3 hours in NYC...

[Laurent]

Hi,

I'll fly to the U.S.A at teh end of next week, and will spend one week in Florida.
On my way back home, I'll be landing in JFK airport, and will leave 6 hours later from Newark.

Therefore, I hope I'll have 3 hours to spend in NYC.

What would be realistic to plan in these hours ? This will be on a Saturday, so I guess photoshopping is not an option (or maybe the Crumpler show room ?)

Cheers !

 

[Bob Carnie]

MOMA

 

[Laurent]

I did not think of this, but seems a pretty good idea !!

Will saturday traffic allow enough time for this visit ?

 

[Bob Carnie]

not sure I live in Toronto, but if I was only three hours in NYC thats where I would go.
QUOTE=Laurent;1473963]I did not think of this, but seems a pretty good idea !!

Will saturday traffic allow enough time for this visit ?[/QUOTE]

 

[rawhead]

MOMA in 3 hours is pushing it, but I guess could be done. If the weather is nice, I'd personally prefer a stroll in Central Park, with camera in hand, of course :0)

 

[FM2N]

I would say it would be close to impossible. Landing at JFK then waiting for luggage, then getting taxi to nyc I would think is easily close to 2 hours. Getting from NYC to Newark could take as little as 45 minutes but don't count on it. Realistically 1-1/2 hours then you need to be at airport 2 hours before flight leaves because security will be so long and slow. Leaving maybe 1 hour to look around? Not worth the aggrevation.

 

[Alan Klein]

Not enough time on the ground like FM2M said. Check into this. Take a helicoptor from JFK to Newark and shoot Manhattan from the air.

 

[StoneNYC]

Yea not enough time at all, do not take a car anywhere, use the subway, but still, not enough time hardly to even leave the airport and make it back through the gate check sad

See if there is some scenery off the airport area you can photograph, I would say you'll have 30 minutes to actually DO something...

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I would absolutely NOT plan on anything other than getting from one airport to the other. You won't have time to do anything else. Frankly, for your sanity's sake, I'd try to re-arrange your flights so that you're coming and going from the same airport. You have the island of Manhattan between your two airports, a virtual Charybdis of traffic flow that will defy any and all attempts to cross it in a timely fashion. One sunday afternoon I was trying to leave Manhattan to return to DC in a car. It took TWO HOURS to get from Times Square INTO the Lincoln Tunnel (a grand total of 8 blocks). YES, it can be that bad.

 

[BentleyR]

Having lived in NYC for many years I'd agree that taking a Taxi from JFK to Newark on a Saturday could be very slow and costly. The transit system, however, is quite good. There are a number of rail options:
http://www.panynj.gov/airports/pdf/rail-connections.pdf
Since you have to get to Newark anyway and the trains all require a connection somewhere in Manhattan, you could take one of the trains and see what time you get into the City and play it by ear when deciding whether to emerge from underground and see a few sights.

 

[limsoonchung]

Realistically, you have very little or no time to spend in the city. Like others have said, take the subway and train from airport to airport. On a Saturday you can be stuck in bad traffic for a few hours. Don't forget, you have to check in an hour before your flight or they won't even let you check in.

Take the Airtrain followed by the E subway train to Manhattan and see how much time is left. Make sure to get the schedule for the NJ Transit train to Newark airport from Penn Station. Do not plan to take a car or bus to Newark from Manhattan.

MOMA is definitely out of the question. It is terribly crowded on Saturdays, they don't accept baggage at the coat check and if you need to leave your backpack at the coat check that alone can take up to 45min because the line will be very long. And then stand in line again to buy a ticket.

 

[canuhead]

As others have said, not really a good idea. 6 hours is not really that much time between flights imo. Plan on sitting in front of your laptop instead. jfk to nerwark is a gamble if you sight see. If you're flying international, you should give yourself 2 hours before flight time to get to the terminal.

 

[Laurent]

Thanks all for your invaluable insights !

I'll see if the travel agency can change my flight back so that I have one night in NYC and have a few hours to spend there.

This might be a very frustrating trip otherwise, and as it was planned at the last moment the options were not many.

Cheers !

 

[Laurent]

Woow ! Changed my trip, so I'll have some time

Thnaks to all of you, I called the agency to change the flight, and I'll land in JFK on Friday evening.

This means I'll have a short day in NYC, so I guess Central Park AND the MOMA will be in my planning (Central park in the morning, until the MOMA opens, then I'll have till 15:30/16:00 before leaving for Newark.

Is it a good idea to take a train to Manhattan late in the evening (after 11PM in my case), or should I rather use a cab ?

 

[FM2N]

I would be safe and take a cab.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Also, arriving at that time of the night, you'll have no traffic problems getting in to Manhattan and the cab ride will be (slightly) cheaper to boot. But plan on $40.

 

[Dave Wooten]

Hey Laurent,
Have a good one!
Metropolitan Museum of Art is also right at CentralPark. Delightful choices!
Dave

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

The International Center of Photography is well worth a visit if you have the time. Have fun, Laurent.

 

[Laurent]

I'll make this day a very good one, I guess, if I can see Central Park and the MOMA.

The Rollei is making the trip, along with some HP5 rolls, so I hope I'll have some good shots from this trip.

Is Grand Central station still worth a visit ?

Also, are there things to avoid doing (places where NOT to photograph, people NOT to photograph, etc...) ?

 

[Laurent]

Another question : if I buy MOMA or ICP tickets in advance, do I skip the lines ?

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Unless ICP is having a new show opening the week of your arrival, it is unlikely to have a line - every time I've visited I was able to walk in and buy my ticket and enter the exhibit space without any wait. With MoMA, I think you'll be able to skip the ticket line and pick up your ticket at will-call, but there may still be a wait to enter. It really depends on what's up on the wall at the time. You may be better off going to the Metropolitan Museum (from a time-management perspective, and a budget perspective - the Metropolitan is (slightly) cheaper than MoMA). They have a photography show up right now that I want to get to see, having just visited its companion here in DC - the show at the Metropolitan is about photo manipulation in the digital age, as a counterpoint to the show that has now moved to DC about photo manipulation in the days before Photoshop (they have an excellent exhibition catalog which is well worth the price for the pre-Photoshop exhibit). There is not normally a line to enter the Metropolitan unless they have a blockbuster show, even though they are usually very busy, unlike MoMA.

 

[yulia_s_rey]

Just a little FYI, If you were planning on stopping at the B&H Superstore its closed March 25-April 3. Also check out www.njtransit.com for more information about traveling New York-Newark EWR if you like to travel by train.

 

[Laurent]

I'have loved to visit B&H, but I think they're closed on Saturday.

I ordered some film from Adorama, it should be at my colleague's desk tomorrow, so the only shopping I might do is for a smallish bag for the Rolleiflex.

Thanks for the address for train schedules, this seems very convenient.

I'm still wondering which museum I 'll pay a visit to, which one is the "best" for photography ? I'd like to see some "classic" masters' original prints (AA, Weston, ....)

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

If you want to see Adams and Weston, you're better off looking for commercial galleries that carry their work. While MoMA and the Metropolitan certainly have them in their collections, they're not usually on display (check the museums' websites for current exhibit listings... most of MoMA is curated temporary exhibits, IIRC, and the Metropolitan usually has one or two temporary photography exhibits along with a very small sampling from their permanent collection. ICP is almost always showing 2-3 temporary exhibits.

 

[canuhead]

I'd visit the ICP then just soak in the city if I was time crunched. MOMA would need more time imo.