The resident's guide to what to do, because it's your back yard and you're not a tourist.
If it's in NYC and is free or very cheap, it is on this list. By free, I mean it could be free on one day of the week or it could be free all the time. Or it could only be free only to residents.
Back in 2015, my girlfriend was unemployed and we were trying to find the cheapest things to do living in NYC and so I came up with an idea to create a hashtagged list of things so we could always find something heavily discounted or free to do. This list was the result.
While this has a listing of all the free stuff you can do as a resident, this also has ACTUAL hidden gems in New York City. Nobody knows about much of these, even locals. You won't find much of this stuff on any hyped up magazine or trendy NYC blog or website. They all only report on stuff each other has already "found" and it's all the same junk.
Because I made this list for my own usage, I'm still working my way to see all of them, so I can't speak to the quality of every single entry yet. I will slowly make blog entries about the ones I did go to.
This is not an events calendar. You won't find "what to do this weekend" pop-ups, temporary street fairs, or fleeting concerts here. Instead, this is a curated directory of permanent landmarks, public resources, hidden history, repeating events, venues that regularly have free and cheap programs, and year-round budget-friendly destinations across New York City.
Many of our listings leverage local access programs:
- Culture Pass: A program allowing any active New York public library cardholder to reserve free passes to major cultural institutions.
- IDNYC: New York City’s municipal identification card, which unlocks free, one-year memberships to dozens of world-class museums, zoos, and botanical gardens.
