Apr 4, 2008 - Barry Malzberg Cancellation - We regret to announce that Barry Malzberg will not be appearing at I-CON 27.

Apr 4, 2008 - Jon Rosenberg and Steven Cloud will not be appearing - Due to circumstances beyond our control, Mr. Rosenberg and Mr. Cloud are unable to appear at I-CON 27.

Mar 28, 2008 - Conrad Brooks Cancellation - Due to circumstances beyond our control, Conrad "The Gielgud of Bad Movies" Brooks will not be appearing at I-CON.

Mar 27, 2008 - Rocky Horror Picture Show! - It's a contest! You can be a mad scientist, biker zombie, or suburban housewife losing her inhibitions. Win fabulous prizes!

Mar 18, 2008 - RepRap Demo Cancelled - We regret to announce that RepRap.org's Zach Smith will be unable to attend I-CON. The RepRap demonstration has been canceled.

Mar 16, 2008 - BattleStar Galactica Season Premiere! - Come see the season premiere of the hit series on a big screen, with 700 of your closest friends. Win BSG DVD sets!

Mar 9, 2008 - GM Signup - Interested in running an RPG? Sign up to be a GM.

Mar 9, 2008 - Awards Banquet - Tickets are now available online for the Awards Banquet. This event is held each year honoring guests for outstanding achievements in their field or genre. This year, the Awards Banquet will be held at the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma on Saturday April 5, 2008 starting at 5:30pm. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit the Awards Banquet page

Mar 9, 2008 - Cosplay Competition - This I-CON 27 Cosplay Competition is now open to all types of cosplay, not just anime! Registration closes March 28, so hurry over to the Anime page to register online!

News Archive

The I-CON Hotel

The Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, and the Hilton Garden Inn are SOLD OUT. Please contact the Hyatt Regency Windwatch, and remember to ask for the special I-CON rate.

Remember, only the hotels listed offer special rates for I-CON members!

Hyatt Regency Wind Watch
1717 Motor Parkway
Hauppage, NY 11788
1-631-784-1234
Featuring the Hyatt Grand Bed, iHome stereo with iPod dock, deluxe bath with Portico products, Stay Fit gym, indoor heated pool and saunas and coffee maker in room. High speed wireless access available. Complimentary shuttle to/from MacArthur Airport. Remember to ask for the I-CON rate.

REMEMBER - We have secured special rates with ONLY the Hyatt Regency Windwatch! There are others but they will not offer the rate or quality of service.

Directions to Campus

Directions to Stony Brook University

By Car -

• Take the Long Island Expressway to Exit 62. Follow Nicholls Road North approximately 9 miles. The main entrance for the University will be on your left.

Note - All prices below are current as of January 8, 2005.

Trains: - Please note: If one is traveling by train from Penn Station (LIRR, Long Island Rail Road), please note that there are two rail lines useful for getting to I-CON.

• Trains 1 of 2: Port Jefferson Rail Road Line - The Port Jefferson rail road line of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) will take one directly to the Stony Brook University (SBU) campus at the penultimate (second to last) stop, Stony Brook. This is where I-CON is held, and as soon as one walks off the south side of the Stony Brook train platform one is on campus. The Indoor Sports Complex (ISC), where one gets all membership items needed for I-CON, is such a short walk from the Stony Brook train station that one can see the ISC from the Stony Brook train station. http://mta.info/lirr/
• Trains 2 of 2: Ronkonkoma Rail Road Line (near the Islip-MacArthur Airport) - The Ronkonkoma rail road line of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) or the Islip-MacArthur Airport will get one close to the official convention hotel, the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma. The official hotel operates a free (to guests) shuttle between the Ronkonkoma station of the LIRR and the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma as well as the Islip-MacArthur Airport. The shuttle operates at all hours except from 1am to 5am in the morning. The shuttle can be called at the hotel number, 631-585-9500. From the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma one can take another shuttle to the convention (schedule available at the hotel).
• See LIRR Discounts below for savings for individuals, families, groups of 4-10, 11-30, and 30 or more.

Campus Bus Service and Handicapped Access

• Free bus service to the central campus from the Stony Brook train station and all campus bus stops is provided by SBU's Parking & Transportation Services. All I-CON events on the campus are within easy walking distance of one another; however, campus bus maps are available at http://www.stonybrook.edu/transportation/campusbus/bus_map.shtml
• I-CON thanks Parking & Transportation Services for trying to have as many busses as are available during I-CON weekend that are equipped with wheelchair lift mechanisms on the LIRR/central campus route. Curb cuts, ramps, mechanical doors, accessible bathrooms, and elevators are almost universal on campus especially in those buildings where I-CON events are scheduled. Additionally, there is ample handicapped parking on campus. If a request is made in advance to handicapped_access@iconsf.org, a limited number of wheelchairs are available at no charge on a first come first serve basis.

