Now that my hometown is back on top of the must visit destination list, here’s how to enjoy NYC on the cheap.
Current deals and must-see events include FREE museum admission and concerts, cherry blossoms, Car-Free streets on Earth Day, Holocaust Remembrance Day events, FREE Black Comic Book Festival and World Literature Festival at NYPL, Cinco de Mayo music and dance, FREE outdoor dancing to live bands, $10 Broadway theater tickets for students and so much more, which help make New York City the greatest city on the planet year-round, not just in March/April/May.
Nearly everything here is FREE, and nothing is more than $20 per person unless it is a free program with museum admission, supports a charity, or otherwise is a noteworthy special event. Some free events require registration to manage space.
Pick one, some or all and enjoy the best of New York City FREE or cheap.
This best things to do in NYC on the cheap guide is updated at the beginning and middle of each month, with at least six weeks of events to help you plan how to enjoy the greatest city on the planet.
Who is a real New Yorker? It depends on who you ask.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter was interviewed recently by
Time Out New York
Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day
Once again in 2024, NYC is celebrating Earth Day with city-wide Car-Free Streets, part of the ongoing NYC Open Streets Program.
Car-Free Earth Day is an annual car-free event hosted by NYC DOT. On Saturday, April 20, 2024 from 10am to 4pm, join NYC DOT and others to celebrate Car-Free Earth Day.
Programming is presented at signature and partner produced locations citywide, to promote activism and education surrounding climate change, sustainability, and other relevant topics. The event is also the kick off to the 2024 Open Streets and Public Space Programming season.
Here’s the full information about closed streets and performances workshops and other events in all five boroughs on the official NYC website.
Free Citi Bike Rides
Through the support of Lyft, Citi Bike will offer free unlimited 30-minute rides on a classic Citi Bike on Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day. All riders may take advantage of the offer by using the promo code CARFREE24 in the Citi Bike app.
Car-Free Day History
First launched in 2016, Car-Free Earth Day originally converted select Manhattan streets into public plazas and car-free streets for pedestrians, cyclists, and local businesses.
Car-Free Earth Day has expanded to locations throughout the five boroughs – connecting Open Streets, plazas, and accessing over 1,000 miles of NYC’s Bike Network! Environmental programming is offered by City agencies and community organizations along the routes to promote activism and education surrounding climate change, sustainability and other relevant topics.
Visit NYC DOT’s Flickr for images of past Car-Free Earth Day events, flickr.com/nycstreets.
Holocaust Remembrance Day Events
#Never Forget. This year there are two similar Gathering of Remembrance events, bringing together Holocaust survivors, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, to honor the memory of the Six Million murdered by the evil of Nazi Germany, and say prayers for the future of peace everywhere.
Both events are both in-person and virtual, both sponsored jointly by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan and Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side.
Sunday, April 16 at 2pm at Museum of Jewish Heritage
- Register here for in-person or livestream
Sunday, May 5 at 4pm at Temple Emanu-El.
- Register here for in-person or livestream
Monday, May 6 at 7pm – Downtown Jewish Life is having a Yom Hashoah obseervance with music and prayer.
- 7pm at Brotherhood Synagogue, 28 Park Avenue South
- FREE, register here to manage space.
South Street Seaport Pay-What-You-Wish Weekends
Every weekend from April 6–28, the Seaport Museum is including a free family activity on ecological exploration with Pay What You Wish General Admission. Stop by anytime from 11am–4:30pm to participate.
Immerse yourself in a variety of hands-on activities designed for families and individuals of all ages to learn about some of the facets of NYC’s ecology, from its historical origins to the present day.
- explore the effects of ocean acidification on the shells and exoskeletons of marine life,
- discover how the Croton Aqueduct revolutionized New Yorkers’ access to fresh water,
- learn about the role of humble oyster shells in expanding Manhattan’s cityscape,
- explore the impact of storms on New York’s coastlines,
- understand the contributions of the federal Clean Water Act to the preservation of New York Harbor.
