usa :: new york :: general

[hey]

pod hotel?

http://www.thepodhotel.com/

This place looks really fucking cool, but is a little bit pricey. My boss actually recommended I stay there, since he spent the night there once and really liked it. Maybe if I budget this out well I could afford it.

[dnarnya]

Have you thought about getting some friends to go with you? split a hotel room? Manhattan is where you want to be... Have you considered credit card debt -- everyones doing it.

[MikeN]

Seriously. Where would SuperFuture be without credit card debt??

[hey]

I've tried to get a few friends to come along, and I have a few who have tentatively agreed, but I'd rather be pleasantly surprised if they get their shit together than pissed off and totally fucked of they don't.

And as far as credit card debt, well, I am using a credit card to take this trip, but I'm trying not to max it out or ruin my credit or anything.

I did find a friend to crash with for two nights, which alleviates a lot of stress.

Now: Where's the NYC shopping thread?

[MikeN]

This whole forum is a NYC shopping thread!

[jeepster]

Going to see the pillows. They've been a favorite band of mine ever since I was an animu-loving middle-schooler, and even though I'm 21 and in college now I still keep up with all their singles and album releases. They're probably my favorite band hands down and they tour the US infrequently and without warning.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I'll be looking into your suggestions.

where are the pillows playing???? i'd kill to see them. my old band used to do covers of their stuff, naked shuffle" "hybrid rainbow" etc...

[hey]

They're playing at Blender Theater at Gramercy on the 21st. They're also doing two California shows. There's more info at their myspace: www.myspace.com/thepillows though I guess you could deduce that.

I always said that if I had a band, we'd have to play a cover of Skeleton Liar. Alas, I have never been in a band.

[bronsnine]

Now: Where's the NYC shopping thread?

the actual new york superfuture site?

[cw]

hey, i can't get any decent frames where i live. so i'm going to be visiting nyc soon and wanted to know if anyone could throw out some decent places to pick some up that take VSP insurance. it's pretty common, so i figure some people may know from their own experience. thanks.

[SENDkylHISPASSWORD]

try moscot in the l.e.s.

also for frames (no lenses) fabulous fannys in the east village

[cw]

moscot accepts vsp? that is amazing!

[DaBestSpoona]

Chinatown isnt bad these days. I like Mott Street Optical on the corner of Mott and Bayard.

[SENDkylHISPASSWORD]

i don't know - i just said to try them, they are pretty legit so maybe - i don't even know what vsp is

[MikeN]

Brissy. He's fucking with you. East New York is probably the worst place in NY to live in.

[DaBestSpoona]

alot of places like myoptics, moscot, etc dont take insurance but they'll fill out the forms for you, so you pay everything up front and pray that the insurance company reimburses you.

Most chinatown places will gladly take insurance.

[readytoignite]

i think there's a place in chelsea that's pretty good - what i usu do is use the provider locator and x-reference against the oliver peoples stockists page. feel free to insert your favorite brand.

to all of you people throwing out your favorite eyeglass store, the point is to keep in-network and take advantage of mad discounts.

[jubei]

fyi, moscot doesn't accept vsp on their store frames... so if you thought you were going to cop them for like 20 bucks, no such luck.

I haven't looked into it yet, but I think Grand Central Opticians takes VSP. though their stuff is a little more high end, it may have the "nicer" stuff you're looking for. The only frames that I was into at Moscot were a pair of name brand frames that were pretty pricey, so I thought that I'd just look elsewhere instead.

[cw]

ah, so there are two moscots. one being the retro-ish place, the other a regular-type optician? i'll look into grand central opticians too. thanks

[readytoignite]

ok, the place i was thinking of is manhattan eyeworks on 23rd st. great place, i only changed because my work changed their plans. i think they also have a dental practice which is weird but cool.

[jubei]

^ how did you like their selection? was it pretty good? also, how was the service (i.e. eye check up etc.)

if you were pretty happy with your experience I may trek down there... otherwise, it's a bit of a haul for me from work.

I refuse to go back to Cohen's after some dude basically cracked my fucking frames in two places, while demonstrating to me how brittle my frames were. WTF. all I did was walk in to get them adjusted...

[hey]

Alright, I appreaciate all the help you guys have given me. I've booked plane tickets, bought the concert tickets, and my lodging is all in order. I also checked out the main superfuture NYC page and learned a good deal from that. You've all been immensely helpful.

So now I ask this:

Are there any must-go, must-eat, must-see places in NYC that might be a bit below the radar, i.e. not on the superfuture page, not commonly known to tourists, etc?

I'd really like to make the most out of my four days there.

