Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with newyork and NewYorkCity

Help her tell her story

shothotbot — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:11:34 -0800

What is a good screenwriting class in NYC? Mrs. HotBot has extensive storytelling experience (edited major comic books, done TV production work) and wants to write some screenplays. I think the thing she most wants is the structure of having to write on a weekly deadline. What are some good screenwriting classes in NYC? If I can sign her up as a Christmas present, all the better.

NYC not for tourists

HotPatatta — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:33:14 -0800

If you only had one year left before moving out of New York City, what would you make sure to see and do before leaving? I'm looking for tips on shows, shopping, music, tours, parades, expos, festivals, restaurants, exhibitions, food carts, bars, activities, green spaces, hidden gems--anything else that's unique to this city. Let's say prices are not a concern.

Sunrise in the New York City?

exhilaration — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:31:09 -0800

Where's the best place to watch the sunrise in New York City, preferably Manhattan? Since this is for my honeymoon, the more romantic the location, the better. :)

Ferris Bueller, you're my hero

Diagonalize — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:17:58 -0800

How can I channel my inner Ferris Bueller and have one great day, except in New York? It's my little brother's very first trip to the East Coast! He's coming to see me in Boston, but he also really wants to see New York while he's out here. I've gone looking through a ton of the old NYC touristfilter questions, but trying to combine all of those great suggestions with my limited understanding of New York and an extremely ambitious timeline is proving daunting.

Mostly because of limited funds, we were hoping to make this a one day affair; we take the Chinatown bus out there, see whatever sights we can manage, stay up all night, and then take the first bus back in the morning. I've never taken the Chinatown bus before, so please talk me out of this if it seems like a tremendously bad idea.

My brother is a lot like Cameron: sarcastic, funny, fairly disinterested in most things, but still an all-around good guy and generally more easy-going than Cameron. The only thing I know for sure he wants to see is Times Square (I know). We're both in our early- to mid-twenties, kinda square, but still adventurous, and this East Coast trip is supposed to be his big last hurrah before becoming a grown-up. “Life moves pretty fast”, so how can we have one great day in New York, on the cheap?

What you call "free AMC access" was invented by guys like me to sell nylons.

zoomorphic — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:59:27 -0800

I am crazy-excited about Mad Men season 3 airing this week. Unfortunately, my friends and I are frugal New Yorkers who don't get extra channels like AMC. Are there any bars in NYC that play Mad Men where we could actually hear the show? Or are there places where we could rent a TV and a room without going broke? Last year I bought all the seasons on iTunes and watched (agape!) on my little laptop, but I'd love to see season 3 episodes a) the night they air, and b) on a larger teevee screen. This is mainly because I want to gather loads of friends together who are equally obsessed, and maybe have a dress-up theme party.

I know that Times Square is playing the first episode this Sunday, but that only takes care of the first episode. Bars often play certain shows if you request them, but the TVs are usually small and in loud areas.

This hope seems a little dim, but I thought I'd invoke the Hive before I resigned myself to my small, lonely laptop screen. If anyone figures out this conundrum, I will take your secret identity to the grave.

I need health insurance (me and everyone else...)

greta simone — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:10:37 -0800

Ohshitfilter: Temporary health insurance options in NJ? I just moved from NC to NJ five weeks ago, after finishing a Masters program. My student health insurance ends on August 14, and since I have not been successful in finding employment (as I had hoped) I need to come up with a plan.

I have heard of COBRA, but I also heard that the State of New York does not accept COBRA. This is a problem for me, because my residence in NJ is temporary and I plan on moving to Manhattan or Brooklyn in the next few months. Secondly, I can not prove residency in NJ as I am not on the lease and have no bills in my name (staying with a friend). Am I screwed? I cannot seem to find the information online that I need.

I need the the cheapest health insurance I can get that will also cover prescriptions in some form (I have allergy and asthma and BC meds I must take).

What are my options? Please point me in the right direction or to a place where I can at least get more information.

Help!
Thanks.

Where to play M:TG in NYC?

cyrusdogstar — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:56:08 -0800

Where can I find folks to play Magic: the Gathering with in NYC? Haven't touched the game in well over a decade, got on a serious nostalgia trip this past weekend, and am considering seeking out some games -- provided I can find people to play with who aren't random 14 year olds.

Here's the skinny:

* I'm aware of the online version, but prefer the physical cards.
* I know there used to be a big store/gaming area in Manhattan called Neutral Grounds which closed recently and seems to have splintered things a bit.
* Jim Hanley's on 33rd hosts the official Friday night events (will likely stop by there sometime.)
* The Compleat Strategist, also in the mid 30s, may also host games at times (ditto.)
* There's another one or two spots in the outer boroughs (Queens, Staten) that are too far out for me, given I live in Jersey.

