[CoG Meetup] April 21 & 22 (2012) in NYC

[civil_dead]

Okay, it's on--April 21 & 22 here in New York. Now on to practical matters:

Google Doc for attendees to share their info.

It's party time people.

Agenda. Meetup Friday between 6-7 at the Beekman Beer Garden at South Street Seaport (Fulton & South). Event progress from there.

Saturday - (tentative) Meetup at north end of High Line elevated park (30th St bet 10th & 11th)

Sunday - Still TBD. Probably mostly indoor activities.

If we miss you text DoctorFinger (718-598-1480) and he'll let you know where the party is.

ATTENDEES (YES WITH ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE TIMES IN PARENTHESIS)

civil (lives here)
DoctorFinger (lives here)
Ink Asylum (lives here)
Ox
Ten19 (lives here)
National Kato (afternoon Friday/afternoon Monday)
Krispy
Krispy's Roommate
MagGnome (afternoon Friday/afternoon Sunday)
Panthera
bapenguin
Voodoo
pomeroy
Lint of Death
astranoir
Suave Peanut

ATTENDEES (MAYBE)

AniAko & SadiePepper (Sunday maybe)
Serapth
torrefaction
Matthias
Squidbot
diablopath
Libuke
Hawkzombie
Jboy001
Superman's Dead
Libuke
Gorvi
TheSilentDeath
Xerxes
Ghostbear
violent

Please let me know if there are corrections/changes to the above, or if I forgot to mention you (I skimmed the thread). I've made a Google Doc (link) for attendees to share their info.

GETTING TO NYC

JFK Airport - Can be a bit of a haul to get into the city, but it's often cheaper to fl into/out of.
LaGuardia Airport - The closest airport to downtown, but still involves quite a few buses/trains to get to your location. Still, the easiest of all the airports in terms of public transport.
Newark Liberty Airport - Frankly, a PITA to fly into/out of (if your ultimate destination is NYC). But that is often off-set by the cheaper airfares you can find as it is a hub for several airlines.
Long Island MacArthur - Often overlooked, but sometimes you can find cheap Southwest deals flying into this airport (IIRC they list it as Islip). The trade-off? Getting to/from there. But savings > convenience IMO.

Tip when searching for airfare: use the airport code NYC when searching for fares, that'll cover all three major airports above. Also, don't hesitate to fly into one airport and fly out of another. My mother recently saved almost $200 doing this recently (from Los Angeles).


GETTING AROUND ONCE YOU'RE HERE

Wherever you land, you'll need to get into the city (I say that in a very generic sense) and there are really only three or four things you'll need to know:

MTA - New York's public transportation system. Unless you're taking a cab no matter what airport you fly into you'll need to use this. I highly, highly recommend getting the 7 Day unlimited ride pass for $29 (as of this writing). Even though you'll be here for only a few days, considering each one-way ride is $2.50 it rapidly pays for itself. Please note that you won't be able to use it for the AirTrain or LIRR (see below). Still, just getting around the city you'll need this.
AirTrain (NJ) / AirTrain (JFK) - You'll need this if you're flying into either the Newark or JFK airports at some point (the AirTrain) will get you from the airports to the MTA.
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) - If you fly into Islip, you'll need to take this into the city. This is also an option to get into the city from JFK, once you get from the airport to the public transport hub (including the MTA) via the AirTrain.

You may also use the PATH or NJ Transit if you fly into Newark. Please do your research! I'm not responsible for you winding up in Hoboken.


WHERE TO STAY

At the risk of offending any NYC CoGgers, I'd suggest sticking to either Brooklyn or Manhattan in terms of hotels. Now Manhattan is...well, the center of the known universe. More stuff to do than you could ever fit in a lifetime. 24 hours of activity every single day. The downside? Expense. You'll pay for all that with more expensive rooms. Though you can find good deals if you look for it, especially if you're sharing rooms. My go-to is always Hotels.com, but you can also check out Airbnb, as there are sometimes incredible deals to be found there (and hot chicks, according to a friend of a friend who hooked up with a host from there). Seriously, check it out. Regarding neighborhoods you can't go wrong (within reason) with anything from 120th Street southward (NYC people correct me if you think I'm off base here). 120th will land you within the range of Columbia University and the Morningside Heights/Harlem neighborhoods. Don't discount Harlem, either! I have a few friends who live there and have had no issues. For reference, the numbered streets go from the low numbers on the south of the island to the high numbers on the north of the island. Avenues run from low numbers on the east of the island and high numbers on the west.

As for Brooklyn, I'd recommend sticking to the waterfront neighborhoods because of proximity to Manhattan (which is most likely where a lot of activities will happen). Off the top of my head I'd suggest (going from north to south): Greenpoint; Williamsburg; DUMBO; Boerum Hill; Downtown Brooklyn; Brooklyn Heights; Cobble Hill; Carroll Gardens; Gowanus; Park Slope.

Please post if you have any questions about neighborhoods and we'll get them answered.

Okay, that's it for this post. Thankfully I have the one below where we can start to tackle things to do and other stuff. But for now this should get us going (and my fingers are tired).

