New York has gotten an unfair and undeserved rap for being an expensive city to navigate. Certainly you can spend a pretty penny here—isn’t that true, however, of nearly ever major metropolis? Whether you’re Astoria born-and-bred or seeing Times Square for the first time, there are plenty of hidden ways of enjoying the city on a dime, especially if you’ll be in town for the upcoming CS Convention.
9:30 a.m. Fuel Your Fire
The beauty of New York is that, if you’re really cash strapped, you can easily eat on $5 a day. While this is the city that houses Per Se, Nobu, and Masa, this is also the home of the $1 slice, the $2 tray of eight dumplings, and the $4.50 Recession Special at Gray’s Papaya.
Breakfast is also one of the cheapest commodities in the city, though avoid Starbucks and hunt out the neighborhood bodegas. Folks on staff at Lincoln Center particularly favor Alan’s Marketplace (27 Columbus Ave. at 60th St.). In addition to spying dancers from NYCB and ABT loading up on their lunchtime design-your-own salads (as low as $5), pre-rehearsal choristers and orchestra members know to run here for the classic New York breakfast of egg and cheese on a roll with coffee or tea ($1.29). Enjoy your breakfast al fresco a few steps away at Central Park.
11:00 a.m. Upper West Side Story
On Fridays, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza) opens at 11:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. on Sundays. You can and should stop in here to take advantage of their massive sheet music collection on the second floor. Visit www.nypl.org to pre-game with their catalog, then bring some small bills to purchase a copy card and go to town. At pennies a page, this is the best deal you’ll get in the city.
Here is also a great spot to tap into your inner Woody Allen (who immortalized several buildings in the West 70s—set to the backdrop of the prelude to Madama Butterfly—in his film Hannah and Her Sisters). Walk along Amsterdam up to West 72nd St. to see some of the glorious holdovers from the neighborhood’s halcyon days. Bring your camera and don’t feel shy about snapping to your heart’s content—especially when you get to the statue of Giuseppe Verdi at Verdi Park (72nd St. between Broadway and Amsterdam).
1:00 p.m. Link into LincInc.
The Met still has its rush ticket program. The new kid on the block, however, is the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (70 Lincoln Center Plaza, a former combination of rock-climbing club and public space frequented by the homeless). Not only does the Donald and Barbara Zucker Box Office offer day-of discount tickets to all campus programs, it also features its own free programming, from jazz to experimental to pure classical, every Thursday at 8:30 p.m.—something worth keeping in the back of your mind as you make flight plans.
If you’re booked for the evening but looking for some afternoon entertainment, check out the listings for free Juilliard concerts (www.juilliard.edu/calendar). The New York Philharmonic also has a consistent open dress rehearsal program which runs a bit earlier in the day.
And if you’re looking to break from the classical tradition, the Times Square TKTS Booth is your best place to go for half-priced Broadway show tickets. You can also look on specific show’s websites to see if they offer lottery tickets—a drawing for $20 – $30 front-row tickets an hour before curtain.
2:30 p.m. Street Smarts
“Personally, one of my favorite things about eating in New York is all the street food,” says budget guru and author Broke-Ass Stuart (who boasts one of the best among the manifold money-wise guides to the city). “You can get a wider variety of food in the city’s thoroughfares than most places have in terms of actual restaurant options. . . . And not only is the food delicious, it’s super cheap, too.”
Surprisingly, street cart food is often cleaner than some restaurants (take it from this author who lives next door to one of the cart facilities, sees them loaded up every morning, and still eats from them). And, as Stuart points out, not too many cities have dosa or bulgogi at the ready. Take the N/Q/R/W to Union Square on a pay-per-ride MetroCard (if you’re in town for the weekend, there are no real bargains for an unlimited card, and you’ll probably walk more than you think) and walk east toward the Bowery or East Village.
You’ll find lunch on the fly and be in the prime location to hit up the Strand Bookstore (828 Broadway at East 13th St.) for an impressive collection of music tomes at rock-bottom prices. Be sure to stop at St. Mark’s Place (Second Ave. between East 7th and 9th Sts.) on your way. Though there is no dearth of haggling areas for knockoff pashminas, sunglasses, and other accessories, some of the best deals are scored here.
5:00 p.m. Happy Hour
If it’s Friday or Saturday, many museums are open late and either waiving their fees for the evening hours (such as the Museum of Modern Art every Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) or offering suggested fees (as little as $0.01 can get you into the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 24/7). If you hit up the MoMA, be sure to linger through Paley Park at 53rd St. between Madison and Fifth Avenues, a Broke-Ass Stuart favorite.
Or indulge in a literal happy hour. Hop the L into Brooklyn for locales like Mark Bar (1025 Manhattan Ave. at Green St.) or Alligator Lounge (600 Metropolitan Ave. at Lorimer St.) which offer free, substantial food with purchase. If you’re craving a New York slice, there are worse ways than this to get one.
If you crave something more substantial for dinner, migrate toward midtown for Don Giovanni (358 W 44th St. at 9th Ave.), a glowing exposed-brick hole-in-the-wall covered in opera photographs from the days of Caruso and Fremstad. More than kitsch value, they serve sizable portions of Italian fare that can fill you up for $10 to $15.
7:00 p.m. Get On with the Show
Whether you’re going to Lincoln Center, the Lyceum Theatre or (Le) Poisson Rouge, find a venue, find a performance, and go. Laid-back places like (Le) Poisson, Barbès, Issue Project Room, The Stone, The Tank, and Galapagos Art Space generally charge between $10 to $20 to get in and host a range of acts from the infectiously giddy Opera on Tap, to experimental outfits, to recitals from the likes of Carnegie Hall artists and soprano Danielle de Niese. These experiences are still incredibly unique to the New York cultural scene as well, putting them high on the priority list. If you need a nightcap, many of these joints have their liquor license. Or, in cases like The Stone, ask the acts where they prefer to drink. You may just make a new friend.
