Things You Should Know About New York....(or some simple NY rules)

Let me start with this: today was rainy in New York. Now in the rain, New Yorkers kind of lose their shit. I was in a taxi with our friend Miss Felicia and this guy is furiously waving his arms. When he stormed towards my side of the taxi I realized that the poor guy had no idea that we were inside the cab. After almost reaching for the door, he finally saw us and backed away from the taxi.

Hmmm....I thought, a lot of people don't know how to tell if a taxi is occupied. Well, that's something every New Yorker should know. And if you're not from NY but you're still in our city, you should listen up too.

How To Tell If A Taxi Is Occupied
The next time you see a yellow cab, look at the roof. Do you see that small structure perched on the roof (not the silly billboard ad)?




Okay, if you look carefully you'll notice that there's a number - that's the taxi cab number. (NY insider knowledge: It matches the license plate)
Do you see the words on either side of that number? They say "OFF DUTY".

When the cab number is illuminated, that means the taxi is available. Flail your arms, keep it straight up, whistle or if you're really cool give the taxi a cursory nod and hail the taxi with a flick of your two fingers.

When the "OFF DUTY" is illuminated....well, that cab's off duty darling. You can still try to hail it, maybe the driver will have pity on you and give you a lift if your destination is on the way to their base.

When no lights are illuminated, someone is in the passenger seat.
FIND ANOTHER CAB!

Subway etiquette
This is so simple. If you're on the subway platform waiting for the train and the doors open step aside.

Just like an elevator, you should let those who are exiting, exit. Once they're out, you can enter.

If you refuse to step aside, please don't get upset or cry out when someone knocks past you so they can get off the darn train.
(PS - To the woman I practically ran over - hey you should've stepped aside, lady. I know I left a bruise...sorry)

Downtown? Uptown?
As a young girl traveling from Queens to Manhattan to go to high school, I had no idea what was "uptown" or "downtown". My only concern was whether the subway went to Queens or to Manhattan. We occasionally went to Coney Island, but that was a whole other can of worms.

I remember the day that I figured out the difference between "uptown" and "downtown." It was like learning some foreign language that I refused to accept. Like Spanglish to mi esposo. (Why couldn't everything be labeled 'to queens' or 'to stuyvesant'?)

Well if you haven't figured it out, most of the streets in Manhattan are in numerical order. If you're traveling to a street with a lower number (from 59th Street to 3rd Street) you're going downtown.

If you're heading from Beard Papa's on 8th street to La Maison du Chocolat on 49th Street, you're going uptown.

To New Yorkers and those who obviously know this - lots of people don't, so give them a hand.

What do you consider essential knowledge for all New Yorkers?