FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: emma on May 21, 2008, 01:19:23 PM
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[Okay, so I know there are already like a million threads about what to do in New York when you’re there for a vacation or something, but I kind of don’t want to sift through and find them, plus my situation’s a little different. Please forgive!]
I just found out that I am going to be spending a month of my summer in the fine city of New York. I got accepted into this summer high school program thing at Columbia, which is super exciting because it means I get to just hang around the city and write all the time.
So. I want suggestions! What should I do? Where should I go?
Caveats:
1) I’m 17.
2) Most weekdays I will have classes until like 4:30 and my curfew (I’m living in residence) is 11 pm (ick). Weekend curfew is midnight (again ick).
3) The FAQ on the program’s website says that they have a whole bunch of exciting scheduled activities (concerts, foncy restaurants, etc.), but you have to pay your own way and
4) everyone there is probably going to have a ton of spending money except me.
Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. I’m so excited about this!
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i have a friend who is a photographer/documentarian/all-around film guy and when he had to go to guatemala for a documentary he was shooting, he put up a ton of his photos for auction as a fundraiser.
it may sound ridiculous, but he made a lot of money. all of which paid for his ticket, his lodgings, his food, etc. if you have any material you feel comfortable selling, i would do it. if anything, you have a small base with your peers, family, and FOTs.
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Emma, I did that creative writing program the summer after my sophomore year of high school! You'll have a blast.
The nice thing about it--in addition to being in New York--is that they'll give you a Columbia student ID card, which means you get free admission or deep discounts to all of the museums and lots of other cultural attractions.
On campus, one of my favorite places to go was the Hungarian Pastry Shop, which is on Amsterdam Avenue between 110th and 111th Streets. It's right across the street from St. John the Divine, which is neo-Gothic and very awe-inspiring.
If you're bookish (which I know you are), you'll like going to the Strand, which is a huge used/new bookstore (Broadway and E. 12th).
Make sure you get an unlimited monthly Metrocard for exploring, and obey your curfew! The program is very strict about that.
Also--you get to listen to the Best Show live! :)
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There are a few sites of free listings but most are a mixed bag and not age-specific, like www.freenyc.net. SummerStage at Central Park is usually pretty fun, and if you can't get in, sitting outside on a blanket still sounds pretty good (http://www.summerstage.org/) and there are a lot of free concerts as part of Celebrate Brooklyn (http://www.briconline.org/celebrate/2008season.asp). River to River is also great www.RiverToRiverNYC.com as well as rooftop films and films at herald square. Summer in New York is the BEST. If you PM me, I can get you into a certain large museum for free whenever you want with some of your friends (but Susannah is right that you can get in free to a lot of places like the Whitney, too).
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try to see that big room filled with dirt if you can. it was always closed whenever i went by.
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Emma,
A fun shopping suggestion:
I used to work at this ridiculous store called GirlProps. It's on the corner of Prince and West Broadway (Soho area). It's overflowing with mounds of tacky costume jewelry(tacky in a good way!) most of it's fun, cheap, and awesome, even if you don't usually wear jewelry, you won't regret going there. Just look for the leopard zebra-print awning and the giant hot pink plastic-hand shaped chairs.
EDIT: Whoops. I swear I was picturing zebra when I wrote that. But really, zebra, leopard, what's the difference?
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The Red Hook Arts Festival and Celebrate Brooklyn both involve some awesome fun events, and PS1 always has interesting daytime things happening. I often organize my summers around making NYC more tolerable, but there are many interesting free or cheap oddities around that make you forget you're in NYC: The Cloisters way uptown, The Roosevelt Island tram, the various beaches (Brighton Beach and Coney Island are accessible by train, and this might be the last year to see the seedy, low-rent, Chris-L-chili-dog-pic version of Coney Island before it gets turned into Times Square. There are dozens of art-house cinemas (Film Forum and IFC usually have the best stuff, IMO), and while the Strand in the summer will be so full of cranky, smelly weirdos that you'll feel like you're in a live-action FOTchan reenactment, they have some of the most amazing deals on books I've ever seen. The NY Public Library usually has some cool literary stuff on display, and if you can use your student ID, Moma, The Met, and the Museum of Natural History are all worth checking out. Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks and Arielle Tepper's Summer Play Festival are probably the best deals on theater if you want to avoid schmaltzy Broadway garbage (I think they're like $15/ticket) and I'm happy to make specific recommendations for you.
All of that is Googleable.
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Assuming you like this kind of stuff, you could go to these shows:
May 30: WIRE (for free) @ South Street Seaport
July 4: SONIC YOUTH/THE FEELIES (for free) someplace in NJ
July 9:THE VASELINES in Jersey City
July 18: TIMES NEW VIKING in Jersey City
Julian Koster of the Music Tapes/NMH is secretly playing in Central Park sometime soon.
Museums are good too.
I don't know; these might violate your curfew.
Also,
GirlProps.
