Getting Around In NYC

There are numerous ways of getting around in NYC. The obvious walking, public transport (bus, subway - via Metrocard) and biking. Then there are taxis, limos, private bus companies, horse carriages, and other touristy ways of getting around. Owning a car is not necessary, but many people in NYC own one anyway. I'm one of them.

Sometimes the modern convenience of having a car is forgotten when you are in NYC. I own a used car, which I've had for many years now. I don't put many miles on it, since I tend to walk and take public transport most of the time.

Why do I even keep the car? It's old, so I can't really sell it for much. It's not old enough to qualify for the recent Cash for Clunkers program. More about that in another post. The main reason I keep this old car, is due to the convenience of having it around in case of family emergencies or trips. It's cheaper to get around in a car if you actually have a full car - which I usually do when driving it about with the family in tow. Once you own a car, it's hard to imagine life without one. It's like having broadband and then going back to dial-up.

I recently had to get some repairs done on my 14 year old car. Thanks to the abundance of potholes in NYC, something came loose, and it was making rude noises while I drove it. Being the frugal guy that I am, I wanted to make sure the repairs were necessary. Fortunately I have been going to a great mechanic for many years now. In fact he helped check out this car when I was buying it used.

Mr. Kim, as I call him, is the owner of Radial Auto. It is a private shop in Woodside, Queens. In fact, if you need an honest, reliable and trustworthy mechanic (and who doesn't) I highly recommend his shop. They are very friendly at the shop and they do the job you ask of them. They don't over charge you for things you don't need. Just tell them the symptoms the best you can, and they will resolve it for you, usually within a day or two.

The only problem with owning an old used car is the cost of repairs. Hopefully I won't have to get too many of them in the near future. If I do, I know I will get the necessary things done by Mr. Kim.

What about you? Do you own a car? Do you have a great mechanic?

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JetBlue Unlimited Flight Pass

Want something that's an even better deal than an unlimited 30 day Metrocard? Try the JetBlue Unlimited Flight Pass, details below.

Enjoy unlimited travel with our All-You-Can-Jet Pass! For just $599* you can take JetBlue anywhere you like, as often as you like, from September 8 to October 8, 2009. Use your All-You-Can-Jet Pass for business, for pleasure, to visit your favorite cities or to meet with a client. You might as well just do it all! With more than 50 cities to choose from, and for just $599, it’s a deal you can’t pass up.

Passes are available for purchase between August 12, 2009 and August 21, 2009 or while supplies last .

OVERVIEW: The JetBlue Unlimited Flight Pass includes unlimited coach class air travel for one (1) person whose name is registered on the Pass on JetBlue-operated flights between any cities in the JetBlue route network. The Pass may be used for travel only during the period between September 8, 2009 and October 8, 2009. All Passes expire on October 8, 2009, and all travel must be completed by 11:59 pm MDT on this date. All Pass Travel must be booked at no later than 11:59 MDT three (3) days in advance of the scheduled departure of Your outbound flight. If You have already purchased a flight on JetBlue scheduled to depart within the Travel Window, You may convert Your existing booking to Pass Travel by purchasing a Pass (an “Upgrade”). Price includes all US taxes and fees; international taxes and fees may apply.

JetBlue Unlimited Flight Pass-All You Can Jet Pass for $599 from Sept. 8-Oct. 8, 2009: For more info, check here.

I wonder how well this will sell. Will you pick up one of these passes? If you fly frequently, this is probably one of the best deals you'll get this year. If that not enough for you, here are some more travel deals posted on ABC News.

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10 Free Things To Do In Queens

I've gotten some good remarks about my previous post 10 Free Places To Visit In NYC Today, so I decided to write one on Queens! This is just the tip of the ice burg so there will be other venues in the future. I've been to all these below venues and have enjoyed my time at each one, I hope you will enjoy your time at these venues as well.

1. Flushing Library - Find Books, movies, comics, video games, free wifi and many other services available free to the public.
2. Flushing Meadows Corona Park - It's not quite Central Park, though you will find many activities at this park - especially during the summer! It's a very large park, that's why I've also included several related venues on this list.
3. Playground For All Children - This playground is located at the Flushing Meadows Corona Park, near the Queens Zoo! It features some unique musical instruments not seen in any other playgrounds I've been to. It truly is a playground for all children - of all ages!
4. Queens Botanical Garden - One of the smaller Botanical Gardens in NYC, you can stroll through most of it in about an hour or two. Worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood, it was recently renovated and includes many environmental friendly features.
5. Astoria Park and Swimming Pool - Astoria Park is one of my favorite water front parks in Queens. The Astoria Pool is a pool that meets Olympic standards! So come by in the summer!
6. Socrates Sculpture Park - From landfill to public exhibition, this is a must see! Many events are featured at this park, including outdoor movies. It is the only site in the New York Metropolitan area specifically dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to create and exhibit large-scale work in a unique environment that encourages strong interaction between artists, artworks and the public. This means you are welcome to touch the art!
7. P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center - Located in LIC, and part of MoMA, it was once a public school - thus the name. It's a museum solely devoted to contemporary art! This one isn't exactly free, but like MoMA, it has a "suggested admission" of $5 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. This means you can pay what you want! The suggested price is not much to pay.
8. Flushing Chinatown - take a stroll through this neighborhood and you may think you are in China! This is said to be larger than the "original" Chinatown in lower Manhattan. You'll find some of the best Chinese food in this neighborhood, and it's cheap! A stroll is free!
9. Flushing Townhall - While you're in Flushing, visit the old townhall! It is a landmark and include a 340-seat state of the art concert hall/theater, three museum quality galleries, a classroom, offices, a garden that accommodates up to 500 people for outdoor events, and a visitors' center.
10. Little India - Visit little India in Jackson Heights. You'll find many great Indian restaurants, and its very easy to get there. Take the 7, E, F, G, V or R trains to 74th Street and Roosevelt Ave.
    

