NYCC - Not ready for prime-time (Lance are you out there?)

[Larryw7]

I was there yesterday. It was a good time, but there's no question that the show wasn't planned properly, and that at times it was impossible to even move through the crowds of people. I wasn't even able to get to the Toon Tumblers booth until after 5; before that, the aisles in that area were completely jammed.

[B767293]

You either need to walk like the others have said a little south to catch a cab, or if you park pay $60 to be close to the Javitts center. It's a pain when you have stuff to haul with you plus the added restraint that NYCC does not allow you to have rolling items on he show floor.

 

Whoah. Wait. Parking is $60?!?

[roulette44]

You either need to walk like the others have said a little south to catch a cab, or if you park pay $60 to be close to the Javitts center. It's a pain when you have stuff to haul with you plus the added restraint that NYCC does not allow you to have rolling items on he show floor.

 

Whoah. Wait. Parking is $60?!?

 

[rtecbot]

Yeah was $50-60 a day last year. Cheaper if you wanted to walk 10 blocks by half, but if you we're hauling stuff the extra $ is worth it. Getting through traffic around the Javitts is a pain plus they shut off the elevators & escalators early.

[Hibou]

Parked at 43rd and 11th (Park Rite Corp.) on Saturday and it was $20 for the day. Only had to walk 5-6 blocks... not too bad but yes, if you were bringing merchandise that certainly would be a pain!

[shadroch]

I'm not sure why you keep referring to the Javits Center as a work in progress. While it is undergoing some renovations, its been there since the mid 1980s, at least.

[loboagain]

Sunday was packed but I managed to walk around. Some areas were just too packed to enter or walk around especially the gaming area and some of the anime booths.

[NYComics]

I agree with lots of these statements in this thread.

 

I live on Long Island........NYCC is not as enjoyable for me as some of the other local cons due to the crowd and poor planning.

 

Getting to and From Javitts for me is a cab ride.........I take sheer joy in finding cabs however and there is a great strategy. I walk to the North of Javitts and it always works for me.

 

A suggestion that I have would be to use the entrances and exits to the building so that people can get into Artist Alley! What the heck was that all about- Force everyone into that crammed hot god awful hallway rather then allowing them OUT of the con to the OUTSIDE from artist alley?? I mean were they insane to make that decision?

 

I would also suggest that CGC should of had two locations. One in the main hall for Blue Label stuff. And One in Artist Alley for CGC SS stuff. Def. would of made sense.

[jjonahjameson1]

I was just thinking if it would have been better to keep the anime and cosplay to the North Building, where Artist's Alley was located and move the Artist's Alley into the main building.

 

That would have eased the congestion in the main building.

[Boba]

I'm not sure why you keep referring to the Javits Center as a work in progress. While it is undergoing some renovations, its been there since the mid 1980s, at least.

You're kidding right?

They are adding new areas all the time. The area where artists alley is new. Last year they had the anime folks upstairs top level, and there was a huge atrium off the showroom I'd never seen before where they had karaoke and other stuff. I didn't get up to this area this year so I don't know what they had up there this year, maybe nothing.

That and the fact it is like a war zone all around the con. They're building west-side subway service that will eventually serve this area, but completion is a few years out.

So that's what I mean when I say, it's a work-in-progress.

[Boba]

A suggestion that I have would be to use the entrances and exits to the building so that people can get into Artist Alley! What the heck was that all about- Force everyone into that crammed hot god awful hallway rather then allowing them OUT of the con to the OUTSIDE from artist alley?? I mean were they insane to make that decision?.

 

BINGO! You hit the nail on the head. This was the real crime there. I think they were short security and figured they could check badges at the one gate and not have to have as many staff checking them at all the entrances. But it backfired in my opinion. That and selling far too many tickets made it a disaster area. When I finally left on Saturday at about 3:00 pm a convention staff were telling folks leaving they might not be able to get back in. She was repeating the sentence "leave at your own risk" on the bullhorn. That's with 4 hours left that the con would be open. What's that about?

[Boba]

I was just thinking if it would have been better to keep the anime and cosplay to the North Building, where Artist's Alley was located and move the Artist's Alley into the main building.

 

That would have eased the congestion in the main building.

 

I think the room the artists were in was great, but you couldn't get to it when it got crowded on Saturday.

 

I really think that they need to consider prohibiting autograph sessions in the showroom floor and also maybe limit attendees with huge costumes from walking them through the corridors. Althought this might not be as much a problem as the long lines of autograph seekers snaking through the passageways, blocking access. But is a full-size Transformer really there to shop for goodies or pose for the cameras? The latter could be done in a designated area. Granted, I am talking about huge costumes, not scantily clad gals in costume. They are beneficial to the flow of traffic and other things.

