Never mind the Empire State Building and the Hard Rock Cafe. Take kids to the neighborhoods. Kids would love to see where Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones get slimed trying to stop the alien from hijacking one of the flying saucers that perch on those spindly towers. To kids raised on MTV and the Web, interaction is a quiet art. But audience participation on Amateur Night at the Apollo would incite them to articulate their opinions with gusto.
Holidays are good, too.
Don t shield young visitors from New York City s hardships. The dairy belt hasn t licked poverty either. Just introduce them to people who keep their communities in motion. If we can win upstate hearts and minds, the city won t keep getting shafted every time Albany eeks out a budget. And when these kids reach voting age, they ll be pounding our pavements, looking for an affordable walk-up.