I arrived on a late flight into New York, checked in at my hotel and
dozily crossed the road to buy a book to fall asleep to - which is where I
discovered that my credit card was blocked, maxed out, and that nothing
could be done about it.
So, no, I won’t have a nice day. Thank you.
One expensive call later and I found out that the credit-card company could
see my money was on its way, but it would take 24 hours to clear; very
helpful.
I had my accommodation covered, no problem, and some pocket dollars, enough
for the basics, but I wanted to be, like the song says, a part of it. It was
evening, I was tired and sleep is cheap. But the next day, I would need a
plan: a day in New York without spending any money.
Luckily, I have a friend, Dan, in New York, who knows a bit more about the
place than I do. I charged him with the task of showing me a side of the
city that doesn’t cost a bean. And he did, so I thought I’d pass it on to
you, too. For free, obviously. (Admittedly, this only works if you’re
reading online or from someone else’s paper.)
I MET DAN at Grand Central station and told him I wanted to start with the
best (free) view of the city. He knew just the thing, but first we had to
visit Bryant Park (40th and 42nd Streets at Fifth and Sixth Avenues). A few
years ago, it was known as Needle Park, and was full of druggies and
prostitutes. Then local businesses and residents took control, redesigned it
and replanted it.
Now there are free concerts, movies and shows in summer (in August, there were
selections from the big Broadway shows - a sort of try before you buy) and
in winter there’s a free 100ft by 170ft ice rink. There’s free WiFi all the
time and free yoga and t’ai chi from April to October (for listings, see www.bryantpark.org
). It also has New York’s best free rest rooms: in neo-Grecian style, I’d
say, with pillars, a giant marble urn for flowers, real bars of soap
(delicately perfumed) and even a uniformed attendant.
For the best grand, sweeping - and free - view of Manhattan, we went downtown
and walked onto the Staten Island ferry (www.siferry.com
). It leaves from the southernmost tip of Manhattan (South Ferry subway
stop) and transports 20m people a year the five miles to and from Staten
Island. The ferries depart every 15 or 30 minutes and the trip both ways
across the harbour, with that stunning view of the downtown skyscrapers, is
free. Nobody is really sure why, but one explanation is that it’s provided
so that the citizens of New York can walk between all five boroughs.
Of course, you can pay $25 for a harbour cruise that takes 90 minutes, but why
would you when you get exactly the same grand view of the downtown
sky-scrapers? Sure, you don’t go right up to the base of the Statue of
Liberty, but you’ve got a camera, so zoom in. We got off on Staten Island,
walked through the terminal, then straight back onto another boat waiting to
take us back. Twice the value.
I wanted some culture, but I didn’t want to pay. It turns out that most
museums have free sessions. If you wanted to visit one for nothing every day
of the week, you could just about manage it. TheNational Museum of the
American Indian (www.nmai.si.edu )
offers free entry every day. The £12 admission for the Metropolitan Museum (www.metmuseum.org
; closed Mondays) is a suggested price only, so you can get away with paying
as little as you dare. There’s a similar deal at the wonderful American
Museum of National History (www.amnh.org ;
open daily).
If it’s Wednesday, head to the Bronx Museum of the Arts (www.bronxmuseum.org
) for African, Asian- and Latino-inspired works. The Jewish Museum is free
on Saturdays (www.jewishmuseum.org
). On Friday night, the Museum of Modern Art (www.moma.org
), the Whitney Museum of Art (www.whitney.org
) and the Guggenheim Museum (www.guggenheim.org
) are all free.
We found just what I was looking for: the Frick Collection (www.frick.org
), which has pay-what-you-can entry before 1pm on Sundays. Even the
excellent audio guides are free. Before my credit crunch, I’d never even
heard of the Frick. The first thing you notice when you walk in is that this
collection of the works of the great European painters is just that: a
collection, not a museum, with no stuffiness or officious red rope. A lazy
Sunday morning, before the rest of the world has got up, is the best time to
enjoy the grand old family-house atmosphere. Even when the Frick is
charging, I’ll be back.
Glasgow John -- New Yorkers walk everywhere. Especially if broke. Sometimes it's faster than the stupid bus. :-) (Bryant Park to the Ferry is actually not that bad, maybe a 40 minute walk, but there is a shuttle bus that goes there -- don't know if they charge.)
Priscilla, NY,
how did you manage to get about new york for free as its a long way from bryant park to the staten island ferry
john burniston, glasgow, uk
That's right, luv. Give up the luxuries last.
Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan