Here are some of the changes you might find if you visit New York City in the coming year.
After much anticipation and millions of dollars, the JFK AirTrain opened in late 2003. Though taking the AirTrain from Manhattan to JFK airport (or vice versa) will save you money, it won't save you time. If you have the time and aren't lugging a family or too many bags, then it just might work. Otherwise, you'll have to fork over $45-plus taxi fare for travel between JFK and Manhattan.
Good news on the subways in 2004: After a 2-year construction project on the Manhattan Bridge disrupted service on the B and D lines, construction finally has been completed and those two lines now have resumed their routes between Manhattan and Brooklyn.
And after being destroyed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, a glorious new PATH Station at the World Trade Center opened in 2004.
Now the bad news: Taxi fares increased in 2004 from a base rate of $2 to $2.50, and the rate per 1/5 mile jumped from 30¢ to 40¢. Also, the flat rate to/from JFK Airport has gone up to $45 (from $35) and a new $1 surcharge has been added on all rides from 4 to 8pm, Monday through Friday.
To pay for what might be whopping taxi fares, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission is hoping to enable cabs to accept fares by credit or debit cards.
Accommodations
One of New York's most highly rated hotels, the Regent Wall Street, surprisingly closed its doors in early 2004. That loss was quickly recovered with the opening of a number of major hotels. The biggest in this class was the posh Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 1 Central Park at Columbus Circle (tel. 800/526-6566; www.mandarinoriental.com), in the new Time Warner Center. The hotel features 251 rooms, a spacious spa and fitness center that includes a 25-yard long lap pool, and butler service.
Another celebrated hotel opening, in late 2003, was The Alex, 205 E. 45th St. (tel. 212/867-5100; www.thealexhotel.com). Designed by David Rockwell, the hotel is the epitome of 21st-century, sleek, economical style.
In the spring of 2004, the first major hotel in the Meat-Packing District, Hotel Gansevoort, 18 Ninth Ave. (tel. 212/206-6700; www.hotelgansevoort.com), opened its doors. The latest offering from hotelier Henry Kallen -- the man behind The Library, The Casablanca, and Hotel Giraffe -- features 187 rooms and a heated outdoor rooftop pool and garden.
Scheduled to open on the Lower East Side at 107 Rivington St. in late 2004 is the 111-room Surface The Hotel. The hotel will mirror the aesthetic ethos of Surface The Magazine.
Restaurants
In 2003-04, a number of restaurant institutions closed, including the venerable Lutece, four-star Lespinasse, 45-year-old La Cote Basque, and the Brooklyn landmark Gage & Tollner. But not to worry, there's never a lull in New York restaurant openings and, who knows, some of the 2003-04 additions just might be institutions in the making.
The Time Warner Center, with its wildly expensive collection of restaurants -- including Per Se (tel. 212/823-9335), Masa (tel. 212/823-9800), Café Gray (tel. 212/823-6338), Asiate (tel. 212/805-8881) in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a yet-to-be-named steakhouse helmed by Jean-Georges Vongerichten (tel. 212/823-9500), and a seafood restaurant captained by Charlie Trotter (no name or phone yet) -- is the destination for serious foodies with deep pockets.
Celebrated chef Marcus Samuelsson veered slightly from his Scandinavian roots at Aquavit to open Riingo, 205 E. 45th St. (tel. 212/867-4200), where he combines his Nordic sensibilities with the flavors and styles of Japan.
The Upper West Side is again the hotbed of exciting new restaurants. The best new restaurant to open this past year was 'Cesca, 164 W. 75th St. (tel. 212/787-6300), where chef-owner Tom Valenti, of Ouest fame, delivers rustic Italian food that is hard to find west of the Mediterranean Sea.
Also new on the Upper West Side is Nice Matin, 201 W. 79th St. (tel. 212/873-NICE), a boisterous yet comfortable restaurant featuring the rich, distinct taste of Provence.
Attractions
After being denied access to the interior of the Statue of Liberty since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, visitors, beginning in August 2004, will be able to explore the Statue of Liberty museum, peer into the intricate inner structure through a glass ceiling near the base of the statue, and enjoy the 360-degree views from the observation deck on top of the 16-story pedestal.
In an open competition that received over 5,000 entries, a final design was selected for a memorial to be built on the World Trade Center Site (tel. 212/484-1222; www.downtownny.com). The winning entry, "Reflecting Absence," will consist of two large voids, and cascading pools that drop 30 feet into the footprints of the Twin Towers; victims' names will be listed around the pools.
The original Manhattan location for the Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., closed since 2002, is expected to reopen, bigger and better than ever, in late 2004. In the meantime, the museum's temporary home, MoMA QNS, 45-20 33rd St. in Queens (tel. 212/708-9480; www.moma.org), will continue to feature a full exhibition schedule.
Also in late 2003, New York's newest museum, the Louis Armstrong House Museum, 34-56 107th St., Corona, Queens (tel. 718/478-8274; www.satchmo.net), opened to glowing reviews.
The Time Warner Center will also be the new home of Jazz at Lincoln Center (tel. 212/258-9800; www.jazzatlincolncenter.org). The $115-million, 100,000-square-foot facility will be the world's first performing arts center designed specifically for jazz, and will open in the fall of 2004.
Shopping
Sadly, the biggest news in shopping in New York was the closing in early 2004 of the much-loved children's store F.A.O. Schwarz.
Perhaps the most ambitious project in New York the past several years has been the construction of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. The Shops at Columbus Circle, a collection of some of the most upscale retailers in the world, including Sephora, A/X Armani Exchange, Williams Sonoma, Eileen Fisher, Hugo Boss, and a huge Whole Foods Supermarket opened in early 2004.
The leather goods retailer Louis Vuitton, 1 E. 57th St. (tel. 212/758-8877; www.vuitton.com), opened a huge flagship store on the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue. At press time, there were rumors that another Barney's Co-op (www.barneys.com) was scheduled to open late in 2004 on the Upper West Side.