HOPE Number Nine will be held from July 13–15, 2012 at the Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue in midtown Manhattan, New York City. This hotel is directly opposite New York's Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. Pick up your registration badge in the Penn Plaza Pavillion, which is directly to the left after walking into Hotel Pennsylvania from 7th Ave. HOPE Number Nine events will be on the 1st and 2nd floor (registration, hackerspaces, vendors, art, music, and more!), 6th floor (some workshops and classes) and 18th floor (speakers, movies and the 2600 Store).
See our Hotel Information for hotel details.
Here are some general tips for getting to HOPE:
Getting to New York City is possible from nearly everywhere on Earth. There are four airports you can arrive at as well as train and bus terminals. You can even drive if you're so inclined. This is all assuming that you're not already in the city, in which case getting to the hotel is as easy as it could possibly be.
By Air:
There are three main airports serving the metropolitan area, two in the New York City borough of Queens, and one in New Jersey. There is also a small airport located on Long Island, an hour away by train. In general, you should probably fly to whichever airport you can get the cheapest flight.
John F. Kennedy airport (JFK) is a huge international airport in Queens, where you will likely end up if flying from overseas. Discount carrier JetBlue and some other domestic airlines also fly here. Once at JFK, the “AirTrain” service will, for $5, bring you from the airport to Jamaica station, where you can either take the E subway train for $2.25 or the Long Island Railroad for $6.25 ($8.75 during rush hour and $3.75 over the weekend; in all cases you should buy a ticket from a person or a machine, as the cost almost doubles if you want to buy it on the train). Both take you to Penn Station, just across the street from the hotel. If you prefer to take a cab, there's a flat fee of $45, plus surcharges, tip, and tolls, from JFK airport to anywhere in Manhattan.
LaGuardia airport (LGA), also in Queens, serves some domestic and Canadian destinations. It is geographically the closest airport to Manhattan, and therefore sometimes the most expensive to fly to. From LGA, private shuttle buses to the hotel cost about $12. You can also take the M60 bus to the N or Q train, which will bring you to Herald Square, which is one block east of the hotel. Ask the bus driver if you need help. The total cost is $2.25, but you must buy a MetroCard before boarding the bus to avoid paying two fares. Metrocards can be found at Hudson News kiosks in the airport. You can also get a cab if you prefer.
Newark airport (EWR), in New Jersey, serves a number of domestic and international destinations. There is frequent AirTrain/New Jersey Transit service between Newark terminal and Penn Station, taking under an hour to deliver you from your flight to the Hotel Pennsylvania. This may be the most convenient airport to fly into as far as transportation is concerned. The AirTrain/NJ Transit connection costs $12.50 and service is frequent. (Make sure you get on a New Jersey Transit train and NOT an Amtrak train after switching from AirTrain, as it may cost $50 or more, without saving any time.) Don't bother with cabs as they not only take longer, but you will have to pay the tunnel/bridge toll on top of the cab fare.
Islip's Macarthur Airport (ISP) is located on Long Island. The main advantage of flying to Islip is sometimes (though not always) lower airfares; Southwest Airlines flies there, and that tends to hold fares down. You can take a cab from Macarthur Airport to the Ronkonkoma train station for $5 (or the S-57 bus, which doesn't run on Sundays, for $1.50) and take the Long Island Railroad train to Penn Station, which costs $11.75 ($16.25 peak) and takes just over an hour. You may be able to save a few dollars by buying a MacArthur Airport package ticket, which includes the shuttle from the aiport to the train station. Trains generally run once an hour.
By Train:
New Jersey Transit, Metro-North Railroad, and the Long Island Railroad offer short-range transportation options to New York City from around the metropolitan area. Amtrak offers short and long-range train transportation, although the cost of train travel is often comparable to air travel. If you do take Amtrak, you can save money by booking in advance; from Boston or Washington, DC, Amtrak's “Acela” service is slightly faster but considerably more expensive than its other trains.
Except for Metro-North, all of these rail lines arrive at Penn Station, which is right across the street from the Hotel Pennsylvania and HOPE Number Nine — very convenient. (Metro-North arrives at Grand Central which means you must take the S shuttle to Times Square and transfer to a downtown 1/2/3 subway one stop to Penn Station. Or you could easily walk.) The 33rd Street PATH station is also close, literally on the opposite side of the block as the main Hotel Penn entrance. PATH trains provide a quick hop from several points in New Jersey, most notably the Hoboken station, a major train hub.
By Bus:
Greyhound and a number of other intercity bus companies serve the Port Authority Bus Terminal, located on 8th Avenue at 42nd Street. Probably the best way to get from PABT to the conference is on foot (walk one block east to 7th avenue, and then 9 blocks south to the hotel, a distance of about 1/2 mile), but you can also take the A/C/E or 1/2/3 subway one stop downtown, or get a cab.
Recent years have seen a large number of new bus companies offering extremely competitively-priced travel within the Northeastern US. Boltbus and Megabus are particularly good options, as both companies drop you off within a few blocks of the Hotel Pennsylvania. Both of these companies raise their prices as more people buy tickets, so you can save money by buying tickets in advance. Another set of companies offer service between the Chinatowns of New York and other cities throughout the region. Comprehensive information about the various carriers' routes can be hard to come by, but GotoBus, Static Leap, and BusJunction are attempts to aggregate information. You can also, of course, try searching the web yourself.
By Car:
We recommend not driving in Manhattan unless you really know what you're doing. If a car is your only source of travel, it might be a good idea to park in an outer borough and take the subway into Manhattan or use one of the Park-and-Ride lots in New Jersey and take New Jersey Transit or PATH to get into town. If you insist on driving into Manhattan, you may be able to find free parking in some residential areas. Parking garages tend to be cheaper downtown.
For those of you bringing in equipment, getting to the hotel is pretty straightforward. Please make arrangemens in advance (hackerspaces@hope.net or another appropriate contact), since we also have a loading dock and elevators on 32nd and 33rd St. and a specific schedule for loading in your gear.
From New Jersey, the Lincoln Tunnel will get you onto the west side in the 30s. Simply make your way to 34th Street and turn right on 7th Avenue. The hotel is on the left side between 33rd and 32nd. The guy greeting you in front of the hotel will be able to tell you how to unload and will even park your car for the weekend if you're sure you want to pay what they charge. Those arriving from other directions simply need to get to 34th Street via the FDR Drive or the Midtown Tunnel.
Subways and City Buses:
Take the 1, 2, or 3 train to 34th & 7th Avenue, right across the street from the Hotel Pennsylvania. Or take the A, C, or E to 34th & 8th, or the B, D, F, M, N, Q, or R to 34th & 6th (Herald Square), both of which are just one crosstown block away. The MTA's website has maps and other good information. You can also get free printed subway maps by asking in any station.
The nominal price of a subway ride is $2.25, but you have to pay $2.50 if you're only buying one ride at a time, and you can get a discount if you put at least $10 at a time onto a Metrocard. The Metrocard Bonus Calculator may be helpful if you're a fan of paying for an integer number of rides at a time.
The M4, M5, M7, M20, M34, and Q32 buses all stop within a block or two of the hotel, but we don't recommend taking them unless you're already familiar with the city's bus system.
Inter/Intragalactic Travel:
Note that Sol is a G-type main sequence star, so visitors should dress appropriately and bring sun screen if desired. Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun, which is in the Orion arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. Head out approximately 28,000 light years from the center of the galaxy, and 20 light years above the equatorial plane. Dial "411" from any pay phone if you need additional guidance (toll charges may apply).