NYC Guide: Best Free & Cheap Things to Do In January & Beyond

Now that my hometown is back on top of the must visit destination list, here’s how to enjoy NYC on the cheap.

Things to do include FREE museum admission, the return of Restaurant Week with discount menus and 2-for-1 Broadway show tickets, citywide train and hotel discounts, a new museum exhibit honoring Flaco the owl, ice skating in Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and under the Brooklyn Bridge, Holocaust Remembrance Day events, MLK Day events, Lunar New Year events, a film festival in Queens, FREE SuperBowl watch parties, and so much more.

It all helps make New York City the greatest city on the planet year-round, not just in January but all year.

Nearly everything here is FREE and family-friendly, and nothing is more than $25 per adult unless it is a free program with museum or zoo admission, supports a charity, or otherwise is a noteworthy special event. Some free events require registration.

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.

NYC Tourism Facts

In 2024, New York City welcomed nearly 65 million visitors, the second-highest figure in city history and a 3.5 percent increase from the previous year.

The city is on pace to break city records in 2025 during the celebration of New York City’s 400th anniversary, marking a full economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

New York remains the most visited city in the United States and a top destination for international markets and major events. 

NYC News To Know – Congestion Pricing

If you are driving into the center of Manhattan, including as a passenger in a car service like Uber or Lyft, be aware that so-called “congestion pricing” tolls went into effect on Sunday, January 5th.

The goal is to reduce gridlock, reduce pollution and raise money for public transit.

A new toll applies for the most congested part of Manhattan, south of Central Park. Cost varies depending on the day of the week, the hour of the day, and whether the vehicle is equipped with E-ZPass, the electronic toll collection system used in many states.

Congestion Pricing Costs

• $9 for peak traffic hours, 5am to 9pm weekdays and 9am to 9pm weekends.
• $2.25 for off-peak overnight hours
• Vehicles without E-ZPass will be receive bills by mail, for $13.50 for peak hours and $3.30 for off-peak,
• Motorcyclists pay half the amount that cars pay during peak hours but the same off-peak
• Trucks, buses and large vans (including airport shuttle vans) pay more, depending on their size.
• The cost is once per day.

Congestion Pricing Meal Deal

From January 13th through January 17th, select Shake Shacks in New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut will offer a Congestion Pricing Combo: $9 ShackBurger + Fries.

See the complete list of locations  here.

• Note – the now-international Shake Shack chain began with a small kiosk in Madison Square Park, which is still in operation – and one of the locations serving the Congestion Pricing Combo.

Citywide Deals and Discounts

NYC Hotel Week Discounts

January 2-February 9 – NYC Hotel Week is really five weeks, each one filled with  discounts to NYC hotels, events and more.

Plan an epic stay during the five weeks of New York Hotel Week and enjoy 25% off* at some of the City’s best hotels. Unwind in stylish rooms, savor hot cocoa or cocktails in charming lobbies, and experience NYC’s world-class hospitality.

Plus, unlock special offers on everything from delicious restaurants to iconic attractions and Broadway shows to make your visit truly unforgettable.

Find out more on the NYC Tourism website.

NYC Broadway Week 2-for-1 Tickets

As with NYC Restaurant Week, NYC Broadway week is three weeks, and it also started to boost ticket sales in the quiet days after the holidays, and there’s another round of BOGO deals in the summer.

Nearly 30 Broadway shows are participating, including long-running hits such as Chicago, Aladdin, Hamilton, Wicked, Six and The Book of Mormon, and new hit shows including Left on Tenth and Audra McDonald in Gypsy. 

Tickets are available through NYC Tourism, the member-supported organization which promotes everything wonderful about my hometown.  The website also lets you search by genre (drama, comedy, musical) or Tony Award Winner.

Or, you can choose your show and book through another source, including directly from the theater.

Top shows sell out first.  Matinees are easier to get tickets for than weekends.

• However you book, use code BWAYWK25 to get the 2-for-1 ticket deal.
• Opt for upgraded seats using code BWAYUP25.

LIRR and Metro-North Winter Weekend Discounts

Weekends Only, through March 30th – MTA LIRR monthly ticketholders can bring up to 2 guests for $1 each.

Both commuter lines  will honor all monthly tickets for travel to and from all stations within the LIRR or Metro-North territories regardless of which stations are printed on the ticket. y. Promotional $1 tickets can be purchased via the TrainTime app under Family Fares or on board without incurring an extra charge.

Note that there is no cross-honoring of these discounted tickets between the railroads, meaning LIRR customers cannot use their monthly tickets to travel on Metro-North, and vice versa.

More information on this MTA website page.

NYC Restaurant Week

January 21 to February 9 – It’s really three weeks but who is counting. This is your annual chance to sample more than 500 participating restaurants with a Prix Fixe lunch or dinner.  All but 100 are in Manhattan.

Reservations are now open. Menu pricing is –

• Two-course prix-fixe lunch: $30, $45 or $60 – restaurants can offer only one price for Restaurant Week, so choose accordingly.
• Three-course prix-fixe dinner: $30, $45 or $60 – restaurants can offer only one price for Restaurant Week, so choose accordingly.
• Beverages, taxes and gratuities extra.
• On site dining only, although some restaurants may offer take-out and delivery with special arrangements.

ecoXplorer tips

• Lunch reservations are easier to get than dinner
• Mid-week reservations are easier to get than weekends.
• Find the restaurant you want and contact them directly, or via a reservations system like OpenTable, instead of booking through the NYC Tourism site.

For more information and a full list of participating restaurants, click here.

Restaurant Reservations Simplified Under New NYState Law

Just in time for NYC Restaurant Week – Getting reservations at popular restaurants is easier with a new law that cracks down on the practice of selling reservations without the restaurant’s knowledge or approval. In recent years it has become even harder as a secondary market has prospered; reservations for two at popular restaurants have been seen selling for hundreds of dollars.

To combat that, a new law taking effect in February will crack down on the practice of selling reservations without the restaurant’s approval.