I've been here before and if I were a girl I'd probably love it.
Or you can volunteer at WFMU.
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Eat here! Very affordable and awesome.
http://www.wikipages.com/index.php/Les_Deux_Gamins
Oh, and go to the Whitney.
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Oh, I'd also like to second the Film Forum/IFC suggestions.
I love them both.
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Just reading this thread makes me so excited I have to get up and walk around.
You are all fantastic!
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I highly recommend you go see a Mike Daisey (http://www.mikedaisey.com/bio.sht) monologue.
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get a good 12 hour playlist on your mp3 player and just walk. if you are up at Columbia, walk south until you get sick of walking south, then walk across the island, then walk north again. Or: make up your own route! Be careful at intersections, though. take a shitty disposable camera with you or a jamcam (no digital, not this day).
Suffer the wait and go to the top of the Empire State building.
if you aren't vegetarian: get the Recession Special at Gray's Papaya on 6th Ave & 8th Street. You'll get indigestion mere yards away from legendary Electric Ladyland studios.
watch the chess dudes in Wash Sq. park, or if you are brave enough, take one on.
remember: look up! there are all sorts of crazy gargoyles watching over the city that you never notice at street level.
I haven't done it, but you could take a walking tour with Timothy 'Speed' Levitch from The Cruise. here's some info:
http://speedisms.wordpress.com/
scratch that, he doesn't seem to do them anymore.
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Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge is nice - classic NY experience, lots of wonderful sights, and it didn't take as long as I had been told either, about 30-45 minutes or so. If you do it from Manhattan you can then take a stroll along scenic
Cocain Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
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[Okay, so I know there are already like a million threads about what to do in New York when you’re there for a vacation or something, but I kind of don’t want to sift through and find them, plus my situation’s a little different. Please forgive!]
I just found out that I am going to be spending a month of my summer in the fine city of New York. I got accepted into this summer high school program thing at Columbia, which is super exciting because it means I get to just hang around the city and write all the time.
So. I want suggestions! What should I do? Where should I go?
Caveats:
1) I’m 17.
2) Most weekdays I will have classes until like 4:30 and my curfew (I’m living in residence) is 11 pm (ick). Weekend curfew is midnight (again ick).
3) The FAQ on the program’s website says that they have a whole bunch of exciting scheduled activities (concerts, foncy restaurants, etc.), but you have to pay your own way and
4) everyone there is probably going to have a ton of spending money except me.
Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. I’m so excited about this!
It this what these boards have become? A place where wannabe rich kids discuss their pretentious vacations? [gag]
Jason, please, please bring back FOTchan so that us real folks can have a place to interact.
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May 30: WIRE (for free) @ South Street Seaport
I'm so p.o.'d I'm gonna be out of town for this.
>:(
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oh & you should check out Coney Island & ride the Cyclone. If you're here for the Siren Festival that can be fun too (crowded but fun):
http://www.villagevoice.com/siren/
& there are good shows at McCarren Pool in Williamsburg (free on Sundays)
http://www.mccarrenpark.com/
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May I recommend the Circle Line (http://www.circleline42.com/)? It seems like it might be a cheesy tourist trap, but it's not. It ain't cheap, but it's a really great and informative afternoon that gives you a feel for the area you can't get from streets, subways, bridges, and tunnels. The "tour" aspect of it is usually really good, but there are also long stretches during which you're just riding up or down the rivers or around the harbor, and it's a beautiful way to see the city. I try to do it once every couple of years (TERRIBLE web site, though - I take no responsibility for that). If you DO wind up going to Hoboken or Jersey City for Maxwells, WFMU, or anything, take the NY Waterway ferry (http://www.nywaterway.com/) for the same reason - that IS cheap, and it's a nice ride.
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Yes! Another vote for Circle Line. Very informative, a great way to get a sense of where the different burroughs are, etc.
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oh & you should check out Coney Island & ride the Cyclone. If you're here for the Siren Festival that can be fun too (crowded but fun):
Fixed.
You should go to Coney Island though. It's fun.
Also, there is Elis Island which is really awesome, especially if your ancestors immigrated from Europe when it was still operating.
The Sonic Youth/Feelies show (http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/05/more-info-on-th.html) is not in NJ, its in NYC and you have to reserve a spot even though its free.
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Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge is nice - classic NY experience, lots of wonderful sights, and it didn't take as long as I had been told either, about 30-45 minutes or so. If you do it from Manhattan you can then take a stroll along scenic Cocain Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
Or, if you turn left off the bridge you can go to DUMBO and get some amazing ice cream on the pier while looking at the water that Walt Whitman used to cannonball into after work.
Following the Grote theme, the Staten Island Ferry is free. It's a nice way to see the skyline and see Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty.
