Image via Complex Original
The hustle and bustle of New York City can be daunting for some. And if you're going to survive—if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere, right?—you’ll need to adapt to your surroundings. After all, they don't call it the Concrete Jungle for nothing. Here we provide 10 apps every New Yoker needs. These are the essentials. Just make sure not to leave home without them.
Type n Walk
Hundreds of new apps pop up everyday, which only makes it harder to pull away from the phone screen. People frequently read, watch, and text on their phones while walking, which can be a problem when there are thousands of people moving through the city. Type n Walk makes on-the-move texting a bit easier while sparing you those hard shoulder-to-shoulder (or worse) bumps on the sidewalk. The app allows you to type onto your camera's screen while it shows you what's ahead in the screen's background. Once you're done, copy and paste the text anywhere you want. The app is practical while walking, on the subway, or anywhere you feel the need to pay more attention to your surroundings. If you still find yourself bumping into people or things while using the app, a trip to the friendly neighborhood optometrist might be in order.
Click here to Download it Now from the Apple App Store
Click here to Download it Now from Google Play
Get There By Bike
New York City has many traveling options if pavement pounding isn't your thing. Outside of owning a car, travelers can choose the subway, a zipcar, taxi, and, of course, a bike. If your weapon of choice happens to be the latter, Get There By Bike is a good app to have in your arsenal. For less than a buck, users can get an interactive map of NYC that offers bike friendly directions. It takes into account traffic, hills and, off-street bike paths for the urban biker. The app also lets users rate high bike theft spots, or dangerous intersections.
NYTimes The Scoop NYC
The New York Times has been in the business for a long, long time. It's safe to say their people know the ins and outs of the five boroughs pretty well. That's more than enough reason to check out their app: NYTimes The Scoop. It's a guide brought to you by the NY Times staff members that covers their favorite bars, restaurants, stores, performances, outings and other NYC experiences. You can keep track of your visits by checking off their list when you're done. Don't expect The Scoop to just give you traditional places to go: For example, under the section 'Only in NY', you might stumble across their suggestion to see New York's unofficial graffiti museum, the 5 Pointz Aerosol Art Center in Long Island City.
GrubHub
It's a horrible feeling coming home to an empty fridge after a long day at work or the gym. A bare refrigerator only means one thing: It's time to bust out GrubHub. Enter your address and search for nearby delivery or pickup options. Pick a place that looks good and order. It's that simple. GrubHub recently launched a "Track Your Grub" feature that lets users locate the status of their food and delivery-person at participating restaurants. Users will receive a text or in-app notification when a restaurant confirms the order and when it has left for delivery or is ready for pick-up. Some spots in NYC also have map tracking; so customers can see where their food is and receive a notification when it's 10 minutes away.
Exit Strategy
Exit Strategy NYC takes navigating the subway to a new level. Say, if you're trying to get from the Bronx to Downtown Manhattan, Exit Strategy will tell you what subways you need to take and what subway cars will be closest to your destination's exit. Don't worry about keeping track of the doors either: The app will tell you if they open on the left or right side of the train. If you're the type of person who changes destinations frequently, the app doesn't need an Internet connection, so you'll be able to use it while underground.
Click here to Download it Now from the Apple App Store
Click here to Download it Now from Google Play
CabSense NYC
Don't let the movies fool you: Hailing a taxi isn't always as easy it might seem. If you really want to get into the meat of the city, you find yourself in places that may be far from the big streets of Broadway or Houston. If you need a cab while in a remote location, use CabSense NYC to pick the best corner in your area to find one. The app has a rating for every street corner in the city; from no stars (little cab activity) to 5 stars (a lot of it). Sense Networks, the creator of the app, claims the rating for each corner is based on estimates from machine learning algorithms of over 200 million taxi trips. Whether it's late night, or early morning, CabSense will change its rating based on the time of day, day of the week, and your location. Keep this app on hand if the subway isn't your best bet.
Click here to Download it Now from the Apple App Store
Click here to Download it Now from Google Play
MoMA
One of the greatest aspects of New York City is the massive collections of art. If you need a break from your daily routine, the Museum of Modern Art could be what you need. Using the MoMA app as a guide, users have access to event dates, current exhibitions, descriptions of art and multimedia tours. If you're not diggin' a section during a visit, you can browse different floors of the museum from your phone and choose a new spot to wander off toward. Or, if you're stuck in bed with the flu, you can look through the thousands of works in the museum's collection straight from the app. Check out the app's MoMA podcasts and iTunes U as well.
Click here to Download it Now from the Apple App Store
Click here to Download it Now from Google Play
Flixster
NYC restaurants can fill up pretty fast, which can put you in a bind if you slept on making a reservation for your date (shame on you). You'll probably need a Plan B on the fly, so pull out Flixster and let it do the work for you. Flixster will calculate the closest theatres to your location, give you showtimes, reviews and an overall rating of a movie. It's powered by Rotten Tomatoes, a popular movie rating review site. If you're unsure about a choice, just watch the trailer straight from the movie's Flixster page and judge for yourself. Depending on the theatre, you can purchase tickets right off your phone--an awesome feature since time is of the essence in this city.
Click here to Download it Now from the Apple App Store
Click here to Download it Now from Google Play
Immaculate Infatuation
Andrew Steinthal and Chris Stang began Immaculate Infatuation as a blog for restaurant reviews by regular dudes, not "experts." After the blog was flooded with hits, they released an app under the same name. In the app, you'll find spots for the perfect date night, dinner with the parents, and more. "We wanted to create a more targeted list, with just the important places," Andrew Steinthal said in an interview in 2011. "So Joe Bob's bagel place, which is probably right next door and probably terrible, doesn't come up." Find restaurants nearby, search different categories that fit your mood or occasion, and keep track of your favorite spot with your own list within the app. Of course, if you feel like sharing, the app has social integration as well.
ESPN ScoreCenter
Within the three major professional sports leagues (NBA, MLB and NFL), New York City boasts two baseball teams, two basketball teams and two football teams. Seems like a lot to handle? ESPN ScoreCenter will help you keep track of your ball clubs, regardless of what borough they're in. The app displays live scores and keeps news updated under its "Headlines" section. Users can also sign up to get breaking news sent to their phones when they're not checking the app. The "My Team" section places scores from all your favorite teams in one place, so if the Giants and Knicks are playing at the same time, you'll only need to check one page. It's the little things that make being a fan in this city so much easier.
