Escape to NYC!
posted May 24, 2017 12:11 PM   RSS | iCal | +googleCal

Sat June 17 at 5:00 PM, Putnam's Pub
419 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY, USA (Map & Directions)
Hey, I'm going to be in NYC June 14th to 18th. Would love to see/meet area mefites.
I'm escaping North Carolina for a brief jaunt up to NYC just for fun. I have every evening free at this time, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Daytimes, too, but I figure most people will be at work. My plane on Sunday to go home isn't till the evening, so I have that day as well. I'll be staying in what my friend calls "Downtown Brooklyn" (Jay Street/Metrotech).

SO! Anyone want to meet up? What sorts of things do y'all do? I'd like to do something where people get together, and can talk while drinking beer or cocktails and eating snacky food.

Also, lemme tag on a request for recommendations. My goal for this trip is to actually do things in NYC that you can't do other places. Once up on a time ages ago (Pre 9/11) I lived up in Westchester, but for some reason I didn't spend much time in the city. I've gone to many of the museums, so that's less of a draw. I think I have scored tickets to watch The View, because LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE.

Any other ideas? It's just going to be me.
posted by Stewriffic to Meetup (44 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite

Confirmed Jay Street/Metrotech is indeed "Downtown Brooklyn." And it is also "walking distance from my house."

I am not sure how others would feel about my proposing Best Bar In The World as a location, but it's put here as an option to get the ball rolling. It is not a hill I will die on by any means, though.

As for Other Things To Do - get out to Governors' Island. that's an island in the harbor that used to be an army base, and parts of it are nationally protected landmarks; but the bulk of it now belongs to the city's parks department, and they are doing a METRIC SHIT-TON of stuff out there. There are pop-up art exhibits, museums, and shops in the historic houses, a mini-golf course, lots of spots for picnicing, tours of the two historic forts, you can rent bikes, there is a flotilla of food trucks, and they recently did some earthworks and built all these hills at the south end - one of them gives you an amazing view of the Statue of Liberty, and one has a row of slides built into the side of it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:40 AM on May 26, 2017 [1 favorite]


Well, I guess a stroll along the High Line is pretty New Yorky? Could be nice on a weeknight evening, and there are plenty of places to go get drinks/food afterwards. Or going to one of the Brooklyn Smorgasburg locations on Saturday or Sunday morning - overpriced and hipsterish, I guess, but that's NY too.

Is there anything on the Time Out New York website that looks interesting to you?
posted by oh yeah! at 9:43 AM on May 26, 2017


Hit post too soon - Governors' Island is only available by ferryboat. There is a free ferry on the weekends that departs from Brooklyn Bridge Park once an hour or so. You can also get out there via the East River ferry (a paid ferry), but the East River Ferry stops more places; the free ferry is just GI to Brooklyn. Brooklyn Bridge Park is really close to Downtown Brooklyn.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:43 AM on May 26, 2017


I'm all in favor of a Governors' Island meetup - haven't ever gone there before, and when I floated it for IRL a summer or two ago it never made it out of 'proposed' status.
posted by oh yeah! at 9:50 AM on May 26, 2017


FYI the Coney Island Mermaid Parade is that Saturday. Not sure if there's a MeFi group going, but def. recommend.
posted by Eideteker at 9:50 AM on May 26, 2017


Clarification: I was proposing Governors' Island as something for Stewriffic to do indepdently, since they asked for that too. Stewriffic is only available for meetups in the evenings, and Governors' Island is closed in the evenings.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:27 AM on May 26, 2017


No, I'm available during the day, too. I just figured evening would be better for a meet up for most other people. Best Bar in the World looks great, EmpressCallipygos. That's along the lines of what I was thinking. Do they have outdoor seating? Cause if so that would be perfect! Thanks!
posted by Stewriffic at 11:57 AM on May 26, 2017


They have sidewalk seating at like cafe tables; if we have a big huge crowd that'd be tricky. No back yard unfortunately. However, they do have a basement space if it's a bigger crowd.

There's also a newbie place that is practically next door and which does have a back yard/garden seating area. They don't have much in the way of food, but they have a very extensive cider menu.

Finally - I'd personally be down with a Governors' Island meetup on that Saturday.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:38 PM on May 26, 2017


Me too. We've been wanting to go.
posted by Miko at 8:20 PM on May 26, 2017


One of the reasons I was leaning towards someplace to plop down and have drinks and snacks was because I am having some mobility and fatigue issues and am being pretty protective of those.