Extend Your Visit
Before or after the Ecological Exploration activity, anytime between 11am–4:30pm, take advantage of Pay What You Wish General Admission Museum tickets, for access to all current exhibitions on view in the introduction gallery space at 12 Fulton Street and access to the 1885 tall ship Wavertree.
- Free timed tickets for a tour of the 1908 lightship Ambrose are available separately.
- More information here.
Final Exhibition at the Rubin Museum
The home of Himalayan and East Asian art is closing permanently in October, to become a “museum without walls”, offering virtual tours and workshops and loaning its treasures to other museums around the world.
Fittingly, the final exhibition is a look ahead, focusing on current artwork by modern Himalayan and East Asian artists, all focusing on their cultural heritage in new ways, including some artists born here in New York City.
Reimagine: Himalayan Art Now is a Museum-wide exhibition featuring artworks by 32 contemporary artists, many from the Himalayan region and diaspora. Explore all six floors of the Museum, which have been transformed with new commissions and recent works in dialogue with objects from the Rubin’s collection, inviting new ways of encountering traditional Himalayan art.
I attended a media preview, and was most impressed by the new exhibit, which is dominated by a six-floor fabric sculpture blazing with color and dotted with traditional symbols and animals.
The building – with an architecturally-significant five-story circular staircase – was previously a department store. A museum spokesperson told me the building would be sold, probably in 2024. I told her I hope the sale contract requires that the building NOT be razed for a high-rise condo.
- The Rubin Museum is at 150 W. 17th St. in Chelsea.
The Awe of the Arctic: A Visual History at the NYPL
This is a must-see an exhibition of narrative accounts, prints, photographs and ephemera from the New York Public Library’s collection documenting Arctic depictions from the 16th century to the present.
FREE through July 13 at the NYPL main building on Fifth Avenue – you know the one – with the lions out front.
There also are FREE talks connected with this new exhibit. Check the website for event schedule.
Frick Madison Closed Permanently
After three years at its temporary space called Frick Madison at 945 Madison Ave. while Henry Clay Frick’s historic and ornate Fifth Avenue mansion underwent a massive renovation, the artwork is returning “home” to East 70th Street, and reopens before the end of 2024.
It will take that long for curators and designers to re-install the precious items, which includes works by Fragonard, Holbein, Rembrandt, Turner, Vermeer, and Whistler, as well as significant sculptures, Chinese porcelain, Oriental carpets, bronzes, and other decorative arts objects.
I really enjoyed seeing the luscious historic collection in the stark, modernist setting of Marcel Breuer’s iconic building, formerly home of the Whitney Museum of American Art, before it moved downtown to new digs in Chelsea. The “brutalist” architecture made the romantic, ethereal artworks feel so much more romantic and ethereal.
The building has been purchased by Sotheby’s, to become an exhibit area for auctions and offices.
ICYMI – News Worth Noting
Loeb Boathouse in Central Park has reopened, for lunch, brunch and dinner, and for weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and other celebrations.
The grand dame of Central Park (at East 72nd Street and Park Drive North) is now run by Legends Hospitality, the food and beverage behemoth responsible for the menu at Yankee Stadium
Loab Boathouse is open Monday-Saturday 11am to 9pm and Sundays 11am to 8pm.
- The new menu features such continental classics as oysters Rockefeller, clam chowder, prime rib, chicken Milanese and Trout Almandine.
- Entrées are $22 to $64, and desserts are all $14.
- There’s also a full bar with everything from champagne to Cosmos.
Shakespeare in the Park moves to multiple parks this summer.
Shakespeare on the move: The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is being renovated, so the Public Theater, which presents the iconic FREE performances, plans to send a smaller production of “The Comedy of Errors” to several parks and plazas around the city between Memorial Day and the end of June.
That will be followed by outdoor screenings of a filmed production of “Much Ado About Nothing” in July, August and early September
Bow Bridge in Central Park has re-opened after repairs that included replacing its wood decking.
- Designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould, the cast iron bridge’s name comes from its signature bow shape.
- A popular spot for photographs, the bridge was constructed by the Bronx-based iron foundry Janes, Kirtland & Co., which also built the dome of the U.S. Capitol Building.
