Summer In The City: Visit New York Do’s and Don’ts

New York City in the Summer… The cobblestone streets of Soho are sizzling, Broadway is bustling, and the outdoor patios are full of life and flavor. While many people have come back to the city post pandemic, Summer in NYC is always a different experience than other times of the year. With many locals heading to the Hamptons, the city is your playground. Here are the top things on our list to do, see, stay and check out.

 

Where To Stay

Depending on your budget, there are three locations we prefer to stay in the city. Near Central Park, In Tribeca and Soho.  Central Park is lovely in the Summer, and the views are breathtaking. If your budget is decent, we suggest the Park Hyatt hotel. A five-star hotel with views of Central Park and a Spa that won’t quit.  Located near Central Park, but far enough west that you can stroll up Madison Ave, turn left, and make your way to time square in less than twenty minutes.

If you are looking for an eco-friendly option near the park, Look for the 1 Hotel Central Park. With reclaimed materials and farm-to-table eats, your conscious will be clear and your night’s sleep sound.

For a good Soho option with river views and an easy-to-walk location, check out the five-diamond Dominick

Hands down, Tribeca means staying at the Greenwich Hotel  Robert De Niro’s life-inspired hotel with an eco edge features an amazing restaurant and spa. This hotel does not disappoint.

 

Where To Dine

If you are looking for places to eat near your Broadway show, check out Victors Cafe. Cuban food, circa 1960’s ambiance, and a go-to for Broadway goers for lunch and dinner, with a cute street terrace for excellent people watching.

Craving Mediterranean eats and staying in midtown? Look no further than ilili Restaurant NYC where Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisine fuse together in a modern space.

For Pizza, head to the Lower East Side for Scarr’s Pizza. Featherweight pies and old school wood-paneled ambiance. Here is their retro menu— and included are vegan items! Yaasss!

Walk back in time in Tribeca to The Odeon. Old school diner meets retro fifties cafeteria. The American cuisine food is amazing and the evening people-watching will astound you.

Where To Move

If walking in the city doesn’t wear you out, visit Sky Ting Yoga in Chinatown, or take an am run through Central Park. You can make your way to Chelsea Piers for fitness of all types for all ages, including a large driving range, skate rink and fitness club. Alternatively, you can find a local gym to get a workout in when you are not playing tourist.

 

How To Zen

There are three Spas in the city worth checking out. In Tribeca, the Aire Baths a proper bath house in the city. Modern take and extremely spacious, candle lit, with various pools of luxury, salt, minerals and ancient rituals. The Naturapathica day spa center in Chelsea, features all Naturapathica products and the sweetest treatments. If you are looking to get a facial, go here! The Spa Nalai cannot be beat. Each treatment room as a suite facing Central Park. The indoor pool and the most amazing treatments. Even if you are not staying at the hotel, you should check out this spa. It is unlike any other and will give you the chill you need.

 

What To Do

See a Broadway show. Visit the Empire State Building, Take in the Moma. There are many museums and shows to choose from. Try to get at least one museum and one show in if you can. If you are looking for last-minute theatre tickets at a low price, Rush and Broadway Lottery tickets can be a great option.

 

Nightlife

Newish bar Lullaby in the Lower East Side gives off speakeasy vibes. Located in a basement under a sushi bar, feel the house party vibes with cool atmosphere. For some stunning views, head to Overstory in the Financial District. Cocktails fuse with boiler room sophistication. Espresso martinis are for closers. And that is you.

 

New York In The Summer Can Be An Adventure

Enjoy the sites and sounds, lights and entertainment of NYC when it sizzles. Wear shorts, tank tops and good walking shoes to explore the big apple. Safe travels!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Yorker’s Guide to Airport Parking

New York has three airports: LaGuardia, Newark, and JFK. In this article, we’ll be focusing on the JFK lot because it’s the easiest option for New Yorkers to get to via car or public transit.

Located 12 miles southwest of Manhattan, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is the biggest airport in the state. Despite being in a city known for poor parking, JFK has plenty of it, including many garages near the airport and off-site, but close by, airport parking lots.

If you’re planning to travel out of the Big Apple, this guide will help you locate the best airport parking options available. These include short-term, long-term, and budget parking lots.

JFK Airport Parking Rates and Options

Although off-site JFK airport parking rates are much more affordable, there are some options that are decently priced. Parking at JFK airport costs $4 per half hour for short-term and $18 per day. Long-term parking varies based on how long you’re staying and the lot you’re choosing.

Short-Term JFK Parking Lots

JFK offers standard parking options, like hourly and daily. The Red, Orange, and Green garages are the cheapest, whereas the Yellow and Blue garages are more expensive, but not by much. Terminal numbers range from 1 through 8. Hourly options are available for drop-offs.

Here are the current parking rates for short-term lots at JFK airport:

Hourly Parking (Red, Orange, and Green)

 

  • 30 Minutes: $4

  • 1st Hour: $8

  • Every Additional Hour: $4

  • Maximum Daily Rate: $35

Hourly Parking (Yellow and Blue)

 

  • 30 Minutes: $5

  • 1st Hour: $10

  • Every Additional Hour: $5

  • Maximum Daily Rate: $39

 

Accessible Parking is also available and charges the same rate as the Red, Orange, and Green zone, except the maximum rate is capped at $18. Blue and Yellow are closer to the terminal.

Long-Term JFK Parking Lots

Long-term parking is located in two lots: Economy Lot and the Long-Term Lot 9. The Long Term lots are 4 miles west of the airport on Howard Beach and Lefferts Blvd. A free shuttle will take you to and from the airport. There are also several off-site parking options that charge $9 a day.