Most of the reservations are scooped up by bots, which in can cause chaos for restaurants, The New York Times reported because they don’t have a clear picture of how many diners they would be serving, and their bottom lines have suffered when reserved tables sit empty because a bot-reservation doesn’t show up.

It’s a serious enough issue that it was the subject of a recent “Elsbeth” show on CBS – (spoiler alert) the chef murdered the waiter when she found out he was selling reservations.

January Events to Put on Your Calendar

Celebrate Edgar Allan Poe’s Birthday at Poe Cottage

Sunday, January 19th – Join The Bronx County Historical Society and local poets and authors for a day of free admission and tours, readings of Poe’s poetry, and readings of original poetry and stories at this FREE event at Poe Cottage.

The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage will be open from 1 until 5pm on January 19th for a special event to commemorate Poe’s birthday.

The Poe Cottage is located at 2640 Grand Concourse in The Bronx, where he wrote some of his most beloved poems.

In 1844, Poe moved in with his wife, Virginia, and her mother. Poe hoped that the quiet cottage, surrounded by fields and orchards and far from the noisy and polluted city, would help Virginia recover from tuberculosis. It didn’t – she died two years later.

Poe wrote some of his most famous works in the cottage, including “Annabel Lee,” “Eureka,” and “The Bells.”

Poe Cottage also is a member of the Historic House Trust of NY, which includes many such important and historic homes.

Read more about Edgar Allan Poe’s time in New York.

Film Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image

January 4th-26th – The Museum of the Moving Image hosts the second half of its annual Curators’ Choice program from Saturday, Jan. 4, to Sunday, Jan. 26.

The international lineup mixes 17 feature films and three works for television. Plus, some screenings include guest appearances by actors, directors, and producers.

General admission is $17.50, but seniors and students can attend for $12 and youth (ages 3–17) only pay $10.

Click here for mini-reviews of each film, including the Dune and the award-winning Nickel Boys, and start times.

• All films will show in either the Sumner M. Redstone Theater or the Celeste and Armand Bartos Screening Room
• MoMI is located at 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.

34th Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center

January 5th-29th – You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this international collection of films, documentaries and short films exploring the human experience, including love and loss, including a restored silent film from 1922. There also are in-person appearances by filmmakers and others.

Among the oldest and most influential Jewish film festivals worldwide, NYJFF’s 34th edition showcases nearly two dozen features, documentaries, and shorts (eight narrative features, 11 documentary features, one miniseries and two short films), including the latest works by dynamic voices in international cinema.

Also featured are two historic films including the 50th anniversary screening of the beloved, recently restored 1975 period drama, Hester Street, directed by Joan Micklin Silver, which brilliantly recreates Jewish immigrant life on New York’s Lower East Side at the turn of the century, and features Carol Kane in an Oscar-nominated performance; and Breaking Home Ties, a 1922 classic silent melodrama, once believed lost, which has been digitally restored by the National Center for Jewish Film, and is now presented with a newly recorded score performed by Grammy Award-winning musicians.

Other screenings include –

Midas Man is an empathetic biopic on Brian Epstein, the Jewish, gay music lover who discovered and then managed the Beatles in the 1960s before his tragic death at age 32. The film features a deeply moving Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit) as Epstein, with a cast that includes Jonah Lees as John Lennon, Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney, and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.

Of Dogs and Men dives headfirst into the psychological horrors of our contemporary world with this experiential account of a teenager named Dar (Ori Avinoam), who returns home to her kibbutz searching for her missing dog in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 attacks in Israel.

Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round, is a timely and uplifting evocation of cooperative political protest. Ilana Trachtman’s documentary recalls a crucial 1960 chapter in the Civil Rights Movement when protesting Black students were joined by Jewish locals as they perched defiantly on a merry-go-round in Maryland’s segregated Glen Echo Amusement Park.

Blind at Heart is a gripping adaptation of Julia Franck’s prize-winning novel about an aspiring doctor who tries to hide her Jewish identity after arriving in Weimar-era Berlin as a young woman.

Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire digs deep into the philosophically abundant inner life of Holocaust survivor and Night author Elie Wiesel, depicted with nuance and tenderness and enriched by access to his personal archives.

Full Support takes the viewer into a bra shop in Jaffa, Israel, where a string of women share stories and anxieties about their relationships with their own bodies.

The Glory of Life sketches the last year in the life of novelist Franz Kafka and the love he experiences with Dora Diamant, a Polish Jewish woman he meets on holiday at the Baltic Sea.

The ongoing dilemmas around the reclamation, ownership, and exhibition of art looted by the Nazis during World War II form the center of Jamie Kastner’s absorbing documentary, The Spoils, about the legacy of Max Stern, a German Jewish art dealer who escaped to Canada in 1937.

The Zweiflers is a comic-dramatic, multigenerational saga, set in Frankfurt and Berlin, following the travails of an extended Jewish family sorting out the future of its vast delicatessen empire in contemporary Germany that maintains a vivid, humorous tone.

• Screenings are at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street
• Click here to see the detailed schedule with screening times and brief reviews, and get tickets.

FREE Ice Skating Shows at Wollman Rink

Thursday, January 9th, February 6th, March 6th – Wollman Rink already offers an iconic New York experience on ice, surrounded by the splendor of Manhattan’s city skyline. And now you can watch amazing skaters from the Ice Theatre of New York performing here on three dates, one each in January, February and March.

ITNY’s mission is to celebrate and advance dance on ice as a performance art.

ITNY was the very first ice dance company to receive dance program funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Admission is included with a skate session purchase.  You can also watch for FREE from one of the areas overlooking the skating rink.

• Performances are at 6:15pm.
• There are additional performances on Thursday, Feb. 6th and again on Thursday, Mar. 6th.

See Also – Where to Go Ice Skating in All Five NYC Boroughs

Thunderbird American Indian Dancers

Weekends Jan. 10/12 and 17/19 – The Thunderbirds represent many different Native American tribes, all of whom happen to live in NYC and the surrounding area, and share their dances, storytelling, crafts and heritage year-round at NYC museums and on stage.

