Conference Information
PALA 2004 New York

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Important! Visa and Passport Information:

• Almost all visitors who are required to have a VISA are required to pay a $100 VISA application fee (The Middle East, South America, Most of Asia, and AfricaTurkey, for example).
• The main exception is visitors from countries that participate in the VISA Waiver Program. Please read the requirements carefully. There are restrictions on tickets and carriers, and visitors must waive the right to appeal some immigration decisions.
• Others who do not need a VISA must present a machine-readable passport (Belgium, for example)
• Some visitors may need to appear personally for an interview in order to be granted a VISA.
• There are new photograph requirements for VISA's.
• The U. S. State Department recommends that you "review the Embassy Consular internet site, for the country where you will be applying for your visa."
• Please be sure to leave plenty of time for the VISA to be processed.

• U. S. Department of State
• U. S. Department of State Visa Services
• Coming to America - Getting Your Visitors Visa
• Visitor Visas - Business and Pleasure
• Nonimigrant VISA Information
• Visa Denials

VISA Waiver Participating Countries:

As of early February, ONLY citizens of the following countries are eligible for the VISA waiver: Andorra (MRP), Iceland, Norway, Australia, Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Italy, San Marino, Belgium (MRP), Japan, Singapore, Brunei (MRP), Liechtenstein (MRP), Slovenia (MRP), Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Finland, Monaco, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand, United Kingdom

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Housing Information

Travel to New York and the NYU area:

• The link above is to NYU's page about how to get to NYC and New York.
• As it will tell you, it is possible to get to NYU and the conference hotels by public transportation, if you don't mind carrying your baggage/luggage up and down subway stairs or onto busses, and if you are not in a big hurry. Taxis are (usually) faster and are simpler, but they are expensive ($30-$50). CAUTION: At the airports, heed the signs that tell you NOT to accept a taxi ride from anyone who approaches you in the airport. Some of these are unscrupulous operators who will take you the long way around. Rather, find the official taxi que, and note that the price to Manhattan is posted at the taxi stand.
• For more specific information on travel from any of the area airports, visit the Port Authority site, which has specific information about travel from the airports to Manhattan that will supplement the general information at the NYU site above. There are trains and shuttle-buses to and from mid-town from all of the airports (about $15), where one could take a taxi to NYU for about $5.00-$10.00.
• Another good source for information is New York City's Getting Around The Boroughs.

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Greenwich Village:

• Information about Greenwich Village (travel, entertainment, restaurants, bars):

  • The Official Guide to "The Village"

  • greenwich-village.com

  • Villaga Alliance

  • The Village Voice
    
    

• Travel around the Village:

  • Walking is the usual mode of transportation in the village. For longer trips, there are lots of taxis in the area, but you can always go more cheaply (and often even more quickly, depending on the traffic) by public transportation.
  • For information about subways and buses, go to the Metropolitan Transit Authority site. Note that there are many different kinds of subway/bus swipe-cards, all of which work on all subways and buses and allows free transfers between the various buses, the various subways, and between subways and buses.
  • If you plan to do much travel by public transportation, an unlimited pass may be a good idea. Single rides are $2.00, 1-Day Fun Pass is $7.00, 7-Day card $21, 30-Day card $70. Note: the Fun Pass and 7-Day and 30-Day cards allow unlimited rides, but they work only once within a 20-minute period at any given entry point, to prevent sharing. Most subway stops have vending machines that take cash or credit cards, and many have toll-booths with actual human beings, as well.
    
    

• Banks: Chase Manhattan (8th Street and Broadway); Citibank (LaGuardia Place, near West 3rd St.)

Tipping/Gratuities in New York:

Unlike many other places in the world (as I have found at previous PALA's) tipping is expected in New York in taxis, restaurants, hotels, and bars, where many of the workers make next to nothing except for the tips (fast food places are the exception: if you go to McDonald's, you don't tip). The standard tip is 15% of the pre-tax total of a restaurant or bar bill or a taxi ride, more if the bill is smaller or the service is very good, less if the service is poor (an easy calculation is to double the 8.25% sales tax). For an overview, see the The NYCInsider guide.

Theatre, etc.

• NYC.COM
• NY Theatre
• Tickets Plus

Some Miscellaneous Links to New York Information:

• http://www.newyork.com/index.html
• http://www.circleline.com/sightseeing.htm (sight-seeing boat that circles Manhattan, with interesting tour guides)
• http://www.nyctourism.com/
• http://www.manhattancc.org/tourism/ (Chamber of Commerce)
• http://www.theinsider.com/
• http://gonyc.about.com/mbody.htm
• http://about-new-york-city.com/http://www.smartnewyorker.com/
• http://www.go-newyorkcity.com/index.asp
• http://www.nycvisit.com/home/index.cfm (Good museum guide)
• http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm
• http://www.cityguidemagazine.com/nycnightlife.html (nightlife)
  
• http://www.siferry.com/ Staten Island Ferry (still free to pedestrians; a great way to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from the water)!
• http://www.nyc.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=nyc_home Official NYC site
• http://www.iloveny.com/main.asp State Site
• http://newyork.citysearch.com/ bars

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