Are there any decent groups or locations other than these? Has anyone participated in events at Jim Hanley's or the Strategist and can tell me if it's worthwhile?

Finally, while this is sort of MetaTalky - are there any other Mefites in the region who would be willing to get together sometime?

Quick dental aesthetics-fix in NYC?

pearl228 — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:38:06 -0800

Top-notch dentist or prosthodontist in NYC to fix small chip on front tooth asap. In short, would you please recommend a top-notch dentist or prosthodontist (prosthodontist because I need to see one for a consult anyway) who gets aesthetics and is smart (i.e., sophisticated, would not ever be responsible for chiclet smiles)? An understanding of subtlety is an absolute must. Details below:

-----------------------------------------------
Chipped my left front tooth last night while kissing the boyfriend. It is a small chip, but about as big as the notch between the two front teeth - so, aesthetically upsetting to me.

I'm 23 and my smile has been basically perfect forever. The miniscule imperfections it shows have been, up til now, attractive net/net. But this one needs fixing right away.

I don't have a dentist in new york at the moment, and don't want to risk messing up my smile by going to someone who is going to file down the edge of the tooth or provide clunky bonding. (Bonding would be okay if it'd fix a blemish this small and be unnoticeable - I'm not sure what method is best to fix this, so any suggestions on the method/materials commonly used to repair a super fine, smooth edge of a front tooth (upper incisor I guess) would also be appreciated.) Thank you!! :)

turning 21 in NYC

Lylo — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:04:34 -0800

Two days and one night in NYC for daughter's 21st birthday. What should we see, what should we do? Her first time in NY!

nycfilter: romantic night

knockoutking — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:40:57 -0800

nyc filter: need advice for a romantic night in the city (on Sat 4/11) first of all, i have been to NYC multiple times before so i can figure my way around the general area without a problem...

that said, gf is currently in nyc and i am coming up from DC to meet up with her/take her out

would like a suggestion for "simple" food -- maybe italian? -- and something else to do -- maybe broadway play? walk? desert? -- on Sat, April 11th.

things to know:
-her hotel is located on times square
-timeline is anywhere from ~6 o'clock-ish until ???
-dont want to break the bank unless i have to haha but if its worth it im all for spending the cash required
-alcohol/wine/drinks is not particularly important
-would prefer that its not TOO far of a walk from public transportation...

thoughts/ideas:
-dinner (obviously)
-broadway play/off-broadway play (but which one is the question)
-dessert (if not a play maybe dessert somewhere else?)

if it was in DC i would have a list of places to go/things to do a mile long -- but NYC is another story entirely...

Anybody know where I can buy a bottle of mead in NYC?

Afroblanco — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:28:35 -0800

Anybody know where I can buy a bottle of mead in NYC?

Don't make me lie to a kid fer cryin out loud

shothotbot — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:04:14 -0800

Are there any arcades in NYC? My daughter loves the video games in the lobbies of movie theaters and I promised to take her to an arcade. Um, are there any in NYC? I heard about Barcade but she is only five. One that had Pacman and one of those awful use-the-claw-to-grab-the-doll games would be perfect.

Vermont ski resort bus trips from New Jersey?

exhilaration — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:09:41 -0800

Anyone know of any Vermont ski resort bus trips that leave from New Jersey? I just finished reading this entry on a Times blog about about day trips to Vermont from New York City. What I want to know is if similar trips are run out of New Jersey, preferably North Jersey.

I've seen the NJ Ski Council trips, but most are longer than a day and require memberships to ski clubs. Aren't there any ski shops that organize no-commitment day trips like the ones mentioned on that Times blog, but from Jersey?

Help me translate skills into money and interpret my path.

kenzi23 — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:53:20 -0800

Should I be a french translator/interpeter and how? Should I/could I become a freelance translator/interpreter with the skills I have? Should I get specialized training/certification?

Background: I am fluent in English (mother tongue) and French. French skills in order of strength include speaking, listening, reading and writing. I studied French in formal classes for about 4 years (in high school and college) but have been speaking/reading/writing for 25 years, always progressing. I have lived and worked and studied in France and Morocco (for a total of 2 years), was married to a native french speaker for 13 years and I worked at the United Nations for 7 years as a bilingual secretary and later research assistant (performing 60-70% of my duties in French). My strengths are speaking, fluidity of speech, fearlessness, near-native accent and wide vocabulary in a variety of fields. My weaknesses are idioms and formal writing. I have lived all over the world so I have a lot of coping and social skills for dealing with different cultures and situations.

