Jeff from Queens, NYC

J

jeffs11375

New Member
Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm not really an audiophile but I do appreciate good sound and am kind of particular.
 
Welcome to AK, jeffs11375. Like yourself, I'm nowhere near an audiophile, but love clear sound with good bass. As an (humorous) aside, I'd ask both you, MannyE, and all other native New Yorkers on AK to warn your fellow countrymen/women about the absolute dearth of hotels outside of Manhattan. Several years ago, my wife and I visited your borough and had a blast taking in everything from World Fair artifacts in Corona Park to Mexican cuisine in Jackson Heights to being locked out of the Steinway factory in Astoria. The ominous black cloud over our adventure was the tragic mistake of (naively) landing at LaGuardia, grabbing the rental car, and driving all over the five boroughs simply looking for an affordable hotel. We ended up staying at the filthy, deplorable Metro Motel "sex motel" in Woodside (near 73rd Street and Queens Boulevard). At 44, we've covered about a quarter of the globe and I can say without a doubt, that particular motel is the filthiest public accomodation I've ever seen/been in. Lesson: Do not take an impulse trip to NYC. If you can't book a hotel in Midtown Manhattan in advance or one of the big chains (e.g. Hilton, Holiday Inn) near LaGuardia or JFK, simply stay home.
 
Thanks KDAC. I think I've passed by the hotel you are talking about - if I am not mistaken they might even advertise that they rent by the hour. So yeah, you probably couldn't have picked a worse place to stay. But I bet you did hear some interesting noises coming through the walls though LOL.

I have a friend from Boston who comes to NYC every few years for the WFMU record show. He stays at a hotel somewhere in the 20's on Madison Ave. that he seems to be satisfied with. To me it looks a bit on the seedy side.
 
KDAC said:
Welcome to AK, jeffs11375. Like yourself, I'm nowhere near an audiophile, but love clear sound with good bass. As an (humorous) aside, I'd ask both you, MannyE, and all other native New Yorkers on AK to warn your fellow countrymen/women about the absolute dearth of hotels outside of Manhattan. Several years ago, my wife and I visited your borough and had a blast taking in everything from World Fair artifacts in Corona Park to Mexican cuisine in Jackson Heights to being locked out of the Steinway factory in Astoria. The ominous black cloud over our adventure was the tragic mistake of (naively) landing at LaGuardia, grabbing the rental car, and driving all over the five boroughs simply looking for an affordable hotel. We ended up staying at the filthy, deplorable Metro Motel "sex motel" in Woodside (near 73rd Street and Queens Boulevard). At 44, we've covered about a quarter of the globe and I can say without a doubt, that particular motel is the filthiest public accomodation I've ever seen/been in. Lesson: Do not take an impulse trip to NYC. If you can't book a hotel in Midtown Manhattan in advance or one of the big chains (e.g. Hilton, Holiday Inn) near LaGuardia or JFK, simply stay home.
Click to expand...

Oh my god... you stayed at the METRO!!!! I'm so sorry that happened to you. Did you burn all your clothing afterwards to ensure you didn't bring the bedbugs home with you?? That place is a dump and I thought was only available (as you hinted at by calling it the sex motel) by the hour!

You are much better off with a VRBO if you're staying on NYC or as you say, if you want to explore Queens, which in my opinion is just as much fun as Manhattan and about half the cost, you're best bet is one of the hotels near LaGuardia.

I don't know if they have started cracking down on VRBO in Queens yet, but we have often used it for short term trips rather than paying the ridiculous prices for the shitty accommodations in Manhattan. Although its been three years since I've been to NYC.
 
MannyE said:
Oh my god... you stayed at the METRO!!!! I'm so sorry that happened to you. Did you burn all your clothing afterwards to ensure you didn't bring the bedbugs home with you?? That place is a dump and I thought was only available (as you hinted at by calling it the sex motel) by the hour!

You are much better off with a VRBO if you're staying on NYC or as you say, if you want to explore Queens, which in my opinion is just as much fun as Manhattan and about half the cost, you're best bet is one of the hotels near LaGuardia.

