Need help with a question for NYC people

[CRK7376]

Next week I will be working at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and staying at Fort Hamilton in Manhattan. I'm curious, is their a foot path on the Verrazanno Bridge, can people walk across the bridge or is it strictly for cars and trucks?...If you can walk across the bridge, how far is it?...This will be my first trip to NYC and I'm somewhat nervous about the big city......

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. You're probably better off taking the ferry

the Verrazano Narrows Bridge goes to Brooklyn. That's a pretty long walk.

[sir_captain]

2. Nothing to be nervous about

It's really a very welcoming and surprisingly friendly city. But yes, the bridge is really not an option--goes to the wrong borough. There are bridges to brooklyn and new jersey, but not manhattan. The ferry, on the other hand, is free and gives you a fantastic view of the skyline--have a good time!

[bettyellen]

6. thank you! yes, we are friendly people!

[sir_captain]

12. Absolutely

We NYers get such a bad rap... We clearly rock!

[bettyellen]

53. we totally rock and are people peeps, too!

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. You'd be looking at about a 25 mile walk, but have at it

Fort Hamilton is north Manhattan (if memory serves), the Verrazano is way in south brooklyn, and is a long ass bridge. Once you get to Staten Island, I don't know where you're going, but it's a big island.

You might be looking at well over 25 miles, depending.

Best bet - take the trains down to the staten island ferry and take the ferry across (it's free). And bring your camera - you'll go kinda close to the Statue of LIberty. Take a picture while it still stands, before Shithead McCokeSpoon Chimpy AWOL decides that "give me your tired, your poor, your hungry" is terraist thinking and has lady liberty dispatched back to France with her head cut off.

[bettyellen]

9. nope he's right, the fort is at the Bklyn base of the Bridge.

I was thinking it's way uptown too.

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. Yeah, thanks. I realize now it's Hamilton Heights (where I lived)

that's in Manhattan. After I posted, I started thinking, "Wait - isn't Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn?"

I'm glad my intuition was right. :-)

[bettyellen]

14. and washington heights- it's so confusing.

I was thinking it's up by the the Cloisters or something, duh!
Very nice story about your Mom, by the way! I was all over Wisconsin with my Aunt the nun a looong time ago! Milwaukee, Oshkosh, across to Waubash, Minnasota! It was the reverse of your Mom. I came from the Bronx and I was freaked out that everybody was not only white, but very often blond!! When the Dahmer thing happened, I was like, what?? There are people of color out there? Slums? Wha? Because Aunt B didn't show us any. She was a big shot nun who ran a bunch of hospitals. A Catholic Union Buster! That was my only trip out into the heartland! A real eyeopener!

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. LOL! After being in NYC, and then living in Hawaii,

whenever I returned to Wisconsin I felt so utterly lost - all white people. A few Chinese, and some hispanic, and a few others (and my cousin's life partner who is Pakistani). But, man, Wisconsin feels so odd now. So monochromatic. So monocultural. Good place, yes, but once I became used to being around people from all over the world, every moment of every day, I found that I far prefer being around poeple from all over the world.

[bettyellen]

24. It's what I love most about NYC, if you get bored buddy...

it's on you, no two ways about it.
You know my fave memory from Wisc, getting a buzz at the Miller factory then goig to see the brewers, Betty ?? and the base sweepers during the 7 th inning stretch? they slid out of a big beer barrell onto the field. I though that was cool! I was 10 or 11 years old. I also saw a cow piss at the state fair. It was shocking!!

[Rabrrrrrr]

28. Cows pee a serious hell of a lot

I was very small when I saw my first cow pee (many of my relatives were dairy farmers, so I'd been around animals and seen a lot already, but mostly animals pooping, like cows and horses and sheep and stuff but when I saw a cow pee for the first time, I was blown away. I just stared at the flow, thinking, "That's gotta stop soon..." but it didn't.