I would like to use my French skills on a freelance basis to supplement my income and to use a language that I love. I am looking for something part-time, maybe 10 hours a week (at least when starting out). My questions for the hive mind are as follows:

1. Should I be focusing on translation or interpretation, or both, given my skills which are more skewed toward speech?

2. Must I have certification? If so, what kind? How is NYU's program?

3. If I don't need certification are there some skills or techniques that I should get a handle on to do my work better? Do I have the necessary skills already?

4. What do you recommend as a good path to getting gigs? Volunteering? Getting cast-off gigs from others in the field? Where to look?

5. Are there other ways that I could use my language skills on a freelance/part-time basis?

I'm in New York City so anything specific to NYC would be a great help.

Good inheritance lawyer in NYC?

korpios — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:51:01 -0800

My maternal great aunt's husband just died; this guy had been lying to my great aunt for years, claiming they were destitute and living off of her while squirreling away all his money. It looks like he's trying to leave everything to his son, and leave her cold; where can my mother find a good inheritance lawyer in New York City? Neither my mother nor her aunt is rich. There are complications, of course:

- My great aunt had been showing signs of dementia for some time now, meaning my mother may have to assume power of attorney.

- *However*, my mother claims that her aunt has been much more lucid since the husband was hospitalized (prior to his death); my mother has suspicions that he had been drugging my great aunt based on this and items found in their home (her favorite wine being re-bottled by him, a jar with a funnel containing some of the wine, etc.). I'm not sure how you call the police on a dead guy based on stuff like this, unless his son was in-the-know.

Does my great aunt have a case here? We're talking around $500k, which is nothing to sneeze at, especially if my great aunt ends up needing a nursing home. I don't argue that her husband didn't have a right to leave *something* to his son, but leaving her with zip, while claiming all along that they were in the poor-house, is pretty cold.

What should my mother (who would be trying to help here) be doing? I'm assuming (as per the question) that it's "find a lawyer", but she doesn't even know where to start; she lives upstate about 90 minutes away, she doesn't have money to be throwing at this, and she doesn't know any lawyers in the NYC area.

NYC LegalFilter exocortical module: help? ^_^

Cheap travel from Delaware to NYC?

viewofdelft — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:23:54 -0800

What are the cheapest ways to get from Newark, Delaware, to New York City? I'm a research assistant at the University of Delaware and as part of a long and wonkish I-95 corridor project, we've decided to produce a map or informational pamphlet letting students know the cheapest ways to get from here (Newark, Delaware) to New York City.

A few things to keep in mind:
1. Any mode of transportation is fair game (air, rail, highway, seaports, etc.), as is any type of vehicle (plane, train, automobile, bus, shoes, etc.).
2. Be creative, but within reasonable limits of safety (i.e., no airmailing oneself).
3. It's alright if many of the suggested travel methods begin in Philadelphia (and maybe even Baltimore) if these departure points are more familiar to you.
4. Cost is the most important factor, although I don't want to discourage that outlandish teleportation idea you've been waiting to uncork.

After we've completed the map or pamphlet, I'll contact each of the contributors about mailing them a finished product. Thank you.

How safe is my sister in Bellevue Hospital's psych ward (in NYC)?

korpios — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:36:31 -0800

My teenage sister has just been admitted to Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric ward (in New York City); should my parents let her stay put, or have her transferred to another hospital? Is there anything they should be aware of? My sister has been exhibiting symptoms of depression for several months; she's also been dealing with the effects of a benign brain tumor which was recently removed via surgery. (Perhaps the two are related, perhaps not; I have no idea.) Today, during one of her post-surgery follow-up visits, she spoke to a social worker about her depression; the social worker said she was suicidal and needed immediate care, and had her admitted to Bellevue in NYC.

My parents are understandably concerned at the quality of care my sister might be receiving at Bellevue; they aren't sure if they should let her stay there, or have her transferred to another hospital. (They won't release her to my parents, but they'll allow a transfer via ambulance.) Is Bellevue a safe, reasonable place for my sister to be receiving psychiatric care? Would someplace else be better? Is there anything my parents should watch out for? (My mother, in particular, is quite upset that she can't stay with my sister and watch out for her welfare.)

While we're originally from New York, my wife and I reside in Chicago; we can't do much from here, but we can at least query the wonderful hive mind for some advice to pass along to my parents. ::hugs hive mind::

I live in New York City and my computer has just shit the bed.

jason's_planet — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:47:51 -0800

My computer has just shit the bed. I live in New York City. I have very little money. Can anyone recommend a cheap place where I can get it fixed? The symptoms: Last night, the port where I plug in the ADSL modem was glowing bright green, even after I turned off the power. Today, I tried to turn it on and got nothing. I noticed that there might be some dust inside. The off/on button in the front does not seem to engage when I push it. When I plug the computer in, the power goes on. When I unplug it, the power goes off. But the power button doesn't do anything at all. The fan whirs when it has power and nothing, but nothing shows up on the screen.

