August 29, 2007
"Are You Talking to Me?": NYC Gives Tourists Tips!
Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a new campaign, Just Ask The Locals, "the City's first-ever five-borough marketing and advertising campaign to make visitors feel more welcome, thank them for visiting, and help them navigate New York City." The Mayor made the announcement at the new American Airlines terminal at JFK and said, "New Yorkers have always been welcoming and friendly, but not enough people around the world know it. So now we're going the extra mile to make visitors feel even more at home by offering a helpful piece of advice, an insider's tip, or just a friendly smile as they explore and enjoy all the wonderful attractions here in our City."
There will be outdoor advertising, a new tourism website (here), insider tips from celebrity residents, and even a tip card with helpful suggestions. The CityRoom has the tips:
1. Call 311 or (212) NEW-YORK for all information about the city.Nice, but where is the "Do not walk more than three people wide on sidewalks" suggestion?! But the City wants to remind us that tourism is critical to the city's economy, because tourism generates $24.7 billion in revenue and supports 368,000 jobs. Without tourism, to maintain the current budget, households would need to fork over almost another $1000 in city and state taxes.
2. Fifth Avenue divides Manhattan into the East Side and West Side.
3. When getting directions, always ask for the cross streets (i.e. 810 Seventh Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets).
4. In Manhattan, if you walk 20 blocks north or south, you have walked one mile.
5. If the number on the top of the taxicab is lit, it means the cab is available.
6. It is customary to tip 15 to 20 percent to wait staff, bartenders and taxi drivers.
7. MetroCards work on both buses and subways, and transfers between the two are free.
8. Free wireless Internet is available at many public parks.
9. Many businesses, including pharmacies and delis, are open 24 hours.
10. Have a question about NYC? Just ask the locals, or to go to nycvisit.com.
And the celebrity locals involved in the campaign are Robert De Niro, Julianne Moore, Tiki Barber, Chuck Close and Jimmy Fallon - all of whom we believe live in Manhattan. Jimmy suggests Pete's Tavern and Two Boots, Julianne says Piccolo Angolo is "so good," Chuck like the Frick...well, you get the idea.
Do you have suggestions to tourists visiting NYC? What are they?
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Yeah, gtfo.
just kidding.
i just want them all to stay in time square and spend all thier money in that area.
The Olive Garden is merely one restaurant in New York that serves Italian food.
At parties, make fun of the midwest and say that anyone who lives above 96th street is technically in Canada.
Also claim your street cred by saying that you moved to NYC pre 9/11 and that life was so much more real back then.
Oh yeah, brandish your iphone at any and all social functions involving more than three people, say how hot you think anderson cooper is and ALWAYS make sure to say any and all movie stars' names by their first name only.
Like for Robert Deniro say "Oh Bob? Yeah that guy is terrific"
oh and complain about tourists.
11.
Lost your wallet on the subway, yokel?
It was lifted by a skillful local.
Just like all real New Yorkers, 60% of them were born no where near NYC.
Piccolo Angolo sucks. And New Yorkers are worse than the tourists at walking three or more people across and taking up the entire sidewalk. And they walk with their eyes on their Blackberries.
Dont ask me shyt! I dont care that your on vacation. Im walking to work, paying bills living my life. I could care less how much the government wants me to suck up to your tourist ass so Sir Charge can make more money.
don't stand in the middle of the subway stairs at the height of rush hour.
don't get upset that things aren't exactly like they are at home -- that's the point, right?
do not tell people that you visited all the places where SATC was filmed. It will make us pity you more.
Acknowledge the reality that every restaurant can't accommodate you and your 8 relatives on short notice.
Every place can't be an Applebee's, sorry.
yes non-white and gay people are allowed to live and thrive here. get over it.
don't interrupt people in the middle of an intimate conversation to ask for directions. recently, a friend of mine was interrupted while being proposed to so that tourists could ask for directions to williamsburg. her girlfriend was on one knee in front of her.
for the most part, i'm very tourist-friendly, but they have to realize that we actually LIVE here.
who the fuck is chuck close?
A busy sidewalk intersection is NOT a place to gawk at the buildings, your maps, take photos, and point at things.
Before you get on the line at the deli, figure out what you want, order it, and step away. The soup nazi exists except he's EVERYWHERE, 4 rEaLLLzz y0!!!!
Swarming the fake womens designer bag tables and clogging up the sidewalk gives us a legitimate reason to shove your cheapskate a$$ out of the way in order to pass. Dirty looks are optional.
In short, just stay out of our every day routines and we'll get along just fine...
#12, If you don't know who Chuck Close is you haven't been in NYC long enough to be qualified as a native. Please read our friendly suggestions and move along...
julianne moore has small titties.
and, I'm actually offended that tourists never ask me for directions. Yes ma'am, black people actually do live here and we speak English.