[bettyellen]

36. and it was like a gosh darn fire hose, plus it almost

hit me! I thought it was going to knock me over! i was like how could they let this happen??? This Fair is supposed to be fun, not painful and smelly ! LOL!!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

30. That's how it felt when we went on our big road trip this summer

to the west.

Once we got into Utah and then Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, it was just white people, as farrrrr as the eye could see. It was so weird and I couldn't put my finger on it at first.

Then when we got back into Texas (we drove over 6000 miles and were gone over two weeks, camping every night) we stopped for gas and bathrooms in Witchita Falls and there was a BLACK GUY working there and I thought "OH MY GOD, THAT'S IT!!! THERE WERE NO BLACK PEOPLE!" and I wanted to hug him, but restrained myself. I just smiled real big and told him I was happy to be home. I probably scared him with my bed-head hair (had been sleeping in the back of the van), dragon breath, and five day old shirt.

[Dorian Gray]

42. Yeah...

Fort Hamilton... isn't that part of Bay Ridge? I live in Brooklyn, and I know Bay Ridge, but I know little about Fort Hamilton area.

[bettyellen]

45. i googled it's at the Ver-Nar bridge base. It's an army base. Who knew?

[bettyellen]

4. is fort hamilton in brooklyn? because the verazano takes you to brooklyn..

and it's a loooong bridge, I am sur it's part of a bus route to go over the bridge though.
theres a footpath on the brooklyn bridge and it's highly recommended.
how long are you in nyc?
do not be nervous, it's a great city.... what can i do to help convince you?

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. No one walks from Manhattan to Staten Island;

It would be about 5 hrs. each way. Take the ferry or bus service from NYC.

I'm not sure if there's a walkway or not. Good luck. Don't be nervous.

Paul

[rug]

7. Brooklyn bridge

Fort Hamilton is in Brooklyn. Fort Washington is in Manhattan. Take the ferry to Manhattan and walk over to the Brooklyn Bridge instead. It's not that far a walk and much nicer.

[bettyellen]

8. Okay, so you are absolutely right, Fort Hamilton is right at the base

of the Veranzano Bridge. But you cannot walk over it. Just checked with my cousin who did this commute. He said if you don't have a car, there are a few busess. Here' a map and you can get to a map of Brooklyn from that site as well.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/bussi.pdf

Here's the Bridge cam:

http://www.silive.com/bridgecam/

And if you're near Brooklyn Army Terminal , ther's also a ferry to Manhattan!

http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dot/html/masstran/ferries/redhook.html

A lot is happening in Brooklyn these days, Williamsburg and Dumbo are very popular w/ the young for new music/ shopping etc.
You will have a great tme!
Email me if you have more questions, okay! And welcome to NYC.
We don't hold it against the rest of the country that they hate us, because we know the ones that do, have never been here!

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. Let me tell about my mom, to ease your tension

I moved to NYC in '92. My parents drove me out - we're Wisconsin folk, and they were terrified as hell of going into the city. They drove me into the city, and dropped me off at school. I was able to get them to walk around a bit, and see Riverside Church. That walk lasted about 30 minutes. I wanted them to see some more (I'd been there before) but they were so utterly terrified, they had to leave.

When I graduated in '97, my mom came out for graduation (along with my sister and her family). She was terrified again to be coming out, but she also felt it important to come to my graduation. That meant she had to be there for a number of days.

She LOVED it. Had a great time! Had such a great time, she came out again to see me a year later, all by herself that time, and again had a marvellous and wonderful time. Sadly, she got sick after that, and never had a chance to come again, but she really wanted to.

It's not as scary or bad as anyone would have you believe. Very easy to get around, lovely friendly people, and, like anywhere, as long as you keep your wits about you, you'll be perfectly fine and realize that, unlike anywhere, you're in the best, most incredible city in the world.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

13. Where did you go to school in NYC?

Just in the last few years, I have developed a great love for the place and I have never been there. I honestly think it happened on 9/11 when I saw the devastation the people there went through. I always thought of New Yorkers as real toughs, you know kind of grunting at everyone and shit.

