Yes the recalcitrant brit may come out of his shell and visit the big apple, being fearful of my life (all we hear is about the high level of crime/muggings etc)

Questions for new yorkers

Can I walk the streets (not to sell my body but just to be a wally tourist) safely

Where should I avoid

What should I visit

Will they regard me as a prehistoric curiosity

What if I don't spend money, will they get annoyed

Where is the nitelife

Probably best to get my visit in before the panic starts.

-- dick of the dale (jcooney@figroup.co.uk), March 09, 1999

Answers

D, The New York Times website has entire forums dedicated to tourism and city life.

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), March 09, 1999.

Welcome to the US now go home. If your so frightened about coming to the US, then I would stay home and see the sights in your own country.

-- StayHome (StayHome@ruff.com), March 09, 1999.

My daughter and I visited NYC two years ago and had a wonderful time. We never felt afraid. The food was wonderful. While there certainly are expensive things you can do, you can also have a good time without spending a fortune. Most of that scary stuff (crime/muggings) has diminished greatly in the past few years. Tip: If you plan to see Broadway shows, don't go to the TKTS booth (for halfprice tickets) that is in Times Square, or you will be in a terrible line (or queue). There is another TKTS booth in the World Trade Center, and the lines aren't as long. Get there by 10:30 a.m.

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), March 09, 1999.

P.S.

You might consider staying at the historic Chelsea Hotel, previously home to a wide variety of artists, authors, musicians, etc. It has a wonderful history, too long to go into here. An added plus is that it is two doors from an interesting S&M restaurant that had just opened the day we arrived in New York.

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), March 09, 1999.

Pearlie,

You got me!

Would you please explain what an, "S&M restaurant" is? (I can't imagine it's what it sounds like)

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), March 09, 1999.

Dick

Promise - I won't regard you as a "prehistoric curiosity" even though I was introduced as "Val from the colonies" when last I visited your beautiful country! {:-)

-- Valkyrie (anon@please.net), March 09, 1999.

I hear that New York under "facism" (Guiliani) is quite prosperous, clean, and happy with it. Crime's never been so low since I don't know when. The mayor must have taken lessons from Singapore or something on how to straigten out a city.

On the other hand, some would claim that a lot of the "character" of Old New York has been "Disneyfied" and tamed into a slick, corporate, overpriced gimmick. Some would argue that the homeless problem has been swept under the rug, not really solved.

-- coprolith (Coprolith@rocketship.com), March 09, 1999.

Richard,

Visit the "Carnegie Deli" for a wonderful food feast. They have HUGE sandwiches, the likes that few can finish. A NY experience. Can't remember which street it's on. Somewhere near 47th on 7th or so? Up from Times Square as I recall. Its been a few years.

Have fun! And try connecting with pshannon.

Diane

Links ...

NYC Tourist -- the official web-site

http://www.NYCtourist.com/

New York City theatre scene

http://www.botz.com/ nytheatre/index.htm

Sidewalk New York

http://newyork.sidewalk.com/

New York, New York - providing everything a visitor would want to know.

http://www.nycvisit.com/

Three Day Slice of the Big Apple - great itinerary for the time- limited tourist to New York City. Organized for maximum variety, interest, fun, and efficiency of routes.

http://www.highonadventure.com/Hoa98aug/Newyork/newyork.htm

New York Airports - local airport and transportation guide for tourists.

http:// www.newyorkairports.com/

Underground Music Online - for musicians and fans of underground music, includes Greenwich Village visitor, tourist, and resident services.

http://www.umo.com/ visitors/gvindex.html

POTO in NYC - includes ticket info, theater directions, hotels, map info, other tourist interests.

http:// members.aol.com/Jube200/NYC.html

Britain in the U.S.A. -- Consulate-General, New York, NY

http:// www.britain-info.org/bis/dipoff/ny.stm

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), March 09, 1999.

Hardliner:

Yep, the S&M restaurant, named Justine's, is exactly what you thought. A woman was in a cage, being happily flogged, as we entered. The servers were appropriately attired, and the delicious, moderately priced entrees had "creative" names. One dessert was a chocolate shoe. We enjoyed dining there, and for months friends sent me newspaper clippings about the place. It was quite trendy for a while.

-- Pearlie Sweetcake (storestuff@home.now), March 09, 1999.

Travel before Nov 15 or so - that will be before the Tthanksgiving - Christmas "era of good feeelings" sloughs off as people actually begin to realize "it could happen to them" - and of course, after Jan, things may get a bit "sticky" in the Big Apple.

The garden of Eden was a pretty cool place too - for a while.

Note from above: the Holocast experience (in NY) is very vivid to hundreds of thousands personally (and to millions by association with the survivors and their families - I think you will see this "Never again" spirit come to the surface with a vengance that will override their Democratic liberalism and 'emotional" ties now binding them to Clinton - and by implication - to Mr. K's bland re-assurances.

These guys lived through 6 years of bland re-assurances before: then their neighbors were carted off in railcars by the same government.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), March 09, 1999.

Thanks, Pearlie,

That's gonna take a while to sink in!

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), March 09, 1999.

thanks for all your help!

-- dick (jcooney@figroup.co.uk), March 10, 1999.