Late Night Errands

No, very important update: That post office is only open until 10 pm now. It used to be open 24/7 for years, which is why everyone still thinks it is. I recently found out otherwise when I had so send something out on deadline. I was there a few minutes to 10 and almost missed getting my postmark date by a hair!

@DBlack good to know.

I don't go out late at night for anything. But it is good to know the post is open till 10pm, especially when the tax deadline approaches.

I think the restaurants at Koreatown are open all night. Kimchi at 4 in the morning!

You can work out at any hour of the night:

http://www.24hourfitness.com/FindClubDetailGeneric.do?clubid=00728

Starbucks is open 24 hours. Woo hoo!

Is it really? Which Starbucks, @uraniumfish? I'm not sure they all are...

@ajadeidealist True, I could only find three Starbucks in Manhattan that are open all night:

Penn Station LIRR #2
1 Penn Plaza, Concourse level

West 43rd and Broadway
1500 Broadway

60th & Broadway
1841 Broadway

That 24 hour gym is intense. I thought I was intense about working out but not that intense that I want to work out at 3 in the morning...

Are there any 24 hour photo developing and processing places? It's been a while since I needed to get that done, but you used to be able to drop off your film or files at all hours of the night.

@ DBLACK Actually, good point. When I was a student and waited until the last minute to get my film processed, I could go to Babboos or Duggal in the middle of the night. But checking their websites now, it looks like those days are gone. Hmm. That still leaves Cafe Esperanto for late-night tea and cake...

I think it would be nice to belong to a 24 hour gym. If you want to work out at 6am, it's pretty hard to find a place that's actually open.

My gym, Harbor Fitness Park Slope, is open 24 hours, too. They have another location, also open 24 hours, in Bay Ridge. I like the fact that I can work out any time, but mostly stick to somewhat normal hours... But I am one of those people who likes to run out their emotions literally, so it's good to have around, if say I get into a fight with my significant other during a recent snowstorm :)

@ NeverSleeps Have you ever really made use of the middle-of-the-night workout option? Who works out in the middle of the night? People who work off-shifts?

Thanks for the info, @uraniumfish. Will be useful if I ever need a cup of joe to get me through my walk home!

With a city that never sleeps, you never know what people will do and when they decide to do it. I was told to expect anything and everything to happen here.

They say this is a city that never sleeps, but often times during my nocturnal summer I found that there isn't much going on in the early hours of the morning. Most of the city sleeps, I would say.

So many people work in the restaurant / bar industry and they get off at 5 am. And, I guess if you had to be at work at 7 and wanted to work out before you went . . it'd have to be pretty dang early.

@BroadwayBK: Yeah, I guess that slogan that this is a city that never sleeps is just some made up hype to get people here. At least that seems to be the way it is based on feedback from you guys and from what others tell me. I actually came home from work late one night. It was 2am, and I could count on one hand how many people I saw walking the streets. It was mainly homeless people, trying to find a warm place to sleep. Businesses were all bordered.

There are a lot more businesses open / people out at 3 am in this city than any other in the US. We left a restaurant at 4 am on Saturday and the streets were crazy packed.

On a Saturday night in an area where there are a lot of bars? I think crowds are a common Saturday night sight anywhere there are drinking establishments, especially around the time that the bars are all closing for the night.

Does NYC really have more open businesses late night than any other US city? I'd be curious to find out...

@Uraniumfish I have no idea who those people are that work out late nights - everyone looks the same in their workout gear. Next time I'll do some questioning, though :)

People stay out late Saturday nights because they can sleep it off all day Sunday. As long as they can get up Monday for work, they don't care.

Whenever I wok out any later than 8 pm I get so wired I can barely sleep. Don't know what I'd do with myself if I did a workout at 3 in the morning. How very weird? I looked up 24 hour gyms and there seem to be a lot of them in this city. Is there really such a demand?

I can see going at 4-5-6 if I wanted to get a workout in before work - but...3? 2? I can just wonder...why?

@everybody I like to work out at 6am .. and that's the reason I treasure my building gym ...which is open 24/7.. its a real boon.. I think the 24 hour window of the James Farley Post Office was a big boon for those folk who would wait until the last minute to send their taxes on April 15th .. but I think the post office is going to make way for a rail road station in the future when the Moynihan Station gets underway...http://www.moynihanstation.org/newsite/

There are many people who work the night and graveyard shift. When they do, the first thing they apparently do is go to the gym and workout, then go home. At least I am supposing or assuming. It would be interesting to go to one of these gyms and ask someone why that person chose to work out so late at night.

I remember a celebrity stating he goes out late at night so he doesn't attract attention to himself. He said that when he wanted to go to the gym, he would do so late at night so no one would bother him.

I think a lot of New Yorkers are somewhat nocturnal, so it's good that those people have gyms they can go to whenever they want. I wish my crappy gym was open 24 hours. Most of the time I go first thing when I wake up, but sometimes it's stressful getting there before it closes when I am deep into the million things I have to do on a given day.