[civil_dead]

ROOM SHARING

Name:
Hotel/Location:
Number of Spaces Available: ?
Space 1: Roommate
Space 2:
Space 3:
Expected Nightly Cost:


THINGS TO DO

Boat Cruise
Central Park Kickball
Cool Shows (music, theater, etc)
Landmarks (Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, etc)
Scenic Places (e.g. nighttime top o' The Rock)
Museums (MoMA, Guggenheim, etc)
Karaoke!

[Gorvi]

My girlfriend (hopefully soon to be more than that....) and I will coincidentally probably be in NYC around that time, we need to go pick up a good deal of her belongings she left with a friend there. If we could meet up then that would be great.

[Ink Asylum]

Count me in. There's an artist's convention the last weekend in April (28th-29th) that I'm exhibiting at, but if this happens at night I should still be able to make it. Also, it probably won't interfere, but PAX East is the first weekend in April.

[civil_dead]

Whoa! Last I was around you were...well, ending another relationship. You move quick, player.

Any idea when you'll be up?

EDIT: That was to Gorvi.

[Gorvi]

Originally Posted by civil_dead

Whoa! Last I was around you were...well, ending another relationship. You move quick, player.

Any idea when you'll be up?

EDIT: That was to Gorvi.

Oh, not that quick. The ex and I separated back in the beginning of May of last year, I've been with my hopefully soon to be fiance now since the beginning of July. Right now we're still in the planning stages for the trip, so we're not sure when we'll be going, but it looks like it's probably going to be in April. It's a bit of a trick, she has most of her belongings with a friend up there, so we're working on the logistics of getting up there and getting her things back down to Florida.

[Blue]

I have begun working on the wife. Let us hope that my skills in these twelve-odd years have not deteriorated beyond repair.

[MagGnome]

I would love to do this, but it will depend on the cost and timing. That's a rather obvious statement, I suppose.

School will be in full swing throughout April, although I have no Friday classes next year so that helps. If I can find a cheap plane ticket, then I should be able to join you guys. I'll have to check the school calendar and see if we have any Mondays off in April.

Oh, and my birthday is at the end of April, so let's try not to get too close to that.

[fitbabits]

I'm traveling for work to the Bahamas and Dubai in late March/early April. If it's after that, I'm all for it.

[Ox]

Originally Posted by civil_dead

Ox could make it out here via the Chinaman's bus from Philly so there's no excuse this shouldn't be an event of epic proportions.

I prefer to think of them as "Shal-Hulud," but yes.

[Vandabo]

Originally Posted by Ox

I prefer to think of them as "Shal-Hulud," but yes.

Now I picture you entering NYC astride a train holding a huge set of reins.

"Xerxes, do we have Ox-sign?"

"civil, we have Ox-sign the likes of which even God has never seen!"

[diablopath]

Could you provide any idea as to the cost of hotels and shit in the area? My Spring semester is entirely open for me to do what I want, so I could theoretically make this.

Although, I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with you goons.

[civil_dead]

Originally Posted by Blue

I have begun working on the wife. Let us hope that my skills in these twelve-odd years have not deteriorated beyond repair.

Do it.

Originally Posted by MagGnome

I would love to do this, but it will depend on the cost and timing. That's a rather obvious statement, I suppose.

Do it.

Originally Posted by fitbabits

I'm traveling for work to the Bahamas and Dubai in late March/early April. If it's after that, I'm all for it.

Do it.

Originally Posted by Ox

I prefer to think of them as "Shal-Hulud," but yes.

Do i...huh?

*commences googling*

Oh, I get it. This is your once-a-year ploy to maintain some sort of Nerd Cred.


EDIT:

Originally Posted by diablopath

Could you provide any idea as to the cost of hotels and shit in the area? My Spring semester is entirely open for me to do what I want, so I could theoretically make this.

You are young, take advantage of it.

Originally Posted by diablopath

Although, I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be with you goons.

Mag: Do it.

[fitbabits]

Originally Posted by civil_dead

Mag: Do it.

civil_deal: Do Mag!

[MagGnome]

I didn't even think about lodging. I call first dibs on Civil's couch!

[Ox]

Is civil suggesting that, by the standards of this community, I am relatively unnerdy? The mind reels almost as much as when he called me a hipster.

[civil_dead]

Originally Posted by Ox

Is civil suggesting that, by the standards of this community, I am relatively unnerdy? The mind reels almost as much as when he called me a hipster.

Wait...when did this happen? I can't imagine I'd ever say such a thing in a sober state.

And no, I was insinuating that you were dropping down from your lofty perch to offer the commoners a way to identify with you before retreating again to your pasty tower.

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by civil_dead

I can promise both those things on my block alone!

Dust. It's a little dust getting to my eyes.

[Purple Santa]

Originally Posted by MagGnome

I didn't even think about lodging. I call first dibs on Civil's couch!

Well if you need a couch/futon if nothing is available, my crazy mother would put you up. There is a comfy futon in the basement. Then she can show you all the god-awful pics of me in the family albums.

April is my birthday month and i'll have vacation time by then. I might have to pencil this in for a little vacation.

[fitbabits]

We need at least one member of the fairer sex to compliment the crew. Mags doesn't count.