New York City was 2009’s most popular U.S. tourist destination
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber and NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta announced in 2009 New York City was the most popular tourist destination in the United States for the first time since 1990. The 45.25 million tourists exceeded projections, declining just 3.9 percent from 2008 versus the 10 percent expected. A 3.2 percent increase in tourism, with an estimated 46.7 million visitors, is expected in 2010.

Mayor Bloomberg also announced that employment in the leisure and hospitality sector has fully rebounded and surpassed pre-recession levels. New York City remains the most popular destination in the nation for international visitors with 8.6 million international tourists in 2009 – twice as many as the nearest competitor, Los Angeles. The Mayor made the announcement at the Greenhouse Cafe in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where he was joined by New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council President Peter Ward, and Bobby Daquara and John Keegan, co-owners of the Greenhouse Cafe in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a participating restaurant in NYC & Company’s upcoming “Restaurant Week” promotion.

“Over the past eight years, our efforts to make New York City an even more exciting place to visit have helped produce a record number of tourists and create thousands of jobs,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Last year, while tourism declined significantly in cities across the country, we fared far better than most. In fact, for the first time in 20 years, we were the most popular tourism destination in the country, surpassing Orlando, and our leisure and hospitality jobs rose - surpassing even their pre-recession levels. Despite these gains, we know many of our hotels, restaurants, attractions and shops are still struggling as a result of the downturn, but the jobs they have added serve as an important indication that our efforts are paying off and that 2010 promises to be a year of growth.”

“We began 2009 facing a dismal forecast for the city’s tourism industry,” said George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York. “Our initial projections estimated a ten percent decrease, but we continued to invest and strategically promote New York City to domestic and international visitors as well as to New Yorkers. As a result, New York City saw a less than four percent decline in visitation, and still holds onto an ambitious goal of attracting 50 million visitors annually by 2012.  We expect that 2010 will be a year of recovery, and we will continue to find new ways to promote the City to all travelers.”

“Every day, hotel and restaurant workers see the benefits of the Bloomberg Administration and NYC and Company’s innovative and aggressive strategies to promote tourism,” said New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council President Peter Ward. “When New York’s hospitality industry thrives, the jobs it creates are some of the best family-sustaining service sector jobs in the city. In a time of declining wages and rising unemployment, the tourism sector remains a way for tens of thousands of working people to provide a good quality of life for their families and opportunity for their children. Our members live in every borough of the city and truly serve as ambassadors to our city’s millions of visitors each year. We are the first people to greet our visitors upon their arrival, we help them navigate the city, serve their meals, maintain their rooms, and make sure their stays are as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. New York’s hotel workers provide a world-class level of service, and constantly work to ensure that our city remains one of the country’s and the world’s favorite places to visit.”

New York City surpassed Orlando in total visitors in 2009 after finishing second in 2008. The City remains on track to achieve its goal of 50 million annual visitors by 2012 despite the effects of the global recession. The more than 45 million people who visited New York City last year spent approximately $28 billion. Every dollar of direct tourist spending translates into a total of $1.50 in economic activity for New York. New York City welcomed an estimated 36.7 million domestic visitors and 8.6 international visitors to the City in 2009. International tourists remain particularly important to the City’s economy because they spend nearly five times as much as their domestic counterparts.

Approximately 311,000 people are currently employed in the leisure and hospitality industry in New York City - surpassing the 307,000 employed in late 2007 and marking the highest November employment level on record. The gains in employment touched all areas of the sector with employment at food service/restaurants and bars growing by 1.1 percent and employment in hotels growing by 2.6 percent compared to 2008.

Hotel demand remained very strong, with 23.6 million room nights sold -a new City record and 300,000 more than the previous year. Hotel occupancy rates during the final three months of 2009 were higher than they were during the same period in 2008 - generating roughly $315 million in hotel tax revenue for the year.  More than 5,100 new and renovated rooms were added in 2009, bringing the city’s total inventory to more than 81,500 hotel rooms, an increase of 6 percent.

International airport arrivals, while down for the year, showed two consecutive months of increases in September and October, after 10 months of decreases. Non-commuter Amtrak arrivals showed positive growth in October for the first time since September, 2008, with 328,700 passengers during the month, November saw another increase over the previous year with 332,100 passengers. Season-to-date through November, Broadway revenues rose by $3 million in 2009, 0.6 percent increase.

To highlight New York City as an affordable destination in 2010, NYC & Company today kicked off its NYC: The Real Deal Winter promotion, giving visitors and residents access to more than 200 special offers throughout the five boroughs at hotels, attractions, museums, theaters, restaurants, shops and tours.

NYC & Company also launched the Signature Collection Third Night promotion at 15 city luxury hotels. The program gives visitors a complimentary third night at participating hotels after booking and paying for two consecutive nights through February 28th.

NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2010 will run from January 25th through February 7th, with the same prices charged since 2006. Costs will remain $24.07 for three-course prix-fixe lunches and $35 for three-course prix-fixe dinners (excluding beverages, tax and gratuity). NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2010 excludes Saturdays and restaurants have the option to offer the program on Sundays. Reservations open January 12th. Buy Condos NYC – Battery Park Apartments – NYC Real Estate – Buy Hotels NYC – Midtown Hotels For Sale – Battery Park Hotels For Sale – Central Park Area Hotels For Sale - Manhattan Hotels Broker – NY Hotels for sale

Vicky Karantzavelou – Wednesday, January 06, 2010

JFK Airport Car Rentals | Exotic Car Rentals in New York and VAN RENTALS

Nothing compares to the majestic beauty of New York City. And nothing is more spectacular than cruising on the New York Highway to Places like the NY Hamptons, Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, Upstate getaway or Atlantic City in one of the world’s most luxury & exotic automobiles from IMAGE Exotic Car Rentals.
 

718-771-6666   1-888-718-0001

New York JFK Exotic Car Rentals is New York’s first exotic car rental service that specializes in renting world-renown vehicles to automotive enthusiasts and traveling executives, as well as for special events and vacationers looking to accelerate their enjoyment. Select from our exclusive fleet of exotic sport cars, opulent sedans and luxury SUVs.

For luxury car rental in New York, choose Image New York Exotic Car Rentals. Our car rental services are available in New York, NY Hamptons on Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Miami, Orlando Florida and their surrounding areas.
 

	Exotic and Luxury Car Rental   Daily, Weekly and Monthly Rentals   Movie Production & Filming Use   Corporate Accounts   Pick-Up From Newark, LGA & JFK Airport   Rent Mercedes, BMW, Porsche & More.

Looking for a versatile and show-stopping exotic or sports car to hire for your upcoming movie production? Image Rent-A-Car offers you a wealth of exhilarating super cars that are guaranteed to make a mark. Our featured luxury vehicles include the likes of Mercedes Benz S550 – Cadillac Escalade ESV, Range Rover HSE, Porsche Carrera 911 Cabriolet, Corvette Z51 Convertible, BMW M6 Convertible, For multiple-person vans including The 9-12 Passenger High Top Luxury vans, Dodge Sprinter 12 Passenger Vans, 15 Passenger vans and 10-12 person vans and so much more.

