Activities that someone could do while in New York

People go to New York all the time, sometimes I even know some of
these people. Typically I don't tend to make too many suggestions
about what these people might consider doing while there because I
feel as though it is an easy place to find things to do. In this
case, as a co-worker got me thinking about the topic I feel as though
I should toss a few such suggestions out.

-Ride in the front window of a front car of a 7 train as it travels on
an elevated section of the track in Queens. This is a pretty neat
experience as you get to see the scenery approaching directly. The
only problem with this is that I think that they have finally removed
all of the old red cars from this line, these had particularly good
viewing set ups.

-Visit the famous branch of the New York Public library on 42nd
street. The main reason for me wanting someone to visit this site is
so they can tell me about it, I only ever got around to visiting a
special exhibit and didn't once see even so much as a reading room.

-Pick up a free copy of the Onion from a curbside distribution box.
This is both free and fun. If things are as they were in 2003 one has
to be quick to pick one of these up for they will all be taken by the
NYU hipsters. If I recall correctly this publication actually had
pretty good event listings and reviews in the A/V section.

-Eat some street meat (or at least a pretzel). One just can't find as
wide a range of street foods in most Canadian cities. Even more
impressive that the breadth of menu selections is that many of the
dishes are both complex and tasty.

-Sink a boat in the Central Park model boat basin. Most people try to
sail boats in this facility, to sink a boat is much more unique (and
somewhat more challenging).

-Visit the business section of the Citicorp building Barnes and Noble.
In 2003, and presumably through to today, this section was the
store's specialty area and one of the strongest collections of
business related publications in any bookstore in the city.

-Walk around in complete silence while surrounded by millions of
people. This has long been on my of favourite ways to spend a fall
afternoon in New York. My preferred route is along fifth avenue from
mid-town to the Central Park region.

-Head to the Pathmark on 125th to find great grocery deals. Not only
does this store have better prices than those stores in the mid-town
area, they also tend to have a much better selection.

-Go to the opera. Why go to a Broadway show when you could see the
real thing at the Metropolitan Opera? If I recall correctly, going to
the opera is significantly cheaper than going to a Broadway show, why
this is I have no idea.

-Attend an off-off-Broadway play that you found through the Village
Voice. While it is possible that you might pick a dud, this approach
does guarantee that you will end up with a story of some sort. In the
one instance that I did this I had a great time. My cousin Laura and
I ended up seeing a version of Moby Dick for about $10 in a 70 person
theatre.

-Listen to WNYC. While one can listen to WNYC online it is a much
more satisfying experience to know that while you are listening you
are in the core listening area and listening through the transmission
of radio waves.

I guess there must be other things to do while New York, but I
certainly didn't spend time doing them (aside from the occasional trip
to the grocery store).