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I will be in NYC from 5pm on Thurs. 10/25 until flying out at 6pm on Sat. 10/27. I plan on spending the first evening around the Times Square area (where my hotel is) and Saturday around Central Park and the surrounding area. On Friday, I hope to put in a lot of wallking in the Lower Manhattan Area. I have a reservation for Circle Line at 10am for the 3 hour cruise and then I plan to go to China Town and begin walking.
Are there any streets in this area (Kenmare to the North - Worth to the South - Bowery to the East - Center St to the West) that should be avoided by a lone walker? I hope to walk this area...then ride over by Katz's for a reuben...and then continue my walk up to the Villages..up through Wash. Square..and then on to Union Sq.
Is this too ambitious for starting out around 2pm...Should I skip the cruise and stick to my walking?
You will be fine. Lots of people walking in any street in Chinatown. I doubt you will find your self alone on an empty street. If you think that you might find trouble in any street, turn back and keep enjoying your visit.
Agreed, you will be fine. Areas such as Little Italy, Chinatown, the Villages (East, West, Greenwich), etc. are always filled on the weekends as tourists and locals come out and especially when theres good weather.
I just came back from Chinatown and bought some fruit (3/$1) and fake dolce gabana belts (2/$20). I was on Canal and Lafayette. Chinatown/ LES/ (almost non-existent Little Italy) is dirty, dense, dusty, smelly, and has a bad element (esp at night) but it's cheap.
The green tea at the Chinese style starbucks is the best (great for digestion).
I wouldn't worry much about most of the Chinatown/Little Italy area, but I would have a heightened sense of my surroundings south of Canal Street and East of the Bowery where the neighborhood starts to become the Lower East Side (LES). There are a number of public housing projects, homeless people along the waterfront under the FDR, and just general badness in this area after sunset.
Personally, I'd skip the cruise, and spend that time either walking more, eating more, or hitting a museum.
If you're interested enough in food to seek out Katz's, you might want to poke around for other snacks, as that whole downtown area is full of great food. If you're heading home from NYC, you could stock up at Russ & Daughters.
My advice - skip the reuben at Katz's. IMO a Reuben should be grilled. At Katz's they heat up the meat/sauerkraut/cheese pile and put it on untoasted, non-grilled bread.
Another Katz's tip - don't be afraid to ask for extra bread so you can make two sandwiches out of all that meat! (especially since it costs for $15-$17 for a sandwich).
The subway can be a hotbed for scamartist at times. You know, guys asking you to switch metro cards because "mine doesn't work". Who the hell do you think you're fooling??
^^ There are some sneaky ass people on the subways. Watch before you swipe when someone is in front of you (especially at the turning doors (bars?)). Some people try to get you to swipe and they go through while you're stuck behind. Almost happened to me today on the E train in Queens.
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Chinatown
