Hey everyone, it's Lucie Fink. Welcome back to my YouTube channel. I have a slight
cut inside of my lip, so if my mouth is moving weird it's because I'm avoiding
pain... So, New York City is where I've lived since I graduated college in 2014,
and every single year I'm here I learn a little bit more about this place. I get
contacted by a lot of you out there whenever you're coming to New York,
because everyone wants to know what to do here... but what I think is interesting
is that not one single person has ever asked me "What should I NOT do in New
York City?" and I think knowing what not to do here is just as important as
knowing what to do. This city is compact but has a lot to offer, and I think when
you come here you obviously want to get the most out of your experience.
But there are some tourist traps and some things that a lot of tourists think
they should do, but as a local I can assure you you shouldn't do. I wrote this
list on my phone, and I have basically just continued to add to this list over
the past few months... so I finally got to ten things, and it's time to share them
with you. Let's get into it. Ten things that you should NOT do when you come to
visit New York City. Okay? Number one: Do not bike around on the streets for fun.
This is a bikable city, but it is kind of dangerous to bike in the city and anyone
that I know that bikes has been biking around for years or is really, really
careful, and really knows the layout of the streets and the directions that
traffic flows in... The city streets and the grid system are really complicated,
and unless you know exactly which direction to bike on in order to be safe,
it can be a very dangerous experience to bike. So there are bike lanes in a lot of
places so right here you could see this green strip on the ground... this is a bike
lane. And it seems pretty open, pretty available for bikers to bike safely... but
a lot of bike lanes in New York are not actually clear. If you've ever watched
Casey Neistat's video about biking in New York, he sort of proves that these
bike lanes are often clogged up with construction and cones, and it's really
not that safe for bikers all the time. Pretty much the only people biking that
I see are either really, really local people who now use bikes to get to work,
(which I think is great) or delivery people. And they're delivering food, and
there's often accidents...They get hit by cars, they have car doors open and hit
them as they're biking by, and it's not a pretty sight.
Lucie: Sir, do you feel safe biking around New York?
Biker: Yeah, perfectly safe. Lucie: Perfectly safe? Biker: Yeah.
Lucie: You always wear a helmet though? Biker: Yes. Lucie: Smart.
Biker: I was just kidding, I don't feel perfectly safe.
Lucie: If you do want to come to New York City and bike, there are plenty of places where you CAN bike.
So, on the rivers... On the West Side is the Hudson River, and on the East Side is the East River...
There are bike paths along both of those rivers, so if you do want to bike, I
would highly recommend going to the outskirts of Manhattan and biking up and
down there. It's also probably the prettiest scenery that you're going to
see here. Another place that's great for biking is Central Park... So if you're
visiting and you go visit Central Park, definitely rent a bike up there and then
there's a lot of bike paths and trails through the park that are really
enjoyable. The second thing not to do when you come
to New York City is to pick where you're going to stay purely based on where a
hotel is. Instead, I would say choose the area that you want to be in and then
find a hotel that is in that area. A lot of the major hotel chains and the first
hotels that you search for online when typing in New York City hotels are going
to offer you hotels in midtown or the really touristy spots... but I think you
want to make sure that where you're staying is an area that you're
interested in visiting... On that note, my number 3 thing to not do in New York
City is stay in Times Square the entire time. A lot of the major hotels will be
in Midtown, and will be sort of around the Times Square area... and any New Yorker
will tell you that Times Square is just constantly packed with tourists. I think
a lot of people coming in from out of town want to see Times Square, and I
don't blame them. It is an incredible sight to see, and you totally have to see
it if you're coming here. But do not just stay in Times Square and walk around the
theater district and think that you're getting a taste of New York City. This
city has so many neighborhoods. If you missed my previous video where I did a
water colored painting of lower Manhattan, definitely check that out
because I sort of break down the edges of where each neighborhood lives... But I
definitely would highly recommend making sure that you see Times Square, but then
you leave Times Square. Number 4: If you need directions, don't be afraid to ask
someone on the street to help you. I think New Yorkers get a bit of a bad
reputation and a lot of people seem to say that we're rude or that we won't
talk to anyone on the street, and we're just hustling with our heads down,
sprinting... And yes, the truth is New Yorkers do move fast. We do not like to
be stuck behind a slow-moving person on the sidewalk... BUT we are also nice people,
and we would happily help a tourist find directions. We can probably easily tell
you which way is North and which way is South at any given moment, so I'm
speaking for all New Yorkers, I think, when I say: Ask us for directions. The one
thing I will say is just don't go up to someone and say "excuse me, can I ask you
a question?" or don't go up to someone and say "excuse me, do you have a minute?"
because then the answer will be no, you can't ask me a question. No, I don't have
a minute. And the reason New Yorkers are used to
saying that is because we are used to being pulled over second after second by
people who want to tell us why God is a woman or who want to tell us why we need
to convert to Scientology and we just don't want to hear any of that while
we're trying to get from point A to point B... So we're not mean, and we can
help you with directions. But just come out and say "excuse me, which way is North?"
Don't set it up by saying "do you have a second?" Just dive into your question and
you will receive help. The fifth thing that I would recommend you not do when
coming to New York City is do not ride those horse carriages in Central Park.