Image Luxury Car Rental is the refined source in cutting-edge exotic car rental in the greater New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida and surroundings areas

Be it daily, weekly, monthly or longer, we offer the largest & most outstanding exotic car rental selection in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida. Our comprehensive fleet of exotic cars offers you a much broader range of cars to choose from, whilst maintaining the superior customer service that we have become recognized for and strive to maintain.

Without ever leaving our website, take a tour of our exotic car showcase, and choose your favorite exotic machine for the spotlight. Browse through our collection and let temptation overtake you.

Call us today and take our friendly customer service for a test drive. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

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 Maserati of
Baltimore is not a slow place to spend your time, even if it’s after hours or
staying on to the brink of overnight. Just ask New York fashion icon

John Ashford, the women’s shoe designer whose stiletto heels and sexy boots
are taking the celebrity housewives and runway modeling world by storm.

Thanks to Ashford visiting the M.O.B. Exotic Car Gallery on December 5th,
2008 to conduct an evening photo shoot in the race shop after detailers and
mechanics went home for the day, he was able to create the initial images to
satisfy his artistic vision: a photo collection worthy of being the key feature
set for his upcoming photography book publication. Working in conjunction with

Jack Davis (General Manager of Maserati of Baltimore) and friend

Rob Morton of Tre’Lynn Production, the moon and stars aligned to help
everyone create some spectacular exotic car and beautiful, fast-driving  girl
images.

Click Here to view behind the scenes photos of the John Ashford “Women at 200
MPH” Photo Shoot by Rob Morton of Tre’Lynn Productions.

Egypt Modeling from the Driver’s Seat in Ferrari Red
Couture Stilettos

Baltimore Exotic Spotter

With the hottest local Baltimore models posed perfectly Vogue in the
hottest cars from Jack Davis’
pristine inventory from Maserati of Baltimore’s M.O.B.
Exotic car Gallery, the inspired
photographer Rob Morton of Tre’Lynn Productions worked hard to capture the
essence of what Ashford is seeking–and seeing.

High Tech Car Pictures  Destined to be Dream Scenes with Help from
Internationally Acclaimed  Photoshop Artists

John Ashford’s latest artistic concept and highline automobile glamorous
fashion desire? To capture the essence and spirit of everyone’s favorite  luxury
and performance cars at their best–somewhere over 200 miles per hour. We think
his vision is something that would make even the guys at

Top Gear proud.

The behind the scenes photos give viewers and intimate look at the glamorous
world of exotic cars from an automotive aficionado perspective. Following a
dream sequence concept of “Women at 200 MPH”, the photos are on their way to
Costa Rico for processing and Paris for Photoshop background and special effects
finalizing.

Maserati GranTurismo and Boots by New York Fashion
Designer John Ashford

Baltimore Style Meets NYC Chic at M.O.B.

To see more photos of the John Ashford Womens Shoe Collection, visit

www.johnashford.ws.  The Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini photos with
models from Baltimore and New York are expected to become artistically famous.

The John Ashford Collection coffee table book is scheduled for publication
by fall of 2009 and will make a great gift addition to your new year holiday
shopping agenda. Keep watch here at

www.mobexotics.com for future publication and book or art photo ordering
information. To learn more about hiring professional photographer Rob Morton for
your own exotic car photo shoot or private portfolio, please visit

www.trelynnpro.com.

http://playingintraffic.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/exotic-cars-bring-new-york-couture-womens-shoes-and-boot-designer-john-ashford-to-maserati-of-baltimore/

Luxurious Sports Convertible                    Light in weight, heavy in performance

BMW Car Rentals and BMW M6 Rentals M6 Coupe and Convertible. The BMW Car Rentals and BMW M6 Rentals M6 Coupe and Convertible is powered by a 5.0 liter engine developing 500 hp at 7750 rpm and 383 lb-ft. at 6100 rpm. The base price for the 2008 BMW Car Rentals and BMW M6 Rentals M6 Coupe is $100,075 and the 2008 BMW Car Rentals and BMW M6 Rentals M6 Convertible price starts at $105,875.

BMW Car Rentals and BMW M6 Rentals Press Release:

THE M6 COUPE AND CONVERTIBLE:
The powerful and elegant M6 is updated for 2008

What’s new -
2008 model selection remains as: • M6 Coupe
• M6 Convertible
• Choice of 6-speed Manual or 7-speed SMG transmission   • Reconfigured headlight assemblies with new lenses, new LED markers and turn signals, “white area” increased
• Taillights include new LED design
• Reshaped trunklid with taller upswept profile along trailing edge with LED third brake light incorporated into the rear decklid (formerly in rear window)
• Amber DOT front reflectors relocated to lower bumper, ahead of the wheel-wells
Motorsports-inspired high-rpm concept 

The BMW M6 is a high-performance version of the 6-Series automobile, designed by the motorsport division of the German manufacturer.

The generous space between the front wheels and firewall, its swoopy lines and perfect proportions make for a killer profile. The model’s lowered stance and wikkid 19″ rims add animus aplenty.

The M6 takes to curves like a teenager to MySpace. The stiff chassis, sticky rubber, poised suspension and 500hp V-10’s colossal twist turns the BMW M6 into a tenacious corner carver ready to consume your soul without missing a beat. Words cannot do justice to the handling perfection that is the M6. When you push its limits, the M6 encourages you to dig deeper, surrendering yourself to the siren song of its flat cornering and near limitless torque curve, a powerband that extends all the way to a mind-numbing 8200rpm.

This is where the M6 gets a new lease on life, where the cohesive sum becomes greater than its disjointed parts. Even the SMG makes sense, putting the power down with mad F1 downshifting skills. The precisely weighted steering speaks to you like your four-wheeled soul mate. Excitement uber alles baby!

But BMW’s M6 is still a machine in dire need of an exorcist. With its attention to detail comes the devil of belabored styling and infuriating technology. Such fine road manners come at the expense of a bi-polar transmission and an engine with a lusty appetite for gas and even oil (begging for more after 3000 miles).

Even with the demons in situ, the BMW M6 is one of the finest sporting coupes on the road.

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For that special 40th birthday gift idea, 50th birthday gift idea or 60th birthday gift idea, or just because you want to; why not treat him to a birthday gift he will never forget. A birthday break on four wheels!

New York Exotic Car Hire has developed a special gift service ideal for that memorable birthday when you need something really special to mark the big day…….or, if you are trying to buy for the man who appears to have everything, Birthday Breaks offers the solution. Why not take him away from it all on a romantic classic car break in Devon or New York Exotic Car Hire?
 

Exotic Car Rentals of New York understands the thrill of driving a superior automobile. Yet the Luxury Car Rentals of New York  experience goes beyond your driving expectations. We pride ourselves in offering you personalized attention and impeccable service. Our goal is not merely satisfaction, it is Excellence.

Exotic Car Rentals of New York knows that the ultimate luxury is service. Trust us with all of your transportation requirements, special needs and personal requests.

We offer a unique corporate team building event, or workshop that helps your people bond while experiencing the thrill of driving some of the world’s most expensive luxury, sports, and exotic cars. Our corporate events planner and team building expert uses a mix of luxury and exotic cars along with challenging team building games and exercises that provide wild entertainment, while building trust. Driving our exotic cars teaches your team members to handle conflict and builds commitment to achieving results. They will arrive back on the job with renewed camaraderie and lots of stories to tell!

