About NewYorkology

Terminal 5, taxi stand fix, fried truth wrapped in bacon

NewYorkology’s back from the longest vacation in the site’s history (since August 2004) as I’ve been off in Europe for a few weeks. Arriving into JFK last night, New York City felt a bit broken by comparison. We had very long waits on the plane last night, including 25 minutes parked between two runways so busy that air traffic controllers couldn’t be bothered to tell our pilot how long we’d be stuck there, he told us. And yes, I am aware there were two near-misses on JFK runways while I was gone.

And then there was the shameful taxi situation. Of course we were confronted by a dozen men offering (illegal) taxi service before we got to the long, official line for taxis. Tons of taxis, but the problem was the two official busy-bodies who felt the need to chat/lecture every taxi driver and every passenger, one-by-one. You couldn’t get past these guys. At the London train stations, you hit the front of the taxi queue and a guy points to a number painted on the ground, you stand there, and about six cabs are filled and once, thank you and goodbye.

Another thing that would be nice to see here: free wi-fi on trains, like England’s regional National Express does.

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July 21, 2008 12:29 PM Comments (2)

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A note from the editor on upcoming changes

Hi NewYorkology fans, I thought it would be a good time to offer a big picture on a few things I'm hoping to get done this summer and for fall. You may not know, but NewYorkology is just a small, independently owned travel website. I'm the editor, and my background is all in straight news (newspapers, a wire service, and a dot-com stint for a TV network,) plus a not-so MSM job at Czechoslovakia's first independent English-language newspaper, the unfortunately named yet sorta-legendary Prognosis.

So one reason for this note is that in July I'm actually making my first visit to Prague since 1994. It's part of a trip that will have me out of New York around the first two weeks of July. And while NewYorkology has a handful of contributors (and will be looking for more when I return,) the day-to-day is pretty much all me.

Since this site launched in August 2004, it's been updated almost every day. Even on weekends I'm at least grinding out content for the calendar. (I'm actually looking for a good way to automate that so readers can add events, but still discourage the PR folks from crossing the line. Suggestions welcome.)

Starting at the end of June, daily posting at NewYorkology is going to slow down to put the site in a more static "July in New York" mode. Post-holiday I'll get back to the daily schedule, I think. I've got some silly big ideas of what I'd like to do with the site later this year, but it would take a chunk of money and more importantly, a partner with the tech-knowledge to pull it off and keep it running while I stick to editorial.

But before all that, I will be looking for more (unpaid) contributors and I'm going to make a solid effort to finally launch the neighborhood guides. (Two years ago I talked to a few bloggers about writing mini-guides to their neighborhoods. Paul Frankenstein stepped up faster than I could have expected ... and then with too many balls in the air, that was the end of that.)

The coming months may be a bit of a roller coaster with highs and lows, and hopefully a redesign. Apologies in advance for the disruption. -- Amy Langfield

June 14, 2008 10:47 AM Comments (4)

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2008 Travvies seeking best travel blog nominations

The nomination period is open for the second annual Travvies awards, which seeks to find the best travel blogs on the web.

Last year, NewYorkology was named the best destination travel blog, and was a finalist for best travel blog overall.

The awards are organized by the Upgrade: Travel Better blog, which is accepting nominations from the general public for a few more days. In the next round, a panel of judges will select four finalists in each category and then voting opens up again to the general public to vote for the winners.

April 3, 2008 10:42 AM Comments (0)

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Budget Travel's 'Trip Coach' chat with NewYorkology

Budget Travel magazine next week will feature an online chat with NewYorkology editor Amy Langfield as part of its Trip Coach session.

The New York chat is scheduled for Tuesday, February 5 from noon to 1 p.m., Eastern Time - but you can submit questions through the Budget Travel website now.

To see how these go, check their September archive for the New York chat with Manhattan User's Guide editor Charlie Suisman.

Update: Read the full transcript here.

January 30, 2008 8:51 AM Comments (0)

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NewYorkology's on Facebook

NewYorkology spent part of the long weekend exploring this thing the kids call Facebook. So now you can be New Yorkology's Facebook friend, and check out some of the cool things there:

Maritime Hotel light graffiti video - A guerrila artist uses a light show to turn the Chelsea-neighborhood hotel into a temporary game board/art canvas.

The Brooklyn Museum ArtShare project - Add this application and you can create your own rotating gallery of artworks for your pge from the Brooklyn Gallery's collection. Not everything in the museum is available, but there are a number of pieces from its extensive Egyptian collection (though not the mummified cat,) as well as the new feminist galleries. Artshare also lets you choose from London's Victoria & Albert museum and Australia's Powerhouse Museum. Plus: "If you are an artist, upload and share your own work using this app."

