25 Fun Free things to do in NYC

In no particular order:

1.  Any park in NYC.  Put in your hotel address and find the closest one here. A nice break for the kids to relax.  And you too...

2.  The Staten Island Ferry.  Great views of downtown Manhattan, and the Statue of Liberty.

3.  The Bronx Zoo:  Free on Wednesdays.

4.   Brooklyn Botanic Gardens:  Free on Tuesdays.

5.  Libraries.  The main library in Manhattan is amazing, as is the Central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, seen here.

from here

6.  Parades.  From Saint Patricks Day to Thanksgiving Day and all of the ones in between.  Some even in the other boroughs...

7.  The Brooklyn Brewery.  They give free tours on the weekends.

8.  African Burial Grounds.  They are currently renovating, but are scheduled to be open October 4.  Check back here to find out the status.

9.  City Hall.  Lots of history here.

10.  Coney Island.  The boardwalk and beach are amazing.

11.  Federal Reserve Bank.  Free, but you have to make reservations.

12. Forbes Collection.  I went years ago, and should really go back soon...

13.  Grand Central Tour with Justin Ferate.  About 2 1/2 to 3 hours, and amazing.

14.  Greenwood Cemetery.  A nice afternoon's walk in Brooklyn.  Events sometimes held here also.

15.  Walking the Brooklyn Bridge.  Here is a great guide with the ins and outs.  I recommend walking across to Brooklyn and checking out the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

16.  South Street Seaport.  Yes, it's shopping and restaurants, but still just going doesn't cost.

17.  High Line.  Really cool elevated park that used to be railroad tracks.

18.  See a baseball game... Staten Island Yankees.  So close to the SI Ferry you can walk.

19.  Governor's Island.  Weekends all summer.  Free ferry, and tons of events.

20.  Winter Windows.  See the display windows of Barney's, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor, and Macy's.

Macy's 2011

 21.  TV Audience tapings.  You'll need to have advance planning here, but so worth it.  Whether it's Live with Kelly or SNL, here is a list of shows that look for audiences.

22.  Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.  The Unisphere.  Worlds Fair 1964.  Big Park, surrounded by Queens Museum, Queens Zoo, NY Hall of Science. 

23.  MOMA.  Free from 4 to 8 on Friday's.

24.  American Museum of Natural History.  Free for the last hour (4:45 to 5:45)

25.  Brooklyn Museum.  Free every first Saturday.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens

Editor's Note:  I have been sick all week, and did not get to go anywhere.  So the following is a revamp of an old post. My apologies!


 I have been here before, in February of 2011.  The Citi Field and the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center, are just a few things in the immediate vicinity...

 

This is the best map I could find with all of them.  Also in the area is the Queens Museum of Art, and the NY Hall of Science.

NY Hall of Science

     The Queens Zoo is also nearby, and the park is big enough that you could picnic, hang out and frisbee, or play ball.

Of course there are some amazing  views in the park as well...

The Unisphere

The unisphere is one of the leftovers from the 1964 World's Fair, along with the Observation Towers and the Pavilion, all three are seen here.

I have been to the Unisphere and the other World's Fair buildings, and also to the Queens Zoo.  I have yet to go to  the Hall of Science, or the Queens Museum of Art.  But when I do go, I cannot WAIT to see the Panorama of NYC at the Queens Museum of Art...

from here

Has anyone been up here?  Tell me your stories, I'd love to hear them!

Bryant Park

I visited Bryant Park recently, and sat with a drink from Starbucks while enjoying the people watching.  Lots of men and women walking, talking on their phones, and to each other, coming from work, going to work, and eating their lunch.  I sat down to catch my breath from the 20 blocks I had just walked, and was enjoying the nice breeze for about 30 minutes total.  I remember being here before for the Grimm Reality play we saw last year.

This building was really cool, but I could not get a shot of the top from where we were sitting.  I found this really great picture on Flickr from Anomalous_A:

 

It may just be my new favorite building in New York City.  It is the American Standard Building on 40th Street, now housing the New Community College at CUNY.

 Bryant Park was first named for the reservoir that used to be where the library is now.  It was originally called Reservoir Square. In 1899, it was Renamed Bryant Park for William Cullen Bryant, and in 1899 the reservoir was removed and the New York Public Library began construction.  The park was re-designed as part of a Great Depression public works project.

W.R. Grace Building

This is the back end of the library building.  In the 1980's, Bryant Park was closed so the library could expand their storage facilities.   There is now 125,000 square feet of space under Bryant Park...

from twentytwowords.com

A really relaxing afternoon before heading back to Brooklyn.

The Unisphere and the Queens Zoo

Otherwise known as "The zoo is just up here!  I swear!"

My plan was to go to Queens to see the Unisphere, and bump around the park a little.  We ended up doing this, and so much more.  We hung out and got some really good pictures of the Unisphere:

Then, we look at a map to see what else is in the area.  There is a lot!  There is the Citi Field, the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center, the Queens Museum of Art,  and the NY Hall of Science.  This park is HUGE.