Typical Program
After your welcome and introduction, you will be given a briefing on the circuit and driving techniques. Next you will be treated to familiarization laps with the instructor in order to get accustomed to the racing lines.

Next up it’s the ultimate supercar – the Porsche Carrera 911 Cabriolet.

You will enjoy a session driving this awesome car, before finishing your experience with a high speed passenger ride, where the instructor will show you how it’s really done!

Please note, programmed varies depending on location, please check on booking.

Duration
You will spend approximately 1 to 2 hours at the venue, depending on location.

Spectators
You are welcome to bring spectators to watch you take part in the activity.

Restrictions
The maximum height for this activity is 1.96m (6ft 5″), the minimum height is 1.52m (5ft). The maximum weight is 114kg (18 stone). Anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be excluded from all activities. You must hold a full manual UK or European driving license in order to participate.

Age
The minimum age for this activity is 26 years old.

Locations
Delivered in New York, New Jersey , Connecticut, Pennsylvania Road Island, Boston MA and Washington DC and Florida

Availability
This experience is available on selected weekdays and weekends, from March to November, depending on the location.

Expiry
The experience day gift pack voucher must be redeemed and used within the nine month validity period.

 Are you having trouble keeping your sales team motivated? Perhaps your employee’s are beginning to feel the pressure of New York City business? Here at Exotic Car Rental we understand the difficulties associated with doing business in Big Apple: long hours, high-stress situations and minimal rewards. But that is about to change thanks to Exotic Car Rental Luxury Car Rentals brand new Luxury Car Rentals Corporate Gifting program. Rewarding key players on your staff with an extra bonus is a great way to boost moral, so why not give your top seller the gift of luxury this quarter! Presenting a hard working associated with an all expense paid luxury car rental is a great way to inspire success, as well as rally team productivity. A great incentives-based program for sales and marketing businesses, the Luxury Car Rentals Corporate Gifting program is offered exclusively at Exotic Car Rental. Participants in the Luxury Car Rentals Corporate Gifting program are invited to browse our extensive fleet of fine and exotic vehicles, so please feel free to stop by and learn more about the program today!

This driving experience has to be the ultimate super car driving event ever. The Ferrari and Porsche are both capable of top speeds in excess of 165mph and both boast 300bhp and now you can judge for yourself which is the best.
Put both these dream cars through their paces and explore the handling characteristics and capabilities in a high-speed environment. This event takes place on airfield circuits and race tracks.
This super car driving experience is designed for the serious Ferrari and Porsche enthusiast and is every super car fans dream gift experience

No Gimmicks just more laps and more driving time.

“My mum bought this for my birthday, wow I have been blown away, now I want a Porsche as well as a Ferrari” S Zverko from Bucks.

Itinerary:

Welcome and registration.

Tea and Coffee when you Arrive.

Safety and Technique Briefing.

hot laps in a performance car typically Corvette, lotus Elise, Dodge Viper. 1 x Instructor demonstration in a MG (Wigan). At Exotic Car Rentals New York NJ CT PA DC MA RI, there are no warm up laps but passenger laps in Caterham.

4-5 laps driving the awesome Porsche 996/911

4-5 Laps driving the Italian Stallion a Ferrari 360/355.

Presentation of individuals driving certificates.

Lamborghini Gallardo and Ferrari this has to be the God father of all driving experiences!

This is your chance to try out the best italian super cars currently on the market? With a price tag of over $130,000, the driving seat of the outrageously fast Lamborghini Gallardo or Ferrari are normally reserved for Premiership footballers.

Now you can slip into the leather seat, engage the first of six gears and start to work the Italian 500hp V10 or 400 hp Ferrari engine that sing as sweetly as any opera divas.

You will be able enjoy unrivalled performance and handling with an expert instructor by your side. Which will be your favorite?

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• Delivery of your Luxury Car to your hotel, business or home throughout New York New Jersey Connecticut.
• Chauffeured driver service for your automobile available upon request
• Introduction to your automobile features and performance equipment

• Executive and corporate travel scheduling
• Amenities and accompaniments for special occasions
• Trip planning and pre-programmed navigation systems & Travel Resources

• Child seats, phone chargers, music selection assistance
• After-hours service available upon request
• Special requests gladly accommodated

Luxury Car Rental New York – Exotic Car Rental New York – Rent Exotic Cars – Luxury Car Rental

Despite the crisis, automakers have not given up on selling dreams at the Geneva Motor Show, which opened this week with an array of eye-catching cars that are always shinier, faster, and ever more expensive.

“Geneva has always been a bit special, somewhere between the provincial and the chic,” said Carlos da Silva, analyst at Global Insight.

Garish colours help to highlight the array of concept, sports and luxury vehicles, which are still one of the principal attractions for the 700,000 visitors expected during the show until March 15.

As the doors opened to the public, overcrowded trains were spilling visitors from around Europe into Geneva while roads to the

exhibition hall were jammed.

Sports cars with prices above 100,000 euros (125,000 dollars), such as the new Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 Super Veloce, inevitably capture minds in search of escape from economic gloom.

Crowds already pressed around the low slung, yellow sports car during the press preview, trying to imagine the effect of being slung by 670 horsepower to 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in 3.2 seconds.

The Murcielago is “more extreme and more exclusive than any other car,” Lamborghini’s chief executive, Stephan Winkelmann, claimed.

Not to be outdone, Aston Martin unveiled the One-77 sports car with a price tag of 1.0 million pounds (1.2 million euros, 1.4 million dollars).

Only 77 will be built and the company claims to have received queries from about 250 potential customers.

Aston Martin also revived the luxury Lagonda name with a brash four wheel drive vehicle on show in Geneva, to try to appeal to new markets in the Middle East, India and China.

“The Lagonda is the luxury car of the future,” said Aston Martin Chief Executive Ulrich Bez. It might not be available for another five years.

Porsche claimed that its new 911 GT3 — displayed in an evocative bright red — is “more powerful” and “more efficient”, while Ferrari sought some of the thunder with ever more sporting engines.

Meanwhile, young men with feather dusters toured the stands to ensure the cars never lose their shine and wipe off finger marks, while “hostesses” handed out brochures or simply posed by the cars.

“They make us dream,” said Marcello, a young Swiss visitor whose gaze was fixed intently on the vehicles.

Amid the dominant theme of fuel economy and environmentalism, the carmakers freely admit that they are trying to stir emotions as well.

“Cars are very important part of the human psyche, because they are symbols of pleasure and prestige,” explained Simon Rochefort, the sales manager of US newcomer Tesla.

The Californian company was presenting its electric-powered convertible sports car in Europe for the first time, trying to combine the zero emissions of an electric motor with the thrill of a Lamborghini or Porsche — and a 99,000 euro (124,000 dollar) price tag.

During a crisis “it’s even more important to dream,” said Frank Rinderknecht, owner of specialised Swiss firm Rinspeed, which presents a new and generally more outrageous concept car every year.