I hate to exercise first thing in the morning and late at night. I need to do it sometime during the day.

Working out gets the adrenaline going, so sometimes we used to work out late when we had to pull all-nighters for school. It's healthier than caffeine.

@BroadwayBK Does it seem as though NY used to be more nocturnal than now? Re: discussion above about photo processing places, it does seem that there's less open at night lately than ever before.

@DBlack Wow, I would have never thought to go work out before an all nighter, I would have just downed that coffee in big gulps.

I think in general NYC has been "tamed," especially since the gritty days of Rent and a red light district on 42nd Street - perhaps that has translated into a more sedate nightlife

Ha...weren't the gritty days of rent during the 90s? I guess New York - especially Manhattan - is getting richer and richer at an alarming rate.

@Uraniumfish I'm not really sure, actually.

ajadedidealist may have a point with the red light district being no more, but as someone who lives in a not-so-safe neighborhood, I have to point out that businesses in places "gritty" areas like this are more likely to close early than late. The only things open in my neighborhood 'round the clock are a few corner stores, and the one nearest me is only open via a window where customers can order.

However, even if businesses aren't all open late around here, there are always people wandering around at all hours.

So does New York becoming a safer city have something to do with becoming less nocturnal? No idea. But I definitely think it has become less nocturnal in general.

@BroadwayBK I tend to agree with you ..when we hang out with friends until the wee hours of the morning its usually at someone's apartment nowadays.. though I remember dancing the night away at places like Limelight and then tucking into breakfast/supper at 5am at an all night place in St Mark's Square .. of course this was in the late 1990's.. havent done anything like this since I moved here..

@uptowngirl I am still big on dancing the night away, it's just that our gatherings tend to start at someone's apartment for some reason. Maybe it's just easier to meet up this way? And it's nice to have a few inexpensive drinks in a quieter environment before heading out!

@BroadwayBK where would you go to dance the night away ? We once tried to get into a club called Cielo in the Meatpacking district and they wanted to know if we were willing to pay $300 for bottle service..so we just left ..the only other place I think of which was fun on a night that a girlfriend turned 40 was Le Souk in Alphabet City but I think its closed now.

@uptowngirl Dirty hipster places, usually, like K&M on N8th and Roebling. I am one of those people who hardly ever leaves Brooklyn in terms of nightlife....

@DBlack I always felt like an all-nighter was a time crunch, and never wanted to take the time to work out beforehand, but I tend to spend hours at the gym. So, healthier than caffeine, yes, but much more time consuming.

@BroadwayBK True, it does take time, but an hour's investment seemed worth it because I can always think more clearly after working out, and when I had to produce papers for a deadline, for example, the thoughts flowed more easily. I'm glad to say that I haven't had to do many all nighters recently. I don't think I want to do that to myself any more.

@DBlack Ha! I couldn't pull an all nighter if I tried. But I also haven't put myself in that position for some time...

@BroadwayBk nor have I...

@Everyone: I am used to being up late at night. In fact, before moving in with my girlfriend, I was up till 3am working. I am not a morning person.

@hhusted I am definitely what you call a morning person can function much better at the crack of dawn rather than at night when I all I want to do is hit the sack :).

I prefer working in the mornings, but it hasn't worked out that way lately. I like working at the same time everyone else is, that way my social life doesn't suffer. But I think I could go either way - I'm less of a morning person, really. I just work at it.

I'm a morning person or a late night person. But I can't work in the afternoons - I fall asleep far too easily...I've got a bad siesta habit I can't crack.

@Ajadedidealist: Actually, people in other countries do take siestas during the afternoon. I believe either in Paris or Rome they do this. I am not sure which. My girlfriend went there for vacation a few years ago and told me that. They have shorter days but get more done. Why can't we adopt the same thing.

@hhusted siestas are extremely common in Spain as well from 2pm-4pm most shops and establishments down their shutters but when they reopen they continue to work until say 8-9pm. Spaniards usually eat late dinners and they go out to nightclubs very late as well.. the peak time in a nightclub in Spain is usually 3am and that to on a weekday .. always wonder how they wake up to go to work the next day!

@ajadedidealist I am with you. What is there to do during the late afternoons but nap?

@uptowngirl Spain is the most fun place I have ever lived.... Those people know what they are doing over there.

@Everybody: You know what my dream has always been? I dreamed of traveling all over the world. I wanted to be so rich that I just go on a plane and went overseas. Then I wanted to rent or purchase an RV and travel the roads and byways. Hopefully I can do that before I pass on.

@uptowngirl As a seasoned traveler, what is your opinion on round-the-world plane tickets? You know, where you buy one ticket that is a package of five or so?

@hhusted Just out of curiosity ,have you traveled overseas? do you have a passport? the reason I ask is many Americans (some even New Yorkers) that I am acquainted with don't have a passport and dont care to travel overseas. For some of us i.e. a foreigner a passport is the primary proof of our identity and we usually get one at a young age..

