It’s no accident that New York blossomed to become The Big Apple. It’s the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and the largest financial centre in the world. Little surprise then, that this adrenaline-charged, history-laden metropolis also lays claim as The World’s Capital.
Of course, the city was built on commerce – it’s location has long been regarded as one of the world’s best natural harbours. However, much of the city’s success must be apportioned to the 180 different nationalities who’ve made New York their home since the city was first founded in 1624(originally named New Amsterdam). It’s the Big Apple’s multifarious makeup that’s helped generate such a torrent of trade.
These days New York is estimated to have a gross metropolitan product of nearly $500bn. For illustration’s sake, that’s more than Switzerland ($377bn) and close to equalling Russia ($586bn), the world’s biggest nation. It should come as no surprise then that there are more Fortune 500 companies based here than any other place in the United States.
Apart from being the crux of international finance, NYC is also a huge powerbase for politics, entertainment, and culture. Consequently, with more powerbrokers per square mile here than anywhere else in the world, New York is the place to do business. And the likelihood is you’ll be coming here to do it again, and again.
Still, that’s not to say you’re ever likely to get bored. The city’s 309 square miles of streets filled with yellow cabs, inordinately grumpy pedestrians, and canyons of towering office blocks that threaten to shut out the sun, are an addiction as potent as any illicit substance you might find in the seamier neighbourhoods.
Such is the epic scale of the city’s iconic skyline – even without the twin peaks of the World Trade Centre – it retains an unsurpassable allure for frequent visitors and first-time virgins alike. Here’s Business Destination’s guide to The Greatest City on Earth…
I’ll take Manhattan – NYC bluffer’s guide
New York City isn’t just the bit with the skyscrapers. Along with the central island of Manhattan, there are four other outer boroughs surrounding it – Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Of course, as a business traveller, you’ll be mainly concerned with Manhattan. But even here the vibe can alter wildly block by block with each neighbourhood having wildly differing identities. To simplify things, we’ve broken it down into three sections…
Downtown
The oldest part of the city containing the Financial District and arty Greenwich Village, this is still the engine which drives New York. Also home to NYC’s original immigrant populations in Chinatown and Little Italy, the East Village and Lower East Side have long been home to Manhattan’s poorer residents. Until the gentrification of recent years, that is.
Midtown and Uptown
Downtown gives way to Midtown at Union Square. From 14th street to 110th Street and Columbia University, much of Manhattan’s wealth resides here. Divided into east and west districts by Broadway, then by the immense green expanse of Central Park, visitors soon familiarise themselves with this part of town. Apart from the upscale residential areas of the Upper East and West Sides, Manhattan’s biggest theatres and most prestigious shopping is found here.
Upper Manhattan
After Central Park, Morningside Heights is the last breath of affluence before giving way to the grittier neighbourhoods of Harlem and El Barrio. That’s not to say you wouldn’t and shouldn’t come here, of course. The area has improved immensely in recent years and the Apollo Theatre at 253 125th Street is the home of Black Music – Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, The Jackson Five, Marvin Gaye and James Brown have all performed here.
Dining
Eating out in New York is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The only problem is choice. A city comprised of nearly 200 different nationalities was never going to be boring, and the range of food on offer is simply bewildering. Chinatown; Korea Town; Little Italy – all have fed their thriving immigrant populations for over a century.
Now of course, there’s been an explosion of restaurants across the length and breadth of Manhattan. Ghettos of uber-hip bistros and all manner of gastronomic fantasies can now be found mushrooming almost daily in each and every neighbourhood across town. From high-end French cuisine of down to the re-invented
Gotham Bar & Grill 12 E 12th St (between 5th Ave and University Place)
“The most dependable place in town for impressing someone whose tastes you don’t know but want to know better.” It’s a great way of putting it and perfectly pertinent whether it’s a new client or new beau that you’re keen on wooing.
Under ownership of chef Alfred Portale created a restaurant where anyone, dressed any way, is invited with affability and respect to partake of his superb talent for continuously making American cuisine exciting and surprising, yet as easy to fathom as a burger and fries.
Expect to be faced with delights such as braised short-rib with celery-root purée, Chinese-spiced duck breast with foie gras, or truffle-crusted Nova Scotia halibut, the Gotham is a bastion of spectacular grub.
