Having lived in the New York city metro area for 4 years the following information will hopefully provide some tips for those visiting and wishing to photograph the skyline or some of the many top attractions.

New York City Skyline From:

The following locations presented me with good opportunities to photograph the New York sky Line:

Location: Hoboken

The first five pictures in the right hand column where taken from Hoboken, Hoboken is located to the West of Manhattan, just across the Hudson river, the location works well for both sunrise and sunset. These pictures were taken at the following location

There are two piers along the Hudson river front which provide good views of both downtown and midtown New York City, the two sunrise examples were taken from the lower pier closest to Hoboken train/PATH station. Note the PATH is an easy way to travel from NYC to Hoboken, and can be picked up from 33th, 23th, 14th, 9th and Christopher Street - Just make sure it's a Hoboken train. Alternatively a ferry can be taken from the World Financial Center (Lower Manhattan) to Hoboken.

Sunset and dusk provide a good opportunity to get a great glow on all the buildings, or capture some of the night lights. I've found that the best results for capturing city night shots are at dusk rather then when it's completely dark. I like the faint afterglow combined with the lights. It may also mean that you can get away with just a camera and a wide/aperture without the need for a tri-pod (if you're traveling lite).

Night shots from this location can also be very good, both piers provide opportunities for shots of mid and lower Manhattan, with good reflections in the Hudson. Many boats also pass up and down the river so with a long exposure you can capture light trails.

Gear:

To take these photos I used the following equipment:

Camera Canon 1D, Lens Canon EF F/4 70-200L, Tripod Manfrotto 055MF4

Weehawken

Weehawken is located north of Hoboken and provides access to an elevated position which looks down on Midtown Manhattan.

This was a location I frequented to try and capture night time cityscapes of New York City. My results largely depended on how well the Hudson river was reflecting the night lights. This particular picture was taken in the winter when there was some ice in the river, a crisp night provided a very clear sky and the lights were reflected very well.