[nocutename]

I'm hoping to get some feedback about how Sunday went. This may end up being the day to go if you can't get passes for Thursday without buying all four days and to avoid the crowds until they figure that out better. Sorry for this rant, if that's all it sounds like but I do care about this event and really hope they start doing their homework and figure it out. It just felt really dangerous to be there on Saturday and I don't think that is something that they can continue to turn a blind eye too. I don't know how they didn't get shut down for having a dangerous number of people in too small (?) a space. Somebody wasn't doing their job, and that's all I'll say on that.

 

I was there on Sunday. I found street parking about 10 blocks away on 25th and 10th Ave. The entire area is under construction and many of the sideways are being redone. So it isn't just by the Javits Center. We arrived at 10:45 and entered through the dealer entrance. I am not that great with the layout but the entrance leads close to the main floor by the TMNJ tunnel. When we got there, there was already an amazing sea of people all piling in near Artist Alley. It was so early and the crowds had already begun.

 

Here's a picture but it really doesn't show how many people were there:

 

 

We managed to make it to Artist Alley without much resistance. The problem was making our way back to the main floor. The one escalator was insane for that type of crowd. Plus they didn't have a line to standing.

 

The comic section for the most part wasn't as crowded as the anime and toy section. Then there was another room for other toys, etc. I think that was were Artist Alley was two years ago. It just got too crowded that you couldn't really look at some of the booths. I felt bad for the vendors because I don't know how they made money. I didn't see alot of purchasing being made at all.

[comicdonna]

I was there yesterday. It was a good time, but there's no question that the show wasn't planned properly, and that at times it was impossible to even move through the crowds of people. I wasn't even able to get to the Toon Tumblers booth until after 5; before that, the aisles in that area were completely jammed.

I am not sure how you picked me out of the crowd Larry but, it was great to meet you.

[Boba]

Your photo appears to have been shot from the escalators at tte far south end that lead up to a veranda where they have food and candy concessions. The empty area in the foreground contrasts with the area jammed with people at the north end where they let people in. Artists Alley is located at the far end behind that throng of humanity. By the early afternoon that area was so jam packed we couldn't get through to AA. That's when we called it quits.

 

The vintage comics area was the least congested,

but no cake walk by any shake of the imagination.

[EastEnd]

Sadly, the areas with vintage comics were probably the easiest to maneuver through. Nowhere near the excitement going on there as everywhere else.

 

Walking Dead panel was awesome by the way...

 

 

 

[Larryw7]

I was there yesterday. It was a good time, but there's no question that the show wasn't planned properly, and that at times it was impossible to even move through the crowds of people. I wasn't even able to get to the Toon Tumblers booth until after 5; before that, the aisles in that area were completely jammed.

I am not sure how you picked me out of the crowd Larry but, it was great to meet you.

 

 

I was on the lookout for you since Sha told me you'd be there. It was great meeting you and your lovely wife, Mike.

[Buzzetta]

I went downstairs to meet up with a NYPD friend who was visiting. That was my mistake. While we were talking and waiting for another buddy to show up security came up to let him know that someone lost their child.

 

Miraculously the child was found. So I would have to say that even during Saturday's crowd, the people at the Javits had things under control.

 

My mistake in all of this was that I was never able to get back up to the show floor. There was a book I was interested in over at Vintage and a few other places but that was not going to happen since I could not get up the escalator. I took that as a sign and left.

 

BTW - Again, I expect people to stop and take pictures. That is part of the spectacle of Comic Con. However to those that decide to stop and check their cell phone at the bottom of the escalator just standing there, without regard to the hundreds of people coming down the escalator behind you?

 

It took a great deal of restraint from those behind you not to grab you and throw you out of the way.

[Boba]

. . . I expect people to stop and take pictures. That is part of the spectacle of Comic Con. However to those that decide to stop and check their cell phone at the bottom of the escalator just standing there, without regard to the hundreds of people coming down the escalator behind you?

 

It took a great deal of restraint from those behind you not to grab you and throw you out of the way.

 

Ditto! and I love the ones who stopped at the top of the escalators,

as people were coming up behind them.

What a bunch of bing-bongs

[InvstmntComcSuply]

It sounds like NYCC has simply outgrown the Javitz.

Thus, expect either a different venue and/or increased prices. Increased dealer booth prices to increase size of aisles. Increased show pass price to reduce the number of attendees.

 

Wasn't there a thread that discussed the logistics last year?