Well, of course I saw the TV coverage of all that and I just died. So heartbroken I cried for weeks (I think we all did). My husband nearly had a nervous breakdown. And I developed such a huge love for the city and the people who live there. Now I'm just obsessed with going there. I want to take a horse carriage ride in Central Park, I want to see Times Square, I want to ride the subway, I want to see the Statue of Liberty, I want to go up to the top of the Empire State Building (despite my SEVERE acrophobia), I want to just people watch all frigging day.

I'm trying to subliminally influence my fourth grader, who loves NY, too, to want to go to Columbia for college. Aren't I horrible? Then I'd have a great excuse to visit a lot!

[sir_captain]

15. Columbia is a terrific school

In my opinion, it's the single best education in the country, though I'm a little biased, since my parents are Columbia professors. ;-) But yeah, there are lots of days that I've wished I'd stayed in the city for college and gone there... I give it a big thumbs up!

And yes, we New Yorkers are really basically great people. It was no accident that 500,000 NYers were on line to give blood within a few hours of 9/11--likewise, it's no accident that 84% of NYers voted for Kerry.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

18. This is going to sound SO freaking corny and cheesy, ok?

But all I have to do is THINK of New Yorkers and I get all teary. It's not that I've put you all on a higher plane than mere mortals or something, I just.....I just can't imagine. And I was so blown away by how New Yorkers just said FUCK THIS WE ARE BOUNCING BACK MOFOS!

My God, I had such respect for that city at that point. Such respect. And then when I found it it votes heavily Dem, I said DAMN, that's where I need to be.

So I think of it as a kind of American Mecca now.

Oh hey I just ordered my daughter a Columbia t-shirt from on line. Maybe I'll get a little pennant thing for her bedroom wall. She's taken an unnatural liking to Harvard, but dammit, it's not in New York!

She's asleep, I should go in there and whisper "Columbia, Columbia..."

I had no idea both your parents are professors there! How cool!

[bettyellen]

19. you just made me cry... damn it. but thank you.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

23. and YOU crying just made ME cry, dammit.

I love you guys, I really do. It's like I never thought of New York City as HUMAN until that day. Actually I think I'd be quite embarrassing to take there. I'd want to hug every damn person I saw.

(Well, maybe not anyone who was extremely dirty and/or drunk.)

[bettyellen]

39. ROTFL!! you couldn't catch us, we walk so darn fast!

but yes mam, we are plenty human... it's like land of the outcasts.. we were all to freaky or too impoverished to stay where we came from. so a lot of us are grateful to be here.

[sir_captain]

33. Heh...

Unfortunately, I can't say anything bad about Harvard, since that's where I *did* go!

And yes, I think your mecca analogy is a good one. In a lot of ways, NY is the only really international city in the world--so many different kinds of people living together in what is essentially harmony. NY has a lot of issues (public education being #1 in my opinion) but the positives far outway the negatives...

[bettyellen]

17. Anytime you want to visit, Moonbeam... I'll take you around!

We are really nice, we have seen it all, and don't see fit to judge people. You are just part of a crazy mix and you learn to deal with it.
If you know how to ride, you can rent a horse too in Central Park, those buggies are expensive.
But walking in the park is great too. I saw a racoon family... and most of the museums are nearby- it's a great place to rest yer legs after that. I grew up in the Bronx where there ain't a lot going on, but Manhatan is my baby. Ask me anything!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

20. Oh God I'm SWOONING.

Seriously, the moment I got out of a cab, I can see myself just looking up, slack jawed, and yelling "THAT IS SOME TALL-ASS SHIT!" like I just discovered SHOES or something.

I go to Barnes and Noble to the travel section and I just pore over New York books. There was one that had 360 degree photo shots of different places. I drooled over it. What's a knish, by the way?

Wouldn't it be fun to take someone like me, who's never even been to a blue STATE and show me around? I'd be like showing a kid around New York City. Or Will Ferrell as "Elf." (Though I promise I won't eat any gum I find anywhere, ok?)