Tel: 212/620-4020
Grammercy Tavern – 42 East 20th St
New York’s warmest, most appealing restaurant is kind of like the Ivy in London without having to watch Victoria Beckham eat. Arrive early and sit at the long wooden bar with a glass of Prosecco and nibble on the chili-and-sugar dusted pecans – which help give you a taste of delights to come.
Chef Tom Colicchio excels in pairing the ingredients you crave with elements you’d be right to shy away from – sort of like a wheel of fortune with foodstuffs. But almost without fail, his gambles pay off. There are tried and tested faves like roast Sirloin; more unusual pairings like Jerusalem artichokes and sea urchin-crabmeat ragout; and school dinner nouveau masterpieces like coconut tapioca. But you’ll struggle – even in this town – to better the plain fabulous grilled baby octopus with shaved fennel, lemon and sweet onion caponata. Miss this at your peril.
Tel: 212 477 0777
DB Bistro Moderne – 155 W. 44th St., between Fifth and Sixth Aves
There comes a time when only one one kind of meal will do. But rather than debasing your stomach with a Big Mac, you should relinquish yourself instead to Daniel Boulud. At DB Bistro Moderne, the humble hamburger is transformed into the ultimate luxury item. Boulud’s regal (and somewhat infamous) $29 DB Burger is ground prime rib, leavened with braised short ribs, truffles, foie gras, and a hint of vegetable root and cooked with the care you’d expect from one of the world’s most celebrated chefs.
Ketchup is eschewed for tomato compote, the bun is freshly baked with Parmesan cheese, and it comes accompanied by 48 carat pommes frites served in a silver salver. It’s so decadent it makes Mari Antoinette look like a scullery maid.
Tel: 212-391-2400
Elaine’s – 1703 Second Ave between 88th and 89th Sts.
The food is expensive and not especially good, but that’s not the point of Elaine’s. This is the place that exemplifies Sex In The City’s flash-in-the-pan live-life-to-the-full aesthetic more than any other. And of course, this was SITC author, Candace Bushnell’s, stamping ground. She was famously pictured here in 1997 showing a little more cheek than was advisable. Of course, Carrie Bradshaw and her coven have moved on but this swish Upper East Side joint is still crawling with celebrities and household names on a daily basis.
Tel: 212-534-8114
Drinking
New York is bristling with bars of every sort. From the no nonsense ale houses, to uber-chic bars that spring up around the East Village and across town with alarming regularity, there’s something to suit all tastes. Then of course, there are the cocktail bars – havens of liquor lovers who don’t blanch at a $20 drink.
While cocktails were a dirty word in London until the late 1990s, the martini never went out of fashion in the city that invented them – especially in the terminally sophisticated hotels of NYC. Since Dorothy Parker and her literary pals traded pin sharp insults between rounds, martinis, Manhattans, and cosmopolitans have fuelled New York’s high society.
Of course, the rest of the world has finally ditched the wine bar and finally caught on to sophisticated boozing. But New York still leads the way.
Schiller’s Liquor Bar – 131 Rivington Street
One jaded New Yorker once told me bad bar tenders out number the good ones by three to one. Obviously, he’d never been to Schiller’s Liquor Bar. You won’t catch them mixing margaritas using a sour mix here. Nor would they ever stoop to serving what should be an ice cold martini lukewarm.
Of course, this is by no means a place to see and be seen – nor is it at the cutting edge of mixology. Who cares! With fresh juices and other top-notch ingredients mixed with a deft hand and presented with gracious service, this is still the cocktail bar all others must be judged by.
Tel: 212-260-4555
Bemelman’s Bar – Carlyle Hotel, 35 East 76th Street,
This place has become one of the most popular places for Manhattan’s movers and shakers. However, none of them are more important to its success than the leading shaker, Audrey Sanders – Bemelmen’s beverage director. Sanders is widely regarded as the best in the business. In fact, she’s more of an alchemist than a bar tender – tinkering with foams, infusions, and flavour profiles.
Since overseeing the bar’s relaunch in 2002, Sanders has deconstructed classics and constantly raised her own high standards. Her Earl Grey Marteani, with tea infused Tanqueray gin, fresh lemon, and egg white is worth every last cent of the 20 bucks she charges to mix it.