[ctrlaltelite]

Going to see the pillows. They've been a favorite band of mine ever since I was an animu-loving middle-schooler, and even though I'm 21 and in college now I still keep up with all their singles and album releases. They're probably my favorite band hands down and they tour the US infrequently and without warning.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I'll be looking into your suggestions.

shut the fuck up! they're coming back to NYC?!

i saw them there when they played the knitting factory and it was effing GRAND.

[ericdw]

I just got a new dSLR, and would like to learn how to do more. Nikon offers one that I'm planning on doing, so i can learn about my camera, but can anyone recommend a good general photography class? thanks

[Ari Gold]

my buddy got offered a job in Manhattan at MLG's headquarters so he has to relocate there and im gonna put some money up for the initial deposit and first/last month's rent therefore im gonna go with him..im sure there are a few ppl from NY here so if anyone knows any decent places for rent or areas to look that are easily accessible to Manhattan id appreciate any info.

[the_state]

BK:

Fort Greene is where the cool kids play these days, but it's already way overpriced, just like much of Brooklyn.

Prospect Heights is a little hyped, but i don't think there's anything "worthy" going on. Proximity to Prospect Park is nice, but it's still a lil rough around the edges.

Bed-Stuy is supposedly up and coming, but I can't really get past the fact that it's BED FUCKING STUY!

Avoid Bushwick. At all costs.

QNS:

Deals can still be had Astoria. It's super close to NYC too, on a great subway line.

If your buddy is ballin', he prob afford something in Manhattan. Expect to pay up to 2k+ for a 1br/studio in a "desirable" 'hood. It prob won't be the nicest place either.

If he needs to live on the island of Manhattan and doesn't have baller dollaz, tell him to check out Washington Heights. It's waaaaaaaaaaay up there, but there are nice deals.

[peteyross]

New York is the largest and most expensive city in the country with very distinct neighborhoods. Try to narrow it down a bit first and I think you'll get better responses. What do you want to spend? What type of place do you want to live in? How close to the train do you need to be? What vibe are you looking for?

[Ari Gold]

basically from what ive discussed with others who've had experience living in NY or live in NY now i'm thinking Brooklyn or Queens is gonna be our best bet.

there will be 2 of us splitting a place so we are looking to spend about $1500 a month roughly on a place total..possibly a little more if needed be.

we would need transportation to be relatively close because he will need to travel to work daily..his job is in manhattan across from the empire state building.

as far as the type of place and vibe we are looking for we are pretty open..we are going to take the train up from philly here in april to check some places out so we can get a feel for the places first hand to see what fits our lifestyle best

thanks for breaking down the 2 the_state.. that info will be very helpful.

[down4nyhc]

i'm looking for apts as well right now. i was on the verge of signing a lease for a duplex in greenpoint when i showed up to take a look at it one more time on a rainy day and found the super sweeping water out of the lower floor of the apt. people are shady as hell and they will try to lock you into lease before telling you about most important things.

brokers are a dime a dozen so be careful who you deal with. unfortunately there are not enough apts. at normal prices so they disappear quickly and brokers know that so they put least amount of effort into actually trying to help people. good forum to read in terms of finding out facts about brooklyn neighborhoods is brooklynian.com. i think there is also a thread in there about peoples' experiences from dealing with various brokers.

as mentioned before stay out of bushwick. ridgewood is pretty nice unfortunately the M train is slow and unreliabe. queens is nice but there is absolutely nothing there in terms of culture and shopping other than PS1. sunnyside is pretty good these days with the 7 train running well and a bunch of food stores and restaurants around.

[englandmj7]

Did you try this thread?

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=17608

there will be 2 of us splitting a place so we are looking to spend about $1500 a month roughly on a place total..possibly a little more if needed be

Good luck finding a nice 2 bedroom for that price.

[peteyross]

At $1500, you're gonna be quite far from the city and realistically, this might price you out of Brooklyn entirely. Sure you can probably find a $1500 2BR in BK but it's not likely to get you excited. To get the most out of your dollar, you should really scour Astoria for a no fee (ie no broker) apartment. Finding a no fee apartment will allow you to go up a few hundred dollars a month in rent and still come out the same economically. It's worth the time and effort if you're not under a strict timeline.

I think you could probably land a 2BR in Astoria for b/w $1750 and $2000 but it's likely to be about 10 minute walk from the train. There are still deals to be had in Astoria relative to other neighborhoods though, especially when you're comparing neighborhoods with young people.

Just as a barometer the average studio in Manhattan is running at about ~$1900 with nicer ones getting close to ~$3000. Prime neighborhoods in Brooklyn aren't going to be too far behind.