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. A knish is a Jewish pastry with filling

Could be mashed potatoes, or meat, or whatever.

NYC is the best place in the world.

And yes, even though there are taller buildings in the world than are in NYC (especially now that WTC is gone), NYC has the highest grouping of tall-ass buidings of anywhere.

And I found myself, after a few years, just getting used to it. After we lost our offices on 9/11, my company moved into a new building. It was 32 stories tall (taller than anything in Wisconsin, I think), and yet I thought, looking at it, "It's tall, sure, but it ain't TALL tall."

:-)

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

27. You used to work in the WTC????

Heck I just look at pictures of the place from the air and I feel freaking overwhelmed.

I am a city person, but the city is Dallas. Kinda pales in comparison, size wise.

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. I worked in World Financial Center 3, which was across the street

from the north tower. The north tower fell into my building. It was almost a year before that building was usable again, whereas the rest of the Financial Center had gone back into use within about four months or so.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

31. Oh geez so

you.....were there that day? Oh geez. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. You know, I was thousands of miles away and I still have nightmares. I still do.

That's another reason why right wingers sending me emails telling me to never forget that day REALLY PISS ME THE HELL OFF! HOW could I forget? I could be 103 and I won't forget every vivid detail.

GRRRRRRR.

Anyway. I'm so sorry if you lost anyone that day.

[Rabrrrrrr]

34. Only lost one, and my company only lost one

(we did have two floors in the north tower, and we lost one person, but I didn't know him; but I had a friend from another company who worked in one of the towers, and was killed).

I was certainly a Shrub hater before that day, but after that event, as I was walking home, I knew that Shrub had either helped it happen, or let it happen. I knew it was no accident, nor unforeseen.

I've hated him, and his entire party and his cabal, utterly since then. 9/11 drove him for me just how dangerous those fucks really are. And oddly enough, on the walk home, even though I'd lready hated fundamentalism of any kind, it really drove home for me the importance of staying away from fundamentalism; and, also, made me hate American Christian Nationalistic Messianic fundamentalism far, far, far more than Islam fundamentalism.

Sure, it was the Islamic fundamentalist pieces of shit that planned and executed the attack; but it was a group of Christian fuckwad fundies that didn't stop it.

(and I say that as a very serious and very openly Christian person)

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

40. Wow

I just always thought of you as a joking kind of guy but you are a really neat person when you are serious, too!

I'm so sorry about your friend. I almost hesitate to even write about this, but the worst part of all of it for me were those poor souls who jumped. I'm getting chills just typing it. I have absolutely crippling acrophobia. I mean, I don't like to be five feet off the ground. Stepladders terrify me. I don't know why. And part of acrophobia is battling the internal compulsive urge to jump, which of course is my greatest fear.

So when I saw that, oh God. I really came THIS close to calling a counseling hotline and getting on meds immediately. I still have horrible nightmares about that. And my repuke mother in law sends me emails with PICTURES of those poor bastards jumping, I swear I hate her for that. Like I need that etched into my memory any more than I already do? Yeah, thanks.

I can tell you one thing: and you probably already know this, but the phrase "I feel your pain" has never been more true than in those days. It's like waves of psychic horror and pain and grief went out from NYC that day and just engulfed us.

I need to stop this. Sorry. I didn't mean to be such a downer. Not a lot of people I know talk about it.

[bettyellen]

37. A few years ago, I had the best office behind me -- all of times square

I didn't wwar a watch, I just looked at the ticker three blocks away. And then perfectly framed by the center of three windows on the other side, the Empire State. Like a postcard. And I worked late alot, and the lights made it easier! It was a total fluke, I was in an nicer seat than the company president!

[Dorian Gray]

43. I love Manhattan....

I moved to Brooklyn just last Spring (Park Slope section, which is brownstone central), but before I moved here, I lived on the 42nd floor of an apartment building on 29th street. I had a beautiful view of the Empire State Building only a few blocks from my apartment. Also, my favorite tall building in NYC, the Chrysler Building, was also in view. I miss that view. (But, getting married, we wanted to buy an apartment, and Manhattan was out of our price range!)