Tel: 212-744-1600
Sleeping
Most of New York’s hotels are grouped around midtown Manhattan – close to theatres and the main tourist sights. This may seem like a handy location, but after a long flight or an arduous day of meetings in the City That Never Sleeps, a good night’s rest isn’t always easy to come by …Unless you opt for these establishments:
Algonquin 59 W 44th St (between 5th and 6th aves), NY 10036
With past habitués like Dorothy Parker, Noel Coward, and George Bernard Shaw, this luxurious establishment (the oldest hotel in New York) has been elevated as the literary hangout par excellence. Cartoons from the New Yorker adorn the corridors and cabaret in the legendary Oak Room perpetuates the air of hushed elegance.
Tel: 212 840 6800
Waldorf Astoria – 301 Park Avenue, between 49th and 50th streets.
One of the World’s original boutique hotels, the Waldorf Astoria is as an Art Deco landmark that bows only to the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings in terms of magnificence. Built on this spot in 1931, after the original Waldorf was cleared to make way for the Empire State Building, the hotel has recently undergone a $200 million dollar refit to restore it to it’s architectural glory. Don’t bother if you like if you’re wearing a baseball cap, T-shirt or even faded jeans. They won’t let you in.
Tel: 212 355 3000
The Benjamin – 125 E 50th St at Lexington Ave
With a concierge employed solely to help guests chose their perfect pillow from their pillow menu, Of course, the aren’t just any old pillow – in fact the fillings range from down, to water, even organic buckwheat husks. So, it goes without saying tat the Benjamin executive-suite is serious about sleep. Business travellers are also well catered for, with amenities and the hotel is handy for shopping trips to Bloomingdale’s and Central Park.
Tel: 212 753 2700
Hotel Gansevoort – 18 Ninth Ave at 13th St
Opened in early 2004, this cathedral to contemporary sophistication presides over the cobblestone streets and converted warehouses of the Meatpacking District. Lit by four six metre tall light boxes, which gradually change colour throughout the evening, Stephen B. Jacobs is the man behind The Gansevoort’s eye-catching design. Inside, cool grey hues whisper understated luxury while the private roof garden with heated pool and underwater music and a fish-eye view of the city guarantee our seal of approval.
Tel: 212 206 6700
If you see only one thing, make it…
Grand Central Station
Occupying the massive site between Madison and Lexington avenues, Grand Central Station is the heart of New York’s estimable rail transport network. It was built in 1903 as a Beaux Art gateway to a burgeoning continent then still in its infancy. With a barrel-vaulted ceiling standing 150 feet above the commuters, this cathedral-like space never fails to humble first time visitors.
Empire State Building
Instantly recognisable but above cliché, this 102-storey monument to thinking big is still as awesome as the day it opened in 1931. Taking it’s place as the highest building in the city since the World Trade Centre was destroyed, it has stood as an Art Deco sentinel to this great city for over 75 years. And with Peter Jackson’s forthcoming remake of King Kong, the Empire State Building will soon take centre stage again. See it now before the rush.
Brooklyn Bridge
New York is a lot of city to digest in one visit. That isn’t to say it can’t be done, however. Brooklyn Heights is said to have the best view of Manhattan, but looking back once you’re halfway across Brooklyn Bridge is much easier and, it must be said, very hard to beat.
Simply grab your coat during a lunch break, grab a hoagie sandwich from Katz’s Deli (where Meg Ryan faked it) and start walking (or hail a cab if you’re pushed for time). Then savour the magnificence.
Native New Yorkers
Grandmaster Flash
Woody Allen
Humphrey Bogart
Steve Buscemi
Al Capone
P Diddy
Curly, Larry, and Moe – aka The Three Stooges
Michael Jordan
Jennifer Lopez
Jack Nicholson
Life of crime?
Classic hardboiled Cop shows like Kojak galvanized NYC’s image as a tough city filled with crooks and mobsters. Of course, much of New York’s hard-bitten imagine is rooted in fact – men like Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, and other ruthless mafia bosses were plying their illicit rackets from the early 20th Century. However, crime in New York has actually been on the wane since 1991.
After a continuous 15-year downward trend, NYC is statistically the safest large city in the US. Violent crime has dropped an astonishing 75 percent during this period. In fact, you are nearly three times more likely to be murdered in Dallas than on the island of Manhattan.
Neighbourhoods that were once regarded as dangerous slums are thriving with hip new bars and trendy residents – the Lower East Side being a prime example. Residents like Moby have given the area an injection of bohemian glamour.
