long occupancy there. But for those of us who worked or came to meetings on the Sixth Floor, the spirit is very much in evidence and we celebrate memories of great times. NOTE: All information, recommendations and comments are exclusively those of your esteemed Chairman, Joe Wright, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Committee as a whole or anyone else. Updated Oct. 26, 2001
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