New York City Activities with Your Teen

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Must-Do Activities in New York City

My son Mac asked to visit New York City (NYC) for years. Growing up in New Jersey afforded me the opportunity to visit NYC frequently. Unfortunately, visiting NYC with my daughter was not possible due to her anxiety and sensory processing challenges. When the opportunity to visit NYC with my son alone presented itself, we enthusiastically planned a visit. There are at least five must-do activities in New York City with your teen.

Big Birthday Plans

Plans to celebrate my fiftieth birthday with friends and family in Atlantic City were underway. I found a rental on the bay and close to the beach. Friends and family were scheduled to come and go throughout the week. I tacked on a few days at the beginning of our trip to visit NYC with Mac. My wonderful friend Judy offered to divide and conquer.

Mac and I traveled to NYC and Miss Bee stayed with Judy in Los Angeles. Judy and Miss Bee joined us three days later in Newark NJ. We visited Hoboken and my hometown on our way to Atlantic City. Prior to that fun adventure, Mac and I had a wonderful time seeing the city.

We Arrived at the Big Apple

I could not wait to share my favorite places in NYC with Mac. Many of my childhood, teen, and young adult adventures occurred in NYC. Studio 54 (yes, I am dating myself), ZZ Top at Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Deli, and an unexpected overnight in a seedy Times Square Hotel are just a few of my crazy fun memories. Note to friends that share these same memories – what happened in NYC stays in NYC!

Unique Pod Hotels

Upon arrival at Newark Airport, we took a train over to NYC. I searched online for a budget-friendly, non-traditional hotel. Fancy amenities were wasted on my no-frills teen son. I found The Pod Hotels, specifically Pod 51 located on 51st Street.

Pod 51 is centrally located in Midtown with a nearby subway entrance on Lexington Avenue. Our room was tiny but efficient and had great air conditioning. We slept on bunk beds. The selling point for Mac was that each bed had its own TV. He plugged in his headphones and watched whatever he wanted.

The shared bathrooms were located down the hall. At first, I thought this would be a drag. It turned out to be fine. The room has tiny lights (red and green) above the door that indicates vacant or occupied. The bathrooms were always immaculate and other guests were considerate.

We discovered that one shower on each floor had multiple water jets. We watched the lights and made a bee-line to this bathroom to enjoy this delightful shower. Time spent in the room was minimal. The Pod worked out great for us due to the location, reasonable rates, and uniqueness for my teen.

Gray Line Coach and Boat Tour

On our first full day, we enjoyed the Gray Line Tour – the Manhattan Experience. We spent six hours touring the city on a comfy air-conditioned coach. This tour also included a city view boat ride on the Hudson and East rivers. Taking a guided tour first was an ideal way for Mac to acclimate to the city. I got to sit back and enjoy the sights, some I had never seen before. The tour guide was knowledgeable and engaging.

We boarded the coach on Broadway and Times Square. The bus stopped to give the tourists time to shop for souvenirs. Next, we headed to Harlem. We rode past the famous Riverside Church and exited the coach to visit General Grant National Memorial (Grant’s Tomb) and The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Ulysses S. Grant commanded the Union Army to victory during the Civil War and became the 18th US President. The Cathedral was spectacular both inside and out.

Highlights of Our New York City Tour

Our Coach also took us past other famous landmarks including:
Madison Square Garden
Flat Iron Building
Museum Mile
5th Avenue
Rockefeller Center
Empire State Building

Lunch in Little Italy New York

Our tour included lunch in Little Italy. Delicious pasta and all the fixings of course. After lunch, we boarded the boat from a Hudson River pier. We had time to visit an Italian bakery before boarding the bus.

Boating on the River

Mac enjoyed this part of our tour immensely. We learned about the Hudson River and East River confluence in the Upper New York Bay. Who knew that the East River is not a river. It is a saltwater tidal estuary that connects the Bay at the south end to Long Island Sound to the north end.

We saw Ellis Island where some of my ancestors first arrived and The Statue of Liberty. We rode around the south end of Manhattan and headed up the East River. It was fascinating to see the underside of the bridges particularly the Brooklyn Bridge. After the boat ride, we returned to the coach and headed to the 9/11 Memorial Park. The footprint fountains were an emotional site.

Our day was packed. If we had walked around the city in the sticky humidity, my naturally grumpy teen was sure to become even more grumpy. The delightfully air-conditioned coach enabled both of us to enjoy the day.

New York City Subways

If you ask Mac today, what his favorite part of our trip was, hands down, it was riding the subways. They gave me the creeps when I was a child. Boy, how things have changed! With an app on my phone and a ride card for multiple riders, we moved about the city. The WiFi in the tunnels, far below the street level, is efficient. Mac was in charge of plotting our routes.

The app provided us with walking directions to the appropriate subway line entrance including which street corner to enter in order to arrive on the correct tracks. Mac swiped me through the turnstile and then swiped himself. Once we were on the train, he watched the interactive sign above the windows that lit up as we arrived at each station. Mac also figured out which exit to use to follow the remaining walking directions.

