NOBLE DEN HOTEL

CLEAN, EFFICIENT ROOMS PLUS ROOFTOP DECK

IN LOWER MANHATTAN'S CHINATOWN/LITTLE ITALY

I could instantly see why Noble Den Hotel gets high reviews.

The staff is very polite and resourceful.

The property is an oasis in an otherwise slightly gritty area where Chinatown meets Little Italy -- with the Lower East Side and SOHO nearby.

Mulberry Street next door can be noisy, but the hotel is sound proofed.

The units are small, but super well designed. They have thought of everything as far as space, natural light, comfortable bath, tons of outlets (with USB outlets too), a mini fridge, etc.

The super bonus is a rooftop lounge. It has no bar, so there is no noise are hipster crowds to fight. Just some nice furniture and a panoramic view of lower Manhattan.

Just off the lobby is really good free coffee, hot chocolate and a microwave for heating up delicious food from the neighborhood.

The room fridge is not a mini bar, which is a good thing. All of its space is for cooling beverages, berries, breakfast foods and leftovers.

There are two elevators, so no waiting in the smallish family feeling property.

I was checked in just under an hour early -- for free -- and they safely stowed my bags.

You get a cute stuffed animal on arrival and there are toothbrushes, combs and more in the room, if you forgot to pack those.

Major subway stations are nearby for fast, inexpensive transit.

The price point was incredible for a modern, fresh, well-designed and well-located hotel.

There is a great accessible room with roll-in shower. The only drawback is adjacent elevator shaft noises.

 

IF YOUR CITY IS NOT ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE

 IT HAS FAILED AND SERVES NO ONE

There is something deeply symbolic and disturbing about the yellow caution tape signaling yet another out of order MTA elevator in New York.

It screams that in one of the most-diverse cities in America, people with disabilities are barely second class.

It says that decades of mayors – from both major political parties – have failed.

They have supported tax breaks and cushy deals for billionaires – promising tax revenue to fix problems.

Yet long into the 21^st century, only a fraction of train stations have wheelchair access.

Half the elevators I examined were roped off, non-functioning or otherwise out of service.

The subjugating, ignore the problem answer for decades has been that the bus system has wheelchair access, so that’s enough.

Ever try to get from Lower Manhattan to the Upper East Side…for a business meeting, for a restaurant reservation…for a timed ticket to a museum?

The train takes 15 minutes max.

Busses take two to three times that long.

And the irony is, for a lot of people with disabilities – such as those with rheumatoid arthritis that have joint pain – the endless bumping and listing of a bus right produces pain, discomfort and danger of injury.

So the default, substandard ride option is the more stressful and fatiguing one – along with taking up time.

It’s like the city doesn’t think, a third of a decade after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, that people with disabilities are vibrant, firm-leading employees that need to move about the city rapidly: to keep their highly productive lives in motion.

Imagine a transportation system that said only White Anglo-Saxon Protestant abled-bodied males reaped the benefits of the underground and elevated speedy trains – but everybody else had to stand in the rain and snow for a slow, inefficient ride on a bus.

News of this discrimination would lead the local TV broadcast and top the newspaper headlines for weeks. Boycotts would take place. 

Politicians would lead rallies to overturn to abusive treatment.

How is it any different when subways and elevated trains could have added elevators and ramps for half a century, but have not?

INCLUSION FOR ALL IS THE ONLY WAY TO DESIGN AND BUILD PUBLIC SPACE

IT CAN BE ACHIEVED BY SIMPLE TOPOGRAPHY 

AND GENTLY SLOPED RAMPS

Much of the Long Island City Queens waterfront was once industrial.

Factories depended on access to the East River.

Now most of the area is lined with exclusive apartments that feature amazing views of the Manhattan skyline.

Developers of the waterfront public space did two things perfectly:

1) They set the buildings back a big enough distance from the water to create miles of fresh public space.

2) The used simple grading of fill soil plus ramps to make the park space wheelchair-accessible for miles.

The boarding spots for the water taxi have ramps.

The various fishing/observation piers that jut out into the East River all are barrier-free.

Gantry Plaza State Park may well be the best free space in all of New York.

At sunset into the night, its views of Manhattan are unrivaled.

And its access is enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities and their families.

EXECUTIVE HOTEL LE SOLEIL NEW YORK

SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT

The only other thing I would add to the super-comfortable room is a grab bar and shower wand in the outstanding shower.

Grab bars and wands are not just for people with disabilities.

We all like to have something to steady ourselves with late night in an unfamiliar shower.

And the shower wand -- it just plain reaches places that even the nicest overhead nozzle cannot.

Bottom line, if work is taking you to Midtown – or your vacation needs a very well-run lodging close to transit, book an Empire State Building-facing room at Executive Hotel le Soleil New York.

