go by the architecture center at washington square/laguardia place, be sure to hit urban center book store;

head up to 112 and amsterdam for the cathedral of st. john the divine, it's amazing.

I'm a huge fan of tod Williams/Billie Tsien's folk art museum, and the MoMA expansion is worth a visit of course. The Whitney is worth the trip, but also a lot of money.

Go up to 190th on the A train, and visit the cloisters; It's a pretty incredible collection of Medieval european art and architecture, and is not as widely known.

I'm a fan of staring across the river at manhattan at dusk, from either Long island city's new parks, or across the hudson at exchange place. The path train to jersey gives a good view of ground zero from down inside, as you head to exchange place.

Winka Dubbeldam's project on greenwich is worth walking by, and you might as well go see OMA's Prada store, as well as the new store Asymptote did for....hmm...some housewares corporation

go to chelsea, on 9th and tenth avenues, see the highline, ShoP's building ( I forget the name), the Carlos Miele, Alexander mcQueen and Commes de Garcons stores, they're all good!
there's a building I believe at ninth avenue and about 23rd street that's done by a Columbia grad, that houses a gallery, the architect's office and some condos, which is very nice. It's primarily Corten steel, and has a great stacked-boxes feel to it. I forget the name, but it's worth searching it out.

You can always hit the outer boros...I recently made the trek out to see Greg Lynn's Korean presbytarian church, which was worth the trip, though I'm torn as to wether or not it's worth the hype it has received

Alessi

Thanks. That's great, it really gives me something to look into. Any other favorite spots for anyone else? I'm headed to MOMA, the Guggenheim and I'm pretty sure the Whitney the day before. I'd also be interested in checking out some top notch design (furniture, sculpture, a Ferrari dealer, etc.).

you could spend a day on 53rd... Folk Art, Moma, Austrian Cultural Center, Saarinen CBS, Mies Seagrams (Diller + Scofidio Brassiere in basement)

aimless rambling is the best way to see NYC, imo

I second the suggestion about the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (and not just because I'm a member there). However, keep in mind that the cathedral is currently undergoing a major cleaning and restoration project after a severe fire in 2001, thus, some parts of the cathedral have been closed off to public access. That said, it's still worth a visit.

I appreciate the input, thanks for helping to make my trip enjoyable and productive.

It's the Kempner Gallery on 23rd and 10th Ave. Very cool. It was even cooler during Open House New York when you could check out the architect's office and the apartment on the top floors.

run the ing ny marathon. it goes from staten island thru brooklyn, queens, the bronx, and manhattan, ending in central park in front of a titty bar.

Unfortunately I have bad knees and can't run. I suspect my big ol' belly doesn't help either...although I am suddenly curious about the location of that finish line. I suppose I'll limit my roaming to Manhattan (Lower up to Midtown?). I really have no idea. I suppose it'll be quite the adventure. Thanks again to all for the tips and suggestions.