1)      Transportation.  Somewhat to our surprise, buses have become very expensive and our budget is not able to cover rented buses for the workshop.  As a result, we are planning a car-pool transportation approach.  Details below.

2)      Meals.   We do plan to provide multiple coffee breaks, lunch, and dinner on Tuesday (social event).  Breakfast items (bagels, etc.) will be available at the first coffee break at 10:00.  If you are staying at the Crown Plaza breakfast is included with your room charge and breakfast items are available for purchase at the IBM cafeteria.   

3)      Social event.  World Yacht Cruise scenic sites around (including the waterfall) Manhattan (dinner will be served).  Boarding will begin at 6:30PM Pier 81, West 41^st and Hudson River, New York. We will depart directly from the conference site on Tuesday, so bring a sweater.  You won’t have time to return to your hotel first. There is a charge to park your car at the pier.  Please contact Paul Dantzig with special dietary requirements. 

4)      Poster session.  We want to remind attendees that posters are welcome at our Monday poster session.  Students are especially encouraged to bring a poster! Poster Boards and tape will be provided.  Power plug strips will be provided.  As further inducement snacks and drinks will be provided. 

5)      Driving to LADIS.  Although GPS is a wonderful and useful technology, many GPS units will be confused about the address of the IBM TJ Watson Research Labs at which the conference is meeting.  You must use the printed driving instructions below.  If you trust a GPS unit, you have a high likelihood of ending up in a nearby city (Yorktown Heights) at an address similar to the one for the IBM lab, but about 12 miles from the workshop!  If the visitor parking lot is full please park in the employee parking lot in back of building and enter at the covered portico security will have your name.

6)      Wireless.  Wireless access will be provided information will be in your registration packet. The auditorium has limited number of plugs and plug strips make sure you charge your laptop. 

7)      Questions / Problems / Lost: Contact Paul Dantzig, pauldantzig@us.ibm.com, (914) 774-8618 (mobile) during conference, and (914) 784-6194 (office).   

Additional details:

Transportation.  We are recommending that attendees rent cars, especially if flying into one of the regional airports (Westchester and LaGuardia are closest; JFK and Newark a bit further).  Ask for a car equipped with a GPS; this will be useful for finding the hotel and getting to the departure point for our cruise, if you don’t know the NYC regional roads.  A car will save you money: taxi fares from the airports can be very steep.

For purposes of car-pooling, we would like to ask that people willing to do so depart from the hotels for the LADIS meeting site at 8:15am on Monday morning.  Collect a few other attendees and follow the printed driving instructions.  The conference registration will be at 8:30 and the meeting will start at 9:00.

Social event.  On Tuesday, we’ll be driving into New York for this, but GPS should work perfectly well in this case, and the drive could not be simpler: the highway leads directly to the dock where the boat will depart.  Our plan is to leave in a “convoy” from the workshop site, again in a car-pool mode, and to return to the hotels in the same way.  We do have room for a few extra family members or attendees.  The boat is completely stable and the view should be lovely.

Driving to the IBM meeting site:

Upper and Eastern New England
Route I-84 west to Route I-684, south to Exit 6, west on Route 35 to Route 100, south to Route 134, west 2.5 miles. IBM is on the left.

New Haven and Connecticut Shores
Merritt Parkway or New England Thruway (Route I-95) west to Route I-287, west to Exit 3, north on Sprain Brook Parkway, which merges into Taconic State Parkway, north to Ossining/Route 134 exit. Turn right and proceed east on Route 134 several hundred yards. IBM is on the right.

Crown Plaza Hotel

Leaving hotel garage turn left on Hale Ave.  Left at Light on Maple.  Two Blocks make left on Bloomingdale Road.  Follow signs to Route I-287 West (Tappan Zee Bridge / Upstate New York).  Follow New Haven and Connecticut Shores directions above after the words “west to Route I-287”. 

New Jersey
Take New York State Thruway (Route I-87) east across the Tappan Zee Bridge and follow signs to the Saw Mill Parkway north. Proceed north on Saw Mill River Parkway to Taconic State Parkway exit, north to Ossining/Route 134 exit. Turn right and proceed east on Route 134 several hundred yards. IBM is on the right.

Upstate New York
Route I-84 east across Newburgh-Beacon Bridge to Exit 16-S. Taconic State Parkway south to Route 134 East exit. Turn right and proceed east on Route 134 several hundred yards. IBM is on the right.

New York City (Manhattan)
Henry Hudson Parkway north, which becomes Saw Mill River Parkway, north to Taconic State Parkway exit. North on Taconic State Parkway to Ossining/Route 134 exit. Turn right and proceed east on Route 134 several hundred yards. IBM is on the right.

John F. Kennedy International Airport
North on Van Wyck Expressway to the Whitestone Expressway and continue north across the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge to the Hutchinson River Parkway north to the Cross County Parkway exit and proceed west to the Bronx River Parkway. North on the Bronx River Parkway to the Sprain Brook Parkway, which merges into the Taconic State Parkway. Continue north to Ossining/Route 134 exit. Turn right and proceed east on Route 134 several hundred yards. IBM is on the right.

LaGuardia Airport
East on the Grand Central Parkway, north on the Whitestone Expressway, and continue north across the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. Continue with instructions from John F. Kennedy International Airport, above.

Newark International Airport
North on the New Jersey Turnpike (Route I-95). Stay in local lanes and take Exit 72 for Palisades Interstate Parkway. North on the Palisades Interstate Parkway to the New York State Thruway, Route I-87, and east across the Tappan Zee Bridge. Continue with instructions from New Jersey, above.

Stewart International Airport
Route 207 east to Route I-84, east across Newburgh-Beacon Bridge to Taconic State Parkway, south. Continue with instructions from Upstate New York, above.

Westchester County Airport
Right on Route 120, north. Turn left where Route 120 merges with Route 133. Continue on Route 120. Cross Route 100 and continue straight on Shingle House Road to Pines Bridge Road. Turn right and proceed several hundred yards. IBM is on the left.