They are presenting their 50th annual concert of music, dance and storytelling at the Theater for the New City the weekends of January 10-12 and 17-19, 2025.

This is a unique educational and entertainment experience.  The Thunderbirds perform authentic dances of the Iroquois, Southwest and Great Plains Native American peoples.

Each dance is introduced with a complete explanation of the dance and its cultural context and is accompanied by live music.  My personal favorite is the Hoop Dance, which is why I’m featuring this photo of the troupe’s Hoop Dance star.

Shows are on Friday, January 10 and 17, and Saturday, January 11 and 18 at 8 PM, with ticket prices of $20.

There are also special matinee performances for children on Saturdays and Sundays at 3 PM, January 11, 12, 18 and 19, with tickets for children aged 5-12 for only one dollar (children must be accompanied by an adult paying the regular $20 price.  Attendance is not recommended for children under 5.).

Part of the proceeds support scholarships for Native American students in need.

• All performances are at the Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue at East 10^th Street in Manhattan.
• Phone (212) 254-1109 for reservations or go to www.TheaterForTheNewCity.net for advance ticket purchases.

Lunar New Year Celebrations

Lunar New Year at MOCA

Sat., Jan 11 – Get Ready for the Lunar New Year at the Museum of Chinese in America, at this special workshop where you will learn to create iconic red envelopes, enjoy storytelling and more.

This year is the Year of the Snake.  The actual Lunar New Year celebration at MOCA is Sat., Feb. 1

• FREE, but RSVP is required to manage space. 

FREE 27th New Year Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival

Wednesday, January 29  –Kick off the first day of the 2025 Lunar New Year calendar in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

FREE Celebrate Lunar New Year at Hudson Yards 

Saturdays January 18 & 25 and February 1st –  Commemorate the Year of the Snake with traditional lion dances and ribbon twirling performances from The New York Chinese Cultural Center – the same group which performed at New Year’s Eve in Times Square.

And discover The Golden Tree located on Level 1 by Dior. The Golden Tree is a symbol of Lunar New Year representing good fortune, prosperity, and luck. The Year of the Snake motif is woven through the trunk of the tree and the top of the tree is adorned with lucky red envelopes filled with gifts from Hudson Yards shops and restaurants.

There also are Lunar New Year shopping and dining discounts at participating businesses.

• Learn more here.
• At 1pm and 3pm all three Saturdays.

FREE Lunar New Year Celebration at The Skyscraper Museum

Learn about the history of architecture across East Asia, and why it remains important to our fundamental understanding of height from ancient times to the present day. Then, celebrate Lunar New Year by creating illuminated paper lanterns, decorated with that architecture in mind.

• FREE, 10:30am to 11:30am
• Reservation required
• The Skyscraper Museum is at 39 Battery Place, one block from the Museum of Jewish Heritage

Sunday, January 26 – Bring the family to this free drop-in program celebrating Lunar New Year, presented in collaboration with Cool Culture.

Create art inspired by the collection and enjoy a lion dance performance by the Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club at 3 pm.

• 2-4pm.$20 adult admission, FREE for children

Lunar New Year Storytime at Brooklyn Children’s Museum

Thursday, January 30 – Celebrate the Year of the Snake with a lively event featuring interactive storytelling, bilingual activities, crafts, and a special meet-and-greet with Michele Wong McSween, author of Gordon & Li Li. Just like the clever and graceful snake, this celebration is poised to spark curiosity, creativity, and connection while exploring the rich traditions of Lunar New Year.

Books and plushies will be available for purchase and a book signing will follow the reading.

• 3:00-3:45pm. FREE during Amazon Free Hours

FREE Lunar New Year Celebration at Atlantic Terminal Mall

Friday, January 31  – Celebrate the joy and traditions of the Lunar New Year with a dazzling event at Atlantic Terminal Mall. Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of Chinese culture through captivating traditional Chinese dances and mesmerizing performances and a calligraphy brush painting workshop by the New York Chinese Cultural Center! The event will include traditional Chinese dance performances including a traditional lion dance, cultural performances, and a festive atmosphere with vibrant decorations.

• FREE, 3-5pm
• Atlantic Terminal Mall is in Downtown Brooklyn

There are more Lunar New Year celebrations in February.

Scroll down to our February Calendar to see those.

Speed Dating & Matchmaking in NYC at MCNY

Saturday, January 18 – In a city of more than 8 million people, it shouldn’t be so hard to find someone that shares your interests and passions. Join the Museum of the City of New York in partnership with matchmaking service and new dating app, When We First, for a unique speed dating and matchmaking event where you will always remember that you first met at the Museum. 

After the matchmaking sessions, enjoy a reception with mingling and a complimentary drink to keep the conversations flowing. Attendees will also receive an exclusive discount to our upcoming Valentine’s Date Night event on Friday, February 14th.

Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to tell your children and grandchildren “we met at the museum”.

• Tickets are $25, including reception
• 1pm-4pm

FREE Family Day of Native Games at NMAI

Saturday, January 25 – This family-friendly event at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) celebrates Indigenous games from across the Western hemisphere in celebration of winter. Participants will learn about and can play games, including Inuit yo-yo, stickball, a strategic Hawaiian board game called kōnane, and ring and pin.

In addition to games, a surfboard, kayak, and snowshoes will be on display, and visitors will have the opportunity to learn how surfers protect wooden surfboards. Jaedyn Wesley (Standing Pine Community) will discuss and demonstrate stickball with audience participation.

• FREE, Noon to 5pm
• The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is at Bowling Green.
• As part of the Smithsonian, NMAI offers FREE admission year-round

NYC Events Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day

FREE Screening of “Selma”

Wednesday, January 15th – The movie “Selma” depicts the pivotal civil rights march that ended in violence and ultimately led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

From acclaimed director Ava DuVernay comes the movie Selma, the true story of courage and hope that changed the world forever. Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo shines as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who rallied his followers on the historic march for voting rights from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery in the face of violent opposition.

