Source
r/AskNYC•
Haroldandmaudlin

Please review and critique my itinerary for 5/9-5/11. Minor disability concerns & a couple specific questions. Thank you!

Good evening reddit,

Hi! I've been reading the sub for a few months and really appreciate everything everyone has to say about the city. I'm upstate and elated to be visiting in early May Th-Sat. I have an itinerary that I'd love for you to look over and critique! If you’re here to skim, I bolded my questions throughout.

General concerns are: limited energy for walking, need for subway seats, frequent need for restrooms, need for low-contamination gluten-free eateries

Thursday

  • 10:30 AM: Arrive Newark EWR. Get Airtrain ticket, then buy $12.50 NJ Transit train ticket to NY Penn Station.

  • Travel: Train (30 mn)

  • Arrive at NY Penn Station. Purchase 7-day Metrocard

  • Travel: Walk (4 mn)

  • Lunch at The Little Beet in The Pennsy Food Hall

  • Travel: Walk (8 mn/.3 mi)

  • Museum at FIT

  • Travel: Subway (30 mn)

  • Hotel, check in, freshen up

  • Travel

  • Dinner at Senza Gluten

  • Travel

  • The Strand Bookstore Is the “Buying Desk” mentioned on The Strand website the place to sell your books to them or the place to buy their books? It was not clear to me. If I can only buy books until 6 PM, I’ll switch Strand with dinner.

  • Travel

  • Stand on Hess Triangle

  • Stonewall Inn

  • Travel

  • SmallsLIVE for Jazz

  • Travel: Uber/Lyft/Juno/Curb

  • Hotel for sleep

Friday

  • Light bites at Hotel Breakfast

  • Travel: Subway/Bus (50 mn)

  • Brunch at Noglu, Madison Ave.

  • Travel: Bus (20 mn)

  • Met Museum - leave at 12:50

  • Travel: Walk .2 miles (10 mn)

  • Ziegfeld Head, 52 E 80th St (10 mn)

  • Travel: Subway/Bus to Queens (60 mn) What are the chances of me getting a seat on the Subway on a Friday afternoon at ~1 PM to Queens and ~4 PM from Queens to Manhattan?

  • Louis Armstrong House Museum - leave by 4:15 PM

  • Travel: Subway/Bus (50 mn)

  • Dinner at Casa Nonna

  • Travel: Bus/Walk 35 mn

  • NYC Ballet: Lincoln Center - begins 8 PM

  • Travel: Uber/Lyft/Curb/Juno

  • Hotel for sleep

Saturday

  • Pack. Light bites at Hotel Breakfast

  • Coffee and paper by hotel; take to park

  • Travel: Subway (20 mn)

  • 30 Rock studio tour

  • Travel: Bus/Walk (15 mn)

  • Lunch: pizza at Two Boots

  • I have a few hours left on Saturday afternoon. Any recommendations here? Shopping? (thinking about Century 21 on Broadway) High Line? Other suggestion?

  • Depart via EWR 7 PM

Obviously Saturday I have the least planned. My flight leaves at 7 PM Saturday, I was thinking I should arrive plan to arrive at the airport at 5 PM. Is this realistic?

Because logistically, I will have all my belongings on my person Thursday until the afternoon and likely all day Saturday, I am going to travel with just a backpack, light jacket, and a small crossbody to use Thursday afternoon/Friday. I’ll also have two phone battery power banks, and the apps Citymapper, Juno, Google Maps, Uber, Lyft, Curb. I don’t often use a cane but sometimes it helps a lot when I’m very fatigued. If I skipped bringing my cane but wanted to buy one in the city, would I be able to find one easily? I’m also willing to drop my spending money budget on car services if absolutely necessary.

Thank you so much! Any critiques, advice, or tips are hugely appreciated. Have a great week.

Posted Apr 7, 2019, 10:06 PM UTC

325
jonfishman•

Bring your cane. If you are carrying one with you and ask for a seat when you get on a subway car or bus, I guarantee you will have plenty of people offer their seat.

