When you think of New York, what comes to mind immediately? Times Square? Broadway? Fifth Avenue? If you're in New York for the first time, you have to see Times Square, where they drop the ball on the famous night to Yeara while Dick Clark's legendary touring rock n 'roll' and a group of a million people present until the morning. Yes, you have to see a Broadway show or two or even three if you can afford. And of course you need to walk down Fifth Avenue north from 42nd Street, stopping at Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral and Tiffany's, Gucci, Chanel and Bendel's. Go a little further north, beyond the entrance to Central Park to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum. Finally, go play in the park, brunch at Tavern on the Green, and go to the Museum of Natural History, made famous by the recent success of a movie "Night at the Museum. If this is your first Once in New York, which are only there for a week, this will keep you busy, and exhausted. But to actually see the history and taste the flavor of New York, you have to go beyond a "track like"!

And the good news is that you Dona't to go very far, or spend a lot of money. First, Dona't hail a taxi – get off the subway, the way the locals do. If the meter – Ita cleaner, safer and more comfortable than ever. Just avoid the agglomerations — 7 to 9:30 am and from 4:30 pm to 7 pm – and most likely get a seat, and plenty of room to move. Subway travel, avoiding congestion and traffic lights, is the fastest way to get around. So equipped with a subway map and one week unlimited pass Metrocard (which is good on buses too) and you're on your way to the real city of New York. First, go to the West Fourth Street stop. Upon arriving at street, you will be one of the most legendary sections of New York. Call Greenwich Village, this was the beginning of liberalism. In early 1900, the  "VillageÂ" was the center of free thinking and progressive writing. It was here that the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911 gave rise to the movement of workers' rights. The central element is University of New York and Washington Square Park with its famous arch. Many of the beatniks, hippies, and radicals made their plans to protest or write their manuscripts avant-garde and manifest here by that arc. Walk east from here and go Astor Place, where Lincoln made a famous campaign speech and the crowds rioted in mid – 1800 due to an Englishman replaced an American actor in a play at the Astor Place Theater continues through the famous St. Mark's Place to get to Bowery. It was here the Ramones got their start in the now-defunct punk music club, CBGBÂ's.

In the stop on Canal Street and Broadway, is Chinatown. Having tea and dim sum (appetizers), carried in wheelbarrows. Point your choice and, when finished, your plates are counted to calculate the bill. In Prince and Spring St is in Soho, once an art district, is now a place to buy designer brands like Prada. If you like funky, just go south instead and be in the Lower East Side, near Delancey Street (as in the street, crossed Amy Irving in the film). Once the landing place of thousands of Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century, This is now a place for boutiques and trendy restaurants of the hip. West of here, Mott and Mulberry, is Little Italy. Remember the scene in The Godfather, when Michael meets with rival clans in a Little Italy Restaurant, creeks and a pistol in the bathroom? Well, look Dona't weapons, but you'll find cannoli, lasagna, ice cream, and in September, the world famous San Gennaro Feast. SoHo is south of Tribeca, home of the famous film festival started by Robert DeNiro. Further south from there, take a look at Ground Zero and the former site of the Twin Towers before building the Freedom Tower, reminds us that life indeed go on and on and on. The world changes, so does New York.

So Dona't limits to the tourist route. Hop underground to places where you can still see some history. Some of the houses are still there, although the  "Hudde Massese of yesteryear are now the masses of hipsters. Having a coffee in Little Italy or smell fresh fish in Chinatown. Sitting under a tree in Washington Square Park, which may have inspired Jack Kerouac and his beat poets group. Think about the 146 young immigrants, a block away in 1911, died in the tragic fire, which inspired the formation of the garment workers union. When you leave the beaten track in New York, feels so much history, culture and soul of the people who have lived, died, and dreamed there.

Fern Cohen is a freelance writer living in New York City. Diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease in January, 2004, she was forced to retire early from her career of teaching foreign language and ESL in the inner-city. Fern also enjoyed a 20-year career in the travel and tourism industry and holds an MS in Tourism and Travel Management from New York University. She also has a BA in French and Spanish from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and has studied collage and mixed media at the Parsons School of Design in NYC. She is active in rabbit rescue, and shares an apartment with Chelsea, a gray chinchilla bunny, who is also her muse. She has a blog at http://www.ferncohen.blogspot.com

CCN presents “Repent & Witness” 2009 Evangelism Camp: New York City