The march forced a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson and became a milestone victory for the civil rights movement, leading to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

This is a FREE screening from AARP’s “Movies for Grownups” series.

• You don’t have to be an AARP member to join the screening.
• Click the link to see the official movie trailer.
• 7pm, online only.
• Sign in at least 10 minutes before to negotiate the needlessly complicated AARP sign-in procedure.

FREE Annual Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. at BAM

Monday, January 20th -The Brooklyn Academy of Music and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso will host the 39th Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The free public event, the largest celebration in New York City honoring Dr. King.

The event will feature a keynote address by Carlotta Walls LaNier, a member of the Little Rock Nine and a civil rights pioneer. LaNier rose to prominence at 14 years old when she became the youngest student to help desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957. Her speech will focus on continued action in the fight for equality and her personal journey as an activist.

Performances will include a solo by Ailey II dancer Kiri Moore, presenting an excerpt from Divining, choreographed by the late Judith Jamison, which  reflects themes of searching and determination that align with Dr. King’s legacy of justice and equality. The Fire Ensemble, an intergenerational choir led by composer Troy Anthony, will also perform.

BAM will also host additional free events throughout the day including If You Can’t Be the Sun, Be a Star!, a BAMkids program featuring activities like mural-making, a vintage photo booth and movement workshops designed to inspire reflection on Dr. Kings.

At 1:00pm, BAM Rose Cinemas will screen Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, a documentary about the South African photographer who captured life under apartheid, highlighting his contributions to justice and resilience.

• Tickets for the tribute will be distributed on a first-come, first-seated basis starting at 8:00am in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House lobby.
• Visit the organization’s website for more information.
• 10:30am in BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House,  30 Lafayette Ave.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day Events

FYI – January 27, 2025 is the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. On January 27, 1945, Allied troops entered the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, liberating more than 7,000 prisoners still living. More than 1.1 million people had already died in Auschwitz – nearly one million of whom were Jews.

• Personal Note – ecoxplorer Evelyn Kanter lost family members in the Holocaust. On my father’s side, dozens perished in Auschwitz and other camps.  On my mother’s side, her sister and family survived as slave labor.

Events at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan (in person or online) –

Friday, January 24th – At this fraught moment, internationally acclaimed historian and Holocaust survivor Dr. Anita Shapira will speak during services in memory of those who survived, and the six million, including her parents, who did not.

Smuggled out of the Warsaw Ghetto as a toddler, Shapira spent the war in a convent and was then adopted by a Jewish couple who moved with her to Palestine in 1947.

She is the founder of the Yitzhak Rabin Center, professor emerita of Jewish history at Tel Aviv University and former head of the Weizmann Institute for the Study of Zionism, the author of seven books,  and winner of both the National Jewish Book Award and the Israel Prize.

The event is FREE and either in-person or online.  Registration is required

• FREE, at 6pm.

Friday, January 31 – Guest speaker is  Menachem Rosensaft, whose new book, Burning Psalms: Confronting Adonai after Auschwitz, recasts the sacred poetry of our tradition to seek meaning in the lingering horrors of the abyss.

Giving voice to the trauma that haunts children of victims and survivors, the reimagining of the original 150 biblical psalms turns praise into dirges, festivals into mourning — yet audaciously opens a pathway to pursue justice, find comfort and seek beauty in this world.

Born in the Displaced Persons camp of Bergen-Belsen, the son of two concentration camp survivors, Menachem Rosensaft is a New York City attorney and founding chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. Author of Poems Born in Bergen-Belsen, he served on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and has long been active in promoting Holocaust remembrance that includes other acts of genocide. He teaches at Columbia and Cornell and is a General Counsel Emeritus for the World Jewish Congress.

• FREE, at 6pm, also in-person or online.  Registration is required

Events at the Museum of Jewish Heritage –

Sunday, January 12th –  “Sabotage” film screening and panel discussion.

In January 1945, less than two weeks before the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp evacuation, four forced laborer women, Estusia Wajcblum, Rosa Robota, Alla Gartner, and Regina Safirstein were hanged in public, accused of sabotaging the Nazi war machine. Sabotage tells the dramatic unknown story of the women’s underground operation in Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is a story of feminine heroism, resistance, and tragedy told through the eyes of Anna Wajcblum Heilman, Estusia’s sister and youngest member of the women’s resistance.

Under the horrific inferno of Auschwitz, Anna writes a diary describing the dramatic story of the women’s resistance, the camaraderie, and the friendship between them.

The screening of the film will be followed by a discussion with Ariela Heilman, daughter of Auschwitz survivor Anna Waczblum, and Irit Felsen, a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma and traumatic loss.

• 2pm, in person only.
• FREE, but a $10 donation is requested.  Register here.

Sunday, January 26th – Discover history like never before as this Spirit of Triumph tour uses virtual reality (VR) technology to offer a firsthand perspective of Auschwitz.

Participants will be able to explore the haunting landscapes and barracks of Auschwitz, fostering empathy and a deeper understanding of the Holocaust.

• In person only, 10:30am or 12:30pm.
• Get tickets here for the 10:30am Auschwitz VR experience.
• Get tickets here for the 12:30pm Auschwitz VR experience

Sunday, January 26th – the Museum will commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a chamber music concert, featuring a string sextet from the Manhattan Chamber Players. The concert will commemorate all those who perished in the Holocaust and celebrate the resilience of Jewish music and culture.

This program is made possible in part through a partnership with the Battery Park City Authority.

• 2pm, in-person or online.
• FREE, but a $10 donation is requested. Registration is required.
• MJH is adjacent to Battery Park.

More Holocaust Remembrance Day Events

FREE Screening of “Resistance: They Fought Back”

Sunday, January 26th – Other than the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto, it is widely believed that during the Holocaust, “Jews went to their deaths like sheep to the slaughter.” Filmed in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel and the U.S., the documentary Resistance – They Fought Back provides a much-needed correction to the myth of Jewish passivity.