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and a lot of museums (moma, whitney) are free on Fridays from like 5 till close. so it's a great way to avoid their outrageous prices (even though w/ student id = reduced cost).
also, if you want to go to the crown of the Ms. Liberty, i heard that you have to make a reservation a day ahead.. so check their site.
my sis did the Barnard program one year and had a blast - i'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!
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And, despite bold lettered admission prices on the signs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it is pay-what-you-want. If you are legitimately strapped for cash, tell them that you will be donating a dollar today and stroll right in. If you like paintings, the Met is great!
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The American Museum of Natural HIstory is also pay-what-you want.
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Ditto for just about everything that's been said, especially I'm so pissed I'm going to be out of town for Wire and you should go see Mike Daisey. Extra FOT bonus: he is holding roundtable discussions after his current show, and (schedule permitting) I'm going to be on one of them. If this is at all interesting to you, PM me. I might be able to get you a free or cheap ticket.
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A good well-kept secret: Free, city-funded kayaking in the Hudson River at 57th and West End Avenue on weekdays. A lot of friendly ducks hang out there too.
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or there's the less scary paddle boat option in central park (for a small fee)
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I agree with KtB, walking is awesome. You will find more things that you like that way than any list of recommendations ever could. A good one to start with would be starting at the Cloisters and walking down Broadway.
Also, think about checking out Flushing Meadows Corona Park on a nice weekend day. It is a good way to see the diversity of the city collected in one place and sort of celebrating life, if you allow for such foolishness. Not to mention that it all takes place amid the ruins of a couple of World's Fairs.
Oh, and the panorama is there to:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bccSqaO6Jdo[/youtube]
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bring back FOTchan so that us real folks can have a place to interact.
Yes, real people with Anonymous names.
I haven't read through this entire thread (lazy), and forgive me if this has already been recommended (or trashed) but the Sunday's at McCarren Pool are always good. There are usually good bands playing for free or a craft fair with beer. At the very least, you'll get to see first hand what everyone hates about Williamsburg so much.
When you get here, grab a copy of the Village Voice, or even better, the printed copy of The Onion off the streets. The back of The Onion has a good list of that weeks events.
Also, summer nights at Union Square on 14th St can be fun for the sheer amount of students hanging around with nothing better to do.
Have fun when you get here.
C
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May 30: WIRE (for free) @ South Street Seaport
I'm so p.o.'d I'm gonna be out of town for this.
>:(
I'm going! I'll be in town that weekend. SWEETNESS.
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Okay, so I am finally starting to, um, plan for this trip (perilously close to when I leave), and I'm wondering: if I want to do something WFMU-related, are my options just listening or walking past the building? I have no idea what I mean, specifically, except that it seems like if I'm close (-ish, or closer than I usually am in any case) to the radio station I know and love so well, I should take the opportunity to stand in front of it or something. I feel like I am not phrasing this well! You know what I mean.
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volunteer for episode two of the intern series
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Volunteer to pack up my swag for me.
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there should be like weekly tours of the fmu building with a gift shop and stuff.
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Petey, my man, I think you are on a roll, buddy. A WFMU merchandise/swag store is completely OUT of step with WFMU's mission as a nonprofit enterprise, but a really cool idea. Look at the swag they give away -- it's almost always clever and creative, in my opinion. If the minds that create this stuff were to pour their energies into producing merchandise for sale in a store, I'd be willing to bet that the results would be impressive.
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you can buy stuff through the fmu site:
http://store.wfmustore.org/
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If you volunteer to help out there, you'll get to see WFMU's innards. You should email Scott Williams at WFMU. He's a DJ and he also coordinates the volunteers. If you tell him you're a Friend of Tom, that should make the doors fly open. Or ask Tom if you can be his intern one night -- he might say yes.
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If you volunteer to help out there, you'll get to see WFMU's innards. You should email Scott Williams at WFMU. He's a DJ and he also coordinates the volunteers. If you tell him you're a Friend of Tom, that should make the doors fly open. Or ask Tom if you can be his intern one night -- he might say yes.
Seriously, Emma. E-mail Tom and ask him if you can do this.
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And Scott Williams is at scott (at) wfmu.org. He's a helluva guy.
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NYC = smell of hot garbage
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NYC = smell of hot garbage
Seriously. Between that, people dumping their chamberpots on my head, and 'nem Bowery Boys constantly pinching me, I'm seriously considering packing up my old kit bag and calling it a day.
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Thanks for all your help, guys. I'm a little wary about emailing anyone from WFMU just yet because i'm not sure exactly what my schedule's going to be once I'm there, but I'll know soon enough.
I leave in four days! I'm so so so so so so so excited!
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My band is playing on Saturday. We'll take care of you and hold you aloft.
I'm from Rochester, NY and the rest of us are totally pro-Canadian (but anti-Quebec). Party with us. We have much to talk about.
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This thread was so so so awesome and helpful when I posted it that now I am coming back to exploit all of your knowledge/expertise again. Anyone got any hot tips for between Feb. 22-26? Some friends and I are coming for reading week.