Taxi Options

• Islip-MacArthur Airport Taxi Options - If one arrives at the Islip-MacArthur Airport the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma's LIRR/Airport Shuttle (free to hotel guests) operates at all hours except from 1am to 5am in the morning, and can be called at the hotel number (631-585-9500). At times when the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma's LIRR/Airport Shuttle is not available, Jose from Sunset Taxi, 631-588-5558, charges only $6 for the first person if you mention I-CON when calling and $1 for each additional person for a ride from the Islip-MacArthur Airport to the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma (and $30 per car up to 4 people to/from Stony Brook University if you mention I-CON when calling). There is also a Taxi Stand at the airport that costs ~$12 to the official hotel.
• Ronkonkoma Train Station Taxi Options - If one arrives at the Ronkonkoma train station at a time when the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma's LIRR/Airport shuttle is not operating (see above for hours and phone) there is a Taxi Stand by the Shibellis Pizza Shop on the north side of the tracks with Taxi's from Jose at Sunset Taxi 631-588-5558. If you want the discount at the Ronkonkoma LIRR taxi stand look for the yellow cabs that say Sunset, and mention I-CON. Jose from Sunset Taxi charges $7 for the first person if you mention I-CON when calling and $1 for each additional person for a ride from the Ronkonkoma train station to the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma; from the Ronkonkoma train station to Stony Brook University is $20 per car up to 4 people to/from Stony Brook University if you mention I-CON when calling.
• Village Taxi on Railroad Avenue, Ronkonkoma, 631-588-1055, and Comfort Taxi (formerly listed as "A" Long Island Town Car) on Hawkins Road, Ronkonkoma, 631-580-9898, also operate in the area, but they do not offer discounts to I-CON attendees at this time. (~$6-$10 for the first person and $1-$2 each additional person for a ride from the Ronkonkoma train station, or from the Islip-MacArthur Airport, to the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma, and between $26 for the first person and $2 each additional person or $30 for the first person and $1 each additional person to Stony Brook University from/to the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma or the Islip-MacArthur Airport).
• Stony Brook Taxi Options - Again Jose from Sunset Taxi, 631-588-5558, charges only $20 per car up to 4 people from Stony Brook University to the Ronkonkoma train station, and $30 per car up to 4 people to any of the following: the Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma or the Islip-MacArthur Airport, if you mention I-CON when calling.
• Lindy's Taxi is nearby Stony Brook. Their number is 631-473-0707. Stony Brook University to Holiday Inn Ronkonkoma (official hotel) or to the Islip-MacArthur Airport $36, $2 each additional person. Stony Brook University to Holiday Inn Express Stony Brook (NOT the official hotel) $10 plus $2 each additional person. Stony Brook University to Ronkonkoma train station $20 plus $2 each additional person.

Ferries

• This option is particularly desirable if one is coming to I-CON from Connecticut or other New England States
• Car ferries cross Long Island Sound at Bridgeport, Connecticut to Port Jefferson, Long Island (http://www.bpjferry.com). Once off the ferry, take Route 25A west to Nicolls Road, and turn left on Nicolls. Stony Brook University entrances are the first three intersections you come to.
• From New London, Connecticut to Orient Point, Long Island (http://www.longislandferry.com/). Take Route 25A west to Nicolls Road and proceed as above. (from http://www.pagelinx.com/bpjferry/).
• We are working on train and ferry directions from Connecticut/New England tailored to I-CON attendees.

LIRR Discounts

• All LIRR riders can save ~$5-6 by buying LIRR railroad tickets at an LIRR ticket office or LIRR ticket machine rather than on the train itself. (Source: http://mta.info/lirr/pubs/TicketInfo.htm)
• Family Fare - The first type of LIRR discount offered is for families. Children under 5 years old ride free at all times. Usually children 5-11 years old ride for 50% of adult fares, but ÒFamily Fare allows up to 4 children (ages 5-11) to travel with each fare paying adult for just 75 cents each way.Ó For details see http://mta.info/lirr/grouptravel/gtinfo.htm#SmallerGroupFare.
• Groups of 4-10 - The second type of LIRR discount is called the "ten trip.":
  1. Can be used by more than one person even when they are traveling together.
  2. Ten rides from/to City Zone One only and any other zone of the LIRR, including Stony Brook and Ronkonkoma, which are both in Zone Ten (see Note 1 below for zone one stations).
  3. The off-peak ten-trip price to Stony Brook or Ronkonkoma train stations from City Zone One is 15% ($14.25) cheaper than ten one-way or five round trip off-peak tickets ($80.75 vs. $95.00).
  4. The peak ten-trip is the same price as ten regular peak tickets. Seniors and People with Disabilities Ten-Trip are sold at the same price as 10 senior/people with disabilities one-way fares.
  5. Does not require advance railroad ticket reservation, but should be purchased at LIRR ticket offices (but not necessarily ticket machines).
  6. For current prices and information see http://mta.info/lirr/pubs/TicketInfo.htm, http://lirr42.mta.info/Fares.asp, or http://mta.info/mta/news/public/fares/lirr.htm.
• Groups of 11-30, and groups of 31 or more - The third type of LIRR discount requires reservations that should be made at least two weeks in advance with the LIRR Sales & Promotions Department at 718-558-7498 during Monday - Friday, 8AM - 4PM.
  1. While these "advance registration group travel fares" are designed for group sizes of 30 or more, groups of 15+ can save money "by paying for 30 tickets (the balance of tickets can be paid at the cheaper youth rate)" according to http://mta.info/lirr/grouptravel/gtinfo.htm#SmallerGroupFare).

• Zone One includes Penn Station, Woodside, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Long Island City, Flatbush Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, and East New York according to http://www.mta.info/lirr/pubs/LIRRfares.pdf
• LIRR zones 10 and 11 merged after March 2005 which means you are able to use a ten trip to arrive at the SB train station and return on the Ronkonkoma train or vice versa.