There were uprisings in ghettos large and small and rebellions in death camps, and thousands of Jews fought Nazis in the forests And everywhere in Eastern Europe, Jews waged campaigns of non-violent resistance against the Nazi barbarism.

This is a FREE screening from AARP’s “Movies for Grownups” series.

• You don’t have to be an AARP member to join the screening.
• 7pm, online only.
• Sign in at least 10 minutes before to negotiate the needlessly complicated AARP sign-in procedure.

Broadway Musicals and Anti-Semitism at NYPL

Monday, January 27 – This FREE program explores  how Broadway musicals have dealt with antisemitism. In partnership with the National Jewish Theater Foundation’s Holocaust Theater International Initiative, we are joined by NJTF President, producer, director, and educator Arnold Mittelman who will interview people behind the musicals, Rothschilds & Sons, Cabaret, and Parade.

Sherman Yellen and Jeffrey B. Moss, the author and director of Rothschilds & Sons, as well as Alfred Uhry, author of Parade, join Mittelman for this event. It also includes a look at some clips from the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive.

• FREE, at 6pm, at the Library for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center
• Registered guests get priority for admission and seating.  Register here.

Responsibility of Memory: The Role of Art in Holocaust Remembrance

This virtual art exhibit remembering Yom HaShoah is on-going, sponsored by The Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Programme

The FREE online exhibit features three generations of artists whose lives were impacted by the Holocaust and whose art was shaped by this experience – including artists who survived  Auschwitz Birkenau and Terezin.

There are full descriptions of each painting, along with bios of each artist represented in the exhibit.

The exhibition was curated by the Center for Persecuted Arts and Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, and is sponsored by the German Federal Foreign Office with support from of the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations.

February Events to Plan

Lunar New Year Events in February

Lunar New Year Family Festival at The Museum of Chinese in America | Lower Manhattan

Saturday, February 1 – Welcome the Year of the Snake with a day of serpent-ine surprises for the whole family. Join for either thee morning session (10am-1pm) or afternoon session (2-5pm). 

Check here for full event schedule.

• 10am-1pm & 2-5pm
• $7 tickets
• FREE for children under 2

FREE Lunar New Year Celebration at The Seaport

Saturday, February 1 – Welcome the Year of the Snake with an exciting day of FREE cultural activities. In partnership with the New York Chinese Cultural Center and the South Street Seaport Museum, join this celebration of  Lunar New Year with live performances, crafts, and more.

• 12:00-12:30 & 1:00-1:30 – Lion Dance Performances at the Tin Building, 96 South Street
• 2:00-2:45, 3:00-3:45 & 4:00-4:45 – Calligraphy Workshops – at the Seaport Museum, 207 Water Street

Noon to 5pm, FREE, at the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan

Lunar New Year Celebration at Brooklyn Children’s Museum | Crown Heights

Saturday, February 1 – Learn about the traditions of Lunar New Year through storytelling with authors Yobe Qiu and Ran Wei; live music, dance, and Kung Fu workshops with the New York Chinese Cultural Center; calligraphy workshops with artist Nelson Leung, Snake themed programs in Nature’s Engineers (BCM’s STEM MakerSpace).

The lion dance parades are led by the Chinatown Community Young Lions.

• 10am-5pm,  $15 admission

FREE Lunar New Year Celebration at City Point and Albee Square

Saturday, February 1 – Celebrate Year of the Snake at City Point with traditional Lion Dances, Kids Lunar New Year-inspired crafts and more! Free and fun for all ages.

Families are encouraged to come dressed in red. The event will take place in the gallery space on the Main Floor, next door to Rumi. Stroller parking is available.

Lion Dances with Downtown Brooklyn Partnership: Tradition! Tradition! Discover Chow Lay Fut and his dynamic team of lion dancers. Performances:

FREE, 12-2pm. Lion dances 1-4:30pm.  RSVP here

• 1:00pm & 1:30pm | City Point (ground floor | gallery space)
• 2:10pm, 2:40pm & 3:20pm | Albee Square
• 3:40pm & 4:10pm | DeKalb Market Hall at City Point

Black History Month Event in Brooklyn

Thursday, February 20 – Join the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce for this annual celebration.

• FREE, 6pm, registration required.
• Click the link on the logo, or click here.

Black History Month Events in NYC

Black History Celebration at MCNY

Saturday, February 8 – This event will showcase the diverse narratives of Black New Yorkers, past and present, through a blend of storytelling, music, art, and discussion geared towards families and for adults and visitors of all ages. Attendees will also have the opportunity to see exhibitions highlighting the pioneering figures and communities that shaped the city, including pioneering politician Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to run for US President.

FREE with museum admission.  Some events require an additional RSVP. Events include –

• Arts and Crafts Activities for Families
• StoryTime for kids
• Gallery Tours of Changing the Face of Democracy: Shirley Chisholm at 100 and Activist New York
• I am Nobody’s Slave Book Talk with Author, Lee Hawkins – RSVP Here
• Panel Discussions on the African Burial Grounds of New York City and Early African Settlements. – RSVP Here
• Film Screenings (TBA) – RSVP Here
• Performances by Impact Reparatory Theatre and bites by Charles Pan Fried Chicken

Starts at 11am, to 5pm.

Black History Month Event in Brooklyn

Thursday, February 20 – Join the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce for this annual celebration.

• FREE, 6pm, registration required.
• Click the link on the logo, or click here.

Black History Month at The Skyscraper Museum

Saturday, February 22 – The Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s was a period of cultural rejuvenation for Black communities in New York, giving rise to literary, artistic, and social movements that advocated for challenging segregation and for the adoption of civil rights.

This program, Architecture of the Harlem Renaissance, explores how these developments, including jazz poetry and musical theater, were reflected by Harlem’s architecture then and now. The program includes creating  collages using cutouts of New York buildings, art pieces and literature from the Renaissance.

This is an in-person children’s program that meets at the Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Pl.

