Free Things to Do in New York City in Summer 2009

One of the best ways to enjoy the city is to just walk around, people watch, and explore. Take a pause and look up at the buildings. New York may not be as old as Paris or Jerusalem or Shanghai, but there is wonderful and interesting architecture. There are also many great parks to enjoy in this concrete jungle. Plus, if you seek it, you will find it: free events and entertainment (and I'm not talking about the Naked Cowboy or the Scientologists giving subway stress tests).

Let's go alphabetically and start with Brooklyn. In my humble opinion, Brooklyn has the best park in the city: Prospect Park. Boasting 585 acres of beautifully planned lakes, waterfalls, forests, and meadows, you'll find plenty of wildlife such as egrets, turtles, chipmunks, and half-naked sunbathers.

Every weekend, the Audubon Center at the Boathouse offers free bird and wildlife watching tours, the Lefferts Historic House engages kids in early American crafts and storytelling, plus, on Sunday 7/25, the public can participate in a flax harvest and crop rotation. If you aren't creeped out by puppets, PLA Arts puts on a very cool rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Imagination Playground located on the Ocean Avenue side of the Park. Celebrate Brooklyn sponsors numerous concerts at the Band Shell throughout the summer season (Technically there is a $3 suggested donation which translates to free if you can live with a guilty conscience or simply listen from outside the bandshell). Upcoming highlights are Bollywood superstar Kailash Kher on Saturday 7/25, reggae legend Burning Spear on Thursday 7/30, Dean & Britta performing against a backdrop of silent Warhol screen tests on Saturday 8/1, and a Purple Rain sing-a-long on Thursday 8/6. Don't forget about the doggie beach located by the long meadow for your canine friends.

Of course, you the human may want to swim somewhere in Brooklyn too. While the McCarren Park pool in Greenpoint is a long way from being renovated, there's always the good ol' standby of Coney Island and Brighton Beach! I don't recommend actually swimming there, but there are some lovely plastic palm trees spraying water. If you get tired of baking on the sand, roam the boardwalk and, keeping with the free theme, wait for people to drop food and see if you can catch it before it hits the ground. While not free, the Coney Island museum is only 99 cents which in this city is pretty damn close to nuthin'.

Drive-in movies have pretty much been wiped off the face of America (there is an awesome drive-in theatre with 2 movies for the price of one down in Atlanta, but as that is not New York, you are on yer own to find out more). However, watching a film outside can be had for the price of a smile in Brooklyn and you don't even have to smile. Enter Summerstarz putting on kid-friendly films on Thursday evenings at N. 8th & Kent and Summerstage showing such classics as Wild at Heart, Fame, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Wednesdays in McCarren Park. Need more outdoor movies? The Brooklyn Bridge Park offers Thursday night films with one of the greatest backdrops: the Brooklyn Bridge (of course).

The Brooklyn Museum offers free admission plus live music and a really fun dance party on the first Saturday of every month. There's booze and food for sale and I strongly encourage checking out the furniture storage room on the 5th floor. This event happens pretty much year round, in case your first Saturdays are booked in the summer.

Scream for free ice cream! The lovely hip hop duo Kats & Domer dish out free bbq and Maker's Mark milkshakes on Sundays, typically at Bushwick Country Club. Be warned, the milkshakes are tiny and the Country Club is not in Bushwick. However, it's a good happy hour with good DJ sets. More good times to be had at Wingate Field, which hosts the 27th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. music festival on Monday nights. Acts include Anita Baker, Robin Thicke, gospel night, and a calypso themed Caribbean night featuring Sean Paul.

Boogie down and shoot 'em up, we're going to the Bronx! First stop is Wave Hill, an incredible non-profit cultural institution located on 28 acres in the northwest Bronx. All day Tuesdays and before noon on Saturdays, get your free fix of forests, wild flowers and herbs. Go on a guided tour of trees on Tuesdays and celebrate your inner arborist (and alliteratist). On the first Fridays of the month, spend time at the Bronx Museum of Art where you can be entertained with films, art performances and live music.

The Bronx's Pelham Bay Park offers relaxation in the sun at Orchard Beach. This "Riviera of New York" also has four tennis courts, dozens of volleyball, basketball, and handball courts, a playground right on the beach, and picnic areas. The beach has an interesting crescent shape and beautiful views of City Island.

Let's cross a bridge and check out what Manhattan has to offer. At the tippy top of the island, the Cloisters in Fort Tyron Park were constructed out of French medieval monasteries. The museum itself cost money but make like a monk and take a contemplative stroll around the gardens overlooking the Hudson River. On certain days, many of the museums are pay-as-you-wish which easily translates into paying nada. Check out the Jewish Museum and the Museum of Art and Design on Thursdays and the Museum of Modern Art on Fridays. Always free is the Smithsonian run Museum of the American Indian and the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum, which is dedicated to the documentation of fashion and style.

