Question NY cabs...

EmmasMom

Member
My daughter will be 6 at the end of the month, I am flying with her to NY tomorrow to visit family from her Father's side. We will be staying in Long Island. I am going to use her Nautilus on the plan and in the family car.

I just found out we are going to be taking the train and subway into the city. I'm okay with that. Then I was told in the city we can take cabs. Um, ahhh! I took one there when I was pregnant and it scared the tar out of me! I cannot put my "baby" in a cab without a seat! I wouldn't even want to put her in a cab with a seat. I don't want to put myself in a cab for crying out loud!

I don't know much about the city. I think the plan is to take the Staten Island ferry and look at the Statue of liberty (but not do the tour) and have dinner in the city. Is the ferry at all walking distance from the subway? I am bringing the umbrella stroller (Cybex Onyx) and have no problems with walking.

So, what do I say/do? How can I word my response nicely and informatively without sounding like a crazy overprotective mom who babies her child? Help please!
 
ADS

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
"Cab drivers scare the bejeezus out of me and I don't want to have a heart attack on vacation. Let's walk."
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
"Sorry, I'm not comfortable with my child being in a car without a car seat."

You can get public transit directions from Google maps, if that helps.
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I don't know much about the city. I think the plan is to take the Staten Island ferry and look at the Statue of liberty (but not do the tour) and have dinner in the city. Is the ferry at all walking distance from the subway? I am bringing the umbrella stroller (Cybex Onyx) and have no problems with walking.

So, what do I say/do? How can I word my response nicely and informatively without sounding like a crazy overprotective mom who babies her child? Help please!

So are you driving to the train station on LI, taking the train to Grand Central, taking the subway to Battery Park, taking the ferry to Staten Island, turing around to come right back, and then finding somewhere in Manhattan to have dinner?

The ferry is *just* east of Battery Park ("Whitehall Terminal"). There is a subway station just north of the ferry station-- I think it is called "South Ferry" and is on the #1 line. On the N and R lines is the "Whitehall Station." This is farther from the Ferry, though.

There are plenty of family-friendly restaurants in the Battery Park area. You will be *really* close to the World Trade Center Memorial, and there are restaurants around there. That's the Financial District... people there like to eat. :p Try Regis Royal, Georges and Sons, or Pronto Pizza. OR take the subway into Times Square and go to one of the "theme" restaurants-- Hard Rock, Bubba Gump, etc. Those are fun places.


You should be able to get around without cabs, but cabs would be FAR more convenient.
 

CourtneyL

New member
You can use public transit to get around. I grew up on staten island and in all the times I've traveled into manhattan I've never been in a cab.
You can take the subway down to south ferry to get onto the staten island ferry. The exit from the subway station is only a few hundred feet from the doors of the ferry building.
Just to clarify, you can see the statue of liberty from the staten island ferry, but if you wanted to visit it, you actually take an entirely different ferry which leaves from new jersey (I think).
 

aeormsby

New member
If you have time and think it may come in handy for other situations I'd get a bubble bum to stick in your purse. But otherwise just memorize the lines everyone else suggested.

Have fun. We visited the Statue of Liberty last year when we were visiting family in NJ, next time we're planning on taking the kids into the city.
 

EmmasMom

Member
Thank you all so much! Sounds like I wouldn't be a horrible pain for sticking to my mommy-safety. :)

Is time square far from the World Trade Center memorial?
 

hedgefun

New member
EmmasMom said:
Thank you all so much! Sounds like I wouldn't be a horrible pain for sticking to my mommy-safety. :)

Is time square far from the World Trade Center memorial?

It is far, but both are close to subway stops.

You can also download the HopStop app onto your smartphone. Even though I know the NYC subway system pretty well, it's come in handy a couple of times.
 

cantabdad

New member
You might consider leaving the stroller behind -- you will need to keep it folded up most of the time anyway on the Long Island Rail Road and on the subway, so you'll end up dragging it along without much benefit. It's almost impossible to get through the subway turnstiles without folding it up, and many stations don't have elevators.

Also, for the itinerary you described, I think a 5- or 6-year-old could readily keep up with you on foot.

Trains from Long Island come into Penn Station. From there, you can change to a downtown No.1 subway train to South Ferry (the last stop) and walk across to the ferry terminal.

Hold your ground with the in-laws; they can take a cab if they like, but the subway goes everywhere you need and is often equally fast.

We use a Bubble Bum for the occasional taxi ride. It's $40 and could be stashed in a tote bag if you want the flexibility to jump in a cab.
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
I agree, a BubbleBum would be an easy way to get around the city with a six year old. If I was taking Piper to NYC, I'd have it in my bag. "Hey, let's catch a cab!" "Great idea! *puff* *puff* Here, Piper, sit on this."

Wendy
 

amyd

New member
I'd bring a booster if I were bringing a stroller and plan on using cabs or no booster, no stroller and use the subway. I'd always pick the subway personally. I've been in a NYC cab exactly once and that was more than enough for a lifetime, TYVM. :eek:
 

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
I don't think so. Unless someone returns an online item, they don't carry the BubbleBum.


Amazon sells it, though, and it will ship QUICKLY if needed. If you have Prime, it will be to you or another location in less than two days. :)
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
No, but you might be able to get one ordered and shipped to your NY location.

If you have amazon prime it's $40 with free two day shipping.

Wendy
 

CrunchyMaineMama

Senior Community Member
We did NYC last spring with DD (and I was 7 mos pregnant) We easily got everywhere we needed to go with no stroller and no cabs :) DH wore DD some of the time in busier areas, but hoping on/off the subway is so quick and easy.

The only day we used a stroller was in Central Park, we did the zoo and walked around the park all day so it was nice to have it then.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
My experience isn't with NYC but with Boston. My IL's took my kids up there for the day. They took the train in and my MIL mentioned that they would just grab a cab if they needed to while in the city. I nicely said to her- "I'd prefer that the kids don't ride in a taxi without their seats. Could you please stick with the T?" ILs (who have a VERY relaxed stance on car safety) were perfectly fine with that and just walked and used the T. I think that nicely stating your preference should be enough for family to be ok with not taking taxis. Especially since it sounds like most of what you are doing is pretty close to subway stations.
 

msg221

Well-known member
I have nothing else to add except that today I was at the 9/11 Memorial, Battery Park, and took the Staten Island Ferry! I don't know how many miles I logged on foot today, but my feet are killing me, even though I wore my Keens. I have a huge blister on one of my toes right now.
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
One other thing you might consider is that if you hop in a cab, you may need to request your fellow passengers buckle up. For whatever reason, I've noticed that people - even normal, sensible people who normally always buckle up - just hop in a cab and go.

A Bubblebum sounds like a great plan, and I highly recommend a smart phone with access to the mta trip planner or google maps. One advantage the mta site has is that it accounts for service disruptions.

Also, there is a small discount on Subway fare with at least $10 on a Metrocard. :)
 

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