This will forward you to Ticketstripe for registration. After registering, you will receive emails to confirm your attendance through a Google Form (you only need to fill this out once). If you do not confirm attendance by the Friday morning before the program, your places will be canceled. Every child should be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

• In person only at the Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place.
• FREE, but registration is required.  
• If you do not confirm attendance by the Friday morning before the program, your places will be canceled.

20th Anniversary of The Gates

FREE SuperBowl Watch Party

Sunday, February 9th – Even though there’s no New York team in this year’s Big Game, you can still watch it, FREE, on a gi-normous screen at MetLife Stadium when .Super Bowl LIX takes over the New Orleans Caesars Superdome.

Verizon is throwing massive watch parties at 30 NFL arenas across the nation, complete with interactive activations, local food and drink offerings, exclusive stadium access and more, to celebrate the super sporting event.

The NYC FanFest is going to kick off at 4pm at MetLife Stadium. Expect a slew of football greats to be part of the fun as well, including Tiki Barber, Emmanuel Sanders, Patrick Willis and Derrick Brooks, plus local Ds will be spinning tunes to keep fans energized throughout the day, and tailgate games will keep everyone busy and pumped. Also on deck are exclusive locker room access, photo ops and the chance to snag some exclusive merchandise.

The actual game is scheduled to kick off at 6:30pm. Kendrick Lamar is set to take the stage for the half-time show around 8pm.

• Tickets are required and available on a first-come, first-served basis here.

Americans Who Saved European Jews in the Nazi Times

Thursday, February 20th – Long before the USA joined the war, American aid workers were active in rescue efforts across Europe to save endangered Jews. Some, followed by Nazi agents, learned secrecy as they spirited people across borders. Others negotiated with government representatives.

In this presentation at the Mueum of Jewish Heritage, renowned Holocaust scholar Debórah Dwork will focus on such Americans, many of whom were women.  The presentation is based on her new  book Saints and Liars which illuminates the unpredictable circumstances and often fast-changing historical events with which these rescuers contended, while revealing the moral questions they encountered and the devastating decisions they had to make.

Drawing on a multitude of archival documents, from letters to diaries and memos, Prof. Dwork offers a rare glimpse into the lives of individuals who – at times with their organizations’ backing, but sometimes against their directives – sought to help people find safe-haven from persecution.

Debórah Dwork is director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the Graduate Center—CUNY. Author (with Robert Jan van Pelt) of Flight from the Reich, Holocaust, and Auschwitz, among other works, she lives in New York.

• 7pm, in person only.  Register here. 
• FREE, but a a $10 donation is requested.
• The Museum of Jewish Heritage is at 36 Battery Place, just east of Battery Park.

 

 

Planing Ahead to Summer 2025

Hudson River Park’s Little Island has announced its lineup of FREE and $25 or less summer programming.

The Glade will have free performances from Wednesdays through Sundays in July and August, including by Suzan-Lori Parks, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Justin Vivian Bond.

Performances at the 700-seat amphitheater begin on June 6 with Twyla Tharp’s “How Long Blues.”  Tickets for performances at the Ampth will be capped at $25.

Best New NYC Park

Pier 97, Hudson River Park

Move over, High Line and Little Island  you’ve got competition.

Pier 97, the northernmost pier in Hudson River Park is now open, following a $47.5 million transformation from a parking lot and Dept. of Sanitation storage facility into a gleaming and appealing public park with multiple facilities.

Pier 97 – at 57th St. and the Hudson River – has  2.5 acres of public open space, complete with a playground, athletic field, sloping sun lawn, and more—all surrounded by over 16,000 square feet of vibrant flowers and plants. A new building with restrooms and concessions is expected to open this winter.

Constructed between 1921 and 1934, Pier 97 served as a hub of the Swedish America Line and remained an active dock through the 1970s. Then it became a parking lot used by the city’s Department of Sanitation until 2011.

Pier 97 features include –

• • The playground features a 26-foot-high rope climbing structure, a ship’s hull, and seasonal water spray features.
  • The 120-foot-long synthetic turf field can accommodate a range of sports and activities, while the 7,600-square-foot sloping lawn offers a relaxing green space, providing a shady place of respite on the pier.
  • A granite slide for guests of all ages connects the new elevated overlook and shaded belvedere section on the pier’s northern edge with the main pier below.
  • The sunset deck, equipped with bistro tables, chaise lounges, and two-tiered walls with seating, offers breathtaking views of the Hudson River and skyline.
  • Flexible gathering areas framed by flowers and plants offer tranquil spaces for socializing, and a walking promenade along the pier’s southern edge invites visitors for a relaxing stroll.

Work on a new park building directly north of Pier 97 containing public bathrooms, concessions, and a small maintenance area will open this winter. Solar panels will be installed on the roof, and the Hudson River Park Trust will issue a request for proposals (RFP) to select a food concessionaire. The Trust also plans to attract a historic vessel for docking on the south side of Pier 97.

Construction of the pier was primarily funded by $40.8 million from the NY State capital budget, plus  $6.7 million in proceeds from a Transferable Development Rights Sale completed by the Trust in 2018.

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Who is a real New Yorker?  It depends on who you ask.

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter was interviewed by

Time Out New York

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Where to Go Ice Skating in NYC

It’s one of the great winter pleasures in NYC, especially at one of the outdoor rinks with picture postcard and romantic skyline views.

Read our full posting with prices and hours for each rink, including discounts for NYC residents.

FREE Ice Skating in Bryant Park

• The  17,000-square-foot ice-skating rink is FREE with your own skates.  There also are skates and lockers for rental.

Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center

• The Rink at Rockefeller Center is open daily through March.   Reservations recommended.

Ice Skating at the Wollman Rink in Central Park

• The iconic rink is open through March 2025. During the skating season, enjoy skyline views, rinkside igloos, an expanded skate school, and free access programs.

The Rink at Brookfield Place

• Brookfield Place has plenty of holiday activities under its iconic palm trees inside, but outside, you’ll find a seasonally appropriate winter wonderland.

