Tell me about NYC

[Himu]

I wanna visit. What all is there to do? What's life like? What's your favorite burough? Is the crime really drastically down like the figures say or is that all a ruse? Not that it matters, I like gritty cities, which is why NYC interests me. <3

[Mupepe]

I've seen the airport for a few hours   lolz

[Junpei the Tracer!]

In New York,you'll find men who attack peacocks because they believe they're vampires.

This actually happened.

[Himu]

That's fucking awesome. Best city ever.

[Ichirou]

You moving, Himu?  NYC is awesome.

[Christopher]

NYC has a very grungy feel to it in my opinion.  It's cool to go to every once in awhile with friends, and there is some great sites to see.  But from where I live to NYC it just feels so congested, fast paced, and dirty at times.

Like I said cool tourist attraction, lousy living place.  Although there is always something going on.

[Rman]

Crime has been down overall.  I would judge New York City as pretty safe.  Common sense will keep you safe.  Right now the hot borough is Brooklyn this due to the rapidly gentrifying neighhborhoods along the L train.  Williamburgs is the hipster capital and if you are gamer and like to drink I would recommend Barcade, a bar with old school arcade games.  Very charming.  You will also find cool vintage clothing stores in the neighborhood.  Beware some will rape on price.

The great thing about New York is that whatever your are into there is something to do.  I'm not into the club scene at all so I will not be able to help there but there are tons of options there.  My interests are dining, art, bookstores and cafes, parks.  Below are some my favorites.  Google these for directions and such.

Dining and Food
Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Ssam.  If you love pork you will love David Chang's cuisine.
Balthazar's.  In the heart of Soho.  Great ambience and food.  Steak Tartare is the best I've tasted. A little pricey though.
Shake Shack.  Great burgers and shakes located in Madison Square Park.
Minca. Awesome authentic ramen spot in the East Village.  Great prices.
City Bakery.  Another good brunch spot.
Murray's Cheese.  On Bleecker.  Knowledgeable staff.  You can ask for free samples of cheeses from around the world.
Union Square Greenmarket. Open Mondays, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in Union Square.  Great organic produce, meat, poultry, and cheeses.
 
Art
The Met. Try to visit twice.  It's too big to see everything in one day
MOMA.  Recently went through multi-million dollar renovations.  Worth seeing
Cooper Hewitt Design Museum.  This museum is devoted to design--graphic, furniture, interior, product, you name it
Also look into the various art galleries located in old warehouse building district in Chelsea--west 20s

Bookstores and Cafes
The Strand. Various locations.
Housing Works Bookstore and Cafe
Starbucks--Ha, just joking.  But they're great for the restrooms.  Protip for those not familar with NYC.  The lack of publicly available restroom is pain.  Use Starbucks.  They're everywhere.  Mickey Ds as well.  Barnes and Nobles have great public restrooms and Whole Foods have clean and accessible restrooms.

Parks
Central Park Duh.  Rent a bike or rollerblades.
Washington Square Park. Looking for weed, here your spot.  I kid.  But its true from what I hear.  There some great food carts here too.
Fort Tryon Park. All the way up in Inwood.  There is a bus that takes you straight there.  Amazing view.
Battery Park. You can take the Staten Island ferry.  It's free.

Geeky Stuff
Forbidden Planet. Comics, Toys, T-Shirts, and other geeky goodness
Toy Tokyo. Vinyl Toys, capsule toys, big ass toys

Final tips
Get a subway map and an unlimited Metrocard.  Much more affordable than taking cabs everywhere.
Don't be afraid to ask strangers directions if you are lost.  Best bets are cabbies.  They know the city inside and out.  If you ask someone besides a cab driver make sure to at least ask more than one person for a second opinion.  People sometimes give wrong directions.
New Yorkers are on the run.  Dont' take it personal.
Don't stand in the middle of the sidewalk; move to the side to avoid foot 'traffic'.
Times Square sucks.  Maybe except for the shows. 
Hot Dogs suck.  Well the ones from the carts.  They are boiled, not grilled.  Yuck.

