nightkhan

There are ZERO reasons to experience the NYC subway except out of necessity...

PsiFighter37

I may go and check out the new observation floor from the new WTC, but nothing will compare to just how awesome it was to stand on the top of the South Tower when I was a kid in the early 1990s and be outside, wind whipping, and see the entire city beneath you. That's a memory I will never forget...my only time to the top of the Twin Towers.

KathyWdrf

I disagree. The subway is part and parcel of the NYC experience.

Perhaps more importantly, it is a cheap and (usually) fast way to get around.

nightkhan

Haha that's probably because you don't have to live with it everyday. When getting stuck underground with no AC becomes the norm, you'll be singing a different tune too. Sure is an experience!

Just a few recent examples of the comical mess that is the NYC subway:

http://gothamist.com/2017/10/16/the_...ffed_again.php
http://gothamist.com/2017/09/25/mta_mondays.php
http://gothamist.com/2017/09/11/mond...rain_delay.php
http://gothamist.com/2017/07/17/pls_help_us.php

I digress though. NYC subway is part of the NYC experience, but put it this way, not something I would recommend looking forward to or have high expectations of. It is what it is.

KathyWdrf

I have visited NYC literally dozens of times over many years and always use public transit there. Surface transportation doesn't necessarily beat the subway, as NYC streets are subject to massive traffic jams. So cabs/rideshares/private car/etc. don't necessarily work any better than the subway.

It's a matter of picking your poison, I guess!

UKtravelbear

Same for me and the subway is no better or worse when things go wrong than several other systems I have used including London, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco.

Yes Stuff happens but it can happen anywhere.

One problem a lot of locals have is when something goes wrong is that they simply don't know what the alternative routes are to their destination.

I use the citymapper app and whilst not perfect is pretty good at giving alternative ways of getting from a-b

nightkhan

Actually we know exactly what the alternative routes are. Problem is you can't get to the alternative routes when you're literally stuck in the train not moving. Or you have to make your way to alternative public transportation routes, which if you're not in a transit station, will be nowhere near you.

Anyways, getting this thread more back on track, I also recommend for anyone who has time to take a helicopter flight over NYC. FlyNYON flies out of NJ for the shorter flights for sightseeing and the view of the city from overhead with no door between you and sky is quite an experience. Highly recommended https://www.flynyon.com/

ijgordon

Or, if the subway stops running in the middle of rush hour and thousands of people at once try to take the alternative route (bus)...

CGRA

took the subway to show it to my daughter, really part of the NY experience.
It was also more convenient from the freedom tower to midtown and visited the oculus at the same time.
Probably the experience will not be as good during rush hours.
ESB : at 9,45 am week day no line ON THE STREET. (About 30 / 40 meters to the 86th floor)
At 11 am line was all the way up to 34th st...

Freedom tower : booked the ticket on their Web site while walking from Battery Park and we saved 15 /20 mns line
Restaurant at the top is OK / good.
Elevators are amazing

Rockefeller Rock : Saturday night : short line to buy the ticket BUT entrance was 3 hours after... so we didn't go.

Tussaud : only 10 extra if you buy a tour bus with it.

Staten Island ferry : great experience. Very easy back to back.
Why they don't charge?

Minus 5 (Celsius not F) at the Hilton on 6th Avenue. Small but very nice ice scuplture.
No phone / photos allowed. My Daughter believes she was Elsa...

Moma : no line at the kiosk and kids are free up to 16YO. (I had to tell her that they have the original of the staring night to bring her inside)

gfunkdave

There's a Madame Tussaud's in NYC? I lived there four years and never knew. Tourist thing.

The Staten Island Ferry is operated by the City, which pays for it.

CGRA

so thank you the city
Seems they drop the fees in the 90's

UKtravelbear

Yes there was a campaign by Island residents that a Mayoral candidate latched onto to remove the fare. It was also felt unfair (sorry for the pun) that people living on SI had to pay 2 fares (ferry and e.g.subway/bus) to get to work in Manhattan etc whereas people living in the other 4 boroughs only paid one. So the city dropped the fare and relinquished the ferry fare income - which in total was quite small anyway - and absorbed the costs 100%.

But of course the ferry is not free - just free at the point of use - and it costs the city taxpayers (which includes SI) around $5.50 per passenger in subsidy to operate the service.


There was a recent request from an SI politician to see how much might be raised if non New York City visitors were charged to use the ferry but the net income (after costs of staff and installing ticket gates etc etc) was calculated to be quite small.

Annalisa12

As an Aussie who has listened to everyone talk about the subway, I'd like to just experience a short trip. Call it weird. I enjoy visiting the supermarket in other countries just to see what they have. I guess this falls in to that weird category.

Blumie

It's not weird. The NYC subway system is amazing. It's old, it's poorly maintained, it's dirty, it's prone to breakdown, and it can be maddeningly frustrating. But usually it works exactly as it's expected to, usually is the cheapest and often is the fastest way to get around, and it really is amazing.

gfunkdave

File under "They Don't Build 'Em Like They Used To".