 

Here are the current parking rates for long-term lots at JFK airport:

 

  • Long-Term Off-Site With a Shuttle: $9

  • Long-Term Daily Parking: $18

  • Long-Term Accessible Parking: $18

 

If you’re keeping your car at JFK overnight, we recommend choosing the long-term parking option. Not only does it give you the best bang for your buck, but they have better security.

JFK Off-Site Parking Rates and Options

Along with on-site options, JFK also has a variety of off-site lots that are typically cheaper than parking at the airport. Here are a few options you should consider on your next vacation.

 

  • JFK Long-Term Parking: Less than 4 miles from the airport, JFK Long-Term Parking offers a free valet service, a secure lot, and a complimentary shuttle.

  • ARB Parking: About 1 mile from the airport, ARB Parking has a 24/7 shuttle that runs on-demand or every 15 minutes. Come with a security gate. Charges extra for SUVs.

  • JFK Airlot EconoPark: Also located 1 mile from the airport, JFK Airlot EconoPark offers the same services as ARB, except the shuttle is on-demand and includes a valet.

  • Air Park JFK: Located right next to the airport, parking at Air Park grants you a complimentary shuttle every 20 minutes. If you part for 7 days, you get one day free.

  • Sunrise Auto Sales JFK: While Sunrise Auto Sales is a car dealership, it also offers long-term parking for vacationers. They have a free, on-demand shuttle that runs 24/7.

  • Aardwolf Parking (JFK): While the shuttle booking includes 4 people, if you do have a large party, you can save a lot of time. Comes with a 24/7 complimentary shuttle service.

 

Most off-lot parking ranges from $9 to $14 a day, perfect for long-term parkers. If you have an electric vehicle, there are EV charging stations at the JFK airport on the ground level in the yellow lot, but most off-site lots don’t have charging stations. Electricity is provided free.

 

If you want to save even more money, SpotHero sells extra inventory from parking operators near JFK. You can also use services like FlySmart, which gives you information about parking lot availability. One-Stop Parking helps you find cheap off-site parking in New York City.

New York’s Charm Calls People Back to the City After Pandemic Exodus

 

Back in the beginning of 2020, when the coronavirus first started to spread worldwide, New York City quickly became one of the most severely affected parts of the country. That alone was a solid incentive for people to move to smaller towns or suburbs. Not only that but with remote work becoming a trend, many people realized the need for a bigger space.

 

But despite the fact that even before the pandemic New York’s population started to considerably decrease, this trend seems to be reversing and the city is getting back to its busy self. This being said, let’s look at some of the reasons why people chose to get away from the city and why the trend seems to be reversing now, all seen through the eyes of an NYC mover!

 

Why people chose to leave New York 

It didn’t come as a surprise that the vacancy rate in New York City in December 2020 rose to 5.1%. Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens were at 1.81 percent in December 2019. The problem became so terrible that landlords had to take dramatic steps, such as free rent, to encourage landlords to sign rentals.

 

The outbreak of coronavirus accelerated the outflow trend. In March 2020, more than 89.000 people left New York City due to health concerns. But although many speak of a COVID exodus and with good reason since the circumstances of it sparked even further people’s incentive to move, the truth is that before this global crisis, the population of the city decreased. The lack of cheap housing, access barriers to many industries, and weak employment development in the last 10 years have resulted in a persistent population decrease. According to a Bloomberg article, every week before the outbreak, 2,600 people left the town. New York City felt impenetrable and saturated, which saw the American dream as almost unreachable.

 

Since the cost of living in NYC is three times the national average, for many it became impossible to handle, especially with the pandemic hitting the economic sector so hard. And even if job-loss wasn’t an issue, with the easiness of remote work and everything that made New York attractive closing, for some it just didn’t make sense anymore to sustain the high cost of living in the city.

 

The high costs of the city also left businesses with no option but to leave, especially as the lockdowns and quarantine rules left numerous offices predominantly in Midtown Manhattan closed. Some corporations realized that since their workers function just as well remotely, there is simply no reason to continue supporting the high costs of a New York office and simply chose to move their headquarters to cheaper areas or in some cases, even completely renounce to the idea of having a physical office.

 

But despite the fact that for a while there it seemed that New York lost its vibrancy and its people, things seem to be turning around.

 

The outflow trend has shifted. People are coming back to the city

Statistics show that the next couple of months will be the first in a long time when more individuals will move into the city than leave it behind. And for landlords that is good news regarding their own vacancies.The number of people moving back is predicted to exceed the number of people moving to New York City for the first time ever since January of 2019.

 

Unfortunately for the rental market, landlords may still have to take initiatives to attract tenants such as competitive rent or other perks. But if this trend continues, the vacancy rate in the city might start moving in the correct direction. Statistics done by moving companies point to the fact that people will come back to New York City when circumstances improve in relation to the pandemic. In addition, assuming that more and more businesses will resume normal activity, people that migrated away from the city during the pandemic may be forced to return to the city.

 

Those who left found themselves re-examining their metropolitan lives by their pre-pandemic patterns. Many found themselves asking if they still want to live in the city and many of them obviously chose not to. Many activities such as baking, gardening and padding around a house larger than two rooms sounded a lot more like what they needed. But New York still has a lot of charm and a lot of opportunities to offer. Be it old residents missing the busy life or fresh-out-of-college dreamers looking to make a life in the city, the migration back seems to be happening slowly but surely.

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About the Author

Michaela Smith is the marketing director at EMPIRE MOVERS, a well-established residential and commercial moving company in New York City, with over 15 years of experience in both local and long distance moving.

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