I don't know if they have started cracking down on VRBO in Queens yet, but we have often used it for short term trips rather than paying the ridiculous prices for the shitty accommodations in Manhattan. Although its been three years since I've been to NYC.
Click to expand...
Ha! After surviving that particular night with little sleep, we slogged our way out to the parking lot (its only redeeming value) and shuddered in the December air to disipate some of the misery.

Thanks for the heads up in regard to VRBOs (I checked vrbo.com). The trip in question was a spur-of-the-moment adventure/lesson that won't be repeated/was learned from. I have two teen daughters that have hinted at seeing the "ball drop" in Times Sqaure at some point in the near future and you can sure as hell bet they won't be anywhere near the Metro. I'll look into what you've mentioned, as even though we have a decent household income, we are a family of five as of 2013 and simply cannot afford multiple hundreds a night in Manhattan. The outer boroughs or adjacent suburbs north of the Bronx/on Long Island or across the Hudson in New Jersey would be our only options.

Another thing we inadventently discovered is attempting to park a vehicle anywhere in Manhattan at any time of day is a son of a b*tch. On the second night of our excursion, we ended up in a bed and breakfast sort of building (AGA Inn, if I remember correctly) in Harlem off of 155th and St. Nicholas Ave. We rolled around the area for about 60 minutes that night to and finally found a spot on 153rd. The next day, my wife somehow got away with parking the rental directly across the street from the ferry terminal at the tip of the island. Something tells me we didn't get ticketed simply because NYPD didn't roll by. Thus the next lesson: Take the subway (or a bus) in Manhattan. Period. Anything else drives up your blood pressure and causes hair loss.

New York's a beautiful town, but packing 8.5 million people into 300 square miles definitely has its drawbacks! One could say "you get used to it," but I somehow doubt that makes navagating it more tolerable.
 
Last edited:
KDAC said:
Ha! After surviving that particular night with little sleep, we slogged our way out to the parking lot (its only redeeming value) and shuddered in the December air to disipate some of the misery.

Thanks for the heads up in regard to VRBOs (I checked vrbo.com). The trip in question was a spur-of-the-moment adventure/lesson that won't be repeated/was learned from. I have two teen daughters that have hinted at seeing the "ball drop" in Times Sqaure at some point in the near future and you can sure as hell bet they won't be anywhere near the Metro. I'll look into what you've mentioned, as even though we have a decent household income, we are a family of five as of 2013 and simply cannot afford multiple hundreds a night in Manhattan. The outer boroughs or adjacent suburbs north of the Bronx/on Long Island or across the Hudson in New Jersey would be our only options.

Another thing we inadventently discovered is attempting to park a vehicle anywhere in Manhattan at any time of day is a son of a b*tch. On the second night of our excursion, we ended up in a bed and breakfast sort of building (AGA Inn, if I remember correctly) in Harlem off of 155th and St. Nicholas Ave. We rolled around the area for about 60 minutes that night to and finally found a spot on 153rd. The next day, my wife somehow got away with parking the rental directly across the street from the ferry terminal at the tip of the island. Something tells me we didn't get ticketed simply because NYPD didn't roll by. Thus the next lesson: Take the subway (or a bus) in Manhattan. Period. Anything else drives up your blood pressure and causes hair loss.

New York's a beautiful town, but packing 8.5 million people into 300 square miles definitely has its drawbacks! One could say "you get used to it," but I somehow doubt that makes navagating it more tolerable.
Click to expand...

There is a reason a parking spot in Manhattan costs more than a really nice apartment in other parts of the US. That reason is.... "don't rent a car!" You don't need/want one. I only had one because it was 1985, I was 18, and it was a 1969 Road Runner convertible. I still hated getting up at 7am every Wednesday morning to move it (a little thing we have there called "alternate side of the street parking" ).
 
Welcome to the AK Crew.

You may not know it, but as already pointed out, you ARE in fact an audiophile. Perhaps not by YOUR standards, but anyone who appreciates good music being reproduced in quality sound:music: is in my books...an audiophile.

Q
 
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