The Bow Bridge is featured on the cover photo of one of my NYC guidebooks.
Brooklyn Public Library locations are no longer be open on Sundays, due to NYC budget cuts in response to the billions being spent to support more than 100,000 recent asylum seekers and other migrants
These NYPL branches also are now closed on Sundays for the same reason:
- The main branch on Fifth Ave., officially known as the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
- Also in Manhattan – Jefferson Market, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) m Washington Heights
- Bronx – Bronx Library Center, Grand Concourse, Parkchester
- Staten Island – Todt Hill–Westerleigh
Viselka, the iconic Ukranian restaurant on the Lower East Side, has opened an outpost in the downstairs Dining Concourse at Grand Central Terminal.
- The LES location plans to return to 24/7 operation soon. It was halted by the Pandemic.
Junior’s, the iconic cheesecake (and more) restaurant in Brooklyn and Times Square has opened an outpost in Las Vegas.
See Also
More FREE Things to Do in NYC
Things to Do in Staten Island
Best NYC Airport Transportation
Cherry Blossom Season
Where to see cherry blossoms in all five boroughs of New York City, and in New York State
World Literature Festival at NYPL
April 15 to 30 – The New York Public Library’s World Literature Festival celebrates books and writers from around the world and reflects the languages spoken in our communities. Discover what NYPL patrons are reading in different languages, resources the offers, free events, book recommendations, and more.
This FREE celebration of books and their authors kicks off with Written Work: Poetry, Labor, and the Global City, a book party “unpacking the pleasures and pain of working in the city,” plus multiple other FREE events over the two-week celebration.
- From 6:30 p.m. online and in-person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library.
If you have a NYPL library card, you can borrow the authors’ books for free with the NYPL e-reader app SimplyE, available for iOS and Android devices.
Don’t have a New York Public Library card? Get one here.
Broadway Bridges $10 Theater Tickets for Students
The Broadway League also sponsors a program for NYC public high school students to attend a Broadway show for just $10.
As with Kid’s Night on Broadway, the goal of Broadway Bridges is to make Broadway more accessible to young people.
A teacher or administrator at the High School must also be registered as a chaperone with the Broadway League.
Twenty shows are partnering with the Broadway League and the United Federation of Teachers to make the $10 tickets possible. They are
- Aladdin,
- & Juliet,
- A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical,
- Back to the Future: The Musical,
- Chicago,
- Hadestown,
- Harmony,
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,
- How to Dance in Ohio,
- Kimberly Akimbo,
- Merrily We Roll Along,
- MJ,
- Moulin Rouge! The Musical,
- SIX,
- Spamalot,
- Sweeney Todd,
- The Lion King,
- The Outsiders,
- Water for Elephants and
- Wicked.
Find out more about Broadway Bridges $10 tickets at https://www.broadwaybridges.org/
Bargemusic FREE Concerts
NYC’s floating concert hall, moored under the Brooklyn Bridge is back for the 2024 season, with FREE weekend concerts.
Walk across the gangplank of a renovated coffee barge into a “wonderfully intimate wood-paneled room with thrilling views of lower Manhattan and excellent acoustics.”
This is the Spring performance schedule – the day’s program is announced at the beginning of the program.
There are no reservations, so arrive early enough to get a seat. FREE, but contributions are welcomed. There also are ticketed concerts – check the link for the schedule.
- Saturday, April 6 at 2 pm
- Saturday, April 13 at 2 pm / Sunday, April 14 at 2 pm
- Saturday, April 20 at 2 pm / Sunday, April 21 at 2 pm
- Saturday, May 11 at 2 pm / Sunday, May 12 at 2 pm
- Saturday, May 25 at 2 pm
Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden
Through April 21 – It’s a sure sign of spring when the fabulous Orchid Show return to the fabulous NY Botanical garden.
