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 CITIES FEBRUARY - MARCH 2005 Edition 31 |
SPREAD OUT THE HOLIDAY MONEY.
DO NEW YORK CITY ON A SHOESTRING!
FUN FOR $10 OR LESS.You don’t have to spend a fortune to enjoy New York. The city has hundreds of no-cost and low-cost pleasures that include concerts, plays, museum exhibitions and tours throughout all five boroughs.
There are plenty, we've listed more than twenty!
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For a fashion update, join a Macy’s (212/494-3827) group tour. Tours, offered at $10 per person, discuss the history of the world’s largest department store from its humble beginnings in 1857 to its status today with more than two million square feet of selling space. |
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The New York City Police Museum (212/480-3100, www.nycpolicemuseum.org), located in historic Lower Manhattan, captures the rich history of the New York Police Department (NYPD), giving visitors an insider’s look at the world’s most famous law enforcement agency. Permanent exhibits include turn-of-the-century mug shots, photos of notorious criminals and their “tools of the trade,” a display of police vehicles, a model of a jail cell and, in the most solemn of the exhibits, the museum pays tribute to every NYPD officer killed in the line of duty throughout the department’s history. Suggested admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and $2 for children ages 6 to 18. |
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Experience New York’s salty maritime history at the South Street Seaport (212/748-8725, www.southstseaport.org), boasting a museum and numerous shops and restaurants. Browsing is free; museum admission is $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors, $4 for children ages 5-12, and free for children under the age of 5. |
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New York’s famous Fashion Institute of Technology (212/217-5800, www.fitnyc.suny.edu) shows off thousands of designer costumes and accessories, fabrics from around the world and the work of renowned fashion photographers in the institute’s free museum. |
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“Pay what you wish” days are also in effect every day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters (212/535-7710, www.metmuseum.org) and at the American Museum of Natural History (212/769-5100, www.amnh.org). Suggested admission at the Museum of the City of New York (212/534-1672, www.mcny.org) – where you can explore five floors of New York City’s past, present and future – is $7, or $5 for seniors, students and children; $15 for families. |
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 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. |
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| On the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art | ||
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For just $4 round-trip, ride the Roosevelt Island Tram (www.roosevelt-island.ny.us) across the East River and enjoy fabulous views of Manhattan and Queens |
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Socrates Sculpture Park (718/956-1819, www.socratessculpturepark.org), a free outdoor museum located on the East River in Long Island City, Queens. It serves as both a major art institution and reclaimed open space allowing public access to the waterfront with impressive Manhattan views. Open daily until sunset. |
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Low cost tickets are available for broadway shows if you have the time to stand in the line. | |
Both the young and the young at heart can enjoy New York City’s carousels: Central Park (212/879-0244), year-round, $1.25 per ride; Bryant Park (212/768-4242, www.bryantpark.org), seasonal, $1.75 per ride; and Prospect Park (718/282-7789, www.prospectpark.org), April through October, $1 per ride. |
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Explore
Rockefeller Center (212/332-6868, www.rockefellercenter.com),
a majestic Art Deco masterpiece, on a free, self-guided tour.
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www.grandcentralpartnership.org)
or a tour of Times Square with the Times Square BID (212/768-1560, timessquarebid.org) |
Experience the grandeur of Morningside Heights’ Cathedral of St. John the Divine (212/316-7540, www.stjohndivine.org) along with its Biblical garden and children’s sculpture garden. Tours are available Tuesday through Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 1pm. The fee for visitors is $3 per person. When completed, it will be the world’s largest gothic cathedral. |
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On Saturdays at 2pm, take a free walking tour offered by the 14th Street-Union Square Business Improvement District (212/460-1204, www.unionsquarenyc.org), including stops at New York’s first film studios, opera houses, grand theaters and nickelodeons, “Ladies’ Mile” and Union Square Park. |
Providing hands-on, interactive exhibits, workshops and performances, the Staten Island Children’s Museum (718/273-2060) encourages children to learn by doing. Admission is $5 per person and children under 2 are admitted free. Just across the water, kids can explore science, culture and other areas of interest at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (718/735-4400, www.brooklynkids.org). Though not required, suggested admission is $4 at all times, and free for children 1 or under. |
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Visit Staten Island’s Snug Harbor Cultural Center (718/448-2500, www.snug-harbor.org), an 83-acre National Historic Landmark district featuring remarkable examples of Greek revival architecture and free admission. The cultural program includes concerts, art and theater. |
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Before you leave Staten Island, stop by the biggest little zoo in the United States – the Staten Island Zoo (718/442-3174, www.statenislandzoo.org) – at a cost of $5 for adults, $4 for seniors or $3 for visitors aged three to 14. On Wednesdays after 2pm, admission is a suggested donation of $2 per person at this eight-acre zoological garden with wonderful horticultural displays and a large collection of mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, fish and birds. |
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For more information about visiting New York City, click on www.nycvisit.com, or stop by NYC’s Official Visitor Information Center at 810 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street, or Visitor Information Kiosks at the southern tip of City Hall Park and in Harlem in the State Office Building Plaza at 163 West 125th Street at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. |
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