STEWART COPELAND

My job is sending me to New York for a few days, and I would love to meet up with any nutters if possible.

I will be flying into JFK on Monday afternoon (June 1st), and I will have the rest of that day free. I will be in training somewhere in Westchester on Tuesday and then heading to Melville on the island for the rest of the week. My evenings will all be free after 5pm. I will be heading back to Florida out of JFK on Friday morning.

This will be my first time in New York, so any suggestions for making the trip fun would be greatly appreciated.

Great! We will do what we can to meet up, definitely.
Melville is, well, Melville and I'm not sure what is there, but we can look into proximity to LIRR which should get you into Manhattan if you'd like.

I'll have use of a rental car, so I can meet up anywhere. Thanks!

Hey! I wish I could meet you in NYC. Have fun! Like art? Go to the Met!

Yikes. They've got you all over the place, Rancid!

Where are you staying on Monday night? Are you staying in Manhattan? If so, I'd say that would be the best option for meeting. Melville is a good hour's drive from Manhattan not including traffic (I don't know the closest LIRR station either, so I don't know how long by train), which isn't bad in general, but which might be an unhappy haul back and forth for you on a school night. (We do it all the time, but for us it's standard.) Just something to consider/keep in mind.

I will be staying at the La Quinta in Armonk (Westchester??) on Monday night. Tuesday-Thursday, I will be at the Hilton in Melville.

I get in to JFK early Monday afternoon (around 1pm), and I plan on checking out Manhattan before heading to the hotel late that night. I've been told that I HAVE TO see Times Square at night. So, if Monday is good for anyone, that may be the best day for me.

I will have a police officer (lower case p) with me, but he seems to be up for anything and hasn't been to New York before, either.

Don't worry about late nights or travels with me. I am used to little sleep and lots of work.

If memory and google maps serve me well, Melville is one LIRR stop further out than Hicksville, where I stayed when I was in New York in August. The train ride took about 40 minutes to Penn station. So add about 5-10 minutes to that. It was way easier than driving into Manhattan, which I also did, and have the grey hairs to prove it.
One thing to be mindful of with the LIRR is that there is no parking for non-permit holders anywhere near the stations. Check if your hotel is walking distance from the station, and if not, be prepared to take a cab to the train. It's still much better than driving and parking in Manhattan.

I wish I could get down to New York. I miss it a lot, especially some of its residents.

Transport advice from a Londoner re. NYC is possibly worthless, but I would endorse LLady's 'minimise driving' policy. Car-wise NYC is much less awful and better organised than London, but the public transit is awesome. So when you can leave the car in the garage, I'd do so, and let the train take the strain.

Wishing you a fabulous trip, while being deeply envious.

Just know that there are no shoes left. NONE. (kidding)

I didn't purchase a single pair. Although DM and I were tempted by a couple of pairs in soho.

LIRR is definitely recommended. I certifiably refuse to drive in NYC, and I lived there.

Rancid, at this point I think I can be free for Monday. Will let you know for sure when we get closer.

[quote="DirtyMartini"] Rancid, at this point I think I can be free for Monday. Will let you know for sure when we get closer.[/quote]


Yay!



Thanks everyone for the advice. I will check out LIRR information.

LIRR doesn't have a stop at Melville but that doesn't mean there isn't a stop nearby, sometimes it is just in the next town. Your hotel should be able to tell you the closest stop and I'll also check with a trusted friend who is a Long Island native and knows where everything is.

I'll keep Monday evening free!

Here's what my friend said about LIRR:

Yeah like I said it won't be ideal. But it looks like Farmingdale is your best bet. If you google "long island rail road" and then click on the link for the map you can see the big swath of un-railroaded land where Melville is. Then go to Mapquest and see the relationship between, say, Farmingdale, Huntington and Deer Park.

So there are some options and I think the hotel should be able to tell you which stop is best.

[quote="Susan"] I'll keep Monday evening free![/quote]

Yay! It would be nice to finally meet you in person!

Thanks for checking into the LIRR for me. I appreciate that. Unfortunately, on Monday I am going to be stuck with that rental car and finding a parking place downtown.
My partner in crime (I love saying that about police officers ) for the week reminded me that we will have all of our luggage with us until we get to the hotel later,
and there is no sense in going to the hotel first and then back into town. That would suck two hours out of the day, so we are going to brave it and find a place to park if it kills us.

Parking in Manhattan? Is there a NYC Road Warrior in the house? (In other words, NancyRose may have good advice on that.)