NYC Days 29 & 30: In Which I Do The Usual; Plus Week 4 Expenses

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Most days I start out with a long list of possibilities to select from for that day's events and activities, only to ignore them all and do something else entirely. At some point during my day however (if I am not ensconced comfortably in a museum somewhere), I know I am going to need to rest and regroup, preferably in a location that has food, clean restrooms, and air conditioning. And preferably away from the heat, noise, hustle and bustle and humidity of the afternoon city. I have several favorite resting spots, and I thought I would write about them today. You never now when you might be in need of one yourself. Some are perfect as afternoon havens of rest and relaxation, others less so.

BROOKFIELD PLACE
I've mentioned Brookfield Place before on this blog, and I'm sure I will do so again because I use this as my personal 'cooling center' when I am in this part of Manhattan. PROS: It has lot's of public seating, food options aplenty, clean restrooms, free WiFi, air-conditioning, great views of the Hudson River, a weekly schedule of free music and arts events, and fancy shopping options if you need them. CONS: None that I can think of.

If you are visiting the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, or One World Trade Center and need somewhere to rest and recuperate after, this is definitely the place to head to, and since it is right across the road from these hot spot visitor attractions, I'm surprised it is not packed. The fact that it isn't, suggests that most visitors don't know about Brookfield Place or its public facilities.

By the way, there is a long underground pedestrian tunnel that connects to the Oculus and the vast subway and PATH rail networks that are located there. The Oculus itself has dozens of options for shopping and eating, but no public seating apart from that provided by restaurants and cafes, which are generally reserved for paying customers.

Location: 230, Vesey Street, Manhattan.

Above and Below: Brookfield Place. A place to eat, shop, rest, and relax.

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ROCKEFELLER CENTER
PROS: Lot's of public seating, plenty of food options, restrooms, free WiFi, and air-conditioning. CONS: due to the volume of people at this location, the restrooms are generally busy and not alway in the cleanest condition. I'm sure the janitors are doing their best, but the constant flood of visitors seeking relief in the two large restrooms on the lower ground floor must make their task almost impossible. As for the views, there are none to speak of until you surface onto the plaza above.

Despite the caveats noted, this is a place where you can go to hang out for ten minutes or ten hours! I'm sure the location closes down at some point very late in the evening or in the early morning hours, but from what I have observed, as long as you are not troubling other people, you can stay as long as you want.

Location: On Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets.

Above: 30 Rock, the building that hosts the Top Of The Rock viewing experience. 



Above and Below: A towering installation from Jeff Koons entitled, Seated Ballerina.

Above: This terrace double as an ice skating rink in winter and an outdoor restaurant over the summer. 

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TIME WARNER CENTER, COLUMBUS CIRCLE
PROS: This is my 'go to' place for the cooling air-con, clean restrooms, reasonably priced sandwiches and coffee (or higher class eating if that's your thing), and fancy fashion shopping options -- although I rarely if ever shop there. In fact, I have no interest in 'fancy shopping options' whatsoever, but that's another story. CONS: My main complaint about this location is the lack of available public seating options. To put it bluntly, there are no public seating options. Like the Oculus, the only available seating is provided by restaurants and cafes to paying customers. Out of interest, on its website, the Center claims to have "A prestigious collection of the largest Michelin-starred restaurants under one roof..." So if you are planning on eating a fancy meal there, make sure your credit card is well primed.

Personally, I think the owners of this building are doing the least possible to fulfill the requirements of their contract with the city. Often, agreements with city authorities to build massive skyscrapers such as the Time Warner Center come with stipulations for accommodating the public in some way. The owners are certainly doing this, but it is clear they don't want Joe Public hanging around, cluttering up the open spaces in their building -- especially if they are not there to spend their money. I go here for the sandwiches and coffee from the Bouchon Bakery Take-Out (not Michelin-starred!), and the restrooms, and for a much appreciated cooling break from the humidity, but that's about it. This is not a place to linger at.

I'm sorry, but I give up! I've been trying for far too long to load some images of the Time Warner Center in this slot, but I suspect a combination of aging iPad 2 and less than user friendly Blogger software has tested my patience to the effing limit, and I give up!

So instead I have loaded three other images: above is the delicious Juiciest Lucy Inside Out burger (I'm sure it's called something like that!), which I had at A.G. Kitchen at 269 Columbus Avenue, Manhattan. Well worth the USD$17.00 cost.