It's a Dell computer, about one year old or so.

Can anyone recommend a cheap place in New York to get this fixed? I'm really not in the best of financial positions and I need this bugger up and running to help me look for work.

FWIW, I live in Western Queens and would be willing to take this to Manhattan, Queens or Northern Brooklyn.

Many thanks in advance.

Sports massage in NYC, please.

betterton — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:36:36 -0800

Can you recommend a good sports massage in New York City? I'm looking for someone who is used to working with athletes with tight muscles and/or injuries.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Where to buy ska/reggae in NYC?

cyrusdogstar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:02:35 -0800

Where can I get relatively unknown ska/reggae music in New York City (or online)? The specific target of my search right now is a recentish album by a group called the Debonaires (a southern California band formed in the mid 90s, not the 1960s group with the same name). I've had such good luck with finding music on iTunes -- even stuff that's not really mainstream -- that this is the first time I've gotten an earbug that I couldn't immediately buy off the iTMS (boo hoo, I know).

As such, and because I've only lived here for a few years, I'm totally clueless about decent places to physically obtain non-popular music in New York, even though I imagine the place is teeming with indie music stores and the like. Does anyone know of such spots that would carry a decent amount of ska/reggae type music? I'll make the "lol Jamaica, Queens" joke now to get that out of the way.

Alternately, online music stores with a non-terrible ship time (the label for aforementioned album does have it but it's 2-4 weeks ship time) might work.

How do I get training to be an excel-lent employee?

J.R. Benedict — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:09:31 -0800

I'm a quick learner of computer programs... but am currently looking for a job and am realizing that I need excel training... (another of the things I really should've studied in college.) Any recommendations on where to get training in New York City? Because I'm looking for work currently, free is better than expensive... but inexpensive might be swingable. I'd like recommendations on places you've worked with or studied with before. I'm not at this point looking for a full blown certification.

I will take the NYPL class, but it's only two hours...

Bonus: I could get a book and work through stuff, but I think employers might look favorably on the initiative of taking a class. Plus I don't have access to excel to work on at home. I have google docs, open office, and Microsoft works spreadsheet, but not the full-blown excel.

stroller panic..

gaspode — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:56:10 -0800

Completely overwhelmed with choices of stroller and looking for recommendations. Specific requirements inside. Your opinions on strollers, please (this thread is kind of old and we have different requirements). We're looking to buy a stroller and it needs to be done reasonably soon as I'm 32 weeks pregnant. I've looked through a few sites but it's hard to find a decent algorithm that throws up good recommendations and of course, personal recs tend to be really valuable.

* It will be used A LOT because we live in Manhattan and walk pretty much everywhere (no car), so it has to be reasonably sturdy
* suitable for newborns (ie. has to recline). Although we will be trying to rely a lot on a sling or bjorn in the early days - IF she takes to them which is not a given
* would prefer one that has a decent age range - ie. not one that the kid grows out of in 2 months
* not too heavy
* Money not so much of an object but we are not the type to demand trendy brands

That's it. The key point being one that will stand up to a lot of use, and is not a behemoth on the streets of NYC. Any anecdotes and recommendations gratefully received. Thanks!

Looking for a good place to buy a new, reasonably-priced couch in NYC.

Afroblanco — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:23:05 -0800

Looking for a good place to buy a new, reasonably-priced couch in NYC. Generally, I'm looking to spend between $1500 and $2000 on a sectional couch or couch + loveseat combo. I prefer leather, but I'm not stuck on it. I don't mind buying online, but they must have a showroom that's reachable by public transportation

No idea what styling I'm looking for. My definition of good design is similar to the Supreme Court's definition of pornography - I'll know it when I see it.

Cheap NYC fun

HotPatatta — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:43:20 -0800

The Staten Island Ferry is said to be "one of the best values in New York City" because it's free and offers great views of the city. What are other "best values" in NYC, including shopping, food, activities, and anything else that's surprisingly inexpensive. I'll be moving to the City later this summer I need to not blow my nestegg.

Moving to NYC!

jckll — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:31:26 -0800

Moving to New York City. Give me some advice you wish you had been given! I'm moving to Manhattan at the end of this month to start a new job (or, more accurately, first real job out of undergrad). I have an apartment already, UWS, so I don't really need any apartment-hunting advice (although if you have some nuggets for the future, feel free to share). I don't have any specific questions, but I figure there are lots of people on here who have moved to the city and wished they had done things a little--or a lot--differently, and I'm hoping to get some of that insight.

I'll take any advice, from the practical (how to get my stuff there, where to buy furniture) to the metaphysical (how to prepare my aura for Manhattan, what books to bring). Lay it on me.