April 24-26, 2006
New York City, USA

front page

call for papers

local information

registration

program

contact

silver sponsors

Local Information

Travel & Hotels

Other Accommodations

• Teachers College at Columbia University has a very limited number of guest rooms in their residence hall at 517 West 121 street (on Amsterdam Avenue). Room rates range from $85-$125/night, depending on the length of stay. Note that to reserve a room for any part of the weekend, you must reserve it for the entire weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), and that the cancellation policy is 48 hours in advance. For more information, refer to their brochure. To reserve a room, call them at 212.678.3235 between 9am and 5pm EST, Monday through Friday.
  
  
• Rooms are also available at the Landmark Guest Rooms at Union Theological Seminary, which is located at 3041 Broadway (at 121 street). Rates begin at $125/single, $145/double per night, plus tax. The cancellation policy is 7 days in advance. For more details click here. To reserve a room, call them at 212.280.1313.
  
  
• For dormitary-style rooms you can try the International House on 500 Riverside Drive (at 122nd Street). The rate for dormitory-style rooms is $50 per night (but their policy for these rooms is that you can only reserve them 10 days in advance). They may also have some guest rooms available (and those can be reserved ahead of time). To request a room, call them at 212.316.8436 between 8am and 5pm, Monday through Friday. You can also send your request by email to guestrooms@ihouse-nyc.org.
  
  
• You can find yet other options on this page.

• LaGuardia: LGA
• Newark Liberty International Airport: EWR
• John F. Kennedy International Airport: JFK

Another Google Map showing a car route from Newark Airport to Columbia.

Another Google Map showing a car or bus route from LaGuardia to Columbia. The M60 bus run by the New York City MTA follows this route from LaGuardia to Columbia University.

Summary:
There are a number of ways to get to New York City from the major area airports. Traveling to Manhattan is slightly easier from LaGuardia Airport and Newark Airport than from JFK. The CS Department has a page with slightly outdated information about getting to Columbia. The rest of this page contains current advice for getting here.

For traveling within Manhattan itself, subway or taxi are the two easiest methods of transport. To ride the subway, you need to purchase a Metrocard. Taxi cabs accept only US cash (not Metrocards). The New York City Metro Transit Authority (MTA) has more information on subways, including a complete subway map. Columbia is located at the 116th Street stop on the 1 train (the red line on the extreme West side or left of the aforementioned map).

Newark Liberty International Airport -> New York Penn Station:
One good way to get from Newark Airport to Manhattan is to take New Jersey Transit, which has detailed instructions on getting from Newark Airport to New York Penn Station. Please keep in mind that you should purchase your combined ticket for the AirTrain (the monorail service between the train station and the airport itself) and New Jersey Transit ahead of time at one of the NJ Transit ticket vending machines. Note that there is also a Newark Penn Station -- this stop is not what you want. New York Penn Station is the last stop on eastbound trains and is station code 000 on the NJ Transit ticket machines. The fare for traveling from Newark Liberty International Airport to Penn Station New York is $14.00 USD and includes both the AirTrain fee and the NJ Transit ticket to Penn Station. You can also use the NJ Transit Station to Station tool to plan your trip. Both the Northeast Corridor and New Jersey Coast line routes stop at Newark Liberty International Airport. When planning to catch one of these trains, you should budget at least 20 minutes after you have cleared customs and picked up your luggage to travel on the AirTrain to the actual NJ Transit train station. From NY Penn Station, you should take either a cab to your hotel or take the number 1 subway to 116th Street (Columbia's stop). To ride the subway, you will need to purchase a Metrocard.

The enterprising traveler can also take the AirTran from Newark Airport to Newark Penn Station and transfer to the PATH train to the newly opened WTC PATH station. You can then walk a few short blocks to the Chamber's Street subway stop for the 1, 2, and 3 trains.

LaGuardia Airport -> Columbia University:
The New York City MTA runs the M60 bus from the airport to Manhattan and stops at 116th Street, right in front of Columbia. MTA has more information. This is a fairly straightforward ride, but takes about 40 minutes (sometimes an hour in rush hour traffic). To ride the bus, you can buy a Metrocard. A Metrocard is also used to ride the subway. One way fares on the bus or subway are $2.00 USD (more fare information). Metrocards are b>not accepted by taxi cabs.

JFK -> Columbia University:
The MTA also runs service from JFK via the A subway line. Take the JFK AirTrain to Howard Beach station. Then take the A subway into Manhattan. Change to the 1 train at 59^th Street. Take the 1 to 116^th Street. For more information, including fare information, see the MTA's site on airport service (scroll down if you need to).

Blue Van Super Shuttle:
The shuttle is available at JFK and LaGuardia. It collects passengers and then continues to hotels, etc. It costs about $19.00 USD per person, so if you are traveling in a party, it is cheaper to take a taxi cab. You can contact them at: 1-800-blue-van (1-800-258-3826).

Useful Links:

• New York City Subway Map
• New Jersey Transit
• New York City MTA.
• Metrocard Information
• MTA's info about transport from JFK and LaGuardia.
• NY MTA toll information.
• NJ/NY Port Authority toll information.

Misc. Advice:

• The Carmel car service can be reached at 1 800 922 7635 or +1 212 666 6666.
• The tolls mentioned on the CS department's webpage are old. Some updated toll information is available for MTA-managed bridges and tunnels. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has other toll information [pdf].
• *AVOID* people aggressively offering rides at the airport. This practice is actually illegal. Use only a yellow taxi cab. There are no legitimate parties that barter or act as a go-between. If you feel uncomfortable, you can always call a car service (see above).
• If you are taking the 1 train from Penn Station, make sure that you are on the 1 (the local), not the 2 or 3 train (express), as they diverge after 96^th Street.
• Many of the instructions above assume the end destination are the main gates of Columbia University. You may wish to go to your hotel and relax first. In that case, you can take a cab from 116^th or Penn Station. If you are comfortable, you can just take the subway to a nearby station and walk the rest of the way.