Category: Transportation

Entertainment, Featured, NY Environment, NY News, Restaurants, Shimmie Horn, Tourism, Transportation, Triumph Hotels

How to Help NYC’s Tourism Rebound This Holiday Season

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2020 presented many paths to virtue and kindness; simple acts, once considered frivolous, took on added aspects of virtue. Staying home was how we helped ease the burden for healthcare workers and frontline responders. Social distancing kept our family and loved ones safe. Ordering dinner was a way to support a struggling local eatery.  And as the year winds down, New York City’s tourism industry is encouraging residents to plan a “staycation,” including overnight accommodations at hotels, and safe visits to museums and venues.

Places like the Empire State Building, the September 11 Memorial Museum, and the Met are open with modified visitation regulations. In the past, New Yorkers tended to avoid these places, particularly during the holiday season, because of the long lines and overload of tourists. But now, city dwellers have the chance to explore the best of New York, learn about local attractions, and support city-run businesses.

Another good way to take in the Big Apple this season is on Big Bus Tour New York’s double-decker buses. The open-top transportation is both COVID-safe and an effective way to see over 40 famous locations.

The buses have been equipped with plexiglass dividers to protect employees and passengers; capacity is limited to 30 passengers. All riders are required to wear face masks and seating is designed to adhere to social-distancing regulations.

Environment, Featured, Fitness, NY Environment, NY News, Technology, Tourism, Transportation

Another Way to Traverse New York City: Electric Scooter

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New York City’s Department of Transportation published a tender for “expressions of interest” for a pilot initiative which would bring electric scooters to the Big Apple. The initial plan is to introduce the scooters in all the boroughs except Manhattan in May 2021.

So far, big names in urban transportation have shown interest in the program. Bird, Lime, Voi, and Lyft have all taken steps to participate in the bidding process.

“We applaud the City and Commissioner Trottenberg for taking this crucial next step in making New York a global leader in environmental travel, micromobility, equitable transportation, and street safety.”

Maurice Henderson, Bird’s director of government partnerships
Entertainment, Shimmie Horn, Tourism, Transportation

New Bookings for NYC Hotels

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For over six months, New York City’s hotels have seen business slow and cease almost entirely. Since the initiation of mandatory lockdown, only 90 of New York’s 650 hotels remained open, primarily as lodgings for emergency workers and service providers. The city’s tourism bureau, NYC & Company, though is also tracking a change as people begin emerging from their protective pods. Through the All In NYC: Staycation campaign, the company is targeting locals and nearby residents looking for a change of scenery.

It seems, for now, that the campaign is working. The individuals and families booking the rooms are not typical tourists and business travelers; they are suburban dwellers who are bored, need a break from the home they have been stuck in since March, and those looking to celebrate something special. Some couples, who have chosen to elope instead of postponing their wedding to a post-pandemic date, are making reservations as part of a pseudo-honeymoon.

Environment, Fitness, NY Environment, Tourism, Transportation

Regenerative Travel Is The Next Step for Sustainability

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All around the world, for nearly a decade tourism, has expanded consistently and grown faster than the global gross domestic product. It only took one microscopic virus to destroy the entire travel industry: 121 million people in tourism jobs are unemployed, $3.4 trillion have been lost. With the reopening of schools in September 2020, and a general movement to begin planning a post-corona reality, many in the industry are looking for ways to make travel smarter, greener, and better.

Sustainable tourism, which seeks to offset the social and environmental impacts of travel used to be the goal. Now the focus is on regenerative travel—a visitor’s aim to leave a place better than it was before.

Six nonprofit organizations, including the Center for Responsible Travel and Sustainable Travel International, have formed an umbrella coalition, the Future of Tourism, offering benchmark suggestions for regenerative travelers. The recommendations include favoring local businesses over international chains, staying at resorts that source foods from local farmers, and participating in immersive community-based programs like beach clean-ups, school volunteering, etc. Neither sustainable nor regenerative travel solve the carbon emission problem; people will still need to get to these destinations, presumably by air. But the newly formed coalition encourages tourists to opt for boat, train, bike or foot excursions when exploring a new venue.

Fitness, NY Environment, NY News, Tourism, Transportation

Building a Better Bridge

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New York City has invited visionaries and strategists from around the world to help solve a truly NY problem: the notoriously overcrowded Brooklyn Bridge foot and bike path. The competition was officially launched in early February and is designed to raise ideas for alleviating the chronically clogged areas.

The Brooklyn Bridge and its pedestrians

The Brooklyn Bridge is an iconic tourist attraction with longstanding New York history and phenomenal views of Manhattan. The 137-year-old bridge sees an average of 16,500 pedestrians and 3,000 cyclists each day.

On several occasions (the most recent being New Year’s Eve 2018), the bridge became so crowded, forming a “human traffic jam,” and the bridge was temporarily closed. Clearly designated areas for pedestrians and cyclists are regularly ignored. Bikers have to maneuver around selfie-taking tourists and walkers have to be wary of distracted cyclists.