I am worried about signing up for a meetup for Governor's Island and then be miserable or have to bag it entirely, cause that would suck.

I think for the purposes of this meetup, let's call it for Saturday at the Best Bar in the World, with the option to move over to the cider place if the weather is gorgeous.

So excited to meet those of you who can make it!
posted by Stewriffic at 8:36 AM on May 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


I love Cardiff Giant (Empress's "newbie place"). I think it's an especially great place if you want to get a unique-to-NYC experience since its whole list consists of NY-produced beer, cider, and spirits.
posted by ferret branca at 8:09 PM on May 27, 2017


Also, Stewriffic, a couple more local suggestions if you want 'em (apologies if you know any of them already):

I absolutely love the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is right across from Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum.

Chelsea Market in Manhattan is a good bet for a mixture of hip and original; here's a recent article about its 20-year (!) anniversary.

The Staten Island Ferry would be less mobility-dependent than Governor's Island; especially if you go on a weekday afternoon I don't think it would be too crowded. It would be a little time-consuming, of course, but I think it's a lot of fun.

The cronut is pretty played out, but Dominique Ansel also has a shop called Dominique Ansel Kitchen which recently started selling a mean cold brew soft serve (I think on Wednesday-Sundays). It's located in the West Village, which is a charming place to wander around.

Hope you enjoy your visit!
posted by ferret branca at 8:17 PM on May 27, 2017


Well, hell, Cardiff Giant and Putnam's are less than a half a block from each other; we could make a pub crawl out of it.

(And I live a half block away myself, so this is the best-placed Meetup possible for me. I'm in.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:06 PM on May 28, 2017 [1 favorite]


Oh, all suggestions are awesome. I've been looking online, so some cool things do come up, but info from locals is the best.

I'm not super limited in the mobility department, just some joint problems that are unpredictable.
posted by Stewriffic at 8:43 AM on May 29, 2017


Getting to Brooklyn is very difficult for me, but stop by my store and say howdy. (I'm there 9-6, tues thru sat)
posted by jonmc at 9:20 AM on May 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


That's the week before my move, so my attendance is predicated on me being done packing. So I'll probably miss it, sorry.
posted by Hactar at 5:38 AM on May 30, 2017


And now that this is a Saturday that is smack in the middle of my extended break between my old job and my new, I'll be celebratory. Definitely gonna be there. (I already have people trying to take me out for the same reason the night before, I'm REALLY enjoying the notion of having something to celebrate.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:33 PM on June 2, 2017


Yay!!!!!! That's awesome. Glad you get to celebrate.
posted by Stewriffic at 9:15 AM on June 3, 2017


y'all I am getting excited. Thanks for the suggestions in here. Definitely want to go to Coney Island, but unsure if I am up to trying to get out there on Saturday for the parade before the meetup. I forgot also that I bought some passes to the Russian Turkish Baths (say what?), cause I always wanted to try that out. I'm a little flummoxed by the weather forecast, which seems to be changing all the time from day to day.
posted by Stewriffic at 10:02 AM on June 12, 2017


Also, should i get the MTA app?
posted by Stewriffic at 10:46 AM on June 12, 2017


(Is there one?)
posted by Stewriffic at 11:47 AM on June 12, 2017


I've always just gotten by with the Google/Apple map apps, since they get all the bus/train feeds (NJ system not just MTA), and that way I don't need to switch apps for walking directions once I'm off the train. Judging by reviews, the MTA app is about as (un)reliable as the MTA trains. If you're staying with a friend in Brooklyn, they'll know to tell you if there's any system-wide clusterfuck going on.

I do like the Metroptimizer app - worth downloading if you're planning on buying a per-trip Metrocard rather than one of the unlimiteds.
posted by oh yeah! at 4:52 PM on June 12, 2017


If you go to Coney Island and you're a train nerd at all, MTA is also running vintage trains in Brighton Beach this weekend: http://www.nytransitmuseum.org/program/paradeoftrains/all/
posted by ferret branca at 8:23 AM on June 13, 2017


Hey, it's day-before-meetup day, just want to nudge the thread into people's Recent Activity. Looks like the weather will be cloudy but pleasant.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:14 AM on June 16, 2017


Can't wait! Am having a great time.
posted by Stewriffic at 3:45 PM on June 16, 2017


Sorry I missed you, stew. I'm overwhelmed at work heading into my 8th straight day...ugh. Hope we have another chance before too long.
posted by Miko at 9:18 PM on June 16, 2017