But this year Rinderknecht also sought to capture the mood of the moment by showcasing an array of environmental technology.

Even the elite end of the market is tentatively reaching out to the “ecologically correct”.

Bentley is trying out biofuels, which pollute less but are controversial because of their impact on crops, food prices and the amount of energy it takes to produce them.

Bentley’s chief executive, Franz-Josef Paefgen, admitted that the dreams might have reached their limits.

“It is a crisis that affects luxury cars as much as it affects other sectors,” he remarked

Source : http://www.livemint.com/2009/03/06220936/Dream-machines-come-alive.html?h=B

Luxury Car Rental New York – Exotic Car Rental New York – Rent Exotic Cars – Luxury Car Rental

Call 1-888-718-0001 to inquire or reserve! NYC The Exotic Car Collection by DREAM Rent A Car offers car rentals in NYC , New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Atlantic City, Miami Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale Florida and beyond.

• Luxury SUV rentals
• Rent a Range Rover Sport, BMW X5 or other similar premium SUV with all the bells and whistles!
• Other car rental locations in the NY NJ CT FL areasBelow is a list of some suggested things to do and see in the New York Metropolitan Area, with links to more details when available.American Museum of Natural History
  The American Museum of Natural History, in Midtown Manhattan, offers permanent and changing exhibits covering Asian, American Indian, Pacific islanders, South American, Aztec and Mayan cultures. It also features one of the world’s largest fossils displays, including a Tyrannosaurus Rex and Apatosaurus, plus other exhibits ranging from human body to animals and minerals.
  Central Park West at 79th Street. (212) 769-5100
   
   
   
   
  Apollo Theater

  A major entertainment landmark, Harlem’s Apollo Theater was originally known as Hurtig & Seamon’s New (Burlesque) Theater, with vaudeville and burlesque for white audiences. In 1934, Frank Schiffman, a white entrepreneur, started showcasing leading black entertainers for mixed audiences, putting the Apollo forever on the map. Legends such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and Dinah Washington played the Apollo, where amateur nights jump-started careers for Pearl Bailey, James Brown, and Gladys Knight. Wednesday is amateur night. Back-stage tours, in groups of up to 20 take place daily, linking past, present and future. Gift shop merchandise includes vintage Apollo items.
  253 West 125th Street, near Frederick Douglass Boulevard. (212) 749-5838

   
  Bronx Magnetism
  As for the Bronx, some say how Swede it is, since it was settled in 1639 and named for the Swedish settler Jonas Bronck. More than 60 landmarks and historic districts are in the Bronx, including the Edgar Allen Poe Cottage on the Grand Concourse and the Van Cortlandt Mansion and Museum in Van Cortlandt Park. Wave Hill, a former private estate once home to Mark Twain and Theodore Roosevelt, among others, has spectacular views overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey’s soaring 500-foot cliffs, the Palisades. Its 28-acres, given to the city for use as a public garden, also has wooded paths, herb and flower gardens, and benches for contemplation. The Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Park show cases more than 600 species indoor in indoor/outdoor environments.
  Bronx Zoo, Fordham Road, off the Bronx River Parkway. (718) 367-1010
  Edgar Allen Poe Cottage, Poe Park, 2460 Grand Concourse. (718) 881-8900
  Van Cortlandt Mansion and Museum, Broadway at 246th Street, Van Cortlandt Park, Riverdale. (718) 543-3344
  Wave Hill, 675 West 252nd Street. (718) 549-3200
   
  Brooklyn Children’s Museum
  Open since 1899, Brooklyn Children’s Museum is the world’s first for youngsters, with nearly 27,000 cultural objects and natural history specimens. The Museum’s first home was in Adams Building, a Victorian mansion in Brooklyn’s  Bedford Park, in 1923 renamed Brower Park. Parlor rooms and halls held exhibits, with workshops and a library upstairs. Youngsters were encouraged to participate, not just look. Driving force Anna Billings Gallup becoming curator in 1904, and invented ways for children to use the Museum. During the 1930s Depression, federal WPA workers made improvements, while the Museum expanded its take-home program, now called the Portable Collections. After WWII, the BCM helped children prepare for the “space age.” By 1967, the expanded BCM’s Adams and Smith mansions were deemed beyond repair. Temporary space, called “The Muse,” in a renovated pool hall and auto showroom opened in 1968, leading to experiments with dance and music classes. In 1977, BCM’s Brower Park building opened on the Smith mansion site with other building structures recycled into the architecture. Visitors enter through a trolley kiosk from the 1900’s. A “People Tube” — a huge sewer pipe — connects four exhibit floors, and a corn oil tank serves as “The Tank” — an amphitheater.
  45 Brooklyn Avenue, at St. Marks Avenue. (718) 735-4400
   
  Bryant Park
  A park since 1842, Bryant Park’s midtown location – one block from Times Square – is a big lunch hour destination in warm weather, typically hosting more than 5,000 workers on a football field-sized lawn. Amenities include a French-style carousel (mid-park on 40th Street), chess tables, free yoga classes, 25,000 varieties of flowers, and free wireless access. Bryant Park provides multiple venues for year-round events and gatherings. Six flower beds border Bryant Park’s lawn to the north and south—three on the shady south side and three on the sunny north. Along the northern and southern sides are twin promenades bordered by London plane trees (Platanus acerifolia), the same species found at the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, and contributing to Bryant Park’s European aura.
  Behind New York Public Library between 40th and 42nd streets.
   
  Carnegie Hall
  Since Walter Damrosch conducted the first “Young People’s Concert” in 1891, Carnegie Hall has taught all ages about music. Each season includes concerts for families, workshops for teachers and musicians, programs for students and schools, and free concerts in NYC neighborhoods. One-hour backstage tours, (212) 903-9765, detail the story of Andrew and Louise Carnegie and how the Hall was saved from demolition in 1960. Carnegie’s century-long performance tradition showcased artists from Tchaikovsky to Mahler, from Horowitz to Callas to Bernstein, Judy Garland and the Beatles. Gift shop merchandise strikes a chord celebrating the Hall’s 111-year-plus history.
  Corner of 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. (212) 247-7800
   
  Central Park
  Designed in 1858 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, envisioning a wooded urban oasis from treeless, rocky terrain and stagnant swampland, Central Park is New York City’s backyard — a place where people of all social and ethnic backgrounds mingle. The 843-acre Central Park, covering six percent of Manhattan, has more than 26,000 trees, 58 miles of scenic paths, and nearly 9,000 benches on 843 acres. Attracting 25 million people a year, it also houses the Central Park Zoo and Wildlife Center, lakes, boathouse, sports facilities and entertainment. Four visitor centers are: Belvedere Castle, a 19th century stone castle and home to the Henry Luce Nature Observatory; The Dairy Visitor Center and Gift Shop, in a Victorian building with a reference library; Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, with hands-on exhibits; and North Meadow Recreation center, with indoor/outdoor climbing walls, basketball and handball courts. At least eight different free, volunteer-led Walking-tours are sponsored by the Central Park Conservancy, (212) 360-2726.
  Belvedere Castle, mid-park at 79th Street. (212) 772-0210
  The Dairy at Central Park, Mid-Park at 65th Street. (212) 794-6567
  Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, 110th Street and Lenox Avenue. (212) 860-1370
  North Meadow Recreation Center, mid-park at 97th Street. (212) 348-4867
   
  Cheapies and Freebies
  New York City has hundreds of no-cost or low-cost pleasures from concerts, plays, and museums to TV show tapings, and tours throughout the five boroughs. For a start on cheapies and freebies, drop by NYC’s Official Visitor Information Center at 810 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street, the City Hall Park Visitor Information Kiosk downtown at the southern tip of City Hall Park, or the Harlem Visitor Information Kiosk uptown at the State Office Building plaza at 163 West 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. Awaiting are hundreds of brochures and expert, multilingual visitor counselors to advise on all things New York.
   
