Need help from native New Yorker's..re: shopping
MoveCloseDeleteAdmin

TV ClubHouse: Archives: Need help from native New Yorker's..re: shopping

Sherbabe

Monday, September 01, 2003 - 02:13 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
My husband is going to make a day trip to NYC soon. So was wondering what I can put on my shopping list. What are the best buys on the streets. Sunglasses, Purses, watches. What should I ask for. Thanks for you idea.

Ginger1218

Monday, September 01, 2003 - 04:17 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sherbabe, there is sooo much stuff everywhere. Where will he be? Are you talking street vendors or stores? What price range? Hard to answer without knowing what you mean.

Juju2bigdog

Monday, September 01, 2003 - 05:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Fake Rolex?

Sasman

Monday, September 01, 2003 - 05:32 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Canal St is always a lot of fun.

Ladybug007

Monday, September 01, 2003 - 05:38 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Canal St. is the best for all the stuff you are looking for......also around Bloomies...59th and Lex...you can find some good stuff over there sometimes as well as some good shopping...There is a store called Century 21 that has a lot of stuff as well which is downtown...

Happy Shopping!!

Bastable

Monday, September 01, 2003 - 06:04 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sherbabe, what do you need? Since everything is available, perhaps that's a better starting point. And he won't waste money getting something you won't actually use!

(Don't forget NYC has many international communities selling foods and ingredients you can't find anywhere else, too.)

Scorpiomoon

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 06:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hey guys,

Reading this thread got me all worked up about a trip to NYC I am planning.

I have a quick question.

As a female traveling alone (and will be spending most of my time alone while there), which area of the city is best to stay at?

I had read good reviews about the Belvedere Hotel. Here's the description:

319 WEST 48TH STREET

"Located in midtown Manhattan in the heart of the Theater District, the Belvedere is convenient to Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall and the David Letterman Show. With over 300 comfortable rooms, a self-service business center, the Belvedere Cafe and the Be Bar & Lounge, this three star AAA-rated hotel satisfies all your traveling needs. Want to experience a real taste of New York? Restaurant Row, featuring over 20 different restaurants, is only two blocks away."

Does this sound like a part of the city I could maneuverthrough with ease? Any thoughts?

Ocean_Islands

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 09:34 am EditMoveDeleteIP
You should have no trouble getting around from that location. There are lots of people to keep you company as well. I don't know that hotel but it sounds good but perhaps not a budget stay. If you'd like to meet for a cocktail while you are in town, send me an email.

Ann

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 09:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Scorpio... I'm also planning a trip to NYC. I think the area where you are planning to stay will be fine... lots of people around day and night. I've found that when I visted NYC 3 years ago that I felt safe everywhere I went. I used common sense in the subway and walking around the different neighbourhoods and didn't go into Central Park after dark, etc. I felt safer in NYC than any other big city that I've travelled to around the world! If you are looking for an inexpensive (by NYC standards) place to stay that is centrally located, clean, safe, quiet, etc., let me know and I'll tell you the name of the place I'm staying at.

Sasman

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 10:01 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I wholeheartedly second what Ann has posted; NYC is a very safe place especially midtown & downtown. I have lived in NYC or in its burbs my entire life and speak from experience. You'll have a great time.

Geri

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 10:39 am EditMoveDeleteIP
We stayed at the Casablanca. The rooms were very small but the service was great, they had an expanded continental breakfast and wine and cheese in the afternoons. A great way to meet other people if that is what you want. We were only half a block from the Times Square and the area felt perfectly safe.

Also, there is a computer with internet access that anyone can use in case you can't stay away from TVCH!!!

Sherbabe

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 01:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Regarding shopping, I'm really not sure what I want. Guess i was just trying to get suggestions of what's the best deals from the street vendors. My friend just got a Kate Spade handbag. Last time he was there he got some bootleg videos of recently released movies. Tapes had audio only...no video. Rip off there.

Sasman

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 01:33 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
often the bootleg videos were made by someone sneeking in a camera during a showing in the movie house. therefore, the quality is usually poor. one time there were a lot of sneezes and sniffles from the cameraman - seems he had a bad cold. LOL

Scorpiomoon

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 07:38 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh my gosh, you guys!

Thanks for the ideas and the reassurance. I really, really appreciate it.

OI, I will send you and e-mail just before I go.

Ann, I will send you an e-mail now.

