<p>Kleinfields is in the Chelsea/meatpacking neighborhood and there is lots to see around there also - cool stuff from union square (strand book store) to flatiron (eaterly) and not far from little italy and the village (Bleecker street/NYU) or the cool shops in Soho. I would recommend checking with Kleifields about visiting - you might only be able to see the windows (not worth the trip) unless you are a serious customer. </p>
<p>I would like to suggest 70 Park Hotel. It is at 38th and Park. Rooms are not huge, it is around 250 and very close to Grand Central. You could walk to Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, easy subway to many places OP wants to go. There are a lot of good, inexpensive restaurants around the area. The hotel also has 5pm free wine hour. 
</p>
<p>Sign up with jetsetter dot com. They sent an email to me on 2/27 with some amazing deals on hotels…not sure if the deals are still good OR if their are certain dates that need to be booked. </p>
<p>Some of the hotels under $200 Sixty Les, Hotel on Rivington, The Highline Hotel, The Roger, 6 Columbus, Wyndham Hotel/Midtown, The Tuscany, Eventi, The Strand Hotel, Sixty Soho, Morgans, 70 Park Hotel…maybe fellow Ccers can weigh in on the properties? Not sure if price is an issue.</p>
<p>@kiddie—Kleinfeld’s left Brooklyn? It has been a number of years since I have been in the market, but I missed that one!</p>
<p>Thank you for the hotel suggestions. Will check them out.</p>
<p>Thanks for the jetsetter and hopstop links. </p>
<p>I have started plotting all the places we might want to see on a Manhattan map. Then I will try and figure out how long to spend at each venue. I am sure we will drop a number of items off of the list. One of the important things to see is Van Gogh’s Starry Night at MoMA. We also want to spend 2 different days at the Met Museum. Probably 2 half days. </p>
<p>I was trying to keep the hotel price down to less than $1000 for 4 nights inclusive of taxes and fees. Might be difficult, I know.</p>
<p>@ct1417 Yes, they left Brooklyn many years ago (I bought my wedding gown there in Brooklyn in 1984) - they are getting a lot of press now because of the wedding dress reality shows which are filmed at their NYC location.</p>
<p>If I were doing that trip I’d probably stay at the Lucerne, a quiet, pleasant hotel on the Upper West Side, away from the bustle of Midtown, on 79th Street a block east of Broadway. From Penn Station it’s a straight shot to 79th & Broadway on the #1 train. Once you’re at the Lucerne you can easily take the #1 uptown to see St. John the Divine (112th & Amsterdam) and the same train downtown to hit Times Square (42nd & B’way) and Macy’s (34th & B’way). From Times Square it’s a 2-block walk to the NY Public Library (42d & 5th Ave.) and 4 blocks or so to Grand Central (42d & Park Ave.). St. Patrick’s (50th & 5th) and MoMA (53rd between 5th & 6th Ave., aka Avenue of the Americas) are within walking distance of Grand Central, as is the iconic Chrysler Building (42d & Lexington) and Rockefeller Center (49th between 5th & 6th). The Empire State Building is at 34th & 5th, a block east of Macy’s.</p>
<p>It’s a 2-block walk from the Lucerne to Central Park. and a pleasant stroll through the park to the Metropolitan Museum (82d & 5th) and the Guggenheim (88th & 5th). You’re also just a few blocks from The Dakota, the iconic coop apartment building that was John Lennon’s last home and where he was murdered, and Strawberry Fields, the Central Park memorial to his memory.</p>
<p>The lower Manhattan sites are a bit farther, but from the Lucerne you can either take the #1 downtown (never been there but I believe the Holocaust Museum is in Battery Park, near the downtown terminus of the #1) or walk two blocks to catch the A train (yes, that A train) at 79th & Central Park West which will take you downtown as well, bringing you very close to the Brooklyn Bridge.</p>
<p>The area around the Lucerne also has many nice and generally moderately priced bars, restaurants, and shops along Broadway, Amsterdam, and Columbus Avenues. I just find it a much more pleasant and relaxing location than Midtown, Times Square, or some of the more congested neighborhoods further south on the island, and less cost-prohibitive than some more posh neighborhoods, with easy, no-fuss transportation (subway and walking) to just about everyplace on your itinerary. </p>
<p>There’s a Fairfield Inn very near Penn Station–no atmosphere, but you won’t need to take a taxi to your hotel with all your stuff if you stay there. The rate was OK when I stayed there. Free “breakfast.”</p>
<p>Admission to MOMA is 25 bucks donation. But you don’t actually have to pay anything–they got in trouble for the way they present it as required admission.
Get tickets on-line for statue of liberty and the 911 memorial well in advance. There may be a charge for the 911 memorial by that time. Depends on if they have opened the museum there yet.
Go see a play if you get a chance. We hit the TIX booth in Times Square and got great seats at decent price.
Might actually be cheaper to not buy the subway pass–depends probably on where you are staying–you’ll spend more time walking than riding. Wear comfy shoes!
It’s a great Macy’s–worth sticking your head in at the least.</p>
<p>There IS a May 31 - had a baby on that day - it’s a legit date on the calendar. :)</p>
<p>If you plan on retiring somewhat early (before dark), the idea of staying in Brooklyn might save you some $$$ and is only a train ride away from everything you want to see. You could head back to Brooklyn and some of its fine eateries for dinner before crawling in bed. :)</p>
<p>Visiting the Statue of Liberty will consume hours of your day, so you may just want to ride the ferry and wave to it.