I'm loving Brooklyn, too... It's a very different feel.

[bettyellen]

47. Oh the Chrysler is gorgeous.. did you know that even though it's lit

all deco, that didn't happen to let me remember-- maybe the eighties?? Not that very long ago...
they found the lighting scheme in the original plans, it had never been lit before. And they said well, shit, it's a great idea! And it is, huh!
I'm in Hoboken, Bkyn West... Bkyln is very cool. I used to work in Greenpoint right between those two big tanks. Long while ago!

[Dorian Gray]

51. Ah, Greenpoint!

I go there quite often with friends from Long Island City. There are a couple of good restaurants there, and it's a bit cheaper than neighboring Williamsburg.

Brooklyn is really cool! I like Hoboken, too! I'm originally from New Jersey, so when all my friends were in their twenties, all the NJ folk lived there. Currently, however, the masses of people I know who lived there left, so I have only about two friends who still live there. One is in the Constitution building up near the waterfront, and the other is way back on Jefferson (????) St. (I think that's what it's called.) It's sort of not the built up Hoboken, and he has a 15-20 minute walk to get to Washington. But, I love it there. 10 years ago, I spent a lot of time there with friends!

[bettyellen]

54. Jeff is two blocks from me. i used to have my weekly poker game

over there, in a building of bachelor artists... good times!
where did you go? i used to go to louise's alot, she was a dear friend before her stroke. i

[Dorian Gray]

57. I would go

to any bars that were open. They were generally on Washington. I don't remember the names of any of them. I was recently married, and I had my dress made by a woman in Hoboken who lives on Hudson Street. So, I went to a sushi place on the corner of her street. (I think it's Hudson and 2nd or 3rd?) It was really good. Also, my friends often had parties, so we'd hit the bars after drinking a little bit, which makes my memory for the names somewhat fuzzy!

[bettyellen]

58. Wow I work in clothing too, was that Hollydae?

Lousie's was a little dive you had to take a few steps down to get into.. You went to Sushi Lounge! That's not bad, the music can be a little much though!
I'll have to put you on the party list when I open the yard in the Spring!

[bettyellen]

32. Oh you are so on girl! Maybe for Spring Break now that you're back to

school! The Empire State building at sunset, omigosh it's gorgeous! I used to go to the WTC alot, when I was a teen, i went to nightclubs down there and we'd lay between the towers at dawn and wait for my friends Mom to pick us up. It almost looked like they were touching each other! And the circle line ferry... Loads of cool stuff.
knish is a sort of mash potato pie that's fried and square and you get great ones down by the bowery which is also like hipster heaven these days. Central Park is gorgeous, I had my lunch there all the time a few years ago. Now I work 1/2 way between Times Square and Madison Square Garden (yes, they desecrated it) yep right smack in the middle!
Really, I'm getting a new couch in January, it's all yours!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

41. Oh wow

you mean it? That would be so incredible!!!

Thank you, it has been wonderful chatting with you about New York, such a wonderful city.

[bettyellen]

44. Absotootinglutely...over the years i've had a lot of people on my couch!

I'm 10 min from midtown in hoboken, n.j (on the waterfront, frank sinatra, etc)....... it's like a small town that closer to nyc than most of brooklyn is. it's calmer and a little cheaper than nyc, but we got quick buses , ferries and a train that runs all night- last stop is a block from the Empire State Building. $ 1.50 and 20 minutes gets you there.
I've traded my apt or had people come up because it is sick expensive to stay in NYC, and how much are you going to sleep anyway?

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

46. True.

And a buck fifty???? DAMN! That's friggin CHEAP!

My husband has two aunts that live in Brick Township, NJ, familiar with it?

Thanks again, you're a real peach.