  Above: The Solders' and Sailors' Monument located at 89th Street and Riverside Drive in Riverside Park (on the Upper West Side).

And below, the scariest woman I have encountered so far on this trip! She resides in the Met Museum, and is not someone you'd want to bump into after the lights go out! You have been warned.

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ONGOING WEEKLY EXPENSES
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Museum Memberships $19.15 ($25.15)
AT&T SIM card $13.60 ($17.85)
MTA Pass $28.00 ($36.80)
Accommodation $152.00 ($200.00)
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Total Ongoing: US$212.75 (AU$279.80)
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ADDITIONAL DAILY EXPENSES
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Sunday 9, July | Expenses $32.50 ($42.80)
Monday 10, July | Expenses $118.65 ($157.10)
Tuesday 11, July | Expenses $78.00 ($101.30)
Wednesday, July 12 | Expenses $30.75 ($40.05)
Thursday, July 13| Expenses $47.65 ($61.00)
Friday, July 14 | Expenses $37.75 ($48.25)
Saturday 15, July | Expenses $30.00 ($38.30)
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Total Daily Expenses: US$375.30 | AU$488.80
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TOTAL EXPENSES WEEK 4: US$588.05 (AU$768.60)

*Figures in brackets are Australian dollar amounts.

Friday Fotos – Rockefeller Center

The GE Building towers into a perfect New York sky

One of the highlights of my 2008 visit to New York City was a trip to the ‘Top of The Rock’ – or if you prefer, the viewing deck of the Rockefeller Center located in midtown Manhattan.

The Rockefeller Center is in fact a complex of 19 major buildings, the largest of which is the GE Building. Directly in front of this building is a large sunken outdoor plaza which doubles as an ice skating rink in winter and restaurant during the summer months.

Paul Manship sculptures, Youth and Maiden

Stunning works of art (like the two shown above), are what help to make the Rockefeller Center a location worth visiting in its own right, rather than simply a place to get a birds-eye view of Manhattan. So much great art is located around the complex that books have been written about the collection (see links below).

Michael Hammers 2008 Installation: Electric Fountain

With the loss of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building can lay claim to being the highest building in New York City, although this will change once the new tower is completed on the site of the WTC. While it is tempting to visit the ESB rather than the Rockefeller Center building, I preferred the Top of The Rock if only because one can get great views (and photographs) of the Empire State Building which is near by.

Top of The Rock view of Manhattan skyline and Central Park

Getting There:
The nearest subway station is the 47-50th St - Rockefeller Ctr. Station which can be reached by the B, D, F, and M trains (more info: http://www.mta.info/).

Tickets:

• Adult $34.00
• Child (6-12) $28.00
• Senior (62+) $32.00
• Sun & Stars Ticket: Adult $63.00
• Sun & Stars Ticket: Child $43.00
• Note: Sun & Stars tickets allow guests to visit twice in one day.
• A range of add-on's and combo tickets are also available.

POST UPDATED MARCH 11, 2017

NOTE: The above ticket prices were correct as of March 11, 2017.
For up to date ticket prices, and to pre-purchase tickets to the Rockefeller Center click here... 

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Rockefeller Center, NYC

Image: The Rockefeller Center, New York City

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It’s pretty much impossible to miss the Rockefeller Center in New York City. Located in midtown Manhattan, the complex consists of 19 major buildings, the largest of which is the GE Building. Directly in front of this building is a large sunken outdoor plaza which doubles as an ice skating rink in winter and restaurant during the summer months.

During my spring 2008 visit to New York I often found myself in the vicinity of the Rockefeller Center and enjoyed passing the time admiring the skaters, people watching in general, and stopping for something to eat at one of the many restaurants and cafés in the underground concourse beneath the GE building. For some reason I rarely went to the Center during my 2010 trip to New York City. Maybe it was because I had seen enough of the site previously to feel happy to overlook the area in favour of New York’s many other interesting locations.

Rockefeller Center, or Rockefeller Plaza covers an area encompassing 22 acres (89,000 m2), the borders of which are 48th and 51st streets, and Fifth Avenue to the east, and Sixth Avenue to the west (see map). It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

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Rockefeller Center was named after John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the only son of his namesake and father, John D. Rockefeller Sr. the wealthy oil magnate. Rockefeller Jr., initially planned a syndicate to build an opera house for the Metropolitan Opera on the site, but changed his mind after the stock market crash of 1929 and the withdrawal of the Metropolitan from the project. Faced with the choice of abandoning the project completely or building and financing the Center himself, Rockefeller Jr., chose to build, turning the construction project into the largest private building project ever undertaken in modern history.

