The Recovering Pothead's Guide to New York City

General Tips • The Subway • Eats • Places • The Long John Way • Publications and Resources

It is District 8’s distinct pleasure to welcome all convention attendees to New York City.

We hope you will enjoy this guide as the completely arbitrary and incomprehensive work that it is. There are tons of guidebooks out there catering to all manner of interests and we suggest you use them. This one, however, seeks only to detail the New York that your fellow marijuana addicts have come to love.

Some places listed herein are located outside Manhattan, but so is most of New York. Should you use this guide for more than just fuel to keep your fire going and your fingers warm, you will find websites like Google Maps and Hopstop.com its invaluable companions.

New Yorkers can be a grizzled bunch and this is, after all, a working city where people have places to go and things to do. Most are happy to help strangers if they can. Don't be afraid to ask.

"TAKE IT EASY ON
US NEW YORKERS,
WE'RE A VERY TIGHTLY WOUND BUNCH"
— Anonymous

Kind of like navigating our fair city, being a recovering marijuana addict is simple but not necessarily easy. New York is dense, exciting, and hums at a frequency all its own. We hope this simple list of our favorite things and places in New York as well as a few tips helps make your visit just a bit easier.

Also, look out for the white board in the Hospitality Room to arrange sightseeing fellowship.

A special thanks is due the Convention Host Committee, all of those who contributed information and talent for this guide and the sick and suffering addicts, in and out of the rooms who make recovery possible.

If you have any questions, call the Hospitality Hotline:
(347) 286-1468
newyorker

A view of the world from 9th Avenue.
Yes, this is really how we see the world.

New York is filled with people trying to get somewhere...in a hurry.  Here's how you can help keep things moving and avoid being trampled or becoming the focus of a warm New York greeting and salute:

Of course, another way to avoid annoying the locals is to just be like the locals by ignoring the locals.

GENERAL TIPS

As a token of gratitude for keeping our city moving, here are some helpful tips gleaned from years of living here that we wish we had known when we stepped off the boat. More often than not, even the natives picked these tips up the hard way:

The Subway

Riding the subway requires a book all its own, but here are a few tips to get you started:

Know the subway line you need (A, Q, 6, etc) and the direction in which you need to take it (uptown or downtown, or the direction's final borough/station). All subway stations are organized and signed based on these two pieces of information.

Also, knowing these two pieces of info allows you to easily ask for help: 'Is this the platform for the uptown 6/Q to Manhattan/F to Queens?' or 'Where do I catch the 3 to the Bronx/ Uptown C/Downtown R?' are questions that are more easily answered than ' Which train do I take to get to my friend's house."

Disregard signs above tracks that say "Weekend and Late night, blah blah." Just keep an eye out for the train line which will be displayed in the train’s window.

Express trains are awesome and can shave a lot of time off a trip. Just make sure where you are going has an express stop or you might find yourself 10 stations away from where you want to be. Express stations are marked on the MTA map with a white dot.

PATH is the “subway” system of NJ that takes you into Manhattan (NYC). PATH runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. PATH is immediately on your left as you walk out the front of the hotel. Take the train to WTC (World Trade Center) into lower Manhattan. From there, there are many trains to go to different locations/neighborhoods of NYC.

Coming back from Manhattan is easiest from WTC PATH (World Trade Center). There are two trains from WTC, one going to Newark (NWK) and one going to Hoboken (HOB). Both trains come thru Exchange Place (which is the station for Hyatt).

Eats

Before introducing former New York governor Mario Cuomo at a rally in Brooklyn, the Hasid MCing the event asked him, “When an Italian and a Jew get together for business, who loses?”

Without missing a beat the governor answered, “The government.” Sigh. At least New York City got some iconic food out of the deal.

Pizza

Deli

Bagels

Ethnic Cuisines

Thanks to its robust immigrant populations, New York is a great place to sample cuisines from around the world Here are a couple of favorites.

New York Restaurant Week, when cheap prix fixe meals can be had at some of New York's finest and most famous restaurants, has been extended through Feb. 27th.  Check here for more details http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek/

Places

Museums

Parks

Long Johns Way to See New York

To see the 'real' New York, put on some layers and consider taking a hike.  New York is one of the finest walking cities in all of the world.  Here are some of our fellows' favorite routes:

Entertainment

One fellow's pick for favorite comedy show:  Any MA meeting!

Publications & Resources

MA convention Hospitality Hotline - (347) 286-1468