Go Frugal in New York City

New York, New York: If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere – so long as you can afford it! For visitors from near and far, exploring New York is a must, and rightfully so – the city hosts endless things to see and do.

For anyone new to the city, however, it can be easy to get caught by expensive tourist traps and miss some of the best, and cheapest, options the Five Boroughs have to offer. Here are some tips for even the most frugal-minded to see the best of New York – for next to nothing.


TRAVELERS

• Getting to NYC
  JFK International, LaGuardia International, and Newark International airport are all close to the city. Each one offers bus services into the city at a cheaper rate than taking a taxi. Amtrak train lines run into New York from other major cities on the East Coast, but the New Jersey transit line is more affordable if coming from Delaware, Pennsylvania or Jersey.
  
  Cheapest of all is one of the new discount bus services – the Bolt bus or a Chinatown-to-Chinatown bus, which can take you into the city from Boston, D.C. or Philly for around fifteen bucks. Check the Bolt Bus website to take advantage of their first-come, first-serve policy, which can sometimes score you a seat for a dollar.
• Hotels
  Visit www.lastminute.com for hotel deals and discounts in New York, so you can save on higher-end hotels. Many places offer family packages, and companies such as the W Hotels offer deals to buy two nights, get the third free through September 2009.
• Hostels and other traveler options
  Dorm beds start at $28 at the hip Central Park Hostel on the Upper West Side, and YMCA hostels at various locations in the city are long-standing options for low-budget accommodation. For the bravest of the cheap, couch surfing is becoming ever more popular worldwide and in New York. Participants list their place as available for free to guests on www.couchsurfing.com.

RESIDENTS

• Recommended neighborhoods
  The silver lining of the economic moment’s storm cloud is that rents are falling across the city. Inwood, at the northernmost tip of Manhattan, is one of the city’s best-kept secrets, providing affordable real estate in a great neighborhood that’s suitable for families and full of young people.
  
  For lowest budgets, far uptown (Washington Heights and Harlem) has options ranging from new co-ops to cheap shared rooms, and areas of Brooklyn such as Park Slope feature luxury living on the next block from reasonable apartments.
• Tips for house/apartment hunting
  Craigslist is good for finding shared accommodation or roommates so you can bypass broker’s fees. Competition for finding a place can be fierce, so be aggressive, have cash in hand to seal a deal on the spot, and put out tons of feelers. Right now is a good time to bargain with ever-desperate landlords, too, so check out all your options to haggle a good deal.

TRANSPORTATION

• Buy a weekly subway pass
  Avoid taking pricey taxis. A subway map and unlimited pass card will get you anywhere you want to go in the city for cheap. Cards can be purchased in subway stations all over the city, and you can visit the MTA website for maps and timetables. You can buy a monthly, weekly or daily pass and use it on all the city buses as well.
  
  Public transportation is easier and more convenient than renting a car and dealing with high parking prices. And if it’s late at night and you’d rather not take the subway at four a.m. (although there will be plenty of company), there’s no shortage of yellow taxis available at all hours, all conveniently fitted to accept credit cards.

TOP DESTINATIONS

CULTURE

• Visit New York’s Museums for Free
  The Museum of Modern Art is free on Friday evenings, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a pay-what-you-can-afford policy. The New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx are free on Saturday mornings and Wednesdays, and the New York Public Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Grand Central Station are all breathtaking buildings with no cost and plenty of good people-watching.
• Head Uptown to see the Little Red Lighthouse
  Get away from the crowds and see a beautiful (free) piece of Manhattan many are likely to miss: a picnic by the Little Red Lighthouse in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge. Watch the sunset over the river as the boats sail by and see the bridge light up “like a diamond necklace,” as immortalized by Faith Ringgold in her famous picture book Tar Beach. With few tourists around, this site at Fort Washington Park is well worth a visit.

SPORTS

• Visit Central Park’s North Meadow Recreation Center to borrow a free sports kit full of equipment to enjoy yourself at the park for the day (basketball, football, American football, and more).
  
  Paddle Down the Hudson River for Free. On weekends May through October, pretend you’re one of New York’s original explorers as you navigate the city shoreline in your kayak.