[bettyellen]

48. Down by the beach! Sure! The Jersey shore rocks!

[bettyellen]

50. I got me a Cabrio VW cause i love me the beach too!

[jonnyblitz]

49. i have taken the PATH from Hoboken to NYC...

I was with a friend in the "Hudson Valley" part of New York and we wanted to go to the tattoo convention at the Roseland Ballroom last May but I didnt want to pay for a parking garage so we parked in Hoboken and took the PATH train in. CLOSE AS HELL. NOt sure if this was the fastest way to get from point A to point B (since I am not from that area, live in CT)but it's they way we chose to go for some reason. IT took NO time at all and the trains were frequent.

[bettyellen]

52. aaghhh i went to that convention too!!

sure and you could have taken a train up the hudson too. but PATH runs all night, sweet. and not as scary as the subway (i grew up in the bronx- trust me on this one) i'll take the path all by myself at 2 am, no prob!

[jonnyblitz]

55. LOL..you went to that convention ?? thats too funny

we didnt stay very long. My friend has this amazing tattoo on the top of his head and people kept stopping him to take his picture (he ends up in tat mags every time he goes to these)and he wasnt in the mood, and it was hot, and somebody came with us that was bored.

we wanted to drive as close as we could get to NYC without going in. the shorter the train ride the better. Metro-North trains(i think they are metro north anyway) run outta Hudson Valley and from the town we started out in (Port Jervis). I take metro-north into Manhattan all the time from CT.

[bettyellen]

56. gotcha! that's so funny. yep i was there- and it was hot as hell!

i friend was looking into it... and she still has not done the tatoo thing but...
It was fun going back to Roseland. I used to go there when I was 14-16 years old because the club they didn;'t proof for age! and the club part started at midnight. There would still be these cute old couples who came for the ballroom dancing and they would stick around!! So fucking cute! What a dance floor!

[Rabrrrrrr]

22. I'd rather not say where I went

Since I try to maintain some level of anonymity here. But I went there for graduate school.

And yes, try to get your child to want to go to Columbia. That's the area I lived in. But there's also NYU, which is a totally incredible school, and some others there that are also fucking incredible schools.

Everyone should live in NYC - meaning, Manhattan - for at least one year of their lives.

if we could get everyone to do that (or go to any major city with a long history and a history of education and the liberal arts around the world), almost no one would ever vote Republican again.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

26. And here I am swooning again

Here's my ultimate dream, ok: win the lottery or somehow come into a VULGAR amount of money, buy some kind of really funky loft or studio or brownstone or something in Manhattan. Somewhere that there's some diversity, some funkiness, not all wealthy people, you know? Artists, musicians, maybe Greenwich Village? Is that still a cool place or not?

I'd also have a flat in London. And a house on some acreage way out in coastal Oregon. Ahhhhhhhhh.

But I'd spend most of my time in Manhattan. It would take me months just to do the museums.

I'm drooling on my keyboard, better stop. At a late age (mid 30s) I am finally realizing why people make such a big deal out of the place.

As for my daughter, fortunately she shares my total crush on NYC. I think this week we'll pull up the websites for NYU and some other area colleges/universities. See what she thinks. I know it's early, but hey....

[malmapus]

21. Hehe nothing to be nervous about

Sound like me when I first went to NYC, grew up in GA and only knew about it what I heard from people who never been there. I still remember my first ride on the subway, was one of the green trains 4,5 or 6 I can't remember now. But my gf had a hell of a time getting me underground lol =D But afterwards I couldn't believe I took what everyone had said to heart like I did. NYC is a great place, I miss it still :-)

[bettyellen]

35. I grew up on the six train! Being originally frm the Bronx, you get

the worst reactions from people. I'm like hello, I survived it, I 'm okay... not a drug addict or ho!!
It was like Kojak and Law and Order scared people away!!

[donheld]

38. too far to walk

[bettyellen]

59. Sorry we hijacked your thread dude! Are you okay?

[CRK7376]

60. Thanks Everybody for the

advice and humor. I will have an interesting time in the Big Apple one way or another.