  Chelsea Piers
  Saved from being paved over by a failed highway project, historic Chelsea Piers has emerged into a $120 million privately financed 30-plus acre waterfront sports-entertainment complex housing a golf driving range, ice- and roller-skating, bowling, and a health club. With the Statue of Liberty National Monument as part of the panorama, four once-neglected piers – 59, 60, 61, and 62 – also have shops and restaurants. Luxury liners of yesteryear once departed from the Piers amid hoopla and champagne. In 1910, the Chelsea Piers debuted with speeches noting eight-years of construction after three decades of talk. In 1907, even before the Piers were done, the Lusitania and Mauretania docked there. For the next 50 years, Chelsea Piers was the city’s premier passenger ship terminal, an embarkation point for WWI and WWII soldiers, and finally, a cargo terminal. Obsolescence struck with jets and container ships requiring facilities Manhattan could never provide. Redevelopment of the four surviving Chelsea Piers brings to mind the days when the famed White Star and  Cunrad Lines, with as many as 20 stacks in view, prepared to sail. As the high and mighty disembarked, so did immigrants from steerage below, by 1910 arriving daily by the thousands. Most ships came first to Chelsea Piers, before transferring to ferries bound for Ellis Island and freedom.
  Golf Club, Pier 59. (212) 336-6400
  Sports Center, Pier 60. (212) 336-6000
  Sky Rink, Ice Hockey, Pier 61. (212) 336-6100
  Roller Rink, Field House, Pier 62. (212) 336-6500, (212) 336-6200
   
  Chinatown and Civic Center
  In Lower Manhattan adjacent to the Civic Center, New York City’s Chinatown, a packed neighborhood still growing rapidly, is the largest Chinatown in the U.S., with the largest concentration of Chinese in the western hemisphere! Both a tourist attractions and the home of the majority of Chinese New Yorkers, Chinatown has hundreds of restaurants (especially on Mott, Pell and Doyers streets), booming fruit and fish markets, and shops for knickknacks and sweets on winding, crowded streets. The Civic Center, anchored by City Hall, is a landmark building which has been the seat of City government for 186 years. The Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCa) has exhibits of national scope.
  Museum of Chinese in the Americas, 70 Mulberry Street at Bayard. (212) 619-4785
   
  Chrysler Building
  Built for auto tycoon Walter Chrysler in “Style Moderne,” the building exemplifies the machine age in architecture, symbolic of 1920s New York. In the summer of 1929, Chrysler was battling Wall Street’s Bank of Manhattan Trust Company for the title of world’s tallest building. In spring, 1930, just when it looked like the bank would prevail for the coveted title, Chrysler’s crew jacked a needle-thin spire through the top of the crown to claim the title of world’s tallest at 1,046 feet. Since Chrysler wanted not only the world’s tallest structure, but also a bold structure, he decorated his skyscraper with hubcaps, mudguards, and hood ornaments, just like his cars, hoping such a distinctive building would make his car company a household name. The Chrysler Building is now recognized as New York City’s greatest display of Art Deco, characterized by sharp angular or zigzag surface forms and ornaments. Four months after completion of the Chrysler Building, the new Empire State Building claimed title of the world’s tallest.
  405 Lexington Avenue. The Cloisters The Cloisters, in upper Manhattan, is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art including parts of five French cloisters, a Romanesque chapel, and gardens. Fort Tryton Park. (212) 937-3700.
   
  Cooper-Hewitt – National Design Museum
  Housed in the Andrew Carnegie mansion and considered the design authority of the United States, Cooper-Hewitt – National Design Museum, a part of the Smithsonian Institution, is the nation’s only museum devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. Holdings encompass diverse, comprehensive collections of design works, tracing history of design through more than 250,000 objects spanning 23 centuries from the Han Dynasty (200 B.C.) to the present. Special strengths of the library include a 6,500-volume rare book collection and a world’s fair collection containing more than 1,000 items from guides to ephemera.
  Corner of Fifth Avenue and 91st Street. (212) 839-8351.
   

  Ellis Island

  Lower Manhattan’s Ellis Island, point of entry to millions of immigrants from 1892 to 1924, has exhibits relating the history of the processing station. Among immigrants passing through and going on to illustrious careers are: Irving Berlin, musician, arrived in 1893 from Russia; Marcus Garvey, politician, arrived 1916 from Jamaica; Bob Hope, comedian, arrived in 1908 from England; Knute Rockne, football coach, arrived in 1893 from Norway; and the von Trapp family of “Sound of Music” fame, arrived in 1938 from Austria.
  New York Harbor, near Statue of Liberty National Monument. (212) 269-5755.
   
  Empire State Building
  Midtown’s famed Empire State Building, at 1,454 feet tall, was built in 1931 in Art Deco style with 2 million square feet of office space and an observation tower on the 102nd floor. Construction took one year and 45 days including Sundays and holidays with 7 million man hours. The cost ($24,718,000) was halved by onset of the Depression, with the total cost ending at $40,948,900, including land. The observation area is open 365 days from 9:30 a.m. to midnight, with the last elevator heading up at 11:15 p.m.
  350 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street. (212) 736-3100
   
  Fashion Flair
  Informing and inspiring clothes horses, New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) shows off thousands of designer costumes, accessories, fabrics and the work of renowned fashion photographers in the Institute’s free museum. Dedicated to documentation of fashion and style for all levels of society, the museum interprets design from magnificent Balenciagas to sturdy denim within social and cultural contexts. For a fashion update, Macy’s group tour, at $10 per person, discusses the history of the world’s largest department store, from 1857 beginnings to its status today with more than two million square feet of selling space.
  Fashion Institute of Technology, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street. (212) 217-5800
  Macy’s, 151 West 34th Street, Visitor Center on 34th Street Balcony. (212) 695-4400
   
  Flatiron Building
  The triangular shape of the Flatiron Building (an early skyscraper) produced wind currents that made women’s skirts billow, spurring police to create the term “23 skiddoo” when shooing away gawkers assembling for the show. The building apex, just six feet wide, expands into a limestone wedge adorned with Gothic and Renaissance details of Greek faces and terra cotta flowers.
  175 Fifth Avenue, between 22nd and 23rd streets.
   
