hey!
my family and i are coming from israel, and we're going to visit manhattan in march. since i'm in charge of picking the activities etc, i found this website and i'm sure that if i'll get answers it'll be very helpful

before asking the questions i just wanna add that we're planning something like 10-14 days, depends on what we wanna do.
so, first question is about china town - how long does it take to get from china town to little italy? can we visit those 2 places in 1 day or does it require more than a day?
2. we wanna go to a knicks game, probably the knicks vs nuggets on march 23, do u think we can get the tickets at the day of the game or like 1-2 days earlier? we don't really mind having too crappy seats..

3. about the museums, i don't get this and i don't wanna sound like a typical jew or anything hehe, i'm just trying to understand - can we decide how much to pay/go free whenever we want? i really didnt get this thing, cause i keep reading different things over the web..

thats it for now, i'd really appreciate it if i'll get answers
thanks!

"sound like a typical jew" Get a clue. Better yet, don't even come to New York.

Geez, John, get a grip!

Michael, you've got plenty of time to plan. Any questions you have, please feel free to ask away. Lots of Friendly New Yorkers who will try and help.

O.k., first question. Little Italy hardly exists any more. When so many poor Italians arrived in New York at the turn of the 20th century, they settled in this poor tenement district that became known as Little Italy. As they gained a foothold, learned the language and their children were educated, they left the area. Over the past several generations, the neighborhood has been taken over by Chinatown, which I think is still growing. My lower east side neighborhood used to be Chinese, Italian, Jewish, Latin (Puerto Rican and Cuban), and African American. Now, it's pretty much all Chinese. What remains of Little Italy is a couple of blocks along Mulberry and Hester Streets, with restaurants that mostly cater to tourists. The street is blocked off on weekends, and restaurants set up on the sidewalks. The buildings themselves, however, are owned by Chinese.

So, to your question of how far it takes to get from one to the other, the answer is, no time at all!

Second question...I would buy tickets as soon as they go on sale. There will be scalpers selling tickets on the same day, but why bother? Just get them from the legitimate Knicks web site.

In order for museums to be available to people of all income levels, many (not all) have a "suggested admission fee." It's posted. You can go into the Metropolitan Museum, for example, and hand them a $5 or $10 or whatever, and say "that's for x number of people." No one will make a face. It's perfect all right. On the other hand, what do you think it's worth to spend a day with one of the world's great collections of arts and antiquities? Personally, I think the $20 suggested admission fee is a great bargain! (But, because I live a few blocks away and go whenever I can, I usually pay $5 or $10, and I don't feel guilty about it.)

Since you're in charge of your group's (family's?) itinerary, why don't you all read over a couple of guide books, and then each pick your "must sees." Then you can organize your days by neighborhood instead of zigging and zagging all over the city. Concentrate on a different neighborhood or two each day.

hey
thanks for answering, cleared a couple of things out!

one more thing, about going from place to place -
i heard that there's a special card that lets you drive buses and the trains w/o a limit.. should we go for that + use taxis when needed, or should we rent a car?
for instance when we'll be going to six flags in NJ, getting there in a cab all 4 of us probably costs a lot... but is renting a car really worth it? i can only imagine the parking problems that we'll have...
what do you guys suggest?

and thanks again

You're coming all the way to NY to go to Six Flags? Sorry, I'm not a fan of theme parks, so I can't help with that. Except to say I don't think you ought to rent a car. You will not need or want one in NYC. I don't even know how you'd get to the amusement park, but there must be public transport. I'll look around for you.

We use Metrocards for subway and bus. There are two types:

Pay-as-you-go cards which you fill with any amount. Every time you use it, the fare is deducted an an electronic transfer is added. Up to four people can use one card.

Unlimited-ride cards are sold for 1, 7, 14 and 30 days. The cards can only be used by one person. This is the best deal in town!

For more transit info, here's the MTA web site:
[www.mta.info]

Taxis are fine but I wouldn't use them as a main means of travel. And you wouldn't take a taxi to Six Flags. First, the driver is not obligated to take you to another state, except to the airport. The trip would not be metered. If your driver will take you, you would negotiate the fare, and I can tell you it would be very expensive. You might want to get a quote from a limo company like Carmel and Dial7. There's a link on this site to Carmel; you can google Dial7 for their contact info.

Six Flags may be closed for the winter, but may start operating on weekends in March.

Just dress warm.

Just make sure you avoid the areas where lots of niggaz chill out and you'll have fun. Those angry niggaz can whoop your ass, so be careful. They don't like them Jews...

You can download a map with all the neighborhoods and attractions here:

[www.nycinsiderguide.com]

The site also walks you through sample itineraries, what is near what, etc.

Also, if the Statue of Liberty is in your plans, make sure to follow the site above and book your tix now.