It was a pleasure to watch Mac enjoy this responsibility. I got a peek into a window of his capabilities for independent adulthood.

9/11 Memorial

I vividly remember watching the World Trade Center towers soar closer to the sky with each visit to New York City as a child. This was my first visit to the City since that fateful day.

On that terrible day, I watched in horror from Los Angeles as the towers fell. A teacher from Mac’s school (before he was a student there) was a victim. We located her name in an exhibit honoring the victims.

Hard for Some Teens

We visited the exterior memorial on the footprint and the exhibits inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum below ground. You must make reservations online in advance. A word of caution about bringing children into the exhibits. It is very hard especially if you were an adult on that day. Carefully consider whether your child can handle the material you will see – actual photographs, wreckage, etc.

Due to Mac’s disability, he is mostly unable to connect emotion to things that happened to others. It is with this knowledge that we visited together. There is no way my daughter will ever be able to visit the exhibits inside. We made it through most of the memorial and it was clear when it was time to leave. Although I wanted to see everything, the rest of our day would have been ruined if I had pushed. Know when enough is enough.

FASD is an unpredictable disorder. I cried through most of the below-ground exhibits and film at the beginning. He was impatient with my emotions. I was not surprised and moved through the hardest exhibits quickly. Having alternate plans if attempting a visit like this is key to a successful vacation

Chelsea Market

We are big fans of the Food Network. When my children were small I turned on the Food Network and counted on their commercial breaks NOT airing scary news or inappropriate commercials. The Food Network studios are located on the upper floors of Chelsea Market.

Chelsea Market is an indoor food mecca. I wondered which famous chefs were upstairs taping their show. There are restaurants and specialty food markets galore. There is a shop that sells flavored butter that we, of course, had to buy to slather on French bread that we also purchased hot out of the oven in the Market!

Our breakfast the next morning was delicious. We also tried miniature donuts. YUM! We perused the entire market and bought a fantastic Italian meal to enjoy back at our hotel for dinner.

The High Line

After Chelsea Market, we made our way up to the High Line. The High Line is a fantastic park that is built on old elevated train tracks originally scheduled for demolition. This is repurposing and recycling at its best. The High Line is located on the west side of Manhattan next to Chelsea Market. It is a blend of cool, zen architectural design. In summer there are beautiful gardens. The High Line is a lovely 1.45-mile stroll from end to end. Several of the entrance points are fully accessible by elevator and the entire walk is accessible. In summer, the High Line is one of the must-do activities with your teen.

Harlem

During our last day in the City, we visited Times Square and the surrounding neighborhoods. We visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Church of Chocolate Coated Candy – the M&M’s store. I enjoy listening to books on tape when I am driving and if the book is appropriate, my children also listen with me. Mac was particularly interested in Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson.

Samuelsson is an internationally acclaimed chef who is a famous judge on the Food Network’s Chopped. His story, before his rise to foodie fame, is fascinating. He was born in Ethiopia and along with his sister, was adopted by a Swedish couple. He credits his love of cooking to his Swedish grandmother.

Food Network Chef

I surprised Mac with dinner at Samuelsson’s restaurant in Harlem- Red Rooster. Red Rooster is a lively and colorful restaurant. We both enjoyed our meals and the ambiance. Visiting Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives made famous by Guy Fieri is usually more our speed on vacation. It was a pleasure to treat Mac to a fancy restaurant. This was the culinary highlight of our trip.

A work colleague and native New Yorker told me about a bakery that happened to be close to Red Rooster. She said we could not leave her beloved city until we tried a red velvet cupcake from Make My Cake Bakery. We found this bakery.

Make My Cake is charming and the proprietor was thrilled that we visited from Los Angeles to check out HER cupcakes. All of the baked goods in the display case looked yummy. I am happy to report that the cupcakes were delicious.

Activities in New York City with Your Teen

Three days was not enough time for me but it was just right for Mac. Despite a few predictable difficult moments due to his disability, I enjoyed sharing NYC with him. He remembers the trip fondly especially the subways. If your family is planning a visit to NYC and your child has special needs, advanced planning makes a big difference.

I created a simple spreadsheet for our activities and shared it with Mac. He knew what to expect each day. Making advance reservations when available helped alleviate waiting in long lines. If you visit in the summer heat include plenty of activities inside to take advantage of air conditioning. Spread out your activities to accommodate your child’s pace and try to coordinate activities in the same area of the city on the same day.

Taxi’s and Uber are a Must-Do

Use taxis and Uber to take a breather and move around more quickly. Although the subway system is efficient and fun for some children, it is loud and hot on the platforms. This might be too much especially late in the day. Sensory overload is sure to trigger a meltdown and it is quite easy to overdo it in the vibrant city that never sleeps. I made sure to include activities that Mac wanted to do each day.

Climbing hundreds of steps up the Statue of Liberty in ninety-five-degree heat was not an option. Floating by Liberty Island on a boat was a much better option for us. Making compromises like this ensured that we both had fun. Even with children with disabilities can successfully visit this fantastic city. We hope you enjoy these five must-do actvities in New York City with your teen.