Shut up all of you. Good lord, you come off like the biggest pussies in the universe.
from john charles - well comments to tourists
are behave your selves dont take up so much space dont clog up our parks - and more is pay double price for mass transit and subsidize our rides- pay full admission to museums so we dont have too- pay an entrance fee to the parks- beaches- and extra sales tax- living in nyc aint ez and we have it 365 7days 24hrs- it's stress and expensive so ur on vacation u can afford it pay up and shut up i will do the same when and if i have any $ to visit the south of france or tuscany--
#15
they dont aks u 'coz u is black
Yeah, tourists! Don't look at things! Or ask questions! Or get lost! I am sure all New Yorkers are savvy enough to know all of the local rules and not gawk at buildings and take pictures when THEY are tourists somewhere.
i'm not really black, but I'm still offended,
next time I'm giving wrong directions. one time an old lady needed directions and It was the first time I was carrying. she asked a cop and he didn't know, I gave her the directions and walked with her to her destination.
it's all in how you carry yourself.
1000 bucks a piece for no tourists? sounds worth it to me
You people are faggots. And i don't mean that in the homosexual way.
Yes i get you have lived in nyc for over two years, yes I get that you hate your parents and frathouse siblings and yes I get that you don't want anyone living there who reminds you of a)the place you grew up in and b)yourselves.
Still, don't pretend to be something your not i.e. 'real new yorkers'
Labor Day is this weekend. Walking AROUND the tourists is going to get easier.
Living in NYC develops a unique survival velocity, and a sense of doing 6 things at the same time. Its addicting (and fun).
Been living here for 25 years. Whenever I leave the city, (which is rare) even if I only go to NJ, it takes me at least a week to change my metabolic speed. Then, I have period phisical jolts that remind me that I should get back to the city. I ain't saying its right. Its just what it is.
#23
25 years and still cant spell physical?
that aint rite!
It's so simple, really. Behave like you would want us to behave if we visited your hometown. I'll forever be at a loss to explain why this is such a difficult concept.
The grammar always strikes me.
Matty, you're a fool.
Most "New Yorkers" moved out of New York years ago when the subways were Red, when you had a pretty good chance of something bad happening to you on them!
Most "New Yorkers" don't remember that time very well.
I suddenly feel like some exotic animal that should be caged in one of the dioramas in the AMNH.
I was born at New York Hospital (back when it was still called New York Hospital) and was raised on the UES and tasted my first knish when I was three and my first Nathan's Hot Dog at five when my parents decided I was big enough to go all the way to Coney Island on the subway with them and have lived in New York (except for when I went away to college) my entire life. I saw the city at it's lowest point when the benches of Central Park were just a forest of concrete stumps and it was expected that the subways would lose the lights between stations and didn't flee and neither did any of my childhood friends who all still live here. I have no idea what your conception of a "real New Yorker" is, but I can tell you when it comes down to it, "real" anything is indistinguishable from "real" anything else. Just be nice and get the f**cking chip off your shoulder. As long as you genuinely love the city you're a "real New Yorker." The rest of you posers can take your inferiority complexes and complaining selves and get the hell out.
matty is the winner of this thread.
I would like to add to the list:
Expect to get a punch in the mouth if you inquire about:
1) How to get to Williamsburg, the nabe where you can get in with the hipster chic.
2) Where in Time Sq. you can ride a partybike, especially if you are a porker.
3) Anything related to SATC and/or Magnolia Bakery.
When visiting the Brooklyn Bridge:
Do not stand in the bike lane.
DO NOT stand in the bike lane.
That's the lane with drawings of bikes on it.
The same one with the people trying to ride their bikes on it.
DO NOT STAND IN THE BIKE LANE.
Even for just a quick second to pose for a picture.
We will mow you down. Without hesitation.
Try us if you thing we're kidding. You've been warned.
#32, although I empathize, comments like yours makes people hate cyclists.
Jimmy Fallon? Is he still famous?
Matty, great post. The phony population in New York in the highest in the country.
#33 - I agree that cyclists can be as bad a tourists. How about pedestrians have the right to clothesline cyclists who ride on sidewalks and jogger/pedestrian lanes?
i dont understand how any of you come into tourists at all. how often can a tourist do anything to affect your day?
and who cares if they ask you were magnolia is, or where wburg is. how is that possibly affecting your life? if you were in another city, and you were lost, i am guessing you would want directions. ITS NOT A BADGE OF HONOR OR ANYTHING SPECIAL THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO GET AROUND NYC. sonatra says "if you can MAKE it here", not if you can GET around here. so get over yourselves.
good thing is, most of this tired hackneyed shit is not popular sentiment.
