Any suggestions on hotel or activities in NYC in July?

I would really recommend On the Ave. It's on the Upper West Side, which is a very safe, family oriented neighborhood, very beautifully done, and relatively inexpensive for NYC.

It's also very close to the 1 line as well as the C line. It is also walking distance from Central Park, Riverside Park, the Natural History Museum and a quick bus ride cross town to the Metropolitan museum of art. There's also a really good Chinese restaurant, Ollie's, right there and lots of diners (family friendly)

So I would do the museums. For the little ones, there is C-MOM as well as the Natural History.

I would check out Mars 2112 for a really fun Mars themed experience for a great dining experience.

The Bronx Zoo is free on Wednesdays and a great place to take families.

I also gave you a link to gocitykids.com which is a kid friendly site for NYC and gives a lot of advice as well as Time Out NY, which provides a lot of options.

If you want anymore help you can email me through the forum and I'd be glad to help.

Time Square, Central park (take a ride on the horse carriage and stroll through the park), the Central Park Zoo, Botanical gardens, Several museums to choose from, Rockerfeller center, Empire state building, China town, Bus tours throughout NYC.

If you like shopping:

5th Ave

34th Street

14th Street Union Square

Don't forget to pick up a subway map at the subway.

http://www.nycvisit.com/

http://www.ny.com/museums/all.museums.html

(Hundreds of museums to choose from and some only suggest donations to enter)

Times Square, Empire State Building, Central Park (tons to do just there for kids), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center, walk down 5th Ave, Lincoln Center, the UN, & shopping.

I wouldn't bother with Ellis Island or Ground Zero if you don't have time.

The Cosmopolition is a nice hotel. It is very small but should do the job and it is cheap (for being in a good neighorhood). However, even if its calender says it is booked call them. That was how I got that hotel.

P.S. It is right by ground zero and a little grocery store called the Amish market where they have a breakfast buffet.

Macy's 4th of July Fire Works