There is no more fragrant display of beauty in the Bronx than the New York Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show, and this year’s theme, “Florals in Fashion,” is perhaps its most glamorous iteration yet, and fits with New York City being the fashion capital of the world (Sorry Paris and Milan)
NYBG tapped contemporary designers Hillary Taymour, Olivia Cheng, and Kristen Alpaugh to create pieces inspired by the vibrant blooms, and it’s also inviting guests to “walk the runway” and show off their own orchid-like looks.
- Tickets are $35 for adults, $31 for students, and $15 for kids, for the entire garden, including the orchids.
12th Annual Black Comic Book Festival
Friday/Saturday, April 26/27 – Get ready to cosplay, discover the newest names in graphic novels, meet groundbreaking artists, designers and writers, at the 12th Annual Black Comic Book Festival.
It’s FREE to attend, but registration is required both for in-person and for virtual events.
Friday, April 26
- 11 AM–12 Noon | Graphic Histories & Comics in the Classroom
- 1–2 PM | How to Draw Black Superheroes & Comics with Tim Fielder of Diesel/Funk Studios
- 3:30–4:30 PM | Say It Proud: Amplifying LGBTQ+ Voices in Comics
- 5:30–6:30 PM | Black Comics Trivia Challenge
Saturday, April 27
- 10:30 AM–11:30 AM | The Little Heroes of Color Musical
- 12:30 PM–1:30 PM | “IYANU: Weaving West African Wonder into Animation” Presented by Lion Forge Entertainment
- 2:15 PM–3:15 PM | Free Writing: Finding Liberation Through Literature
- 3:50 PM–4:50 PM | She’s Out There Screaming: Women & the New Golden Age of Black Horror
- 5:30 PM–6:30 PM | A Very Black Cosplay Showcase
Guests: ChibiT Cosplay, Sir Julius Cosplay, DJ Gregory Wilson, and Kadiatou Tubman (SchomCom Curator and Executive Producer)
SchomCom Exhibitors will be onsite at the Schomburg Center on Friday from 10 AM- 7 PM & Saturday from 10 AM- 6 PM.
You can find a complete list of vendors here: www.schomcom.org.
You can also purchase featured titles and merchandise from the Schomburg Shop: https://schomburgshop.com.
- The Schomburg Center is a branch of the NYPL, at 135th St. and Malcolm X Blvd.
African American Burial Ground
Join Ranger Emily every day of National Park Week (April 20th, 23rd-27th) at 2 pm for her “Ask a Ranger” presentation.
Ranger Emily will explain the organization, function, and benefits of the National Park Service in her program.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to ask a ranger questions about the National Park Service.
Bryant Park Dance Party
It doesn’t matter if you have two left feet. These dance parties will get you organized and dancing.
Dance Party celebrates its 10th anniversary season with ten styles of dance over six nights in May. And it’s FREE.
Every Wednesday and Thursday from May 1 to May 16 learn the basics of a different dance from top instructors, and then use what you learned to dance, dance, dance.
Meet at the iconic Bryant Park fountain to learn basic steps with expert instructors at 6pm. Afterwards, participants can test out their new moves to live music performed by a diverse selection of bands from 7pm-8:30pm.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase – snacks and light bites crafted by local vendors curated by Hester Street Fair, as well as a selection of beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages by Stout NYC.
- May 1 – This year’s series kicks off with New York City’s signature brand of Salsa and R&B – as well as Dance Party’s 50th all-time performance – served up by Uptown Royalty.
- May 2 – Disco’s golden era from The Disco Nights
- May 8 – Bachata Traditional with Bachata sensation Judy Santos (5/8);
- May 9 – Lindy Hop from award-winning vocalist and bandleader Charles Turner & Uptown Swing
- May 15 – Motown-inspired dance music from KD Browne ;
- May 16 – The four-hour Latin Festival closing night features four different dance genres – Charanga, Cuban Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, and Salsa Dura – with the help of two legendary Latin dance bands, La Charanga Pacha and Jimmy Bosch Salsa Masters
See Also
Best FREE Things in NYC Year-Round
Late Night Shows Taped in New York City
The late night shows taped in NYC are one of the most popular tickets in town. Here’s how to get FREE tickets to be in the audience.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
Jon Stewart Returns to The Daily Show
First Weekend of the Month Museum Deals
Free Admission to Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Friday, May 3
UNIQLO NYC Nights are the first Friday of each month, 4–8 pm.