Hey #36, this Sonatra person must be pretty big in Ohio where you came from 1 year ago. Please do us a favor and move back there, and work in tourist booth if you like them so much.
Yes, please ask the famous locals, because the non-famous locals will cut you!
1. Get a small map. We help those who help themselves.
2. Don't ask how to get to "Ground Zero" and a tourist attraction in the same sentence. I'd say don't ask how to get to Ground Zero at all, but people from away have just as much of a right to mourn the loss of their loved ones as we do.
3. Don't stand in the middle of the sidewalk taking pictures between 8-10 AM and 4-7 PM in midtown and other business areas. You have all day to be a tourist, we've got 20 minutes to get to work on time.
4. Never stop walking at the top/bottom of an escalator, especially in a subway station.
If you and your tourist buddies have to stop walking on a busy sidewalk (look at a map, tie your shoe, etc) MOVE TO THE SIDE and get out peoples way.
I'm down for a $1k in extra taxes to get rid of the tourists.
You people are faggots. And i don't mean that in the homosexual way.
You people are dagos, and I don't mean that in the Italian way.
You people are kikes, and I don't mean that in the Jewish way.
[sigh] Need I go on?
#32 - OK I exaggerate for effect. Bicyclists can't go around mowing people down on purpose, for obvious reasons (against the law, injury/death to tourist/rider/bike, bad karma, etc.) But it's a friggin systemic problem. Especially the "blithely wandering into the bike lane at point X a split second before a cyclist going at a non-trivial pace is about to be at the exact same spot" thing that really gets me. This is often done walking backwards, staring at the camera's view screen.
Also - DON'T let your kids run around on the bridge, for frig's sake. Bike lane, remember?
#35 - Absolutely right. Not about the clotheslining but a well-delivered "OI! get off the sidewalk!" would help.
Thank god for the 15-20% tip! This needs to be written in the NYC handbook. Thats a huge misconception amongst the tourist crowd.
And #15, perhaps the tourists arent asking you for directions not because you are black, but because they notice you staring at their "titties". Grow up kid.
the mayor doesn't get it...
Regular New Yorkers don't benefit from all this tourist action. Big chain retailers do benefit, however. Long-time neighborhood stores & mom-and-pop places are fast disappearing and being replaced with the same tired group of retailers in every neighborhood that cater to specifically to outsiders tastes and needs.
And do we really need even MORE bumper-to-bumper double-decker tour buses spewing choking fumes as they crawl down Bleeker Street??? If you want to see New York, get off your fat ass and walk like we do, or stay home and watch re-runs of "Friends."
HOW DO I GET TO 9/11?
I don't think tourists need help getting around. I've worked near Times Square for years and have never been asked. Besides, how lost can you get if you never get off a double decker bus and stay within a ten block radius of your hotel?
oh hello american joe. which way to hamburger, hotdog stand?
I'm just glad someone finally got Tiki out of his shell.
I thought that boy would NEVER have anything vapid to say.
Thank God for this.
11. Wallets go in the front pockets.
12. Don't go anywhere near a three card monte game
13. If someone approaches you on the street and wants to sell you something. Respond with a no-thanks and walk away. If it sounds too good to be true, it most always is that way.
14. Always get a receipt from the taxi driver.
15. When a store has a sign that says "going out of business sale" it means they have been going out of business for the last twenty years.
16. If you are alone at night and a bit wasted, opt for the cab. It doesn't work out too well if you fall asleep on the subway, miss your stop, get lost, etc...
17. The best bars and restaurants are most often not in the heavy tourist areas. Do your homework or ask a local. You will have a better meal/drink and spend less money.
18. Don't even think about breaking in new shoes when you visit this City. You will be doing a lot of walking. Always wear comfortable shoes.
beware and do not associate with people who don't look like you.
oh wait, they already practice this rule.
there are no Wal-mart Super Centers here.
You will be walking so don't bitch
your fat ass needs some excercise
Wonder when those double decker busses will start cruzing through the South Bronx and Bedstuy Brooklyn. After all we want to show how this city is the greatest city in the world.
I don't see how seeing Jimmy Fallon or Robert De Niro's face at the airport is going to ease the frustration of waiting in line forever or rude customs officials?
1. I don't understand...now that we have "the internet," I can extensively research any vacation destination so that asking directions is a LAST resort. Why is this difficult for others?
2. God yes, I HATE, "how do you get to Ground Zero?"
3. Tell you what...I'll give you directions only if you PROMISE not to ask them as I'm crossing the street, or during the walk signal as I approach the intersection. You must also remember that the left "lane" on the escalator is for moving, not standing. This is the way they do it in the rest of the world (as least from what I've seen), so please adhere to this rule.
face it,
new yorkers are assholes,
especially the fukkin
idiots who drive or on bikes