Moduli spaces and moduli stacks
Columbia University, New York, NY
May 23-27, 2011
The closest airport to Columbia University and the Milburn Hotel is La Guardia Airport. However, flights from overseas and from west of the Mississippi almost always go to Newark or Kennedy Airports. These two are roughly equidistant from Manhattan, and equally convenient (or inconvenient!).
ALTERNATIVES FROM LA GUARDIA AIRPORT: (a) Take a yellow taxicab (about $20) and tell the driver "116th and Broadway in Manhattan" for Columbia or "76th and Broadway in Manhattan" for the Milburn. A 15% tip is customary. Or, (b) take the crowded but convenient M60 bus, which costs $2.25 in change and takes about 45 minutes. For Columbia, take it to the Columbia main gate at 116 Street and Broadway. For the Milburn, ask for a subway transfer when you board, then change at 125 Street and Lenox Avenue for the #2 or #3 subway trains downtown to 72 Street and Broadway.
ALTERNATIVES FROM KENNEDY AIRPORT: (a) A yellow taxicab costs $45 plus bridge tolls and can take up to 1 hour. Tell the driver "116th and Broadway in Manhattan" for Columbia or "76th and Broadway in Manhattan" for the Milburn. A 15% tip is customary. (b) Solo travelers can save a bundle by taking the driverless AirTrain to Jamaica, where you change for the Long Island Rail Road to Penn Station. The whole thing costs around $15 and takes 90 minutes or so. (c) Even cheaper, but longer, is to take the AirTrain to Jamaica, then the E subway to 42 Street, where you walk through a long tunnel to Times Square.
ALTERNATIVES FROM NEWARK AIRPORT: (a) You can take a New Jersey taxicab, but this is expensive (> $60?). Or, (b) take the Olympia Trails bus from the small parking lot to the left of each terminal building, which goes to Port Authority. Or, (c) take the AirTrain monorail followed by a New Jersey Transit train to Penn Station. Either of these will take about half an hour and cost about $15.
FROM POINTS IN MANHATTAN such as Penn Station, Times Square or Port Authority: (a) take a yellow taxicab (as from La Guardia), or (b) take the #1 subway train uptown. (From Port Authority you must first walk one block east along 42 Street to Times Square). The subway stop for the Milburn Hotel is 79 Street and Broadway. The subway stop for Columbia University is 116 Street and Broadway. Warning: the #2 and #3 subway trains stop at 72 Street and Broadway for the Milburn Hotel, but they skip 79 Street, and they do not go anywhere near Columbia. So take the #1 instead.
MATHEMATICS HALL is on 117 Street and Broadway one block north of the Columbia main gates. When you get out of the subway, bus, or taxi at 116 Street and Broadway, you should be very close to these gates, on the east side of Broadway. Do not enter the main gates, but turn left from them and walk 200 feet north (slightly uphill) along Broadway. The next gate on your right is smaller and has a flight of steps behind it. Mathematics Hall is just to the left of these steps. The entrance is on the upper level, facing away from Broadway: to reach it, climb the steps and turn left. 312 Mathematics is on the ground floor. Here is a local chart.
TRAVELING BY CAR? Driving and parking directions are here.
INFORMATION ON HOUSING
ALL CONFERENCE HOUSING will be at the Milburn Hotel at 242 West 76 Street, slightly west of Broadway and east of West End Avenue. Their telephone is (212) 362-1006, their fax is (212) 721-5476, and their e-mail is information at milburnhotel dot com. If you like to swim, bring a suit as there is a swimming pool one block away that may be used free by hotel guests. The Milburn is also an excellent option for those not supported by the conference.
OTHER AFFORDABLE HOTEL AND HOSTEL OPTIONS include the Landmark Guest Rooms at Union Theological Seminary, just a few steps from Columbia; the Hostelling International youth hostel at 106 Street and Amsterdam Avenue; New York Hostel 99 in Harlem; Jazz on the Park at 106 Street and Central Park West; and the hotels listed here.
CONTACT THE ORGANIZERS
Jarod Alper (212) 854-4759 office, jarod at math dot columbia dot edu
Michael Thaddeus (212) 854-4308 office, (212) 932-8125 home,
thaddeus at math dot columbia dot edu