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seamusTX wrote:That reminds me: the bicycle messengers can be death on two wheels. You really need to keep your head on a swivel in a place like that.

- Jim

True.

Be prepared for the fact that people there are really focused on where they're going - and they walk fast.

If you walk more slowly than the crowd, you sharply increase your chances of being approached by panhandlers, fake watch salesmen, and other annoyances. These folks tend to hang out along the building line. If you walk fast and close to the street side of the walkway, you can avoid most of these hassles.

Figure out where you're going and how to get there before you leave. In some parts of town if you stop on the sidewalk and pull out a map, your experience is likely to resemble what happens when a flock of seagulls spots a dead fish washed up on the beach.

SecedeTX wrote:The family is going to Manhattan over the July 4th weekend, just booked the tickets today. I checked CHL map, and no suprise to me, New York was not on the list.

I REALLY don't like going to a downtown environment that I am not familiar with, without protection. My wife and my daughter really want to go, but the whole anti-gun thing turns me off.

The law is the law, but I am not happy with it.

New York City during the daytime is MUCH safer than it used to be.

If you stick to the tourist areas, you should be fine.

Keep your situational awareness on high, though - scammers, pickpockets, petty thieves and the like are thick and will take lightning fast advantage of any carelessness like putting down a purse or laptop.

For the guys, carrying the wallet in the front pocket is much safer than the back. New York's pickpockets can easily remove a wallet from the rear pocket and even from the inside of an open jacket without you feeling a thing. I even had one guy try it on the front pocket, but instead of him ending up with my wallet, I ended up with a tight grip on his hand and we had a brief but productive discussion on the rudeness of that maneuver.