Keep spreadin' the news: the Big Apple is in a class of its own -- one of the most exciting cities on the planet, and with enough variety and raw material to keep visitors coming back for decades, from Times Square to the rural side of Staten Island.
cover photo: Julien Maculan/Unsplash
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Leave the car at home. Take public transportation only.
New Year's Eve street closures around Times Square Streets between 34th and 59th, avenues from Fifth to Tenth, are being shut to traffic starting at 3 p.m., to make room for one million of our closest friends. Even train stations from 50th to 34th are being locked off and bypassed between 10p or 11p -- depending on the size of the crowds -- until after the ball drops.
Oh, I know, but you're really not comparing the right things. Grand Central is a station only for the subways; Grand Central Terminal is the beginning and the end of the line for the Harlem, Hudson, New Haven, and soon a branch of the LIRR. And it's "original" name, as the building opened in 1913, was Grand Central Terminal. It was a station only when there were connecting horse trains to take passengers downtown to 26th or 14th street, and that's when most called it Grand Central Depot. I know, picky picky, but that's what it is.
Donna -- You must have been going to LaGuardia, which is $12. The bus to JFK or EWR is $15. You also could have taken the M106 from the Upper West Side or Harlem to LaGuardia -- that's just $2.25, including the transfer from the nearest subway stop on its route.
Bill -- Most of us natives call it Grand Central Station, which is its original name and what the train conductors on LIRR and Amtrak announce upon arrival. I've been known to still call certain buildings as NBC and Pan Am, despite their newer designations as GE and Met Life, respectively. And I can't think of anybody anywhere who will ever refer to the iconic NY Public Library at Fifth and 42nd as the Steven A. Schwarzman Building, which it's been renamed to honor of the millions the billionaire donated for its renovation.
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Yoo hoo, Donna! Boring tour Guide here: it's Grand Central TERMINAL! The biggest in the world - and getting bigger once the LIRR extension is installed into the third level. (Penn Station's busier, though.)
Speaking of which: you could take either the E train or an LIRR train to Jamica and connect to the Airtrain there; or you could take the Rockaway bound A Train. But check with the MTA first; the E train has some quirks now; beware.