Top 5 touristy non tourist attractions

If you are a New Yorker you probably haven't been to the top of the Empire State Building or taken a boat to the Statue of Liberty since your 8th grade school trip, and for good reason.  Its Expensive, the lines are long, it is generally overrated and any character or sense of this being the real NY dissipated long ago like the peep show houses of Times square in the 80's.  Pound the pavement and rub shoulders with tourists and locals alike.  Here is a list of 5 touristy things you will not be ashamed to do as a New Yorker. 

#5:  Coney Island (Driving is best but if your using "Chevra-legs" the D F N & Q Subway will take you)
I know, I know it’s so far away.  But with so much to do I couldn't leave it off the list.  Hence why the once greatest amusement park & beach of the world is bringing up the rear.  Make sure you get here before it becomes "Disney-fied" just like Times Square.  There is so much to do it deserves a bullet-ed list.  No seriously this is a whole day event. 

•   Nathan’s - Yeah you can get it at any Nathan’s, but this is the original baby.  Re-live the famous yearly hot dog eating competition and see if you can shovel down anything close to the world record of 68 in 10 minutes.  Or just get yourself a Hot Dog and a lemonade and walk yourself down the boardwalk towards Brighton Beach and the Handball courts 
•   The NYC Aquarium - Get your fish viewing on.  Always fun to see the Sharks, Tropical Fish, Porpoises and Large aquatic mammals.  Its for big kids too!
•   The Cyclone Roller coaster at Luna Park a true legend of a Roller Coaster built in 1927 and since refurbished - well kinda.  The infamous Drop and hard turn may give you whiplash and the whole thing will rattle like it’s gonna fall apart (It may). But don't you dare complain.  You aint a New Yorker unless you've been on this one baby!
• The Freak Show: The last of a dying breed.  You'll squeal, your cringe, you may just act like a Jaded New Yorker, but inside you will be thinking... Damn the subways at 5 am have nothing on these guys!
• Brooklyn Cyclones Minor League Baseball at MCU Park Yeah, its not the Yankees, Heck its not even the Mets, Its a Mets Minor League Baseball team.  However, its baseball in Brooklyn, It aint THEM BUMS (The Dodgers for the non baseball buff) but you cant beat the atmosphere and a $5 beer in a ballpark is unheard of in NYC - until now!
• Totono's Pizza This is Brooklyn Baby... so you gotta get your pizza on no matta what! An institution opened in 1924, a slice from this pie is a piece of heaven  brings me straight back to my childhood.

#4: Hit up a Broadway or Off Broadway Play (Try not to have a "Theater Geek" moment)

You know you wanna see Book of Mormon, Wicked, the Lion King or Spiderman turn out the dark - even if it is just to see another high-wire injury.  Don't lie, you know its gonna be a good time.  Your likely to be rubbing elbows with a family from the mid-west and maybe a celebrity or two(depending on your seats and the night).  True, you have to fight your way through the hordes of gawkers and picture takers in Times Square. But once you hit your seat its musicals and plays of the highest variety. Not much of Broadway kinda person…go see a cool off Broadway show like Fuerzabruta, Stomp or Blue Man Group.  Plan ahead and grab tickets to a show a few weeks in advance or Jump on the Line like a shlub at TKTS in Times Square or South Street Seaport for a Matinee.  The sky is the limit in NYC when it comes to variety of performances.  Don't like Plays?  How about the Opera or the Ballet in Lincoln Center?  Its one of the touristiest things a New Yorker can do and yet none of your fellow New Yorkers will bat an eye or say "why the hell did you do that?"  Cause they probably want to go see or have seen whatever you just saw!


#3  Walk the Brooklyn Bridge (Take the R or the 6 Subway to City Hall and Trek it across)

 The views have been breathtaking since it first opened in 1883.  Mind you there will be lots of walking and bike traffic on your walk across the Stone, wood and wire extension bridge.  Don't let that deter you, for at the end of your journey there will be pizza, chocolates, ice cream, art and trees...OH MY.  Yes, we all know Grimaldi's lies at the end of the Rainbow.  As well as an hour and a half long line to get one of their famous pies.  You can cheat and get a Grimaldi’s Pie from the Limelight Market on 20^th and 6^th ave or in Hoboken.  The Locals know you can get yourself some very decent pizza pie at Ignacio’s Pizza a few doors down and skip the line if you don't have the time.  Or if your not in for pizza and you need some sugar to get you back across Manhattan way - check out Jacques Torres Chocolates or his Ice-cream parlor next door......sweet!!!! DUMBO, or Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass has more than just food.  There are tons of Art spaces and galleries dotting the cobble streets in, around and under the Bridge.  Take a Water Taxi back across the East River for different perspective of the bridge.

#2  Central Park (you guys can find it? - Its pretty big) 

 If you’re a local you know the drill.  Boathouse for a drink if you need one, Bring a book, some sporting goods and a blanket to lay on and eat a dirty water dog from a street vendor for a snack.  Of course you can go to the Central Park Zoo (I'd recommend making the trip up to the Bronx zoo if you were gonna do a zoo thing), ride the carrousel, rent a row boat and hit the lake.  Interested more in little boats?  Rent a remote control sail boat at the conservatory water.  Its the most visited urban park in the United States people, its a tourist mecca but its also an escape from the urban jungle for us city folk, much like the #1 touristy non tourist attraction. 

#1  The High Line (START: Gansevort and Washington St END: 30th St & 10th Ave)

Its gritty yet clean. It’s art yet it’s utilitarian.  It’s old but also new.  It’s NEW New York!  This former raised freight train track turned man made elevated walking park is a triumph to New York in the new century.  Mingle with locals on a stroll and European tourists.  Grab a Coffee and some baked goods in nearby Chelsea Market and enjoy your stroll.  All kidding aside this walk is something different. With nice views of the Hudson and a plethora of bars, shops and killer restaurants in the area; The Highline is quickly becoming the centerpiece of the Meatpacking district and Chelsea.