14
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

Okay, thanks for the reply!

1
paratactical•

If you're not on the subway in the morning rush hour on Thursday or Friday, I don't think you'll have trouble finding a seat - especially not if you have a cane. Note that usually if you just ask politely ("excuse me, but would one of you mind letting me sit? Standing on the subway is hard for me.") to a few people in an area, you will almost always get a taker somewhere.

I have definitely seen some canes in Duane Reade/Walgreens here, but I don't know that I've seen them in every store. I'd wager how easy it is to find one will largely depend on how picky you are about the cane and its price.

Also, Starbucks and fast food for restrooms - just buy a bottle of water - or just walk into any bar/pub. As long as you're not smelling like you've recently shat yourself, most bars are OK with the use of their bathrooms.

6
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

Thanks so much for the advice and reply!

2
cooperella•

Not sure where your hotel is, but if I were you, I would strongly consider dropping your bag(s) off at your hotel as soon as you arrive to the city. Even if fatigue were not a concern, it will make your walks a lot more pleasant to not carry your bag around all day. It also makes navigating the streets and subways easier. Most every hotel will have a luggage check to hold onto your bag before your room is ready for check-in.

​

Strand: You can definitely buy books until they close.

​

Queens Subway: You should be able to get a seat both ways at those hours/directions (source: live in Queens), but as the other poster mentioned, having your cane with you would also make it extremely likely someone will give up their seat for you (even without you having to ask). You should also feel free to ask for a seat even if you don't have your cane with you.

​

Out of curiosity--why pizza at Two Boots?

​

I notice you have car services after your Thursday and Friday night activities. Are you not taking the subway out of a concern for safety or is the hotel not conveniently located to get from those locations by subway?

​

​

3
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

I chose almost all my restaurants from No Bread's NYC guide and I really wanted pizza in here somewhere, it was definitely a slap-dash choice. I would love a different recc if you have one!

RE car services: I just thought I might be tired, so plan for the most expensive thing and freestyle it if I still have energy.

Thanks so much for the reply!

1
cooperella•

I asked a GF-friend of mine and he recommended Keste and Nizza. He said his favorite place closed :(

2
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

Keste it is, thanks for asking your friend!! :)

1
Insilico84•

Just ask for a seat on the subway if there’s not one available. People are generally happy to help.

Also there’s a Stonewall exhibit at the New York Public Library that you may want to check out, since you’re stopping by the Stonewall Inn.

3
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

AWESOME thanks for the tip about the exhibit!

1
blockcreator•

You could consider doing Via while in the city, it's pretty reasonable and you'll at least always have a seat. Seats can be bit of a crapshoot, people love their seats and tend to not give them up, so the cane is a good idea. Your times on Friday should be pretty offpeak so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to get a seat.

2
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

Okay I knew I saw another service recommended here and couldn't find it, I think Via is it. Thanks so much for the feedback!

1
blockcreator•

It's a shared ride unless requested, but pretty chill overall, they usually have big vans and you just sit in the back maybe they pick someone up maybe they don't.

3
chengjih•

Is the “Buying Desk” mentioned on The Strand website the place to sell your books to them or the place to buy their books?

You can purchase books at the Strand until they close. The Buying Desk is where they look over the bags of used books that you've brought and give you an offer.

What are the chances of me getting a seat on the Subway on a Friday afternoon at ~1 PM to Queens and ~4 PM from Queens to Manhattan?

You're going against or outside the rush hour flow, so you should be OK. As others have noted, if you have a visible issue standing (like, waving a cane around), people will offer seats.

pizza at Two Boots

Two Boots recently closed a number of locations for financial reasons (e.g., the Upper West Side one). I would verify that the one you want to go to is open. Two Boots, BTW, is interesting pizza, but I wouldn't call it remarkable. I'd eat it if it's nearby, but I wouldn't go that far out of my way for it.

My flight leaves at 7 PM Saturday, I was thinking I should arrive plan to arrive at the airport at 5 PM. Is this realistic?

