Local Transportation
New York City has an extensive system of subways and buses that can get you almost anywhere. The subway station closest to the conference facilities and the Mariott Hotel is the Jay Street/Borough Hall station on the A, C, and F lines, while the Nu Hotel is closest to the Hoyt/Schermerhorn station on the A, C, and G lines. We advise against getting a rental car if you plan to stay within New York City during your trip.
For information on subways and buses, see http://www.mta.info. Fares are $2.25 per trip, or slightly less when buying a metrocard with $10 or $20 of credit. There is also an $8.25 1-day pass and a $27 weekly pass. The subway runs 24 hours a day, but with reduced frequency at night.
NYC taxi cabs Yellow cabs) are moderately priced and are recommended as an alternative to subways and buses. Fares are $2.50 plus $0.40 for each one fifth of a mile (plus circa 10-15% suggested tip), and many trips within the lower half of Manhattan are in the $5-$10 range, or $10-$15 from there to the conference facilities in Brooklyn. If you travel with 2 or more people, this is often preferable to the subway. Note that you cannot hail a Yellow Cab in Brooklyn, but you have to rely on other limo services that may be more expensive or that you have to call in advance. We recommend to ask your hotel for help on this.
Airport Transportation
New York City is served by three major airports, John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty. Of these, JFK is the closest to the conference facilities and hotels, but the other 2 are also reasonably close. There are three ways to get from airport to conference: public transportation (cheapest), airporters, and by taxi cab.
1. From/to JFK
You can take the Air Train that connects the different terminals at JFK to each other and to the NYC subway. Take an Air Train to the Howard Beach subway station. From there take a Manhattan-bound A subway train that will bring you directly to the Jay Street/Borough Hall and Hoyt/Schermerhorn stations closest to the conference hotels in about 30 minutes (if running express). Note that you will have to pay $5 to exit the Air Train at Howard Beach, and then pay another fare to enter the subway there, so total cost is about $7.25 (credit cards accepted). See also http://www.mta.info/mta/airtrain.htm for more details.
Alternatively, you can take a taxi at the airport, which might be preferable early in the morning or late at night when subways are less frequent and when a taxi ride might save you 30-45 minutes over the subway. DO NOT take the illegal taxi cabs that are touted in the airport arrival halls, and that may turn out to be more expensive than promised. Go to the official taxi stand. Rates from the airport are a fixed $45 plus tolls, surcharges, and tip from JFK to anywhere Manhattan, and maybe slightly less to the conference facilities in downtown Brooklyn based on metering (assuming the driver takes a direct route via Atlantic Avenue or maybe the Van Wyck Expressway, and NOT via the Shore Parkway). For the trip back to the airport, ask your hotel for help.
Finally, there are also airporters such as Super Shuttle that transport in small groups, and that are half as expensive as a cab if you travel alone, but that are usually not really faster than the subway door-to-door. See also http://gonyc.about.com/cs/airlinesairports/a/getto_jfk.htm for more information on how to get to and from JFK.
2. From LaGuardia
LaGuardia provides access to the subway via bus, but the subway lines are not as convenient as at JFK. It is recommended to take an official NYC Yellow Cab to the hotel, or an airporter, costing about the same as from JFK. See http://gonyc.about.com/cs/airlinesairports/a/getto_lga.htm for more information.
3. From Newark Liberty
From Newark, you can take a New Jersey Transit train to Penn Station or a bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal for about $12-15, and then take the A or C subway to the conference (about 70-90 minutes total). Or take a Yellow Cab for about $65 to $70 plus tolls and tip, which will take about 45 minutes. See http://gonyc.about.com/cs/airlinesairports/a/getto_ewr.htm for more information.
Transportation to the Conference Banquet
The conference banquet will be held on Thursday, February 4th, starting at 7pm at The Park, located at 118 10th Avenue in Manhattan. Since there is a subway station close by with trains going directly from the conference to the station in about 13 minutes, we are planning to have people use the subway to get there. If you go to the banquet from the conference venue, there will be volunteers in the subway station that will guide you. If you come by yourself, take the A or C train to the 14th Street/8th Avenue stop in Manhattan, take the 16th Street exit, and walk 2 blocks West and 1.5 blocks North.
