 En
l'air -- Tips on Flying to NYC
November
/ December, 1999
Dear Dancers,
Looking back over my advice to you, I suddenly realized that
I've said a lot about getting around town but nothing about how
to get to NYC in the first place. Here's the scoop:
*We have three airports: La Guardia and JFK (Kennedy) are on
Long Island, in Queens, just across the East River. Newark is in
New Jersey, across the Hudson River.
*The first two are about 25 minutes and 35 minutes from Midtown, respectively. Taxi fare from La Guardia usually comes to
$25 and you should give a 15% tip, about $4. There are also tolls
of a few dollars each for bridges or tunnels depending on your
route. The fare from JFK is a flat $30 plus tip and tolls, but
going back to JFK the meter will be running and the total will
almost certainly be higher.
*Fares from Newark are higher still and the trip is longer.
*My recommendation: Fly into La Guardia unless you live way out
West or out of the country and can only get a direct flight if
your arrival is at JFK. Choose Newark if your aunt lives in
Jersey City and you're going to stay with her.
Now, an update on getting around town. New Yorkers are
notorious for jumping in front of other people who are trying to
hail a cab. That problem has been solved outside of Grand Central
Station, Madison Square Garden, Pennsylvania Station, on Eighth
Avenue in the Theatre District, Port Authority, and in other areas as well.
Dispatchers have curbside stands and would-be cab riders line up
in an orderly fashion just as they do at the airports. Drivers
who pick up fares without following the system are fined.
Applause, applause!
Speaking of taxis, always take your receipt whether or not you
need it for tax purposes. If you happen to leave something in the
cab, you'll have the driver's medallion number and a phone
number. Case in point: World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma left his
2.5 million dollar Stradivarius in the trunk of a taxi recently
after a rehearsal at Carnegie Hall. (And you thought you were
spaced out after your rehearsal!) He had his receipt and
the cello was safely retrieved.
Let me remind you once again, however, that taxis and subways
and buses aren't the only modes of transportation in NYC. We're a
city of walkers. In fact, we recently received an award for
consistently high pedestrian safety. (Our nearest competitior was
an upstate village with one traffic light!) Reasons for our good
record: Vehicles aren't allowed to turn on red, crosswalks are
painted clearly, sidewalks are everywhere, there are traffic
lights at vitually all intersections and drivers must yield to
pedestrians or be ticketed. I don't recommend dashing out into
traffic to test the law, but I do think you'll be surprised at
how easy it is to stroll around this great city which is in fact
quite small, area-wise, and big only because it's vertical.
Check out my new postcard on Diana Cartier.
She teaches company class at the American Ballet Theatre and also
offers open classes that you can take while you're here. Don't
miss the opportunity to study with the mentor to the stars!
I hope you have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Among other blessings, I'll be giving thanks for you! I love your
feedback and I'll answer your questions in this column in the
months to come.
Sondra
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Traveling
on a budget? Look for the airport shuttle bus services from La
Guardia to Port Authority. The bus makes two or three stops
at the airport and then heads directly to Manhattan. The Port
Authority is the second drop-off point, is close to Times Square
and is where you want to be for connections to other buses,
subways, and taxis. Total price? $10 paid to a
helper at the bus stop -- he'll be wearing a little computer and
printer like the folks at Hertz (don't waste your time inside at
the Ground Transportation Desk, bus runs every 30 minutes most
days).
Check with Port Authority for return bus
service to any of the airports. If you've never
experienced
Port Authority, you're in for a surprise. It's a
huge multilevel bus station, which looks more
like an airport than anything else -- shops and all.
The buses have special lanes between Port
Authority to the Lincoln Tunnel -- meaning the trip to Newark is
pretty speedy and again only about $12.
These airport shuttle buses are more like tour
buses -- pretty comfy.
- David |
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How
do you pay for an expensive cab ride? Frankly the
safest thing to do might be to visit an ATM cash machine
immediately before getting in the cab. I found out the hard way
that some cabbies will accept credit cards, but they use an open
radio channel to make the charge.
In
other words, all the other cabs (passengers and drivers) could
hear your credit card information as the cabby shouts it at the
dispatch office. This is a really bad idea and could lead to
your credit card being used by other people.
-David |
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