Scorpiomoon

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 07:40 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Ooops! Ann, you don't have an e-mail address listed. If you'd like, please e-mail me and tell me where you're staying or just post the name of the hotel here. Either way, thank you. :)

Ann

Tuesday, September 02, 2003 - 10:09 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
The place where I'm staying is called Leo House. It is on 23rd street between 8th and 9th Avenue (in the Chelsea district). It was originally a convent (the nuns still live there!) and then was a Catholic guest house of some sort. Anyways, now it is run as a hotel/B&B. The rooms are small but clean and quiet (at the back, overlooking the courtyard). The nuns serve breakfast every morning ($6) and it's enough food to last until dinner time. The room I've got (same as last trip) has a private bathroom, single bed, desk, and a tv. From the bed I can look out the window and see the Empire State Building and if I look the other way I can see where the WTC used to stand. It'll be strange this trip not to see the WTC. The room rate is $75 for one person in a single room with bath. It's not a fancy, schmancy place.. very basic accomodation. But, like I said, it's clean and safe and inexpensive and central to everything and close to buses and the subway, etc. ... so it's perfect for me. The hotel you described sounds much nicer and certainly in the heart of all the action. If you'd like the phone number of Leo House, let me know.

When will you be in NYC?

Schoolmarm

Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 03:37 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Ann, Bastable lives somewhere over in that area...you should check in to see if he has recovered from his surgery.

I like staying in the Times Square area simply because I go to Broadway shows nearly every night that I am in NYC and it is very safe to walk home at night. There are many people out at all hours and there are police and security guards all over the place. I am often traveling alone, so I like to be in a safe area.

I like to get a hotel near a subway line and NOT by the bus station, as it gets seedy at night there. I went to an off-broadway show near the bus station once and was VERY glad to get back to the Times Square area.

I've stayed at the Best Western, the Days Inn and the cheapest of all, the Portland Square. The rooms in the Portland Square are tiny for a single. I paid $65 for a single with the bath down the hall. It was a TINY no frills room, but it did have a sink in the room and a small TV...internet access is in the lobby. I figured that I wouldn't be in the room very much anyway. Never had a problem waiting for the bathroom, either. The location is 1/2 block from Duffy Square where the TKTS line is (1/2 price theatre tix) and 1/2 block from the Times Square visitors center. You can pay 10 or 20 bucks more to get a bathroom in your room. There is a parking garage across the street for $20 per day with hotel validation. I would probably stay there again even though it is a dive, it is clean and safe.

Ginger1218

Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 04:43 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Ann and Scorpio, let me know when you will be in NYC, maybe we can meet up.
Also, Ann, there is a great restaurant right up the block from where you are staying. It is called El Quijote. it is a spanish restaurant that has the best lobster and paella and sangria and pina coladas. It is not cheap, but if you are going to have a great meal, this is worth it. Great atmosphere also, it is attached to the renowned Chelsea Hotel, where all the rockers used to stay.
You can email me or just post here. :)

Bastable

Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 06:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes, Ann, I live about six blocks north of the Leo House. I know people who have stayed there and they swear by it. It's also in a terrific neighborhood--totally safe (it's a very gay neighborhood, and you should see the size of the men, so there's never trouble for women), lots of amazing restaurants down 8th Avenue, not noisy, and just steps from the subway. You could even walk to Times Square in about 20 minutes. You'll love it! (It sounds like you've already been there.)

If you want, I can recommend places to eat around there (Monster Sushi on 23 and 7, Spice on 20 and 8), but you're probably going to be so busy running around town that I won't need to! Suffice to say that almost anything you pick on 8th Avenue between 23rd and 18th will be great. I also get my coffee every morning at a fun coffee bar called The Brown Cup, which is on 8th Avenue between 26 and 27th Streets.

And Ginger is right--El Quijote is old-time NYC, a real trip.

I personally prefer staying out of the Times Square area--outside it, there is more light, more of a neighborhood feel, beautiful trees, it's not dirty, and everything from food to water is cheaper. Times Square stores tend to be much more expensive--no wonder tourists think NYC is a rip! Some of my favorites other hotels are the Washington Square Hotel in Greenwich Village, the Chelsea Square and the Colonial House and the Inn on 23rd (all in Chelsea), and the W on Union Square (pricey but cool). There are also a bunch of cheap hotels around the Empire State Building, though the neighborhood bores me. Cheap NYC hotels: www.applecorehotels.com.

Spygirl

Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 09:16 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I can vouch for El Quijote - YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Ann

Wednesday, September 03, 2003 - 09:19 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks for the tips about places to eat in the Chelsea area. I found a few good places last time I was there and Leo House has a small kitchen where I could heat up food that I picked-up at a great grocery/deli on 23rd near the Chelsea Hotel.

I'm going to be in NYC from Oct. 23 to 30th. Can't wait!!!

Foliage

Friday, September 05, 2003 - 10:59 am EditMoveDeleteIP
We're going to NYC too! We'll be in town 12/25-12/30 and staying at the Warwick with the ghosts of Elvis and Cary Grant! In-laws, including a very slow walking grandma, will be joining our family of four, should be quite the entourage this trip.

We are looking forward to seeing Hairspray and Wicked and dim sum at the Golden Unicorn.

