We're traveling to NYC with our LO for Memorial Day weekend. She'll be 21 months at the time. I have a hotel booked, but I've been looking into renting a condo/apartment through VRBO so that we'll have more space. The problem is I am clueless about which neighborhood we should stay in with our toddler. Which one would be the most convenient for kid-friendly activities in NYC? Here's the list of options from VRBO:
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@lawbee11: Airbnb has a nice search engine for neighborhoods!
https://www.airbnb.com/locations/new-york/neighborhoods
I've tried it out on a few neighborhoods I'm familiar with, and came away impressed!
kiwi / 558 posts
We justed visited NYC two weeks ago and stayed in SoHo/TriBeCa and it was amazing! Lots of cool hip places, but not sure about playgrounds and parks. Also stayed on the Upper East side around 1st and 92nd and they had four huge parks that are like 1-5min walking distance! I'm sure some of the NYC bees probably have better suggestions!
Good luck and have lots of fun!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
We've stayed in Midtown, FIDI, next time we'll be in Chelsea. Close to everything, but a bit quieter as far as NYC.
squash / 13764 posts
Upper West Side or Upper East side, Or Brooklyn! 
But honestly, I would do either the UWS or the UES--both are stroller central, central park is right there, plus a ton of museums in case the weather is bad.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@mrbee: Will check it out...thanks!
@hilsy85: I know you'd mentioned UWS before, but I'll look into UES as well. I'd love to be close to central park!
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@HTownMom: Wall me with some of your favorite things you did with C in NYC!
@mrsjyw: Thanks! Will look into these as well
pomelo / 5257 posts
My favorite neighborhood on that list would be Greenwich Village, though uptown might be better if you want to check out museums. In general, I prefer downtown. How do you plan to get around? If you're going to be taking the Subway, the only issue I had with the Upper East Side is it kind of seemed like a Subway desert to me. I always felt like I was walking forever to get to a station. Avoid Times Square at all costs, haha, way too crowded! Unless you're going to a show or something, of course, then you have no choice 
squash / 13764 posts
@MrsSCB: @lawbee11: I do agree that you want to stay close to Lexington Avenue as possible, I would try not go too east of 3rd Ave.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@MrsSCB: Definitely Subway...good to know about the UES! We were planning to take LO to FAO Schwarz or one of the other toy stores in Times Square...maybe we should re-think that?? I've actually been to NYC a couple of times, but never with a toddler so I think it's definitely going to be a difference experience.
pomelo / 5257 posts
@lawbee11: I think it really depends on your tolerance for crowds. The toy stores will for sure be super crowded but could still be worth it for a fun little outing. I just wouldn't stay in that area, I think it would drive me crazy! When you narrow down some places, you might even want to check them all out on Google maps to see how close they are to Subway stations, just for the sake of convenience.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@lawbee11: The Toys 'R Us in Times Square is closing next year, so this will be the last chance to visit it!
http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/18/news/companies/toys-r-us-times-square-store-flagship/
I used to work in Times Square, and yah it can be crowded but there are elevators at the station there which is huge. The majority of subway stations don't have elevators, which is a huge pain!
If you want to avoid Times Square, CMOM is a pretty great museum for kids - I think that might be more fun than FAO Schwarz!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
@lawbee11: We took DS to FAO when he was just shy of 2. It was so crazy packed we were in and out. He played a little bit on the big piano and another area, but it wasn't worth it!
squash / 13764 posts
@lawbee11: meh, FAO is awesome but so packed on the weekends, and honestly will prob be overwhelming for all of you! I would do the children's museum or the children's museum of the arts in tribeca.
nectarine / 2054 posts
@lawbee11: It's great that you're visiting! I'm a downtown person, so I'm going to recommend Tribeca, Soho, Greenwich Village, West Village - all are great neighborhoods, fun to walk around and explore, and relatively subway-accessible (on multiple subway lines).
I also just wanted to point out (in case you're not aware) - short-term vacation rentals are actually illegal in NYC. Here's a Tripadvisor article explaining the issue: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60763-c147344/New-York-City:New-York:Vacation.Apartment.Rentals.html
Plenty of people do it anyway and it works out just fine, but if you're debating between sticking with a hotel or going the VRBO route, you might want to consider this point.
honeydew / 7463 posts
I live in Manhattan and while there are much cooler areas, I'd still recommend midtown. There's lots to do and it's central.
I live in Murray Hill. I don't like the specific neighborhood, per se, but I love that uptown and downtown are both very easy to get to.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
@MrsSCB: @mrsjyw: @hilsy85: Ok cool. Maybe we'll nix the toy store idea. There are so many things I want to do that I'm sure we'll be able to find something else just as fun
@Beehive: I had no idea! So crazy. This is the hotel we're currently booked at. It looks like a good location, but I'm sure the rooms aren't very big so I was thinking it would be nice to have a bigger place. Will have to discuss with DH. Thanks for letting me know!
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nycpr-residence-inn-new-york-manhattan-central-park/
grapefruit / 4442 posts
@lawbee11: if you stay on the UES you're close to two Alice's tea cups.
clementine / 806 posts
If you're looking at VRBO, also check out Kid and Coe, which is focused on child-friendly rentals: https://www.kidandcoe.com/
pear / 1614 posts
It is so hard to narrow down but I personally like the downtown areas better. NYC always felt very kid friendly to me (although when I lived there I didn't have LOs yet) and I think you'll be able to find playgrounds somewhat close in any of the neighborhoods mentioned. Many apartments are walk-ups, so you'll be coming and going carrying LO/stroller/gear up and down 1+ flights of stairs, keep that in mind!
As for the short term rental thing - when we stayed in NYC for 3 nights back in December, the owner had us sign a 31 day lease starting 28 days before we arrived, and ending the day we left. It felt weird for sure!
We love renting apartments as opposed to hotel - you already know what works best for your family but neither of my LOs sleep well with us in the room so we end up hanging in the bathroom until they fall asleep, then texting each other to stay quiet because they are light sleepers. Ugh. And having your own kitchen is the best. My 2 cents
honeydew / 7622 posts
@mrbee: I loved that guide when we went to NYC.
We stayed in NOLITA and rented a place thru Airbnb during our 10 day stay over Labor Day last year. I guess it really depends what activities you are planning on doing. I reccomend the Musuem of Natural History and for a less intense art musuem we loved MOMA I'm not sure the MET would be worth it with a toddler. We loved the location, it is a tiny neighborhood that borders Little Italy and SoHO with lists of fast and casual places to grab food. The subway stops there were really central.
pomegranate / 3331 posts
if you want something similar to a toy store, you could go to the american girl store in rock center? I don't know if you have one by where you live (full disclosure, i haven't been there myself so i have no clue how crazy it gets!) I'd say midtown or UES/UWS for access to central park would be great. and also all the museums.
I actually used to live right near the hotel you are currently booked at, and i loved it. 9th Avenue has tons of restaurants (could get a little crazy, but prob not over memorial weekend), columbus circle and lincoln center are nearby, close to the park, and convenient to everything. It's not the "coolest" neighborhood but it's certainly very convenient!
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