Planning a BWAY (NYC) trip ??? DON'T do these things!

...FEEL FREE TO ADD ON (YOUR OWN.)

1. DON't walk in packs of 100, linking arms, clogging up every crosswalk from 40th to 50th st.

1A.DON'T whisper for a TAXI...stand in the middle of the street, push other people aside, lunge and yell, YO! TAAAAAXXIIII!!

1B.DON'T pay more than $7 for breakfast...EVER!

1C. DON'T get on mass transit without a "fully-loaded MetroCard". You'll get dirty looks from EVERYONE.

1D. Don't be shy when encountering B'WAY stars on the street....more than likely they'll join you at Starbucks and chat (if you ask). I had a lovely afternoon one day w/Tyne Daly at the Starbucks on 48th and 8th.

2. Girls (women): The streets of Times Square were not made for trying out your super new, chic stilettos.

2A. DO NOT fail to shop at the FABULICIOUS, newly renovated (HUGE) "PEARL RIVER MART"
Chinatown/Soho. (Google) . Thank me later! It's el cheapo and great!

3. The guy with the cats on the corner of 6th ave and 42nd st has been there for years and you will be paying for drugs and alcohol if you part with your hard earned tourist dollars.

4. DO NOT open your wallet on the street. I am still seeing this! Are you looking to get mugged, followed back to your hotel, and worse?

5. DO NOT feel sorry for any creature begging for money, for "whatever". Say after me: "I am NOT a bank", I am NOT a bank"

5. DO NOT buy any food from a "deli" or salad bar containing MAYO. You WILL be sorry, throwing up in the balcony of the St. James Theater.

5A.. ...OR "Rat-on-a-stick" street food...(you know what I'm talkin' about?)

5B...OR "mystery meat dogs on a bun" swimming all day in, shall we say, funky water. CAVEAT EMPTOR. Cast Iron Stomach Alert!




6. DO NOT buy 75.00 indian cotton shmattas in the LEVI's Times Square Store. CONWAYS has them for less than $10.

7. DO NOT hesitate to ask us friendly New Yorkers anything, such as directions, good bars, clubs, etc. Forget about the map thing, we'll tell you all the shortcuts!!

8. DON'T ignore CHINATOWN!!! The best part of town. 10 minutes by subway from the theater district. Yummy! http://www.cheapassfood.com/search/search?q_ferret=Chinatown


HAVE FUN!

Updated On: 7/1/08 at 09:02 PM

"4. Do not open your wallet on the street. I am still seeing this! Are you looking to get mugged, followed back to your hotel, and worse?"

I hate this and never do it. I was meeting some friends at Penn Station once and they were a little late. This guy came up to me leaning on a metal cane and asked me for money. I told him I don't carry cash so then he asked me to buy him food using my credit card. I just moved away. He had what could be considered a weapon. There was no way on earth that I was giving him any access to my wallet. He could have absolutely clubbed me with that can as soon as I looked down.

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Thanks for the (bad) advice, Tiny Magic. Bad Mayo is an old wives tale. Take a sanitation class and you'll find out that Mayonnaise is very acidic which inhibits bacterial growth. That Chicken sandwich will go bad if you leave it out in the sun, but the chicken salad may be saved by all that Mayo. Wikipedia puts it nicely:

"There is a misconception that foods like potato salad can make a person sick if left out in the sun, due to the mayonnaise spoiling. This is false; the pH of mayonnaise prevents harmful bacteria from growing in it. Left out of refrigeration, mayonnaise will develop an unappetizing taste and smell, due to other types of bacteria and molds that can spoil it; but will not make one sick."

Updated On: 6/30/08 at 09:14 PM

Olive Garden is the devil. There will always be a batter, cheaper Italian restaurant within a mile of it.

Backstreet Boys fan


He was NSINC

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LOL....actually, don't go to "Restaurant Row", where the owners daughter has to stand in front and shill for customers.
(Although, I do like HOURGLASS and BECCO (sometimes))

OOPS!, Proptart....I have NEVER even looked at those things. Guilty as charged....I ignore all traffic lights, signs, etc. NOT that I'm advocating this, but I'd never get anywhere...WAITING!.......

DONT take pictures of crazy cat man on Columbus Circle. He will eat you. JK but he will run down the street following you for your money.

I have a couple

DO NOT enter the TKTS line in large groups. You will slow things down for everyone.

DO NOT purchase electronics from those stores you see on 7th Ave, Broadway, and 8th Ave. They have the highest mark-ups, and are there to rip you off. Take the R train down to J&R at the City Hall stop. Have it shipped back home and be exempt from paying tax.

DO NOT stop in the middle of the side walk no matter how fascinated you are by what you see. Move to the side or I will push you.

DO NOT pay more than $1 for bottled water (1/2 Liter Poland Spring). If you want water, stop by Duane Reade.

DO NOT eat while you're watching a show. It's not your living room.

and I'm with the above poster about not eating at the Olive Garden. There's one 2 miles from your house back in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the same thing.

Updated On: 6/30/08 at 11:15 PM

I love this thread!

I'd like to add:

-When you're in a theater, put away your damn cameras. Seriously, what's the point of taking a picture of a scrim?

-Don't flip open your electronic devices while a performance is going on. The glare is brighter than you think and extremely distracting.

-Don't buy any candy from kids on the subway who are "just trying to stay off the streets." If they were serious about bettering themselves they would just get a job like the rest of the real world.

-Don't unfold a gigantic map while sitting on the subway unless you feel like making yourself a target for pickpockets.

-There's so much more to see in NYC than Times Square...get out there and enjoy the city!!!

"So sitting in Bryant Park and organizing my playbills and ticket stubs while counting my money to see if I have enough to get tickets from TKTS for one last show is a no-no?"

As long as you're eating a sandwich with mayo:)

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BwayBoy101: I have seen school groups wearing the SAME COLOR T-Shirts, for fear of losing someone? I've also seen groups holding skinny long sticks with some hometown banner on it or something, waving them to each other...(among the "throngs"). cute.

Updated On: 5/3/09 at 12:13 AM