 

We did a lot of walking and got a little um lost before finding the Zoo, but that's only because I had no plans to go to the Zoo, it was a last minute addition.  As my lovely assistant (intern) said, Why not go?  It's right here!!  So we went.  After finding it, there was 2 different sections. One for domestic animals, cows, horses, sheep, llamas, bunnies, and one animal that I'm still not sure what it was.  It looked like a hybrid.

Then we went to see the undomesticated animals.  The Wild Side.  We saw pumas, and sea lions, and bears.  Oh my.  The bears were enjoying their Valentine's Day!  Let's just say they were NOT hibernating!

The puma was right next to the glass, so we got a lot of amazing pictures.

The other one was resting in the shade:

We also went into the aviary, an enclosed structure that was amazing.  It was a mini Epcot Center shape:

There were a few species, one really noisy bunch pictured here:

We also got to see the sea lions being fed.  There were three of them, all very cheeky.

 

The food area (for humans) was not that great.  It was a total of 10 (I think) vending machines.  There was one that gave hot kosher food, so points for that.  There was also one souvenir one with little stuffed animals in it, 3 for drinks, 2 for snacks and 2 for ice cream. I think that was all of them.  It is all in the circular building across from the sea lion area.

We also saw 2 coyotes, one who was hiding until it heard us:

You can see more pictures at the Unseen NYC Facebook page.  Become a fan if you aren't yet.

We had a really fun time, did a lot of walking, and I highly recommend going on a weekday, it was practically empty.  We spent $8 each for adult tickets.  More information can be found at the Queens Zoo.

Friday 4/23 The High Line

I visited the High Line today, and it was a beautiful day to go!  I left at around 9:30, and got there about an hour later.  I went up the stairs at the 14th Street entrance by Ganesvoort Street, and just walked, and took pictures.  The view of the city from the elevated platform was interesting, because you can't see many of the "recognized" skyscrapers.



This is in the meatpacking District, and walking the High Line, it will put you out around 20th street which is in Chelsea.  After walking most of the park, I sat at a bench and observed the people, and found that it was easy to pick out the tourists from the people who lived there.  The tourists were the ones walking and taking pictures, and the locals were jogging, reading, working on sketches, meeting friends for lunch, and so on.  So I was both a tourist, walking and having my camera out, and a local, because after I sat down, I pulled out a book to read, and managed to sit reading for about an hour, until a mom and her 2 loud kids came by, and I could not concentrate anymore.

When I first got to the High Line, I was disappointed, because I would not be able to get any good shots.  Then I realized that there are plenty of great shots, just not like I had envisioned.  This is the city, and there is broken windows, and cars parked everywhere, and the neighborhood is alot of warehouses.  I looked past all that, and saw the beauty in the green grass and trees and flowers.

 After going down the steps at 20th Street, I walked back towards 14th Street on Ninth Avenue, passing Gotham Pizza, at 144 Ninth Avenue, at the corner of 19th Street.  I got the lunch special, 2 plain slices and a can of soda for $5.  Really good pizza.  Then on to the subway at 16th and 8th, and home.  All in all, a really nice find, but I think I will pair it with something else in the Chelsea area, since it seems silly to go just there. Maybe the Chelsea Market?

There are more pictures at the Unseen NYC Facebook page, just click on the photo tab.

The Parks and their attractions

When you think of parks and main attractions in NYC, you think of Central Park and the American Museum of Natural History, the Central Park Zoo, the Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is the Delacourt Clock located between the Zoo and the Children's Zoo at 65th Street:


But most of the tourists who converge to Manhattan forget about the other 4 boroughs, and I have a few museums and attractions all in or near parks from each borough that are must sees.

Lets start off in Brooklyn. All in the Prospect Park area there is the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, the Prospect Park Zoo, and the Brooklyn Public Library. The park itself is wonderful, a playground on the west side, fun for the kids!! At the main entrance to the park is this arch:


Up in Queens, there are a few to see, too. The New York Hall of Science is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, along with the Queens Botanical Gardens, Queens Museum of Art, and the Queens Zoo.

If anyone has seen Men in Black they will recognize this. This is the Unisphere an in the background the Observation Tower of the New York State Pavillion from the World's Fair.


On to the Bronx, and the biggest park there is the Van Cortlandt Park. What it lacks in attractions around it, it makes up for in the park itself. There are hiking trails, tennis courts, four playgrounds, and the country's oldest golf course. This is one of the entrances:



Still in the Bronx, there is the Bronx Park, home to the Bronx Zoo, and the Bronx Botanical Gardens.

I have saved Staten Island for last, not because it is the worst, but it is a different kind of animal. There is more car traffic there and a lot less in the way of pedestrians, so things are a little more spread out. In St. George, across from the ferry terminal is the courthouse and Borough Hall. Behind that is the St. George Public Library and the St. George Theatre. Also in the area is The Staten Island Museum, and the Richmond County Bank Ballpark, which is home for the Staten Island Yankees. In order to get to Staten Island , you would need to take the ferry from Manhattan:


All in all, New York City is not just Manhattan, and I think it is time that the tour books take some of the focus off and start putting in more of Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.