Recently, the city set up lawn chairs on a stretch of Broadway intersections. I like the car free aspect, but I'm more prone to hightailing it to a grassy park to take a rest. However, if you'd rather plop your tuchas onto metal chairs on hot asphalt, better hurry since the city's getting ready to remove the chairs.

Bring your own seating to the numerous free movie nights around Manhattan. Get to Bryant Park early on Monday evenings, on Wednesdays watch films on Pier 1 in Riverside Park, and also on Wednesdays (for adults) and Fridays (family friendly films) head to Pier 54 where you can nosh on free popcorn while watching movies. Central Park is hosting a 5 day film festival from August 18 through the 22. The theme is "Be Cool" which according to their website means they're featuring five films with actors or actresses who epitomize 'cool'." The last day goes to a viewer's choice vote between Men In Black, Goldfinger, and Desperately Seeking Susan. Which do you choose? (In case you need to know, I'm all about the Desperately Seeking Susan.)

There is also no shortage of free live music in the city. South Street Seaport has put on concerts for years now and it's always fun to see bands like Polvo and Casiokids performing in front of a pirate ship. On Thursdays, head to Union Square for lunchtime concerts and yoga lessons. From August 5 through the 23, Lincoln Center is putting on over 100 different events outside in various venues. Lincoln Center also hosts Mostly Mozart from July 28 through August 22.

If you've had your hepatitis shot, rent a free kayak at the New York City Downtown Boathouse on Pier 40 and paddle the Hudson River. There's even a hose to rinse off any offending river residue! Perhaps you'd rather someone else steer; in that case, take the free ferry at Battery Maritime Terminal Slip 7 over to Governor's Island. Plenty of hammocks to leisurely swing in, a mini golf course to play, and a few military base buildings to wander around. Take a guided tour to learn more about the island's fascinating history. Bike rentals are free on Friday and pedaling around the island is a great way to explore. The Highline Ballroom provides free concerts as well. Here's a link: http://www.govisland.com.

New York's most diverse borough, Queens, does not disappoint in free things to do during the summer. First off, Astoria Park is fantastic. There's a huge pool, tons of space to set up badminton or bocce, and the view of the Triborough Bridge and the river is striking, especially at sunset. When the picnic runs out of food, head over to the Museum of the Moving Image and take advantage of free admission from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Fridays.

Be on the lookout for JazzMobile stopping at various locations in Queens and Manhattan. For the past 45 years, JazzMobile has been taking first rate musicians to the streets to perform free for the public. A full calendar of where and when to hear perfect summertime jazz concerts can be found at this link http://www.jazzmobile.org/calPage.htm. Flushing Town Hall hosts a number of fun events in the garden such as a Caribbean party on Sunday July 26, swing dancing to big bands on Sunday August 9, and mambo on Sunday August 23.

On August 8 and 9, practice your best cheers at the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Race in Flushing Meadows Park. There will be special performances and delicious food. If you can prove you're a resident of Long Island City, PS 1 will let you into their fabulous dance party for free along with one guest pass. Otherwise, this fantastic Warm Up series is $10, which is well worth it (that Hamilton also gains you access to the museum).

Want another free boat ride? You can't beat the Staten Island Ferry, which sails past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Once you reach the shores of Shaolin, check out Historic Richmond Town with its Colonial Williamsburg-like living history restoration complete with colonial buildings and America's oldest elementary school. Try to find the two huge Tudoresque homes on Longfellow Street that appeared in The Godfather as the Corleone estate. The highest point on the Atlantic coast, south of Maine, happens to be on Todt Hill in Staten Island. A few free concerts put on by the City Parks Foundation are happening in either Mahoney Playground (wave your hands in the air for Naughty By Nature on Wednesday, August 19) or Tappen Park. Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden invites all ages to participate in a free Shakespeare workshop ending with a free performance on Friday, August 7. The Center will also host Rock the Harbor, an annual music festival with local bands on Saturday, August 22 (note: their website lists admission as TBD, so this may or may not turn out to be free). FYI, Staten Island boasts the largest collection of Tibetan art outside of Tibet and is home to the only Himalayan-style monastery building in America. The cliff-hanging Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is free to members, five bucks to everyone else.

The New York Philharmonic (http://gonyc.about.com/od/summer/a/philharmonic.htm) and the Metropolitan Opera (http://gonyc.about.com/od/summer/a/metinparks.htm) will be hosting free concerts in all five boroughs. Lovely of them not to discriminate.

This list is only to help you get started in discovering all the wonderful free things to do in New York City. Use your imagination and go wild.