Video clip from "The Cruise" - See Timothy "Speed� Levitch explain why surrendering to Manhattan's grid system = failure. And did you know he has his own webpage - Speedology.

Whitney Museum's upcoming events - Including but not limited to gallery talks, architecture dialogues and pay-what-you-wish Whitney Live parties.

And one logistics note -- just to emphasize our newbie status, you'll have to make sure you sign up as a friend of New Yorkology (two words) and not merely a fan of NewYorkology (one word.) As a fan, you can only see the shell of the Facebook site we briefly set up in November. Somehow the two pages did not merge into one. (And if you know how to fix, please drop a line.)

January 21, 2008 2:19 PM Comments (0)

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Page Six confirms Greenwich Hotel reservations

NewYorkology made it onto the pages of The Post's Page Six today - and it doesn't have anything to do with having sex with, supplying drugs to, or getting sideswiped by the likes of Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan or George Clooney.

But it does involve DeNiro.

Page Six gives NewYorkology credit for the weekend scoop on Robert DeNiro's Greenwich Hotel going live with its website and taking reservations (with $725 rooms,) starting April 1.

The paper adds a confirmation from a hotel rep: "We are taking reservations, although we have not announced an opening date yet."

For a little backstory on the anticipation over this hotel, note that in December 2006 the New York Times called it the "most hyped hotel in the country." That was a mere month after it landed on About.com's list of Top 10 New Best Hotels for Romance for 2006.

January 8, 2008 7:50 AM Comments (0)

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NewYorkology wins a 'silver' Lowell Thomas award

NewYorkology is delighted to announce it's been named the "silver" award winner (read: the second-best) Internet publication at this year's Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism awards.

First place went to LonelyPlanet.com and third went to Frommers.com.

This is the third consecutive year NewYorkology has received a "bronze" or "silver" in the competition run by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation and judged by the Missouri School of Journalism faculty.

The judges' notes were especially sweet:

This Web site focuses on one small swatch of the earth, New York City, and dissects its with a sharp eye. NewYorkology plays on the Web’s strengths — the ability to deliver timely information quickly and link to other resources — and presents information to travelers in a chatty tone. Visitors heading for the Big Apple will want to make this their first stop.

October 9, 2007 10:55 AM Comments (0)

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NewYorkology radio debut on 'Tell Me More'

NewYorkology editor Amy Langfield made her shaky radio debut on Michel Martin's "Tell Me More" show today, which airs in NYC on WNYE 91.5 FM. You can also listen online.

Correction: During the show there was a mention of the restored tiles in Central Park. They're called the Minton tiles (not Minetta, which is the name of the brook that still flows under Greenwich Village.)

If you've come to the site as a result, here's a list of a few other items that may be of interest to fans of the Harlem Book Fair, followed by some some links to past NewYorkology coverage.

July 21 walking tour of the neighborhood around Brooklyn's Weeksville, which was the second-largest independent African-American community before the Civil War.

July 21 free Central Park walking tour of the site of Seneca Village, Manhattan's first known community of African-American property owners.
July 27 and 28 free performances of "Romeo and Juliet" by the Classical Theatre of Harlem at Von King Park in Brooklyn

"New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War" at the New-York Historical Society through Sept. 3

"Stereotypes vs. Humantypes: Images of Blacks in the 19th and 20th Centuries" at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture through October 28.

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July 19, 2007 10:12 AM Comments (0)

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'NYology is about as good as it gets' - BrandChannel

In an article profiling Philadelphia's new travel blog, uwishunu, (launched by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation,) online magazine BrandChannel.com had some nice things to say about NewYorkology:

But in terms of travel blogs, NewYorkology is about as good as it gets. Take uwishunu's campaign goals and swap out city names—that is, "Reveal New York's unconventional and contemporary side and show off the city as a hip, urban destination that fosters the creative class/Positively impact New York's quality of life through increased tourism from previously untapped, highly wired, urban travelers"—and NewYorkology just about fits the bill as well as can be expected. It breaks down content by month and relies largely on out-linking to sources that probably have more to say, and more authority, on a given subject. (Though, we would like to see the calendar placed a little more prominently.)

July 10, 2007 8:17 AM Comments (0)

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Take part in NewYorkology's blog reader survey

Some of NewYorkology's advertising is handled by Blogads, which has kicked off its annual-ish blog reader survey.

Please help out and take the survey if you've got a little time. You don't have to give your name or anything too embarrassing (though there are some weird Qs there about cat people vs dog people and whatnot.)

Should also take this time to point out again that NewYorkology is an independent blog and all the advertising is in the right-hand column, separate from the can't-be-bought editorial stuff here in the middle column. The site isn't a front for some hotel, ticket-scalping operation or PR house.

May 7, 2007 11:58 AM Comments (0)

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