This is just a personal opinion, and I do feel kind of bad saying it because I know
that there are people who are the drivers of those horse carriages and
they need work, too... so I'm not trying to take work away from anyone... but I'm just
speaking for the horses because they're voiceless... I actually just don't think
that that is the best way to treat a horse and the best place for these
horses to be living and spending their days. At one of my previous jobs, I
actually worked kind of near where the horses are stored at night, and it's a
very smelly place where the horses are led and kept in very tight conditions...
and I just think that these horses are meant to be in the country and not the
city. I don't think they want to be pulling carriages of people. I think they
probably want to be roaming free in the grassland somewhere. So if you're an
animal lover, or even if you're not, maybe just spare the horses. Number six, try not
to just eat at restaurant chains and fast-food restaurants that you might
have back where you're from. This city is known for its food. There are some
incredible restaurants here. If you search on Yelp "best restaurants in [XYZ
neighborhood] of New York", you will get a ton of search results. But
also, just know that if you walk the streets in any given neighborhood, you
are bound to run into a bunch of restaurants that are probably not listed
as hot spots anywhere but are still really tasty. And if you're concerned
about cleanliness, you can always see on the outside of a restaurant a sanitary
rating. So there's an ABCD. (I hope it doesn't go past that...) And you can choose
to go into only restaurants that have an A rating if your concern is cleanliness.
Number seven: Don't stand on the left side of escalators in the subway. As I
mentioned in a previous tip, New Yorkers are kind of always in a hurry and they
just don't like to be stuck behind slow moving people. It's kind of just
escalator etiquette, I think all over the world... but definitely in New York... that if
you want to stand, you can stand on the right and then if you want to move fast
you go to the left. If you are standing on the left side of an escalator,
somebody is going to ask you to move, or bump into you, or try to push around you.
So, if you don't like to be bumped into, stand on the right. Number eight, do not
take a taxi or an Uber during rush hour if you are in a rush. And I'm actually
gonna change this one to just don't take a taxi or an Uber AT ALL if you're
in a rush. The city is always congested. Especially downtown. I don't care if it's
rush hour or it's not rush hour, you are going to get there a lot slower by
taking a car than you will get there if you take the subway. So learn the
subway system. And I know after living in London for a semester and realizing how
organized and clean the tube is, it was a bit of a culture shock to come to the
New York City subways and see that it's really not all that clean... and it is a
little bit confusing... but there are plenty of apps like Google Maps which
does a really good job at just helping you navigate the subway and telling you
the best subways to take to get to exactly where you're going in the
fastest amount of time. So, yes, the subway is kind of a whole different world. It
can be really hot and gross in the summer... and yes, there is pee down there,
and rats running on the tracks... but it's classic New York. So you've got to take
the subway. Number nine: Do not just stay in Manhattan.
So this is the borough where I live. This is the borough that I love the
most. But there are five boroughs in the city: the Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn,
Queens, and Manhattan. And you do want to explore more than one.
If you're gonna just go to one other borough, I would recommend Brooklyn. It's
really easy to get there on the subway... really close by... and it is a very
up-and-coming area. It's actually already come up, so it's very cool. Lots to do in
Brooklyn, and lots of different neighborhoods. But I would just say my
main reason for saying this is that a lot of people have the vision in their
head of the New York City skyline of the Empire State Building and the Freedom
Tower and they want to see that... but the issue is, when you are actually in a
building in Manhattan and you look outside, the view looks more like this...
but if you're in Brooklyn, or even if you're across the water in New Jersey,
you instead get this view... So, especially if you're here in the warm months and
you can be outside, I would highly recommend going across the water into
another state or another borough, and get that view of Manhattan. (Instead of just
staying in here in the thick of it and not being able to see where you are.) And
the tenth thing that I think you should not do when you come visit New York is:
Don't you dare come here... don't you dare get to this city and not buy yourself a
$1 slice of pizza. Everyone's always asking me What's the best pizza? And I
have some amazing sit-down restaurants that I love to go to for thin crust
pizza or whatever it is... fancy-style toppings pizza... but one dollar pizza can
be found on pretty much every corner in the city, and it is unbelievable. And
it's one dollar. They literally just ask for a dollar bill. There's no additional
things added. It's like, "here's your dollar",
"here's your slice". Let's eat. And this pizza is classic New York style pizza.
Don't come to the city and miss your chance to try this. It's greasy, it's warm,
it's cheesy, it's perfect... You will love it if you love pizza. Whew! Okay...
So, those were my ten tips of things to NOT do when you come to New York City. I
hope that you found it just as useful as a list of things to do. If you're looking
for 10 things to do, I've made multiple videos about this... I've made videos
sharing day-in-the-life... I've made a 5 things to do in December... Lots of YouTube
content about the city. So if you want to know what to do, definitely look at some
of my previous videos. Also, if you join my mailing list by going to luciefink.com/join
or just check out the link in the description box, you can get on my
mailing list where I send out two emails every month, and I believe you should get
a welcome blast that gives you a free PDF document telling you ten of my
favorite things to do in the city. But even if you don't get that... just by
signing up for my mailing list you will always kind of get New York centric
content. So if you're interested in New York, sign up right now! And know that I
will also never share your email addresses. I don't spam my mailing list. I
only send out two emails a month, and it's usually a lot of insider information
about my life, or giveaways, or just top secret info... so join the Fink Fam! That's
fun. If you have any more questions about the city, just comment them below. And let
me know that you liked this video by giving it a thumbs up. I'll see you next
time on my YouTube channel. Sending so much love from the Empire State!