The Rooftop at Pier 17

• Spice up skating season with a dash of Irish whiskey at the Rooftop at Pier 17; the venue is partnering with legendary Irish pub the Dead Rabbit for a holiday pop up dubbed “Jingle Jangle”, including  nostalgic Irish holiday festivities,  kitschy cocktails , private cozy dining cabins, over-the-top decorations.

Winter Whirl Roller Rink at the Shops at the Oculus

• Okay, it’s not ice skating – but it is skating. The Oculus’s much-loved Winter Whirl Roller Rink returns for its second season.

Ice Skating Under the Brooklyn Bridge

• The Roebling Rink is one of the newest additions to rinks in NYC parks where you can go ice skating – and this one is under the Brookyn Bridge, with memorable views of Manhattan.

Ice Skating in Domino Park in Brooklyn

• Another brand new ice skating rink this season is the new one in Domino Park, along the waterfront in Williamsburg, with reduced prices for NYC residents.

Ice Skating at LeFrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park

• This is a unique space because there’s the choice of both outdoors and indoors.

Ice Skating at Industry City Ice Rink

• This rink is open through early March, Thursdays to Sundays only.  Industry City is a shopping complex in Sunset Park.

Best New NYC Museum Exhibits

Museum of Art and Design (MAD)

Barbie^®: A Cultural Icon explores the 65-year history of Barbie and the doll’s global impact on fashion and popular culture through an expansive display of more than 250 vintage dolls, life-size fashion designs, advertisements, and other artifacts, including a full-size Corvette for selfies.  It’s a timeline also of how the American culture has changed with women’s rights, diversity and more – great fodder for discussion as you visit.

On view through Mar 16, the exhibition traces the evolution of Barbie from a child’s toy to a global icon, exploring the style trends, careers, and identities that Barbie has embodied and popularized since her debut in 1959.

There also are FREE docent tours (with admission), and before-hours and after-hours tours.

The Year of Flaco the Owl at New York Historical

Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl who captured the hearts of New Yorkers during his yearlong travels across Manhattan, is celebrated in a new exhibition at The New York Historical on view from February 7 – July 6, 2025.

The Year of Flacorevisits the remarkable journey of this resilient raptor, who became a New York City icon after escaping from the Central Park Zoo.

The exhibition features photographs and video documenting Flaco’s flight and his new life in the city, along with letters, drawings, and objects left at a memorial beneath Flaco’s favorite oak tree following his death one year ago on February 23, 2024. It also examines the dangers faced by birds in urban environments, legislation inspired by Flaco’s legacy, and practical steps for creating a safer city for wildlife.

As part of this tribute, a related installation in the Audubon’s Birds of America Focus Gallery highlights owls, primarily those native to New York, offering additional insights into these majestic creatures. Also on view is Pets and the City, a history of New Yorkers and their animal companions, featuring a specially commissioned portrait of Flaco.

A special public program, The Year of Flaco, takes place on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 6:30 pm.

Jacqueline Emery and David Lei, photographers and co-authors of Finding Flaco: Our Year with New York City’s Beloved Owl, join Rebecca Klassen in conversation to examine the legacy of Flaco, from his escape from the Central Park Zoo to his social media celebrity status and the slate of legislation proposed in his honor to make the city a safer place for urban wildlife.

• New York Historical is the new name of The New York Historical Society.  New name, but same fascinating museum a 77th St. and Central Park West.

Brooklyn Museum

The video says it all. Okay – almost all. This shimmering exhibit covers 200 years of gold jewelry, gold fashions and more.  It’s a feast for the eyes.

• Tickets are required. 

Through July 6th.

9/11 Memorial and Museum

Remembering Sept. 11, 2001 – The World Trade Center redefined the city’s skyline and developed modern New York. Learn the story in a new exhibition at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

The 9/11 Museum is currently open six days a week, 9am to 7pm (plus select Tuesdays). Explore at your own pace, and plan to spend at least 45-90 minutes.

Bring tissues.  Some exhibits are not appropriate for very young children.

• The 9/11 Museum is adjacent to the FREE  9/11 Memorial Plaza, with the famous waterfalls.  That is open to the public 8am to 8pm daily.
• The museum is not free.  Tickets for the 9/11 Museum can be purchased here up to six months in advance. 

ICYMI – News Worth Noting

Fotografiska New York Has Closed

The photography museum has closed its location at 219 Park Avenue South to move to a new, larger space.  It is expected the museum’s well-regarded restaurant Verōnika and the Chapel Bar will re-open in the new space.

According to Crain’s, the architecturally stunning building is being put on the market.  The property was last listed in 2022 for $135 million.

Constructed between 1892 and 1894 for the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church, the ornate building  features a Flemish Renaissance Revival style and a striking limestone facade. The building, known as the Church Missions House, was part of an area formerly known as “Charity Row.” It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

No details of a new location for the museum have been announced yet.

The Frick Collection Re-Opens in April

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 returns “home” to East 70th Street, and scheduled to reopen in April 2025

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.

Michelin Guide Adds 12 NYC Restaurants

Fine dining just got more fine with the addition of 12 NYC restaurants to the famous Michelin Guide, bringing the number to 142.

• The new additions include French, Italian, seafood, Thai and Filippino choices
• See the full list here.   Reservations recommended.

Landing Day

On Sept. 15, 1654,  a group of 23 Sephardic Jews arrived on the shores of New York — then called New Amsterdam — and created the first organized Jewish community in the city. Today, 350 years later, NYC is home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world.

• The City Council has voted on a resolution to honor both, turning Landing Day from an event marked by a few Jewish leaders into an official date on the city’s calendar. That’s just short of making it a holiday, like Juneteenth.
• The resolution aims to “commemorate the arrival of the first Jewish community in New Amsterdam in 1654 and to celebrate the continuing importance of the Jewish community in the City of New York.”

New Food Hall in Former Lord & Taylor Building

NYC’s newest food hall, Shaver Hall, is set to open in the iconic former Lord & Taylor building on Fifth Avenue between 38th and 39th Sts., now housing Amazon.  According to a press release, it will “celebrate the rich heritage of the iconic Lord & Taylor building and promises to redefine the culinary landscape of Midtown Manhattan.”