 

 

 

 

EXECUTIVE HOTEL LE SOLEIL NEW YORK

SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT

I specifically wanted a room with a mini fridge.

I have lost more than 100 pounds and the key to it is eating fruit and grains for breakfast and storing healthy snacks along with almond milk for cereal, etc. 

I even emailed to confirm the fridge at booking time.

On arrival, the fridge was room temp, but I figured they maybe just plugged it in.

The next day, my berries looked like they were not doing well.

By the night of the first full day, my nonfat milk had spoiled and I realized that the fridge was barely cooling.

On the plus side, I phoned the next early morning and they switched out the fridge for a great one.

Whoever came to the room put every last item in the fridge exactly as I had left it + they did not disturb one square inch of the other parts of the room. 

Bravo. 

EXECUTIVE HOTEL LE SOLEIL NEW YORK

SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT\

For less than $3 one-way, the ferry takes you to Long Island City, Wall Street area, Upper East Side and several key stops in Queens.

I used the Hornblower NYC Ferry Service for a lot of work and leisure mobility.

It worked for Manhattan skyline photos at dusk, for running along the river for exercise and for transit that also gave tourist-class views of the city in late summer.

EXECUTIVE HOTEL LE SOLEIL NEW YORK

SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT

I never used a taxi or ride share. 

Koreatown food is blocks away.

A huge Whole Foods is a few blocks up by Bryant Park, so I could get milk, berries, cereal and more for breakfast in the room.

The 34 special bus stops very close by and it's a great east-west connector, especially the route that stops at FDR and the East River.

That's exactly where the NYC Ferry (water taxi) stops.

EXECUTIVE HOTEL LE SOLEIL NEW YORK

SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT

Daily housekeeping was not done due to COVID.

But I don't like daily intrusions and if I needed a spare towel, shampoo, anything -- it was in my room in lightning speed.

The front desk as warm and fast for check in. 

View of Empire State building through large window in room was a cool bonus.

The neighborhood was quiet at night -- as this is not exactly hipster ground zero location.

There is major train transit nearby at Herald Square, Penn Station and Times Square.

EXECUTIVE HOTEL LE SOLEIL NEW YORK

SUPER-EFFICIENT, CLEAN AND QUIET ROOM WITH MINI-FRIDGE AND LOCATION NEAR TONS OF TRAIN TRANSIT

The price point was amazing. 

A $250 to $300 room for $150 (plus taxes).

Very quiet room with a great bed and efficient layout.

I loved the walk-in shower with endless hot water.

The room is not big, but I don't come to New York to sit in the room.

The storage space, mainly a vertical tower with all kinds of drawers and open cubes, was the best I've seen in a compact room.

It had a great desk (also my breakfast bar) and closet. Lots of outlets and two charging stations on the clock radio.

ST. MARK'S PLACE

EAST VILLAGE, NYC

Funky Town seems to fill a wide variety of needs of St. Mark’s Place habitues.

There are convenience store items.

There are tons of cool punk rock, new wave and other rock band T-shirts, stickers and patches.

In the back, they do body piercing.

All around, there are bongs, vaping gear and other things we used to call head shop products.

Also a lot of cheap sunglasses and nice, patient, polite workers there.

ST. MARK'S PLACE

EAST VILLAGE, NYC

Search & Destroy is a legendary punk rock clothing and accessories boutique.

Yes, that’s a bunch of dolls stacked in the window to look like dead, well…

And you probably see something vulgar in the image – half the photos on the entry foyer/door are obscene and it doesn’t get any less raw inside.

Famed for high prices and surly workers – plus dozens of signs telling you NOT to snap a picture inside – we’re not sure how this far from wheelchair-accessible, worst customer service in the neighborhood place survives.

But it is highly photogenic and part of the nabe’s punk history.

ST. MARK'S PLACE

EAST VILLAGE, NYC

Established in 1990, Andromeda Studio 33 bills itself as one of the oldest and original bod mod shops in USA.

We hate tattoos, but love the colorful façade and characters at this walkup space.

ST. MARK'S PLACE

 EAST VILLAGE, NYC

Theatre 80 carries on a generational cultural function, which has helped to create the East Village from the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

When Theatre 80 was first envisioned and built at 80 Saint Marks Place, the neighborhood of the Lower East Side was a blighted area and the term East Village had yet to be coined.

We were among the first of the cultural institutions, which began the Lower East Side Arts Movement resulting in the neighborhood now being referred to as the East Village.

Beginning during Prohibition, 80 Saint Marks Place was a vital destination for performers of all kinds.

Jazz greats such as Thelonious Monk, Harry “Sweets” Edison, John Coltrane and Frank Sinatra performed here before Theatre 80 was established in the former nightclub. 

--from Theatre 80's website. There's also a gangster museum upstairs.