  Grant’s Tomb
  Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War general and two-term U.S. president, rests beside his wife Julia in the largest mausoleum in the U.S. The two grand sarcophagi are modeled after Napoleon’s tomb in Les Invalides in Paris. The white granite mausoleum overlooking the Hudson River and Riverside park was completed in 1897, and also displays Grant memorabilia and Civil War artifacts. More than one million people attended the parade and dedication ceremony of Grant’s Tomb, on April 27, 1897. Admission is free.
  122nd Street and Riverside Drive. (212) 666-1640
   
  Green-Wood Cemetery
  Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, an “outdoor museum” filled with extraordinary works of sculpture and architecture, is home to graves of national figures including musical great Leonard Bernstein, artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, newspaperman Horace Greeley and William “Bill the Butcher” Poole, the 19th-century gang leader depicted in Martin Scorsese’s film Gangs of New York. The cemetery conducts regular public tours year-round for $10. Self-guided walking tours are also available.
  500 25th Street, Brooklyn. (718) 788-7850
   
  Greenwich Village
  Lower Manhattan’s Greenwich Villages, east, central, and west, are long the focal point of New York’s artistic and literary life, and a popular visitor attraction with lively street activity in and around historic Washington Square.
   
  Ground Zero Museum Workshop
  Daily interactive, hands-on tours of the future site of the Ground Zero Museum, located about an 8-minute cab or subway ride from the Ground Zero site, including the Gary Marlon Suson collection of photographs illustrating recovery efforts, and artifacts recovered from the remains of the 9/11 attack, are given every day in English, French, Spanish and Italian, located in Manhattan’s Meat Packing District. Tours are 90 minutes in length, and advance purchase of tickets is required.
  420 West 14th Street, 2nd Floor (between 9th Avenue and Washington Street), Manhattan. (212) 209-3370
   
  Inside CNN
  Tracing the history of journalism and the CNN news gathering process with insight on how control rooms operate, Inside CNN provides guided 45-minute tours departing every 10 minutes, at the Time Warner Center.
  10 Columbus Circle, near southwest corner of Central Park, between West 58th and 60th Streets. (866) 4-CNN-NYC.
   
  Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
  Built to resemble a small Himalayan Temple, the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is one of only two Himalayan-style, monastery buildings in the Western world and is the only one in the U.S. An intricate altar within this little known treasure was blessed by H.H. the Dalai Lama in 1991. The museum collection includes Tsong Khapa (1357-1410) in unbaked, painted clay from the 14th century and Shakyamuni Buddha, in gilded metal alloy from 18th century China. Also on grounds are meditation gardens, and a pond for lotus and fish. The museum’s gift shop stocks items handmade by Tibetans living in exile, along with fine art reproductions, jewelry, mysterious ritual objects, unusual books, sacred music CDs, incense and many exotic, one-of-a-kind items. Events and programs throughout the year include the annual Tibetan Rug Bazaar, a Walking Meditation Series, and a Tibetan Festival with henna body painting. In a residential neighborhood, museum parking is limited and visitors are asked to guard against blocking driveways. Hours throughout the year are Wednesday to Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free for members, $5 for adults, and $3 for seniors/students.
  338 Lighthouse Avenue, Staten Island. (718) 987-3500
   
  Jewish Museum
  The Jewish Museum, in Upper Manhattan, is the largest such museum in the world outside Israel, with exhibitions covering 4,000 years of Jewish art, history and culture.
  1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street. (212) 423-3200
  Little Italy
  Little Italy in Lower Manhattan, and the place to buy Italian cheeses, sausages and breads, is an excellent place for immersion into Old World atmosphere. In summer, al fresco dining on Mulberry Street is reminiscent of an evening in Naples or Rome.
   
  Long Island Vineland Tour
  Tour the vineyards and taste the wines produced at the east end of Long Island, in limousines and party buses with a variety of packages available. 111 Albany Avenue, Freeport. (718) 946-3868
  Madame Tussauds New York
  In Times Square, Madame Tussauds provides schmooze opportunity with famed personas, where visitors can stand beside life-like replicas of A-listers, icons, world leaders, and politicians. Interactive action includes Sing for Simon on American Idol and Chamber of Horrors, Madame’s scariest exhibit.
  234 West 42nd Street, between Seventh and Eighth avenues. (212) 512-9600, (800) 246-8872
   
  Madison Square Garden
  Madison Square Garden, on Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets, has long been the venue for things memorable, from the NFL Draft, CBS Television’s Fall Premiere, Con Edison’s Shareholder Meetings, Product Launches for Intel, presidential birthday fetes including when Marilyn Monroe sang happy birthday to JFK, and religious conferences. The Madison Square Garden Theater is home to the timeless holiday classic, A Christmas Carol.
  4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York. (212) 307-7171
   
  Metropolitan Museum of Art
  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world’s great museums, features Egyptian, Greek and Roman art collections, as well as European and Oriental paintings and sculptures, antiques, plus other art forms from around the globe.
  Fifth Avenue and 81st Street. (212) 570-3711
   
  Museum of American Financial History
  Tracing growth, opportunity and entrepreneurship, the Museum of Financial History, showcases Wall Street activity, the role of capital markets as engines of progress, and American business achievements. The Museum occupies the site of Alexander Hamilton’s law office and the former headquarters of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, directly opposite the famous “Charging Bull” statue. Collection items include ticker tape from the 1929 crash, a working model stock ticker, and the earliest photograph of Wall Street. As the 35th affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum’s message is how a democratic free market economy creates growth and opportunity — the story of the American dream. The Museum serves as a good starting point for visits to the Financial District.
  28 Broadway. (212) 908-4609
   
  Museum of Modern Art
  The Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan displays 20th century paintings, sculptures, drawings, and more.
  11 West 53rd Street. (212) 708-9480
  New York Boat Brunch Cruises
  On Sundays from noon to 2 p.m., mid-July through October, The 85-foot Festiva, accommodating up to 100, does New Orleans-style Sunday brunch cruises to George Washington Bridge. Brunch, catered by Sylvia’s Restaurant of Harlem, includes one complimentary beverage, plus fried chicken, baked ham, collards, macaroni and cheese, and more. Cost: $50 for adults, $25 for under age 7. Other cruise charter options are available.
  79th Street Boat Basin, A-dock, New York, New York. (212) 496-8625 or (888) 755-BOAT.
   
  New York Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Botanic Garden
  The New York Botanical Garden is home to the nation’s largest Victorian glasshouse, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, a New York City landmark that has showcased NYBG’s distinguished tropical, Mediterranean, and desert plant collections since 1902. At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, tours, concerts, dance performances, and symposia are always on the roster, as well as special one-time events featuring elements of the Garden at their peak. Each spring, BBG celebrates the flowering of the Japanese cherry trees with our annual Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival), and each fall is spiced up with a multicultural Chile Pepper Fiesta!
  New York Botanical Garden, 200th Street and Southern Boulevard. (718) 817-8700
  Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Avenue. (718) 623-7200
  New York City Police Museum
  From Colonial beginnings to official establishment in 1845 to the present, the New York City Police Museum, in historic Lower Manhattan, captures the rich history of the New York Police Department (NYPD), providing abundant insider glimpses. Permanent exhibits include turn-of-the-century mug shots, photos of notorious criminals and “tools of the trade,” a display of police vehicles, and a model of a jail cell. The museum also pays tribute to every NYPD officer killed in the line of duty throughout departmental history.
  100 Old Slip. (212) 480-3100
   
  The New York Public Library
  Origins of the New York Public Library, housing more than six million volumes, date to when one-time governor Samuel J. Tilden (1814-1886) bequeathed most of his fortune — about $2.4 million — to establish and maintain a free library and reading room. New York already had the Astor and Lenox libraries, the Astor created through John Jacob Astor (1763-1848), a German immigrant who became the wealthiest man in America and left $400,000 for a reference library. James Lenox left his personal collection of rare books (including the first Gutenberg Bible to come to the New World), but it was intended for bibliophiles and scholars. By 1892, both the Astor and Lenox libraries were in financial straits, and a plan was devised to consolidate Astor, Lenox, and Tilden resources to form The New York Public Library. The system now includes 85 libraries, with collections totaling 6.6 million items, providing free information on a scale unmatched by any other institution. In 1995, The New York Public Library celebrated the centennial of its founding. One-hour building tours of the landmark facility begin at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m, with groups of 10 or more by appointment..
  42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. (212) 930-0800.
   