Oh, Miko, that is sad! Remember you are welcome in Durham anytime. I did get to meet jonmc at the Strand, and Lipstick Thespian yesterday. That was lovely! Also, I walked over 30,000 steps yesterday, so today I'm going to bum around this area until the meetup. Do some shopping.
posted by Stewriffic at 7:29 AM on June 17, 2017


Hi Stew: you can get the B54 bus at the Jay Street/Myrtle Plaza stop, and it will take you right to the exact block Putnam's is on. The stop is between Vanderbilt and Clinton Avenues, and the bus from Downtown Brooklyn to Putnam's lets you off pretty much across the street (look for the block with a shop named "Mr. Coco's"). For the bus back to Downtown Brooklyn, the stop is right in front of Putnam's, and you just ride to Jay Street, which is the last stop on the B54 route. It's like a ten-minute ride each way, I'd say.

I live a two-minute walk around the corner, and I'm in a lazy mood today as well (I'm supposed to be cleaning but I'm being a lazy procrastinating ass) so I'll be puttering around the apartment until 5. I'll check in here in the thread every now and then for the next couple hours, and then will post when I'm about to leave the house and head up. (They have Wifi so I'll bring my ipad too so we can monitor the thread.)

Let me know if you think we'll do food or just drinks. If we hit critical mass and there's no party thing in the basement we could try to get a snug down there, it's actually pretty cool (We may have to go upstairs to get our drinks, but we could bring 'em downstairs, I think; I'll check with the owners.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:11 AM on June 17, 2017


Oh yeah, those of you coming from other points can also take the A, C, F, or R to the Jay Street/Metrotech stop and connect to the B54 that way. Look for the "Myrtle Plaza" exit (Or it may be called "Myrtle Promenade", I can't remember). The stop is half a block up the street from that subway exit.

PM me if you have questions, PM me your phone number if you want a phone consult for directions.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:13 AM on June 17, 2017


Hey thanks for that info! I wonder if this rain is going to keep people in their homes. I suspect I will be wanting food.
posted by Stewriffic at 10:44 AM on June 17, 2017


It is pouring impressively here in Jersey still, but I've got some rain sandals I want to break in and a ludicrously large umbrella, so, I'm still in camp Yes. And I will definitely want food (me+alcohol without food = head-spinny badness). Bus routes/schedules mystify me, so, I'll just take the PATH to the C train Clinton-Washington Av stop and walk to Myrtle Ave like last time.
posted by oh yeah! at 10:53 AM on June 17, 2017


It stopped pouring around here, so that's good!
posted by Stewriffic at 12:02 PM on June 17, 2017


There is most definitely food there. :-)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:28 PM on June 17, 2017


Alright, I am freely admitting I may be late because doing the dishes took me longer than I thought. Will still check in here before I head there (and I'll have to hit an ATM on the way up, but there's a bodega right around the corner from Putnam's that's on my way).

I will be wearing a white and blue plaid shirt over a gray tank top, and jeans.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:31 PM on June 17, 2017


I've just arrived at the bar, spent far less time waiting for trains than I expected. Stewriffic, I'm a readhead, wearing blue pants and a grey/blue blouse.
posted by oh yeah! at 1:39 PM on June 17, 2017


I'm planning on toddling in, too, and like the Empress am running late, so I should be there around 5:30 +/-.

See ya then!
posted by Violet Blue at 1:59 PM on June 17, 2017


Ok we are here
posted by Stewriffic at 2:08 PM on June 17, 2017


Leaving the house now, there in 5 minutes.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:09 PM on June 17, 2017


We've been seated, front table to the left of the entrance.
posted by oh yeah! at 2:13 PM on June 17, 2017


That was so nice! Thanks for coming out. xo
posted by Stewriffic at 5:32 PM on June 17, 2017


It was nice to meet you at my work. Sorry I was so busy.
posted by jonmc at 12:30 PM on June 18, 2017


Had a great time! Hope you all got back home safe in the rain - which fortunately had stopped by the time I was done with that creme brulee beer.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:32 PM on June 18, 2017


Jon, it was nice to meet you, too! I knew you'd be busy; no apologies necessary. Glad you had a few minutes to chat anyway. Hope you gave my love to pips.
posted by Stewriffic at 9:52 AM on June 19, 2017


And EC, that creme brulee beer was amazing! Thanks for the drink, too. Hope your new job is amazing. Sure sounds like it!
posted by Stewriffic at 10:15 AM on June 19, 2017



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