No offense Vol but in my experience its easy to ride Manhattan without getting ticketed (don't do anything illegal or crazy) but very, very hard to ride without frequent dismounts - no matter what rules your prepared to ignore.

I don't mean to discourage you and I don't know if you have pre-existing knee conditions but if riding with a seat a couple inches lower causes you pain you might want to find a less stop & go environment. Even the parkways are crowded with ped's in the summer. Hypothetical knee problems later in life are statistically alot more healthy than riding through traffic without stopping.