Favorite neighborhoods. 
Lower East Side, Flatiron, Harlem--don't be afraid, and Chinatown. 

Other Boroughs
Bronx.  Not too bad as some people may have you believe.  Try to catch a ballgame at Yankee Stadium.  Beachers seats are decent actually.  The Stadium will be gone two years to make way to new stadium they are building next door.  Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens are worth a look

Queens.
The most diverse borough, ethnically speaking.  Home to great, cheap ethnic restaurants.  Try making stops along the 7 train for some good Mexican fare.  The best Mexican food is found in Queens.  Manhattan Mexican joints just suck.

Staten Island.
Can't say. 

Brooklyn.
Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.  You'll have an amazing view of the city.  After that you can have some ice cream at Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory and a pizza at Grimaldi's.

Enjoy,

[demi]

Go to Chicago and hang out in Boystown instead.

[Beezy]

Other Boroughs
Bronx.  Not too bad as some people may have you believe.  Try to catch a ballgame at Yankee Stadium.  Beachers seats are decent actually.  The Stadium will be gone two years to make way to new stadium they are building next door.  Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens are worth a look

<3 Bronx Zoo. Admission on Wednesdays are by donation, so you can get in by just giving them a dollar.

Haven't been to the Botanical Gardens in over a decade, even though it's right across from the zoo.

Staten Island.
Can't say.

That's because no one cares about Staten Island.

[tiesto]

Staten Island is mostly suburban IIRC, there's not much interesting there... it has the highest concentration of Italians in the country tho. NYC is alright, I prefer LA and the Sunset Strip area personally (the people just seem generally nicer), but its worth going to... the museums are cool, you can always find little ethnic restaurants that are really good, and there's always something going on. Beats the hell out of Long Island, that's for sure, but its really expensive to live there. I mean if you've never been, DEFINITELY go. And yeah it's really safe if you use common sense... like you should not be wandering around the South Bronx with a wallet stuffed with hundreds in the middle of the night by yourself, that kinda stuff... stick to the touristy areas and you'll be fine.

I really wanna check out that Barcade place, it sounds awesome...

[The Sceneman]

I was thinking aobut visiting New York at the end of the year... are hotels really expensive? Im either going there or Tokyo

[Rman]

I was thinking aobut visiting New York at the end of the year... are hotels really expensive? Im either going there or Tokyo

Hotels here are very expensive.  You are better of saving your money to shop, eat, drink, and have fun.  You will not be in your hotel much during your stay so you should look at more affordable options.

If you could swing it try hostels.  Much cheaper.  The local YMCAs have rooms that are cheaper than hotel rates.  If you are young and like to travel, hence on a budget, hostels are the way to go.  Also look at Craigslist NYC for apartment swaps if that may interest you.  Apartment swapping could be risky so do your homework.  And if you are planning to stay for while for while, a month maybe, subletting is your most affordable option.

[GilloD]

I was thinking aobut visiting New York at the end of the year... are hotels really expensive? Im either going there or Tokyo

Hotels here are very expensive.  You are better of saving your money to shop, eat, drink, and have fun.  You will not be in your hotel much during your stay so you should look at more affordable options.

If you could swing it try hostels.  Much cheaper.  The local YMCAs have rooms that are cheaper than hotel rates.  If you are young and like to travel, hence on a budget, hostels are the way to go.  Also look at Craigslist NYC for apartment swaps if that may interest you.  Apartment swapping could be risky so do your homework.  And if you are planning to stay for while for while, a month maybe, subletting is your most affordable option.

You'd have better luck shacking up with an EB'er or a Couchsurfing dude. Hotels are not only expensive, they're crammed into crappy tourist areas.

My feelings about New York are well documented, but I think about it like this: It really is the city that never sleeps. I didn't get off work until 9 last night, I went to the new Falafel joint in Union Square, got dinner, ate it in the park and then went home. It was like 11:30 by the time I got home and people were still out. Short answer: There's a ton of fun shit, the people are pretty cool and don't believe the hype about how EXPENSIVE it is. Groceries and rent are really the only two things going at a premium and even then you can save big bucks just by shopping smart (Amish Market, yo!)