ENTERTAINMENT

• Shakespeare in the Park offers free performances in Central Park during the summer (www.publictheater.org), if you’re willing to get there early and wait in line for free tickets. Along with Central Park, New York’s other parks offer a multitude of free events and shows, so check online for listings like Bryant Park’s free outdoor movie screenings in the summer. The New York City Ballet company occasionally gives out free tickets to shows as well; visit www.lincolncenter.org to see what’s on.

HISTORY

• Staten Island Ferry
  Board the Staten Island Ferry for free and sail to Staten Island and back, getting a brilliant view of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor along the way. This is a much better option than the pricey boats that charge admission to see Ellis Island, and you can snap your pics of the statue from the deck of the boat with a beer in hand from the on-site bar.
• Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge
  Gaining even more foot traffic since its famous scene in the Sex and the City film, this historically famous structure provides a lovely walk and fantastic city views of the city at no cost, and once in Brooklyn you can walk the waterfront for more great views.

SHOPPING

• Discount areas/merchants
  Canal Street in Chinatown offers an endless stretch of cheap I Love NY t-shirts, and a huge assortment of knockoff bags, sunglasses and jewelry, the prices of which the discerning shopper knows to barter down. For fantastic name-brand secondhand clothing, visit Goodwill and Salvation Army stores in Chelsea and the West Village and on the Upper East Side.
• Discounts on higher-end shopping
  Gabay’s Outlet on 1st and 13th has discount overstock from high end stores including Bergdorf Goodman, and Loehmann’s on 7th and 17th boasts a famous “back room” full of marked down designer items.

DINING

• Cheap Eats
  City staple Gray’s Papaya (72nd and Broadway) charge roughly a dollar for a hot dog, and Crocodile Lounge in the East Village offers free pizza with beer purchase, as well as SkeeBall, a photo booth and outdoor patio. Search more cheap NYC eats online before you go.
• Restaurant Deals
  Restaurant.com is the frugal person’s secret to fine dining in New York City. Visit the site to access coupons for quality restaurants across the city, where you can get $25 off your meal when spending an additional $25 between two people. Restaurant Week, held in June and January in New York, has the city’s top restaurants offering usually costly meals for as low as twenty bucks.
• Farmer’s Markets
  Find a listing of great farmer’s markets at http://www.cenyc.org/ourmarkets so you can make sure to hit one up no matter what part of the city you’re in. One of the most well-known is the Union Square farmer’s market, open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays year round.
  
  Score fresh poultry, vegetables, “rooftop honey” made in NYC, and flowers and sit on the steps of the square watching skateboarders, artists and the occasional political demonstration while you sample your wares.
• Street Eats
  Fruit vendors hawking lychee, melon, and Chinese vegetables provide inexpensive and tasty snacks if you’re cruising Chinatown streets, and Little Italy’s Mulberry Street is the right spot for delicious gelato. In winter months, hot chestnuts from vendors citywide are a staple, and coconut-cashew-peanut clusters are a year-round sweet treat for one or two bucks. Grab lunch from a cart to save on high menu and service prices.

NIGHTLIFE

• Cheap drinks
  Ship of Fools on the Upper East Side has $2 Miller pints and $4 frozen margaritas weekdays from 4-7, and Doc Holliday’s in the East Village has a buy one, get one happy hour every day from 5-8 pm.
• Tips and deals
  Never pay a cover to get into a bar in New York. There are plenty of options that offer entertainment, there’s no need for those watching their wallets to shell out extra cash. Visit nyc.urbansavings.com features coupons and deals on bars and nightlife in the city. Cheers!

MORE RESOURCES

• www.NewYorkology.com - A New York Travel Guide
• http://frugalnyc.blogspot.com - Your Resource for Frugal City Living
• www.lifestylermag.com - New York on a Budget
• www.examiner.com/new_york - NYC from Local Experts
• www.Gothamist.com - New York City News, Food, Arts and Events
• http://www.thefrugalfrump.com - Moderate Frugality in New York City
• http://www.nycrecessiondiary.com - Tips, Tricks, and Helpful How-Tos for NYC Recessions Sufferers