Yes, arrive at the airport before 5PM.

If I skipped bringing my cane but wanted to buy one in the city, would I be able to find one easily?

Besides the chain drugstores (Duane Reade is the local brand for Walgreens; CVS, Rite-Aid) you'll find mom-and-pop drugstores that may have canes. The other place to look would be shoe repair stores. You should have a cane if you possibly need one: people will show you greater deference.

Any critiques, advice, or tips are hugely appreciated

I would have backups/alternatives in case things get out of whack, e.g., the subways are messed up that day and so on. I feel you can spend more time at the Met, but that's me; it's a gigantic museum. Otherwise, it's fine.

For restrooms, we had an epic restroom thread not too long ago.

2
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

Thank you for this insanely thorough reply and helpful advice, especially the restroom thread! I'm definitely just going to bring the cane. I did choose Two Boots because it was nearby and GF pizza but everyone's sorta mediocre reaction to it makes me rethink it. Again, thanks so much.

1
amoebaamoeba•

I wouldn't consider Two Boots to be a low-contamination gluten-free choice since the majority of pizzas there contain gluten and I'm nearly certain they prepare the gluten-free options in the same space.

https://feedmephoebe.com/best-gluten-free-pizza-restaurants-nyc/ - this site says Wild is fully gluten free and has pizzas. Keste has a gluten-free prep area - I've had their regular pies and they're really good. It also says Rubirosa actively tries to avoid cross-contamination and has an extensive gluten free menu.

Have a good time!

2
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

Thank you, honestly I did google this and got overwhelmed with the results. I did look at Keste but it was farther away was my reasoning I guess? I'm definitely tossing Two Boots out after all these and especially this comment. Thanks so much, I'll definitely look into Wild and the other suggestions.

Thanks for the reply and well wishes!!

1
amoebaamoeba•

There's a Keste on Fulton Street, not far from the World Trade Center and Century 21. I see your itinerary doesn't include a lot of time downtown (below 14th Street), but there is so much to see and do there, including a really nice (and free!) Smithsonian Institute dedicated to the American Indian.

Maybe you could head downtown on Saturday, have pizza at Keste and see the Financial District? The area near the South Street Seaport has tons of seating and an amazing view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Whatever you choose, you'll have a lovely trip that time of year!

3
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

This is a great suggestion that I'm going to take. Thank you! :)

2
[deleted]•

One quick advice: I’ve used the EWR to Manhattan bus several times and I found it to be the easiest. It’s $31 round trip and leaves something like every 30 minutes from 3 stops in Midtown.

I found this much easier than trying to transfer between trains so if it lines up then you might wanna check it out!

(https://www.newarkairportexpress.com/Map-information)

2
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

Okay I saw this too and wasn't sure which to do. Thank you for letting me know!

2
Fleurdelibrarian•

I definitely agree with bringing the cane. You'll be more likely to get a seat. Why Little Beet for lunch?

1
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

It's just gluten free and nearby, I thought I might be hungry right awayish. Do you have a recc for something better, I'd love to hear it!

As I mentioned to another commenter I picked everything from No Bread's NYC guide. Thanks for the reply!

1
Slapshot5251•

Nice! Not much for me to say, looks like you have it planned out really well. The only things I would say to you is maybe consider seeking out a more authentic NY breakfast spot rather than doing the hotel breakfast every day. As far as your question about the subway, a seat shouldn’t be too hard to find going to Queens mid day, you may have more trouble on the way back to Manhattan, although that depends on which station. The further away the station is from Manhattan, the less crowded. (And when taking the 7 train to Queens, getting on at the 34th st station is ideal, as the cars will be empty) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I’d be happy to help

1
HaroldandmaudlinOP•

I was kind of going for two larger meals a day with the celiac/GF aspect, and I agree I'd love to squeeze in more authentic food. I am definitely going to try and get coffee/tea at as many different places as possible. If you have any food/cafe/breakfast suggestions please pass them along. Thanks so much for the reply!

1