Access Manhattan
Lower Manhattan's skyline from Brooklyn Bridge Park
QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT LENGTH

The Journal

Visitor questions about Manhattan, answered at length: the Statue of Liberty ferry, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattanhenge, riding the subway, getting in from JFK and the lost Penn Station.

Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

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Each one a single question, answered in full01

The articles

  1. 01Can you walk across the Brooklyn Bridge?
    The Brooklyn Bridge

    Can you walk across the Brooklyn Bridge?

    Yes, on a raised promenade between the roadways that is now for people on foot alone. Which way to walk, where to start and finish, how long it takes, when it is least crowded, and what to do in Brooklyn at the far end.

  2. 02How do you get from JFK Airport to Manhattan?
    Getting Here

    How do you get from JFK Airport to Manhattan?

    There is no direct train from JFK to Manhattan, but there are three good ways in: AirTrain to Jamaica and the Long Island Rail Road, AirTrain to the subway, or a taxi at a flat rate. How each one works, what it involves with luggage, and how to choose.

  3. 03How do you visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island?
    The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

    How do you visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island?

    Every visitor travels on the same ferry, sold by one company. Which of the three tickets you need, why the crown sells out, how security works, how long to allow, and how to fit Ellis Island into the same day.

  4. 04How does the New York subway work for visitors?
    Getting Around

    How does the New York subway work for visitors?

    The subway runs all night, takes a tap of your bank card or phone, and reaches nearly everything on this site. How the lines are named, which platform to choose, the difference between local and express, how the fare cap works, and what changes at night and on weekends.

  5. 05What happened to the old Penn Station?
    Getting Here

    What happened to the old Penn Station?

    New York once had a railroad station modeled on the baths of ancient Rome. Why it was torn down in the 1960s, where its sculptures went, how its loss saved Grand Central, and where you can still feel something of it today.

  6. 06What is Manhattanhenge, and where should you watch it?
    The Grid

    What is Manhattanhenge, and where should you watch it?

    Four days a year the sun rises or sets exactly along Manhattan's cross streets, because the grid of 1811 is tilted 29 degrees. Why it happens, when, the difference between the half sun and the full sun, and which streets give the best view.

  7. 07What was Ellis Island like for the immigrants who passed through it?
    The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

    What was Ellis Island like for the immigrants who passed through it?

    What arriving immigrants faced at Ellis Island, from the Great Hall to medical checks, detention and myths about names.

Written one at a time02

Next on the list

  • Wall Street and Trinity ChurchWhat is left of Dutch New Amsterdam in Lower Manhattan?
  • Wall Street and Trinity ChurchWho is buried in the churchyard of Trinity Church?
  • The 9/11 Memorial and One World Trade CenterWhat is the Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial?
  • The 9/11 Memorial and One World Trade CenterWhat is inside the Oculus at the World Trade Center?
  • Chinatown and the Lower East SideHow did Manhattan's Chinatown grow up around Mott Street?
  • Chinatown and the Lower East SideWhat can you see at the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street?
  • Washington Square and Greenwich VillageWhy is the Stonewall Inn a national monument?
  • Washington Square and Greenwich VillageWhat is the story of the Washington Square Arch?
  • The High LineHow did an old freight railroad become the High Line?
  • The Flatiron Building and Madison SquareWhy is the Flatiron Building shaped like a wedge?