Of course, apart from ice skating and people watching and eating, one of the other reasons visitors flock to Rockefeller Center is to take the elevator rides to the ‘Top of The Rock’ as the visit to the observation decks is called. The views from the 70th floor are quite spectacular, as you might imagine, and you have the added advantage of getting great views (and photographs) of the Empire State Building which is near by.

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Image: Looking straight up at ’30 Rock’

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Unlike most other Art Deco towers built during the 1930s, the GE Building was constructed as a slab with a flat roof. This is where the Center's observation deck, the Top of the Rock is located.

In 2005, the Center’s owner completed a $75 million makeover of the observation area which now spans the 67th-70th floors and includes a multimedia exhibition exploring the history of the Center. On the 70th floor, there is a 20-foot (6.1 m) wide viewing area, allowing visitors an unobstructed 360-degree panoramic view of New York City.

Here is a minute or so of video footage I shot during my Top Of The Rock visit during March 2008.

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Getting There:

The nearest subway station is the 47-50th St - Rockefeller Ctr. Station which can be reached by the B, D, F, and M trains (more info: http://www.mta.info/).

Tickets:

• Podcast $2.50     
• Adult $22.00     
• Child (6-12) $15.00     
• Senior (62+) $20.00     
• Sunrise Sunset $32.00     
• Sunrise Sunset Child $17.00 
• Note: a SUNRISE SUNSET ticket allows guests to visit twice in one day.

Online:

Rockefeller Center Official Site...

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Rockefeller Center [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia...

Adjust To The Conditions

~ Maybe it was the timing of my trip to New York City, or maybe it’s always like that, but it did seem to rain a lot. In terms of timing, I arrived on March 17, 2008 so while winter may have officially been over, and spring underway, I should have been prepared for the rain and the cold.

I wasn’t. Just the same, I didn’t let it dampen my enthusiasm for exploring the city – I simply adjusted to the conditions and made the most of it.

On one of my explorations of the neighbourhood around Greenpoint, I had noticed a charity shop, and I headed back to it during my first week in the city to see if I could find a warm jacket. For around $20, not only did I find a good jacket, but I also bought a couple of t-shirts, and a polo shirt. I figured I could either take them with me when I left America, or just give them back to the charity shop. In the end, I gave a pile of excess clothing to one of the Hispanic cleaners at the YMCA, and told her she could keep the items, or pass them on to some of the permanent residents who lived at the 'Y'.

I might add that I am one of those people who generally don’t mind the cold – but the wind howling across New York during March was more than even I could bare. So over the next couple of days, I also added a beanie and a warm scarf to my collection of winter warmers.

My third day in New York saw me wandering around in the drizzle until I eventually ended up at the Rockefeller Centre. I could have gone to the top of the building to experience the Top of The Rock, as it’s called, but since the top of the building was in clouds, I figured I wouldn’t see a lot and decided to leave it for another day.

That’s the great thing about staying in one place for an extended period of time. If the weather, or something else conspires to stop you from doing something, you can always leave it for another day. Therefore, my decision to spend at least four weeks in New York City was something I came to appreciate very much. More than once I found myself changing plans at the last minute, simply because my initial attempt to see a well known landmark turned out to be badly timed.

For example, it was five weeks into my New York stay – and on my third attempt – before I went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The first attempt was disrupted by rain, and the second by long queues of visitors waiting to board the ferries that service these locations. If I had planned to visit New York for the average stay of 5-7 days, I would almost certainly not have had the luxury of waiting for better weather or shorter queues. I would have had to brave the elements or miss out completely.

Some Initial Observations:

Internet Café’s are as rare as hen’s teeth. Not only that, but the one or two that I saw were very expensive compared to London where they seem to be on every street corner, and where you could surf for up to two hours for one pound (around $2.50). In New York it cost US$1.00 for five minutes, although that reduced to about US$10.00/hour if you were on for that length of time.

Public toilets seem to be as rare as hen’s teeth in New York as well. If it wasn’t for the many McDonald’s and Starbucks outlets around the city, I don’t know what I would have done. And not just me. The locals seemed to be just as desperate to use these facilities as I and my fellow travellers were.

Image: Rockefeller Centre, March, 2008

Photographer: Jim Lesses