  New York Skyride
  New York Skyride, in Midtown Manhattan, consists of two 40-seat big screen flight simulator theaters, featuring a wild ride over Manhattan’s skyline.
  Empire State Building, second floor. (212) 279-9777
  New York Stock Exchange
  Lower Manhattan’s New York Stock has a visitor’s gallery and self-guided tours. A tree outside symbolizes the buttonwood where traders once gathered to exchange stocks. 20 Broad Street. (212) 656-3000.
   
  Radio City Music Hall
  Upon the 1929 market crash, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. held a $91 million, 24-year lease on a midtown Manhattan tract in the “speakeasy belt” with plans dashed for a new Metropolitan Opera House. Rockefeller boldly decided to build an entire complex targeting commercial tenants, although Manhattan was awash in vacancy and despair. Partnering with fledgling Radio Corporation of America, whose NBC radio and RKO studios boomed despite bad times, Rockefeller also brought in S.L. “Roxy” Rothafel, a theatrical genius using razzle-dazzle décor to revive struggling theaters across America. Resulting was a theater unlike any other within the “Radio City” part of the Rockefeller Center complex. Radio City Music Hall, a palace for the people with quality entertainment at ordinary prices, has since attracted more than 300 million for shows, movies, and special events. It still looms large, and over 75 years its Radio City Rockettes have kicked their way into icon status. The restored Music Hall reflects original grandeur of opening night, 1932, with behind-the-scenes upgrades. Stage Door Tour guests explore the Great Stage and its ‘30s vintage hydraulic system. See Roxy’s renowned private suite with 12-feet high gold leaf ceilings, and meet a Rockette. One-hour walking tours depart from the Music Hall lobby.
  1260 Avenue of the Americas, Sixth Avenue and 50th Street. (212) 307-7171
   
  Rockefeller Center
  Rockefeller Center, with 24 acres of underground shops, changed the form of Midtown Manhattan, becoming one of the most successful urban planning projects in history. The vast project provided thousands of jobs during the Depression and restored the image of New York as the premier American city. Rockefeller Center is an art deco marvel consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering 11 acres from 49th to 52nd Streets, Fifth to Seventh Avenues. Thirty Rockefeller Plaza, the RCA headquarters, was the largest and first built, and stands as the centerpiece, and now General Electric’s initials brighten the rooftop for the home of NBC. Hour-long studio tours include production areas of various TV shows. The NBC Store also has souvenirs from shows such as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Saturday Night Live.”
  Bounded by Fifth Avenue, 48th Street, Sevenue Avenue and West 51st Street. (212) 664-4000
   
  St. Patrick’s Cathedral
  St. Patrick’s Cathedral, one of the nation’s largest houses of worship, is in Midtown Manhattan with seating for 2,400, and a pipe organ with more than 7,380 pipes. Fifth Avenue at 50th Street. (212) 753-2261
• Shea Stadium
Home of the New York Mets, Queen’s Shea Stadium was originally to be called Flushing Meadow Park. It ended up named after William Alfred Shea, an attorney instrumental in acquiring a new team after the departure of the Giants and Dodgers. Proximity to LaGuardia Airport makes Shea Stadium the noisiest outdoor ballpark in the Majors. Site selection was done in winter, according to lore, when flight paths were different than during baseball season. When a Met hits a homer at Shea, a red Big Apple rises out of a black top hat, although some say it looks more like a big kettle.
123-01 Roosevelt Avenue. (718) 507-METS
 
SoHo and TriBeCa
Within a quarter of a square mile, SoHo has roughly 250 art galleries, four museums, nearly 200 restaurants, and 100 stores. Blocks south of Houston (pronounced HOW-ston) and north of Canal streets are home to the city’s largest concentration of cast-iron fronted buildings, built as warehouses and manufacturing spaces, but converted to living spaces, called lofts, for artists and sculptors who appreciated the larger spaces. These 19th-century architectural gems (often Victorian Gothic, Italianiate, and neo-Grecian), prized by preservationists, are now home to the better-heeled. When SoHo became too upscale for starving artists, many moved further downtown to another then half-abandoned industrial district, TriBeCa (the Triangle Below Canal), which has since become a hot destination, most notably for dining. One TriBeCa frontrunner, actor Robert De Niro, has lived and worked in the neighborhood for some 20 years.
 
South Street Seaport
Experience New York’s salty maritime history at the South Street Seaport, boasting a museum and numerous shops and restaurants. Browsing is free; museum admission is $5 for adults and free for children under 12.
South Street Historic District near Water and Beekman Streets. (212) 748-8600
 
Staten Island Ferry
For Manhattan skyline spectacle, take the Staten Island Ferry from New York harbor. The ferry runs 24 hours a day and is free at all times. (Vehicle fare is $3.) Big facelifts set for 2004 wrap-up are underway at the St. George and Whitehall Ferry Terminals, to serve more than 65,000 daily riders with enhanced dining and an outdoor promenade easing pedestrian access between Bay Street and the terminal.
St. George Ferry Terminal at Richmond Terrace, Staten Island. (718) 815-BOAT
Whitehall Ferry Terminal at Whitehall and South Streets in Lower Manhattan. (718) 815-BOAT
 
Statue of Liberty National Monument
The Statue of Liberty National Monument, measuring 151 feet on a 154-foot pedestal (with a 35-foot waist and an 8-foot index finger), is the tallest statue of modern times. France presented the 450,000-pound Lady Liberty to the U.S. in 1884, commemorating the alliance of the two countries during the American Revolution. It features the American Museum of Immigration.
Upper New York Bay on Liberty Island. (212) 363-3200.
Teddy Roosevelt’s Birthplace National Historic Site
He remains the only U.S. president born in New York City, yet locals and visitors alike often unknowingly walk past the brownstone where Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the U.S., was born Oct. 27, 1858. His father’s success as an importer/exporter meant the house where a frail yet bright Teddy lived until age 14 had gas lighting, sumptuous furnishings, and a backyard stretching all the way to 19th Street. The four-story house is filled with Roosevelt family furniture including T.R.’s child-sized chair by the library fireplace. Roosevelt, growing up to become a strapping colonel of the Rough Riders, declined to buy his birth home when plans were announced to raze it in 1916 for a commercial building. In 1919, the year of Roosevelt’s death, the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association acquired the site, demolished the new building, and reconstructed his home as a memorial. Period rooms of the narrow, dark Victorian house are restored to reflect their 1865-1872 appearance. The National Park Service offers tours.
28 East 20th Street, New York City. (212) 260-1616
 
Times Square Visitors Center
Times Square draws approximately 37 million visitors spending up to $16.4 billion annually. The Times Square Visitors Center, in the restored landmark Embassy Movie Theatre, is steps from more than 5,000 businesses with 250,000 employees, and from world-renowned landmarks and tourist attractions. Times Square is surrounded by 45 Broadway theaters, drawing 11.6 million people annually and generating tickets sales of more than $588 million. Times Square is also the hub of New York’s hospitality industry, surrounded by 28 hotels, accounting for one-fifth of all New York City hotel rooms. Free walking tours depart from the Visitors Center every Friday at noon, rain or shine.
Times Square Visitors Center, 1560 Broadway, between 46th and 47th streets.
 
