Long weekend in New York with teens

[Keepkondoing]

Planning a long weekend in NY with 3 teens, any tips for the best areas to stay in and any must see or don’t bother with attractions?
also recommendations for good diners to eat in?

Definitely do:
9/11 Musuem
MoMA (but not on Fridays)
Staten Island ferry
Grand Central Station (but not at rush hour)
Brooklyn Bridge
Times Square (visit once, and don’t buy anything)
Empire State Building
High Line (but avoid on weekends)

What to skip:
Rockefeller Center
The Chrysler Building
Statue of Liberty (you’ll see it well and for free from the Staten Island ferry)
Central Park

Best places to eat:
Ellen’s Stardust Diner
Katz’s Deli
Juliana’s

The Highline
Watch a Broadway Show: You can buy tickets on the day of the show at the TKTS booth or the app.
MoMA , the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Guggenheim
VR World NYC: You can play video games
The Oculus and Hudson Yards: Instagrammable architecture and shopping
Soho: Shopping
Summit One Vandervuilt: You ride up 1,200 feet in a glass elevator and it has amazing views of the city.
Museum of Ice Cream

Food/restaurants
Burger joint
Crif Dogs
Gray’s Papaya
Peter Luger
Grimaldi Pizza
Banana pudding at Magnolia bakery
Frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3
Soho Diner
Tick Tock Diner

I live in NY. Don't stay near Times Square/midtown. I suggest the Flower District/Chelsea/West Village.

For some higher end dining teens would like I'd suggest:
Tao Downtown
STK Meatpacking
The lunch special at Milos Hudson Yards (amazing views!)
Empire Diner, which is in an old 50s diner, but now a v.v.v. trendy restaurant. Gallow Green is the restaurant in the same building as Sleep No More and is very cool and hidden away.
All the branches of Boucherie are very instagrammable.
RH Rooftop on top of Restoration Hardware
Legacy Records (in an old recording studio)

For cheap food I like:
Los Tacos no1
Fuku at Hudson Yards,
Shake Shack (always)
Beatnic for vegan, Honeybrains and Sweetgreen for salads/rice bowls on the go Daily Provisions for yummy breakfasts and the best BECs ever
Eataly is lots of fun and they have cheap and pricy options.
Xi'an Famous Foods for authentic, fast casual Chinese food
Brooklyn Bagel for the most gigantic, softest bagels. Get them fresh from the oven!
Van Leeuwen ice cream

I recommend walking the full length of the Highline right down to the Whitney Museum and then checking out the exhibits there. You can also go to the new park - Little Island - which is built out in the river. They usually have some fun free stuff going on too.

Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island city is a gem - IMHO some of the best skyline views you'll see. You can also go to Casa Enrique which has a Michelin star and won't break the bank. Also worth checking out some batshit contemporary art at MoMa PS1. If you're going in the summer, check out their Summer Fridays live DJ sessions in the late afternoon.

I loved Museum of Ice Cream and the Color Factory. They're 'instagram museums" but really fun. Similarly Artechouse under Chelsea Market is a great immersive arts experience.

Things to skip - Ellen's Stardust Diner (ripoff tourist trap), buying anything in, or near Times Square, M&M world, pedicab rides, horse drawn carriage rides, Trump Tower.

Can I just ask why you say don't stay near Midtown or Times Sq. I know Times Square is meant to be hectic but all Midtown the same?

Thanks

Big Gay Icecream shop Greenwich village

I’d skip Empire State Building and visit Rockefeller Tower instead.
you get to see Empire State and the new world trade building one side, Central Park and way beyond the other way.
touts and scammers focus on the Empire State area.

for an evening meal, The Chart House over the Hudson in Hoboken.
get the ferry across , taxi to/from restaurant. Great views of Manhattan.

Big hit for my son was the Nintendo store, my daughter loved wandering around Macy’s.
All of us loved walking the high line and saw a proposal which was lovely, visited the “Friends” apartment block, some amusing graffiti on the wall outside.
Eating wise, we did visit Ellen’s, the food isn’t great but it’s very kitsch and the dc enjoyed it.

@Stripyhoglets1 Honestly, Midtown East (other side of Times Square) is just very dull and while people do live there, it's mainly offices, so geared up to office workers. There isn't a lot to eat around there except steak houses and Pret and it can be really overpriced. It just doesn't have a lot of character and is mainly dead at the weekends.

If you have your heart set on Midtown, I'd make sure you're right by Bryant Park or Columbus Circle.

The Media Boat Tour was the biggest hit with my teens; highly recommended way to do some sightseeing mixed with a bit f adrenaline.

Thanks - it was more from a safety point of view I was concerned - I'd rather stay somewhere with some character and life to it so will look at the areas you suggested instead.

A tick list of absolute sh1te

DD's in NYC at the moment, they booked a hotel near Times Square and said it's horrendous due to the amount of drug users/tramps/homeless people everywhere. When we stayed, we stayed fairly close to the WTC and it was lovely to walk around that area. We loved Tribeca, Soho, and Battery Park. The Staten Island Ferry is fab; Brooklyn Bridge too. There are lots of small bakeries tucked down side streets that have seating and seem much better food and prices than tourist style diners. Shake Shack is a must especially the frozen custards. Central Park is well worth a visit, and the One World observatory... we hated top of the rock in comparison.

@Badger1970 Near WTC is a fab place to stay. I once spent a week in a hotel down there when our renovation went awry and it was so peaceful and lovely.

I'm sorry your daughter's having a difficult time with Times Square. It's truly grim around there atm and most locals will go well out of their way to avoid it.