@uptowngirl Thanks, that's good to know. It seems a lot of people say they aren't so great as you can't really reschedule flights and whatnot, but I think I could swing making all of my planned flight times.

@BroadwayBK please don't even think of rescheduling dates.. on a recent trip home to India in December 2009, my dad wanted me to stay on for a few days and travel back to NYC closer to New Year's eve that 4 day extension cost me $400 on Air India.. daylight robbery I say .. $125 was for the date change and the rest was fare difference !!! I learned a valuable lesson at that point.

@uptowngirl Thanks for the tip. I believe that having not having any leeway to reschedule flights is the main downside to around the world tickets, but I'm an overly punctual person and probably won't have any problems keeping a schedule.

@Uptowngirl: I do not own a passport. I never went overseas. I just see places on TV and online and see how beautiful places look and it inspires me to go there.

I actually once lost my passport, and I promptly got a replacement for it, even though I wasn't planning on using it anytime soon. It just seems like something you need at all times, in case you decide to fly to Argentina on a whim.

@hhusted not that I am lecturing you or anything but do get a passport and go out and see the world if you can afford to..travel is a true eye-opener and enriches your life in so many ways.

@NeverSleeps oooh would love to go to Buenos Aires on a whim but I would surely need a visa to get there so no whimsical travel for me!

@uptowngirl Does everyone need a visa, or just you? And if the latter is the case, why is that? Out of curiosity.

@Uptowngirl: Why is India so tight with travel like that? It seems by deploring visas, it would cause people to think twice about traveling out of India.

@uptowngirl Do you know why that is? Sorry if that's a completely ignorant question.

I do think it's a shame that somebody's government is always telling people where they can and can't live. Oh, what a world...

Good point, @Jenmac. Study abroad is a great opportunity - one that should be far more widespread that it is!

@BroadwayBk who knows the vagaries of governments??I am married to a British national and believe I am actually eligible for right of abode there but had a horrible visa scare last year when I asked for a 10 year visa and was given a 6 month one but charged the full 10 year fee.. $350. I was horrified cause until then I had always had long term visas. When I landed at Heathrow , the immigration officers themselves were shocked and told me that I must query it but I was too terrified to do so. I need to go the London periodically and can't afford to be blacklisted for querying something I have to control over.

@uptowngirl Shameful. So you paid it, then? That is really terrible....

@Uptowngirl: Looks you got shafted. Sorry you had to go through that experience. Wow.

@BroadwayBK and hhusted I need to renew my UK visa but I am going to do it overseas where I can go personally to the consulate and meet a consular officer not like in NYC where I have to mail my documents in to an external agency which handles the process for the British Consulate in NYC who as the immigration officers at Heathrow believe may have made a mistake in my case.

@Uptowngirl: Sounds like you have to go through so much to get your visa. It seems you are getting the runaround. I hope you can get it resolved with as little difficulty as possible.

@hhusted I sure hope so or it will make me incredibly stressed. Just this morning my mother in law mentioned that she is not feeling great, I do hope she remains well otherwise I will have to fly out to London as I often do when she is unwell. She is aged and lives alone hence.

Wow, uptowngirl, they sure don't make it easy, do they.

@uptowngirl An update about my French friend who was detained at the airport by customs and sent back because he had a professional video camera and the authorities suspected him of trying to work illegally in the US. While he was detained and waiting for the next flight out, they kept him in jail. I mean in real jail, with real inmates. They brought him there in handcuffs. The works. Then they forgot him there, and he ended up spending two nights there, not one. I couldn't believe this and still have to shake my head when I think about it.

I can certainly understand your worry about not wanting to question the decisions of any authorities, or rock the boat in any way. Those people can really make your life miserable if they want to!

@DBlack That is so crazy.... and he is French, of all things! I would have never expected that, even if it is apparent that customs have lost there collective mind.

@BroadwayBK You said it! I think they only have one brain between the lot of them anyway, if my friend's story is any indication.

@DBlack: I am surprised that nothing was done to stop it. Don't someone have any power or authority over these jerks at airports. So what the guy was French. That shouldn't mean anything. Wow. That is all I can say.

I meant that being French isn't exactly like being from Afghanistan. And it shouldn't mean anything to be from Afghanistan, really, but it does if you're coming through customs. I meant if that is how they treat a citizen of a Western country America is on good political terms with, imagine how they treat others who are lucky enough to be born in Colombia, etc.

@BroadwayBK I know what you mean, BroadwayBK. It's not like he's a refugee from a third world country trying to sneak in on a boat...And from the story my friend told, it looks like the whole ordeal was the result of one suspicious customs officer who clearly enjoyed showing his power. It is SCARY what my friend said about this guy. As a foreign national he has no right to appeal or in any way question the actions of the authorities, and yet there are clearly individuals who abuse the power they have over people's lives.

@DBlack: That is the problem. One guy throws his weight around and others follow in his lead. He should be forced to resign his commission, or put enough pressure on that he will resign on his own.