If you are an architectural, design, or engineering professional ages 22 and older or a young adults ages 21 and under with some good ideas for the walkway, submit them. And if you are a tourist visiting NYC in the near future, put the Brooklyn Bridge on your itinerary and see a part of New York’s glory.

Fashion, Featured, Fitness, NY News, Sports, Tourism, Transportation

New York City: Just Do It

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New York City and Nike have signed a new partnership allowing the sportswear giant to use more than 30 NYC trademarks (including the NYPD Bomb Squad seal, Department of Transportation crest, or FDNY insignia) on its apparel.

NYC iconoic logos like this will now appear alongside the Nike swoosh.

The deal is an economic tourism win: Nike will pay NYC & Company, the city’s marketing and tourism outfit, royalties of 5 percent of the net sales from these emblazoned items each year. Revenue will be used to support the cost of the city’s licensing program.

NYC’s deal with Nike advances a set of ethical standards, including a ban on forced and child labor and a requirement that municipal vendors “treat employees with respect and dignity,” that the company must adhere to. Nike is also compelled to disclose where its city-branded products will be made; vendors will sign an ethical standards form when contracting with a new factory.

Tourists and NYC fans can look forward to finding Nike/NYC items as early as spring 2020.

Environment, Fundraising, NY Environment, NY News, Tourism, Transportation, Tribeca

Koalas Invade NYC

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Koalas are not just in New York’s zoos anymore. More than a few plush koalas have been affixed to landmarks across the borough as part of a cute campaign encouraging locals and tourists to donate to WIRES, the Australian wildlife rescue effort.

stuffed koalas across NYC and London

These fuzzy, flat-nosed creatures were placed by the New York office of Melbourne media outfit Cummins & Partners (as KoalasofNYC) in places like the Brooklyn Bridge, Tribeca, Central Park fences and benches, Soho, subway platforms, light poles, and fire stations. Each koala has a QR code printed on a tag that directs people to the fundraising page and reminds curious bypassers about the environmental and wildlife crisis in the wake of the 2019-20 brushfires. Koalas were also placed around London for the same purpose.

NY News, Technology, Tourism, Transportation

Traveling in New York City Just Got Easier

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The subway has always been a preferred method for traversing New York City. And now making your way from one city attraction to another has gotten significantly easier.

Swipe or Tap

Plastic, rechargeable MetroCards replaced tokens over 20 years ago. Today, city subway and bus passengers can use an even more hi-tech contactless alternative: Omny (One Metro New York).

Riders can tap their way into a selection of subway stations and buses through contactless bankcards or payment platforms on mobile or wearable devices. The innovative system was unveiled in May 2019 in a number of stations on the 4,5, 6 lines between Grand Central-42 Street and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center, as well as all Staten Island buses. By 2023, OMNY will be the only payment option in all New York City subways. Until then, most stations offer a variety of options.

Chandler Hotel, Entertainment, Featured, NY News, Tourism, Transportation, Triumph Hotels

New York Through Instagram’s Lense

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New York City is full of noteworthy places to take fun and beautiful pictures. With so many quaint corners and iconic buildings, it is no wonder that Big Apple has so many Instagram-worthy spots for any visitor. Try these top picks:

#1: #GrandCentral—  Not all train stations are created equal. Grand Central Terminal is an international architectural beauty known for its glorious façade and remarkable main lobby.

#2: #FlatIronBuilding—the building, shaped like a common household appliance, was designed in 1902 by architect Daniel Burnham and remains one of Manhattan’s most memorable landmarks to this day.

#3: #DUMBO—an acronym for the Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass (DUMBO), this history-filled ex-warehouse neighborhood is now home to art galleries and artisanal coffee shops.

#4: #TheOculus—standing where the 9/11 attacks occurred, The Oculus is a transport hub and the new World Trade Center. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, the building is an impressive and significant site for Insta stories.

#5: #WallStreet – get up close and personal with the legendary Charging Bull or just walk around the cobblestone streets.

#6: #NYPublicLibrary—continuing on the animal-sightings, come snap a picture with the celebrated Library Lions standing guard outside the third largest library in the world.

Between photo shoots, whether you are looking for a place to sleep or a place to eat, you should check out any of the Triumph Hotels or Hotel Chandler in Manhattan. Luxurious amenities alongside personalized service make them the perfect option on an instagramable tour of New York. Chic, trendy, and tasteful, these hotels are great for tourists or veteran New Yorkers.

Entertainment, Transportation

NY Train Shows

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For model train enthusiasts—young and old alike—this is a terrific time to explore New York’s train shows. Here’s a list of some local options:

  • The NY Transit Museum is displaying their 16th annual train show at Grand Central Terminal. The background of this exhibit features the cityscape and expresses the energy and fast pace of New York’s transportation system.
  • At the New York Botanical Gardens, a 27-year-old tradition continues. The train show features New York landmarks, each re-created with intricate detail using natural materials such as twigs, bark and pine cones.
  • The Jerni Collection of toy trains, figurines and models is on display at the New York Historical Society. This immersive experience includes sound effects and multimedia screens.