Unless things have changed, I recall long lines for security. Or, I think you can take the ferry to the island, walk around the base, and take the return ferry.</p>
<p>@bclintonk—unless the local stops along the Central Park West line have changed, the A does not stop between 59th & 125th. The C is the local of the A that runs along 8th Ave/CPW, and the B is the local of the D that run along CPW until it branches off south of Columbus Circle and moves over to 6th Ave/Ave of the Americas. Both the B and the C stop at 59th, 72nd, 79th (Museum of Nat’l History), and 86th. I never lived north of 85th so I don’t know the stops between 86th & 125th. </p>
<p>(OK–not wanting to spout off when I don’t know what I am talking about, I decided to check a subway schedule. The A is listed as nighttime service for the local stops and the C is listed as part time, but when you check the actual timetable, the C appears to run every ten minutes. Am not sure what part time means, but the CPW line certainly had fewer trains/hour than the B’way line.)</p>
<p>@kiddie–thanks for the update! I visited Kleinfeld’s when looking for a dress, but instead ending up buying direct from the manufacturer’s 7th Ave showroom. Can’t remember the connection that gained me access, but fittings were on brown craft paper in the back workroom. Saved quite a bit of money and the hassle of the schlep out to Brooklyn.</p>
<p>As advised above, bring comfortable shoes, and at least two different styles so that the shoes worn the second day do not bother the blisters from the first day!</p>
<p>Central Park in May will be lovely. Have lunch at the Boat House and take out a row boat. There is also a little cafe by the toy sailboat pond. You can grab a glass of wine and just sit. Lovely!</p>
<p>Little Italy can be a lot of fun and the restaurants are generally more reasonably priced. Chinatown has great food but it isn’t aesthetically pleasing by any means. If you are looking for a nice lunch would suggest Avra in midtown or for something special the 7th floor of Bergdorf Goodmans on 5th Ave. Another pleasant lunch is outside in the Bryant Park Grill behind the NY Public Library.</p>
<p>I booked the La Quinta on 32nd St. It still costs $900 but includes breakfast. </p>
<p>The other hotels that were suggested were very nice but for my dates the cost was pushing 1300 plus. I originally was looking at March when the costs were 100 or so a night. In May, the same hotels are 300 a night. </p>
<p>Thanks for the pay-what-you-wish tip and the 2 pairs of shoes tip. </p>
<p>For clarification: we will only look at the Statue of Liberty from the Battery Park area. (D doesn’t want to ride on the ferry.) So in the lower Manhattan area will probably be on Sunday since the Jewish Museum there will be closed on Saturday. </p>
<p>I think I have our Sunday planned:::</p>
<p>Sunday: Lower Manhattan: Museum of Jewish Heritage, 9/11 site or museum, Peanut Butter Co.(for lunch), Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty, Wall St., the Bull statue near Bowling Green Park, (the Law and Order bldg) New York County Courthouse in Foley Square, and the Brooklyn Bridge (perhaps cross the bridge and get ice cream). My D might want to see the Brooklyn Museum too.</p>
<p>Does the Sunday sound doable? Anything I should add? Or take away?</p>
<p>Thank you for your input!!!</p>
<p>If you are of Irish heritage, or are interested in immigration history, the Irish Hunger Memorial, 290 Vesey Street, is interesting, very well done and free, and not too far from the 9/11 site. The Esplanade along the Hudson River on the West Side is nice to walk along, to get to Battery Park.</p>
<p>You will be downtown on a Sunday, so you won’t be seeing Wall Street/financial district on a workday. It’ll be quiet. Don’t forget to look up. The narrow streets and the very tall buildings make an impressive sight. </p>
<p>Trinity Church is in the area, too. And Castle Clinton, Most of what you are doing is walking past buildings, so it’s doable if you don’t spend too many hours at the Museum or at lunch. </p>
<p>NYC comes alive at night. It is very safe now – even taking the subway at night is safe. And in May, assuming this winter ever ends, there will be lots of people out and about enjoying good weather. I highly recommend planning to do some walking around after dinner. Times Square is always packed. The Apple Store on 5th Ave. is open 24/7, so that area is always busy. The Village is another great area to explore at night. Please don’t retreat to your hotel room.</p>
<p>Wall street will be dead on a Sunday. Hit the South Street Seaport instead. Lots going on there especially at that time of year. Think there is also a museum -may be nautical in nature but the area in general will be more active than wall street.</p>
<p>I agree that Wall Street is dead on Sunday, but I don’t like South Street Seaport–too much like similar developments in lots of cities. You could go to the Lower East Side–that’s fun on Sunday.</p>
<p>An above poster had incorrect info about admission to MOMA. The MOMA is not pay what you want, although it is free admission on Friday night (very long lines however)… It is now $25.00 to get in. The MET is pay what you want with suggested donation of now $25.00. I belong to both museums. MOMA is super busy all the time, especially to see the highlights like “Starry Night”. The MET is open till 9 on Friday and Saturday night and after 5 PM is one of my favorite times to go.
The Jewish Museum on 94th St and 5th Ave (different than the Museum of Jewish Heritage) is free on Saturday.
If you do decide to go the Brooklyn Museum, it is right next to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden which should be glorious at that time of year. Brooklyn Museum is a great institution but you need to check their website for what days they are open and how late they are open. </p>
<p>Another thought - The 9/11 Museum is not yet open, but the memorial is quite lovely. You do need to register in advance, online. There isn’t any charge and you can stay on the grounds as long as you want. There is airport-like security to go through.</p>
<p>Is the " tenement museum" in lower east side on your list?
<a href=“http://www.tenement.org”>http://www.tenement.org</a></p>
<p>Also, I recently read " Russ and daughters" about the iconic appetizing store near this museum.
The book is very interesting history of the changes in the lower east side, and the museum is discussed. </p>