• Shaver Hall is named in honor of Dorothy Shaver, the trailblazing president of Lord & Taylor and first woman to head a multimillion-dollar business.
• The first two announced tenants are Chick Chick, featuring Korean-inspired chicken, and Taqueria Al Pastor, with Mexican cuisine.

About the Lord & Taylor building –

• Originally constructed in 1914, the Lord & Taylor Building is an 11-story commercial masterpiece in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, designed by renowned architects Starrett & van Vleck.
• The building’s granite, brick, and limestone facade and copper cornice have symbolized elegance and sophistication for over a century, including for its famous and famously inventive holiday windows.

Gotham West Market Closes

Gotham West Market, a food hall that had been around for 11 years, will close at the end of the year after declining for several years, with the departure of popular tenants such as Ivan Ramen.

At its peak the  10,000-square-foot food hall in Hell’s Kitchen on 11th Avenue  was considered one of the city’s leading food halls, even proclaiming itself as the city’s best.

The Vessel at Hudson Yards Re-Opens

• The famous honeycomb sculpture has re-opened after shutting down in January following three suicides, but it is no longer FREE to visit.
• The 150-foot Vessel now has safety netting to safeguard visitors, and the once-free architectural sculpture now costs $10 per person.
• Visitors must buy at least two tickets and will not be allowed to visit alone.
• Hudson Yards is “installing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline signage and messaging” and increasing security, CNN reported.

Citi Bike Rate Increase

Lyft, the rideshare company which now owns and operates the bike share program, has raised rates again, especially for the popular battery-assisted e-bikes.

• Unlocking a Citi Bike now costs $4.79.
• E-bike fees are now approximately $10 for 15 minutes.
• A day pass for a manual bike is now $19.

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See Also

More FREE Things to Do in NYC

Things to Do in Staten Island

Best NYC Airport Transportation

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It’s All Happening at one of the NYC Zoos

Bronx Zoo

One of the largest zoos in the USA, the beloved Bronx Zoo has been celebrating its 125th anniversary throughout 2024, with a combination of new exhibits and a yearlong schedule of special events – including – .

Animal Chronicles: A NEW temp exhibit includes a walking trail of more than a quarter mile featuring life-size and gigantic, immersive eco-sculptures that showcase key achievements in the Bronx Zoo’s history of saving animal species and connecting New Yorkers to wildlife.

• Animal Chronicles will be available daily and is included with admission.

Monthly Birthday Celebrations: Weekend celebrations will be spread throughout the park on select days from April through September, including parades, performances, crafting, scavenger hunts, tours, Wildlife Theater, and much more.

• Each month features a different theme.
• Ticket prices are $37.75 for adults, $33.25 for seniors 65+ and  $28.75 for children 3-15.
• Purchase tickets online here. 

Wednesdays are FREE limited-admission

• Online reservations for timed tickets open on Mondays at 5 pm at the link.
• These tickets are for park entry only; individual-attraction tickets cost $7/person, per attraction.
• All visitors age 3 and up are required to have a ticket, and to reserve you must register with a valid email address.
• Limited tickets; first-reserved, first-served,

Prospect Park Zoo

The Prospect Park Zoo is open again after being forced to close for eight months due to  flood damage caused by the storm last September, which left 25 feet of water in the buildings’ basements.  No animals were harmed during or after the flooding. Repairs have cost  an estimated $20 million of federal funds, and repair projects are continuing even after the re-opening.

There are some new young animals, including baboons Bandari and Nyani and Pinnelopi the porcupette  plus Turtle Time and Conservation stations, sea lion feedings with narration, and more.

The animals are happy to have their humans, back, too.

• Adult tickets are $9.95, seniors are $7.95, children ages 3-12 are $6.95, and children 2 and under are free.
• Reserve tickets here

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See Also

Best FREE Things in NYC Year-Round

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FREE – 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 

• Tickets for Saturday Night Live (SNL)

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FREE Weekly & Monthly Museum Admission FREE Monday Admission to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum

First Monday of the Month  – This great opportunity is only for NYC residents.  You will have to show proof of NYC residency for free admission.

Everybody can get FREE admission every Monday, from  from 5:30pm to 7pm.

Simply log onto 911memorial.org from 7am on the Monday morning of your intended visit and book your free ticket.

Tickets are always free to 9/11 families, and the outdoor memorial plaza is always free.

• More information here.

FREE Admission to Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Friday, Jan. 3, Feb. 7, Mar. 7

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.

• Timed admission tickets  must be reserved online in advance.

FREE First Fridays at Neue Galerie, Friday, Fri., , Feb. 7, Mar. 7

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., Feb. 7, Mar. 7

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

Update – The Whitney Museum of American Art now offers free admission for all visitors 25 and under.

The new program builds upon the museum’s free admission on Fridays and the second Sunday of every month, which launched earlier in 2024, replacing  its “pay-what-you-wish” system.

Now, admission is FREE for all visitors on Fridays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on the second Sunday of every mont.

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.

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.

Free admission tickets must be reserved in advance.

FREE Saturdays at the Jewish Museum

There is FREE admission every Saturday.

My personal favorite is the ongoing “Scenes from the Collection” exhibit, with the delightful yellow sculpture shown here.  From one side, it spells OY, the German and Yiddish phrase for “uh-oh”.  From the other side, it spells YO, now used by multiple cultures in NYC as a greeting.

Which one do you use – OY, or YO, or both?

• The Jewish Museum is at 1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd St., in the former Warburg Mansion.

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.

Read about the history of Hart Island in this article in The City.

• Tours are Tuesdays, 10am to 1pm

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This NYC Best Things to Do Calendar is updated at the beginning and middle of each month.

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ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 25+ 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),

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a member of the North American Travel Journalists Assn. (NATJA) and the North American Snowsports Journalists Assn. (NASJA)

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter

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