Scorpiomoon

Friday, September 05, 2003 - 01:13 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh my gosh you guys!

I have LOVED reading these posts and have learned so much!

Ann, et al: Thanks for the info about Leo House. After reading what you guys have written, I must check it out.

I live in Montreal. Traveling to NYC isn't a big issue. For me, it's more about getting the money together to go. Reading that I could get a decent hotel room for $65 blows me away because I always thought I'd need to pay double that. Oh man, I AM SO EXCITED!

I'm off to search Google for info about Leo House. If I can't find anything, I'm coming back here...

Thank you a million times over, guys!

Ann

Friday, September 05, 2003 - 04:35 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Scorpiomoon, I'll leave the contact details for Leo House in your folder in the members area. They don't have a website.

I will also be travelling from Montreal to NYC. This time I've decided to go by train. I figure that in October it should be so beautiful travelling down the west side of Lake Champlain and then down beside the Hudson River. Even though the train trip is 10 hours, I don't need to be anywhere, so I'm just going to sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery. Much nicer than flying down.

Bastable

Friday, September 05, 2003 - 07:58 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Ann, I took that trip the other way (NYC to Montreal) in June. Sit on the left side of the train during Lake Champlain, and when you get to the Hudson River Valley, sit on the right. It's a long, long trip, but it's pretty. And if you have a laptop or something, you can plug it in--there are outlets at the seats!

Reiki

Saturday, September 06, 2003 - 08:26 am EditMoveDeleteIP
The train is one of my favorite ways to travel up and down eastern New York. At various times I have done the Albany-Montreal trip and the Albany-NYC trip. On the northern trip the train goes through some very quaint little towns. The southern trip down to NYC always makes me think of the Hudson River School of artists. The scenery is beautiful anytime of year, but should be exceptionally so this fall. Because of our wet spring and summer the trees are heavy with leaves.

I'll be making the southern trip again myself Columbus Day weekend (Oct 11-12). I'm treating myself to a play or two. Like Marm I usually stay near Times Square. I find if more convenient for me and its the area of the city that I know the best.

Bonnyswan

Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 05:56 am EditMoveDeleteIP
wow...these posts are great...I live 35 mins from "the city" and havent been down in ages, but after reading all these Im totally jazzed to go. I was going to wait until the 25th to go for a concert in Central Park, now Im not sure I can wait that long....:)

Sherbabe

Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 10:23 am EditMoveDeleteIP
i'll try to bump, to get thread back on track. any good ideas for fake products on streets of NY to buy.

Trishan

Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 03:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sherbabe, you don't need to get fake anything while in NYC. Just go downtown to Century 21 Department Store located at 22 Cordtland St.

You'll find designer stuff for up to 70% off! I bought Kenneth Cole sunglasses for my brother for $19.97 + tax last June...and while browsing through the handbag dept. found myself taking a hold of six handbags & paid less than $100. (One of them for $5.99 by Liz Claiborne! Mind you, I did not need any of those handbags, so I gave one to my mom, one to my cousin's wife & will give the Liz Claiborne one--one of those cute tiny handbags young girls love so much--to my niece when I see her on Saturday).

The store carries men's, ladies' & children's clothes, (You'll be surprised by the famous designer duds: Calvin Klein, Prada, Versace, & a lot more that scape me at this time, but there's no need to buy designer clothes when you can get a t-shirt for about $7 or a nice shirt for about $11--I recently purchased 4 Van Heusen shirts for my dad for $9.97+tax each! He, of course, absolutely loved them ), lingerie, (designer lingerie, such as La Perla), linens, housewares, cosmetics, accesories, as well as shoes. (Oh, the stories I could tell about the shoes!).

I recently purchased a designer watch valued at over $200 for about $80...they also carry a bunch of cute little watches for less than $9...I'm thinking of buying a few for some of my cousins' children. (I've a huge extended family).

If you go here first, you will not have to buy any knock-offs on the streets...I even get excited going to the Housewares Dept. & buying potholders for 99 cents!

I'll go look for the phone number & post it--please answer this post once you've read it. (By the way, I've just divulged "New York's Best Kept Secret"--that's how Zagat refers the store).

Trishan

Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 06:31 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sherbabe, Century 21 Dept. Store located at 22 CORTLANDT ST. (in downtown Manhattan) phone number: (212) 227-9092. The store opens at 8:30 am Mondays through Fridays. (I don't remember Sat. hrs, but can find out).

Sherbabe

Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 09:19 am EditMoveDeleteIP
wow, thanks for the tip. can't wait to shop.

Trishan

Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 10:39 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Enjoy

Store hrs:

MON, TU, WED, FRI 7:45 AM - 8 PM
TH 7:45 AM - 8:30 PM
SAT 10 AM - 8 PM
SUN 11 AM - 7 PM