New York City residents get free admission courtesy of UNIQLO, but everyone can enjoy an evening out in our galleries with paid admission.
See new art in the galleries, enjoy music by DJs from The Lot Radio, grab a drink at the pop-up bar, get creative with drop-in drawing sessions, see a film in the theaters, and enjoy the spring weather in the lovely outdoor sculpture garden.
Free First Fridays at Neue Galerie, Friday, Fri., May 3
First Fridays at Neue Galerie offer free admission and extra hours to closing, the first Friday of the month.
Visitors are admitted free at 5 p.m. and the galleries remain open until 8 p.m. No registration is required, and admission is first-come, first-served.
The Book Store and Design Shop stay open late, too.
Free First Fridays at Poster House, Friday, Fri., May 3
Poster House is the first museum in the United States dedicated to the global history of posters. First Fridays free admission is all day, 10am to 9pm
Every First Friday is different, with tours, workshops, performances, and activities, to further engage visitors with the exhibitions.
- Poster House is at 119 West 23 St. in Chelsea. tel. 617-447-7453
Free Fridays & Sundays at The Whitney Museum of American Art
The Meatpacking District art museum has dropped its “pay-what-you-wish” system on Fridays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on the second Sunday of every month, when admission will be free for all visitors.
Second Sundays offers free all-day admission to visitors and special programming for families. On the second Sunday of every month, guests can enjoy all-ages arts & crafts activities, tours, classes, and other special events connected to exhibitions on view at the Whitney or significant community events like Earth Day or Pride Month.
The inaugural installment on Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend celebrates Black artists whose work is featured in the Whitney’s collections and current exhibitions, like “Henry Taylor: B Side.”
Other programs on view during the launch of both Free Fridays and Second Sundays include “Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith, Inheritance, Ruth Asawa Through Line,” and“Natalie Ball: bilwi naats Ga’niipci.” Also on view will be the museum’s permanent collection exhibitions, featuring artists such as Edward Hopper, Kara Walker, Georgia O’Keeffe, Kevin Beasley, Faith Ringgold, Lee Krasner, Jasper Johns, Alexander Calder, Jacob Lawrence, Carrie Mae Weems, Andrea Carlson, and Clarissa Tossin.
The Whitney hopes free admission will make the museum more enticing to potential visitors and open the doors to a wider audience.
Tickets during the free admission periods must be reserved in advance.
Free Saturdays at the Jewish Museum
There is FREE admission every Saturday.
Israeli artist Zoya Cherkassky’s “7 October 2023,” a collection of 12 graphic, gut-wrenching drawings depicting the horrors of Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, is currently on view at the Jewish Museum.
It’s the first time these works are displayed in public. “It’s cultural activism; it’s art activism,” James Snyder, the museum’s new director, tells our Julia Gergely. “It’s not about the complex politics of what’s going on. It’s about artists producing work in response to trauma and tragedy happening in the world.”
- The Jewish Museum is at 1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd St.
Cinco de Mayo Festival in Queens
Saturday, May 4 – Celebrate the culture of Mexico, with music and dance performances, at this annual celebration at the Kupferberg Center.
Tickets are on sale now for just $20 – and no service charge
Free Tours of Hart Island
Hart Island is now open to the public. Since 1869, more than 1 million New Yorkers have been laid to rest on the island.
NYC Parks is now offering visits twice per month so New Yorkers can learn about its important history and see the beauty of the island and enjoy picture postcard views of the city.
You can put your name in the lottery for a free walking tour here.
- Tours are Tuesdays, 10am to 1pm
This NYC Best Things to Do Calendar is updated at the beginning and middle of each month.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter also is the author or editor of numerous NYC guidebooks and apps.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter currently serves as President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA), a former Board Member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and a current member of the North American Travel Journalists Assn. (NATJA).
Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.
Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter
Nancie Steinberg says
This is great! I love exploring my city and being made aware of what’s going on and where to go!