ST. MARK'S PLACE

EAST VILLAGE, NYC

St. Mark's Place, named after the nearby St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, is part of Eighth Avenue in Lower Manhattan. It’s named St. Mark’s Place between Third Avenue and Avenue A.

Still the land of misfits, it draws as many tourists and locals and the rents are no longer low.

A cloud of perpetual weed smell hangs in the air and competes with the scent of many Asian restaurants and other cuisine.

Referenced in the Replacement’s ode to the late Alex Chilton -- Checkin' his stash by the trash at St. Mark's place – the few blocks of history and discord also played host to great Broad City episode.

THE WORST PLACE TO EAT IN ALL OF NEW YORK

E.A.T. BY ELI ZABAR

This sewer hole is a pox on the Zabar family name.

I would rather eat a dirty hotdog that fell in the gutter and got kicked by a rat than give these swindlers my money.

Foul attitude, foul food -- avoid this like the plague.

Left the MET starving. Was on the way to Pastrami Queen. Wasn't sure if there would be a wait, saw a nice outdoor table (because it was drizzling and chilly) so I sat down here, lured by the Zabar name.

Big, big, huge mistake.

Waiter was rude and nasty -- not like hard edge New York it's part of the experience...no, just jackass.

I order hot pastrami on rye, mustard on side, nothing else on it.

Quite possibly the simplest order in the history of Manhattan lunch requests.

Well, this overwhelmed them and screwed me over.

Pastrami please? Waiter: In think we're out.

It's not even 1 p.m., how can you be out?

Waiter: I'll see what I can do.

Me, Dr. Brown's Diet Dark Cherry....Waiter: interrupts, no Dr. Brown, no anything but coke.

Coke Zero please. Waiter: We might have a Diet Coke left.

Food comes. It's maybe 2 ounces of pastrami. Maybe.

Both sides of bread drowned in mustard. I love mustard. This was drowned.

And easily 2 or more ounces of sauerkraut.

I loathe sauerkraut. Just do. Thus, my polite but emphatic order of meat on bread, deli mustard on the side please.

Maybe they put the ton of mustard and kraut to try to pretend to make it look like 4 or 5 ounces of something was in between the stale bread.

I should have walked off. Left a few sawbucks for the ounce of Diet Coke I'd swigged.

I ask about the mess on my plate -- the abundance of meal-ruining kraut and the ounce-plus of pastrami.

The waiter goes off on me, acting like I should give him a 40% tip for getting me the last of the pastrami (I do remember him taking great delight in telling the table next to me that I got the last of the pastrami).

I scraped off the kraut, leaving me with barely one ounce of meat. Oh, and the sandwich was north of 30 bucks. I could have had 10 times the amount of pastrami, brought the way I like it without sauerkraut -- and at about 20 bucks -- if I had walked a few more blocks to Pastrami Queen.

I ask for a pickle, to try to fill my belly. No pickle comes with it, it's like a few bucks up charge.

I really don't want to give these rip-off artists another penny, so I decline the add-on.

I finish, quickly, considering I got about 1/20th of what I paid for, and went to use the restroom. The other moron rude waiter inside gave me hell, acting like I wasn't a customer. Glad he did. Any modicum of professionalism would have given me a heart attack.

I went around the corner and spent more of my money (and half blew my diet) getting wonderful gelato for a fair price at Anita La Mamma del Gelato.

Between food + tip at E.A.T. (highway robbery) and food + tip at Anita (good deal considering the great product). I was out more than $50 USD.

Avoid this place. It exists only to rip off tourists in the vicinity of Museum Mile and locals that are 100 years old and have lost all use of taste buds.

 

THE FABULOUS CHRYSLER BUILDING

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL OF COMMERCE IN THE WORLD

The Chrysler Building was the world’s tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931.

THE FABULOUS CHRYSLER BUILDING

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL OF COMMERCE IN THE WORLD

The Chrysler Building's stainless-steel cladding is ribbed and riveted in a radiating sunburst pattern with many triangular vaulted windows, transitioning into smaller segments of the seven narrow setbacks of the facade of the terraced crown.

THE FABULOUS CHRYSLER BUILDING

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL OF COMMERCE IN THE WORLD

The Chrysler Building is renowned and recognized for its terraced crown. 

Composed of seven radiating terraced arches, Van Alen’s design of the crown is a cruciform groin vault constructed into seven concentric members with transitioning setbacks, mounted up one behind the other.

THE FABULOUS CHRYSLER BUILDING

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL OF COMMERCE IN THE WORLD

Standing 1047 feet high, the Chrysler Building houses 77 floors, including a lobby three stories high.

THE FABULOUS CHRYSLER BUILDING

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CATHEDRAL OF COMMERCE IN THE WORLD

The Chrysler Building was designed by architect William Van Alen for a project of Walter P. Chrysler.