Tribute – A Celebration of New York City
Tribute is a performance of the never-ending symphony that is New York life. In the heart of Tribute is the Remember Experience viewed in one of two custom-built high definition projection theaters. Visitors also can walk around the floating multimedia screens and explore artwork from the underground and emerging artists gallery. The Remember Experience itself celebrates the beauty and vitality of a city undeterred by tragedy. Remember, speaking from shadows of two fallen giants, dares telling the New York story as never before told. Featured are a September 11th Memorial Hall, a café overlooking historic Bowling Green Park, and a gift shop.
24 Broadway, New York City. (212) 952-1000
 
United Nations Headquarters
United Nations Headquarters, in Midtown Manhattan, offers one-hour tours departing from the United Nations Public Lobby daily covering the Secretariat Building, the domed General Assembly Building, Conference Building and the Hammarskjold Library. The name “United Nations,” coined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was first used in the “Declaration by United Nations” of Jan. 1. 1942, during WW11, when representatives of 26 nations pledged to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers. United Nations Day is celebrated annually on Oct. 24.
First Avenue and 46th Street. (212) 963-7700
 
Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium, known as the house in the Bronx that Babe Ruth built, opened in 1923 for a capacity of 58,000, and was the first ballpark large enough to be called a stadium. Bleachers in right center field are sometimes called Ruthville.
161st Street and River Avenue. (718) 293-6000

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The luxury car market is hurting along with the rest of the auto sector, with sales at record lows. But luxury automakers are still hoping their history of solid engineering, performance and brand cachet will convince tentative buyers it’s worth it to shell out the extra thousands to buy their cars.

Like any other vehicle purchase, however, it depends on what you need–and on how much you care about your image, of course. Not everyone who owns a Porsche 911 or Audi R8 cares about their superior handling–some just want to be seen driving them. In Depth: 10 Reasons To Buy A Luxury Car

“It’s about emotional connections that people can make with a brand and how it makes you feel,” says Wes Brown, a principal consultant at Los Angeles-based consumer-research firm Iceology.

But there’s more to luxury cars than prestige. Premium cars offer the most advanced safety options and best entertainment technology on the market, not to mention some of the plushest interiors and most options for customization. It’s not that vehicles from midrange brands like Ford Motor (nyse: F – news – people ) and Honda

Tough Times for Luxury
Despite the appeal, it is not the best of times for luxury carmakers. Last month, Acura’s sales dropped 29.7% from January 2008; Audi, 26.4%; BMW, 15.5%; Cadillac, 42.5%; Land Rover, 34.4%; Mercedes-Benz, 42.9%; and Porsche, 36.1%, to name a few. Ultra-premium brands like Bentley and Ferrari fared even worse, down 74.4% and 52.4%, respectively. It’s the first time a downturn has so deeply affected America’s luxury segment, says BMW North America President Jim O’Donnell.

“This is the first time, I would say, since 1931 there was such a recession, because there were always areas of the country that [kept luxury cars] popular,” O’Donnell says. “Now, everywhere has been affected.”

O’Donnell says luxury brands will rebound quicker than the rest, however, thanks to financially healthier dealerships, better leasing and certified pre-owned programs and loyal customers. In some respects, he’s already being proved right: Jaguar posted a surprising 17.6% sales gain last January from the same period a year earlier. And Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz each gained 0.1% of market share in 2008. “I think that in the bad times, people go to authentic and credible brands,” says Geoff Day, a spokesman for Mercedes. “That’s why we benefit,” he adds, where the non-luxury market does not.

More Luxury, More Safety
Luxury cars also benefit because the brands excel when it comes to safety–and have enough credibility for consumers to splurge on new innovations. Electronic stability control, blind-spot warning systems and anti-lock brake systems (ABS) all found their way into the general car market after their introduction in luxury vehicles.

These days, 71% of new vehicles that come standard with stability control, traction control, ABS, side-front airbags and curtain airbags cost $30,000 or more (luxury cars, essentially), according to Consumer Reports. Forty-four percent of the vehicles chosen as top safety picks by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have an estimated base price of at least $30,000.

Premium automakers also differentiate themselves by focusing on high performance. Of 353 new models evaluated by Consumer Reports, only six with at least 300 horsepower cost under $30,000. Fifty-two have at least 300 horses under the hood and cost more than $30,000. Leading them are BMW’s M line, which includes models offering 400 and 500 horsepower.

“I think [luxury automakers] have to differentiate with something that is really, truly functional or safety-oriented,” says Jake Fisher, senior automotive engineer from Consumer Reports, “rather than the argument that ‘I’m buying this kind of car because I really want it.’ “

Image Counts for Something
Raw performance and safety aside, the intangible value of status does add to the worth of a luxury vehicle. Researchers at Consumer Reports may not put any stock in brand names, but anyone concerned with keeping up with the Joneses does.

“Some people want the latest and greatest of whatever,” says Jeff Bennett, an automotive marketing professor at Northwood University in Midland, Mich. “It’s about having the money to buy it. It’s about being able to say, ‘Hey, this is how successful I am.’ “

With conspicuous consumption seen as gauche at the moment, many in the luxury auto market say buyers are focusing on their core models, however mundane they might be when compared with the higher end. BMW’s 128i coupe, for instance, does not have the standard adaptive xenon headlights, high-performance brake control and V8 engine of the much more expensive M3 coupe. The price difference between the two is $30,000.

Fortunately, however, this is what forces luxury automakers to offer down-to-earth amenities like all-wheel drive in order to remain distinctive and practical, Fisher says. And that is what makes luxury cars worth more than just the prestige

The luxury carmaker, which employs about 900 workers at the Goodwood site,
had already planned 42 non-production days over the next six months.

On Friday, it confirmed there would be an additional 15 non-production days.

The company stressed there would be no job losses, and talks were being held
with unions and staff associations over the precise dates.

Last November, it announced it was cutting 40 temporary jobs at Goodwood
because of the economic downturn.

On Monday, it is launching its EX200 concept car in Geneva.

The so-called "Baby Rolls" is smaller than the current Phantom family and
will be slightly cheaper, costing about £200,000