New York City People - Need Help

T

Tony B

Active member
Hey guys,

I need a little help from some New York people.

Here's the thing. My girlfriend, her sister and brother in law are going to New York on February 14th - 21st 2015. I'm not going (she had this planned before we met). She told me that one of the highlights amongst all the typical stuff of the trip was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday.

She told me she had a dream about the New York trip and they were walking on the Brooklyn Bridge and all of the sudden her sister and brother-in-law held back a little and she was wondering what was going on and then when she looked forward there I was standing under the first big arch on the bridge and she ran up to me and I got down on one knee and proposed to her.

I want to make that dream come true. I'm from Louisiana and have been to New York in 1990 but could use a little help. I made her think I can't go but will fly up there on that Wednesday and stay at the same hotel. I've already discussed the idea with her sister so she'll communicate when they'll be on the bridge so the timing is right. I'm staying at the same hotel as them, The Edison and need to know a few things to help pull this off. They will be waiting for morning traffic to finish before going to the bridge so that will help me get there before them.

Here's what I have questions about:

1. I plan on taking a cab from the Edison hotel to the bridge. It's around 6 miles but was wondering how much time will it actually take to get there with traffic.

2. What type of weather should I expect? How cold is it normally? Don't want to freeze to death waiting. Lol

Any other info to help me pull this off would be greatly appreciated.

I've booked my flight (even got on their return flight seated next to her :) )

Hope she says yes! Lol In know she will so we're good to go.
 
How come no one ever dreams of getting proposed to under the great Oklahoma Scissor Tail?

Good luck.

Also, if she says no, that's going to be an awkward flight home.
 
I haven't been a "New York person" in a long time, but I will warn you that getting anywhere at any time in NYC is a crapshoot. Sometimes there will be no traffic at rush hour and then you're stuck in gridlock for hours at 3am. Very little rhyme or reason to it and the stakes are too high to get stuck in a cab while she zips over there in the subway. Find out how your girlfriend is getting there and use the same method an hour or two ahead of her and hang out with a coffee and bagel.
As far as weather, it's also a complete guess this far out. Most likely it will be pretty damn cold since it's the middle of winter, maybe even snowing, but I've also had plenty of weirdly warm days in the middle of winter growing up there, though I wouldn't count on one. If you're from Louisiana I'm guessing it'll be colder than you think if you've never been in NYC in winter. Do you even own a hat, scarf, winter coat, gloves and long underwear?
Anyway, sounds like a great day. Good luck and enjoy it!
 
pretty easy stuff:

-Budget 2-3x the time you think you'll need to get there
-Wear thermals under your cloths along with hand and feet warmers, better yet put on an additional layer over the thermals such as a windbreaker which is thin but will help seal more heat in. wear whatever you like over that. bring gloves and a hat, it's a bridge so it's damn windy most of the time.
 
Thanks guys. I know they're going to the bridge by cab. Just trying to budget how much time that cab ride is actually going to take.
 
The cab will drop them off at the bridge entrance. It's a long (maybe 10-15 min) walk to the first arch.
The best bet for you is to take the subway. Near your hotel you have N and R (yellow) trains that stop just across the park. (5 min walk to where they will be dropped off by the cab)
 
New Yorker here reporting in!

First off, you da man. Now, logistics.

I don't think you should stay at the same hotel, at least not until after the proposal. Way too big a chance of getting spotted by her. Spend a night downtown to avoid the issue. This will also allow you to make sure that you definitely beat her to the bridge, because there are numerous hotels available in walking distance (mostly on the Manhattan side). Let Google or one of the numerous hotel booking websites be your friend here. Search for NYC City Hall, it's right by the foot entrance to the bridge.

In morning post-rush (10am?) traffic from midtown down to the bridge I would figure maybe 20 minutes for the cab to get there, up to 35-40 if there are any basic traffic issues (like Taylor says, Welcome to New York).

IT WILL BE COLD! You'll be standing out on a bridge over open water in mid February. The wind will kick up and it may be fairly intense stuff. Layer it up and be prepared. Forget it, you are from Louisiana -- there's no way you could ever be prepared for how cold it could get.

The Find My iPhone app was born for this. You can track her progress pretty accurately, and it's good practice for later in your relationship. ;-) But your future in-laws should be able to text you updates. And they damn well better be ready to capture the whole thing on their phones.

The major tradition in NY (at least since Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan reprised it) is to propose on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, which to me kinda takes all the fun out of it because she's gotta know what's coming when a fella takes her up there! But there's a good chance you won't be the only guy planning this sort of thing on the Brooklyn Bridge that Valentine's Day. NYC is a big town.

Lastly, Valentine's Day is THE DAY to go out for a romantic dinner at a nice restaurant. They get booked up months in advance. Find a place near the Edison and book it NOW.

Let me know if there's anything else you need to know.
 
My hat is off to your sense of romance.

I'm not a New Yorker but the only advice I will give you is don't get hung up on it not being perfect. Life has a way of creating stress on even the best laid plans and can make the best moments seem off because its not how you pre-visualized it especially in the industry we are in. Enjoying the moment is more important than it being a scene from a movie.

I proposed to my wife Christmas morning.... and then went back to bed because I had woke up with the worst strep throat I have ever had and could hardly talk and was all fevered. At the time I was disappointed that is wasn't the perfect Christmas morning romantic engagement but now after 7 years and 2 kids we look back and laugh about how comical it was in hind sight. I must have looked pathetic and fevered trying to ask the woman I loved to marry me even if it felt like I was swallowing glass. :)
 
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