New York City: The City that Never Sleeps
Beyond the formal and informal program of the Annual Meeting, there is much to taste and enjoy in New York City. For the true New York experience, it is worth emphasizing that the city is comprised of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. With over 8.1 million residents within an area of 322 square miles, New York City has the highest population density of any major city in North America. Nearly 36% of the city’s residents are foreign-born and over 170 different languages are spoken. New York boasts museums of history and art, television and radio, science, air and space, natural history, tenements, transit, and much, much more. The city is home to more than 2,000 arts and cultural organizations and over 500 art galleries of varying size and scope. The city’s metropolitan area, with a population of over 18.8 million, ranks among the largest urban areas in the world.
The AERA Annual Meeting will be held on the island of Manhattan—where entertainment and dining options abound at any time of night or day. Always moving, changing, bustling, vibrant, and of the moment, meeting attendees could easily forsake sleep in a valiant attempt to experience all New York City has to offer!
The essence of New York can be readily found outside the doors of any of the AERA meeting hotels. Take a look around to see the people who work, live, and play in this great city. For those interested in exploration, ride the subway; New York’s public transportation system is like no other and runs 24-hours a day. Times Square borders the east side of the Marriott Marquis (one of the headquarter hotels) and is worth exploring by anyone interested in seeing the bright lights of New York City. The city offers a wide variety of street food at any hour of day or night; beyond the usual hot dogs and pretzels, seek out falafel, sausage sandwiches, tacos, soft-serve ice cream, coffee, and dosas. Also keep in mind that New York is the fashion capital of the United States, with an unmatched range of department stores, boutiques, and specialty shops.
First-time visitors to the city will surely not want to miss landmarks such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Central Park, the Staten Island Ferry, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Other not to be missed attractions includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Bronx Zoo, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the famous New York Public Library, which is one of the largest public library systems in the country. If time for exploration is short, the MoMA is just a block from the New York Hilton and New York Sheraton Hotels so a visit should be possible even for those with a full schedule of meetings.
For those with time for exploration, there is always another neighborhood to explore, restaurant to try, just-opened Broadway show to catch, or newly-acquired museum collection to peruse. Along New York’s bustling streets, an endless variety of sights unfolds. As suggested by the 2008 Annual Meeting theme, the city’s true character lies in its diverse neighborhoods—from the finance Mecca of Wall Street to Chinatown, chic Soho, funky Greenwich Village, and youthful Union Square; from the art galleries of Chelsea to the tantalizing aromas of Curry Hill, the consumerism of Herald Square, and the otherworldly noodles in nearby Koreatown; from the elegance of Columbus Circle to the respite of Central Park, to Harlem and beyond. In each neighborhood, there is much to absorb and learn.
Attendees are encouraged to enjoy New York in all its facets. The city’s food culture, influenced by its manifold immigrants and large number of dining patrons, is both expansive and diverse. With some 4,000 mobile food vendors, the street food is a tasting treat. The city is also home to many of the finest haute cuisine restaurants in the United States. No matter what your palate desires or what your budget allows, you are sure to find it here. For entertainment too, New York plays host to an ever-changing variety of concerts, poetry slams, film festivals, and more. See a Broadway musical or drama. Visit elegant Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. For a lighter mood, explore a comedy club, sit in on a talk or late-night TV show taping, or step out to a world class dance club, bar, or lounge.
The history of attendance and level of engagement at AERA Annual Meetings suggest that participants are serious of purpose. As attendees present their research and examine the most challenging issues in education that require a strong base of knowledge, it is worth experiencing the contexts and culture that are part of the framework for education research.