That's it for now. Hope you like this list. Let us know how you enjoy these free things to do in Queens.

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New York Pass - See More Of NYC

Want to see the sights of New York for less? Then this deal is for you. If you can't afford to go very far and would like to explore your own "backyard", then you can try the New York Pass. A month ago I wrote about CityPass, which I have used before, and enjoyed very much. CityPass is a great deal if you have not seen the six attractions before.

• Empire State Building Observatory
• American Museum of Natural History & Rose Center
• Guggenheim Museum
• The Museum of Modern Art
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters
• Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises OR Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

However, if you wanted to widen your choices of places to visit, or if you have a relative coming to NYC to visit and wants to see the most NYC they can, in the least amount of time and money, I think New York Pass would be your best bet.

Free entry to over 50 attractions – Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, New York Skyride, Madame Tussaud’s, Circle Line River Cruise, Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Madison Square Garden Tour, NBC Studio Tours, New York Aquarium, Top of the Rock™ Observation Deck, Uncle Sam's Hamilton Financial Tour & many others

Prices range from $75 for a one day adult pass ($55 for child) to $180 for a 7 day adult pass ($140 for child). Currently, there is a deal with the Tourist Buses that take you all around the city. To see all the available pricing, check out the prices page on the New York Pass website.

Have you used CityPass or New York Pass? We'd love to hear about your experience.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Photo courtesy of 708718

Free Rides To Water Taxi Beach in LIC

Aside from the free ferry ride to Governor's Island and The Staten Island Ferry, there is now another free water ride in NYC. I just read about this on AMNY and found it helpful to New Yorkers or visitors who can utilize this free offer.

Take the New York Water Taxi for free during weekend evenings this summer to the original Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City. This is usually a $5 ride.

To get the free ride, you have to take the water taxi from the East 35th Street launch site on the East River. Starting May 23, the free rides run from 8 PM to 2 AM on Fridays and until 3 AM on Saturdays. This offer is valid until Labor Day.

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Photo by Steve Kelley

More Of NYC For Less With CityPass

If you have never visited the "Tourist Traps" of NYC, listed below, this deal might change your mind.

• Empire State Building Observatory
• American Museum of Natural History & Rose Center
• Guggenheim Museum
• The Museum of Modern Art
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters
• Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises OR Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

You can get a CityPass and all the above places are part of that package. I used CityPass several years ago and had a great time as a tourist in my own city! I think I still have the remaining booklet / stub somewhere at home. You can buy the booklet via their website, or you can also buy the CityPass books when you get to any of the attractions. I purchased mine at the Empire State Building several years ago when we decided to visit some local places.

The pass is valid for 9 days from the first day of use. The current cost for each booklet is for $74 for adults and $54 for kids. If you were to visit all the attractions separately and paid full price, you would end up paying $134 for each adult. On April 1, CityPass prices will go up to reflect changes in 2009 attractions’ prices. The New York CityPass price will become $79 for adults and $59 for children.

If I were to visit any of the other cities for which CityPass has a package (New York, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Hollywood, Southern California, and Houston) I might think about picking up a CityPass.

While you're visiting NYC attractions perhaps you can fit in some Free Venues from my previous posts:

• 10 Frugal Things To Do This Winter In NYC
• 10 Free Places To Visit In NYC today!
• My Series on Central Park

And don't forget to pickup a souvenir with a special discount for being a FrugalNYC reader!
Have you visited or would like to visit any of the above NYC tourist Attractions? Have you used CityPass? Please share your ideas in the comments.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Photo courtesy of 708718

Metrocards

I had a little problem with my Pay-per-ride Metrocard on Wednesday morning. I've had these issues before, thankfully it is not often. I usually just pick-up an envelope from a subway station agent, which contains a questionaire. I mail it in, and if they find a problem that occurred on their system matching my card, I will get a refund in the mail in the form of a replacement Metrocard.

Whether you are a local New Yorker or a tourist, I think you will find some of these tips and links helpful. When it comes to Metrocards, you essentially have two choices, a Pay-per-ride Metrocard or an unlimited Metrocard. To learn more about different type of metrocards, you can check this Metrocard 101.

If your Metrocard does not work, has expired or is lost or stolen you can check out this Metrocard Problems link for some answers and hopefully a solution. You can find a good amount of information about the Metrocard on the MTA's NYC Metrocard section of the website. If you ever lose your 30 day metrocard you can call 1-800-METROCARD (1-800-638-7622) to get a refund. You can also call 212-METROCARD (212-638-7622) to get your refund. This refund offer is only valid if you purchased with a Credit Card or Debit Card and from what I've read, you can only get two refunds per calendar year - I guess this helps cut down on fraud.

There is a new offering, you can have an automatically refilled Metrocard using the new EasyPayXpress Metrocard. I'm not sure I would sign up for something like this, but it is convenient for some people. A new fare hike by the New York City MTA went into effect on Sunday March 2, 2008. With the new bonus of 15% for Pay-per-ride Metrocards, it is easy for your Metrocard to have annoying uneven balances when you add funds to your card. You can use this link to Calculate how much you need to add to get a usable balance from this handy calculator.

There are discounts to museums, restaurants and other venues you can get with a Metrocard. You can find more details here. An interesting link I found recently was the SUBWAYblogger site. As you can probably guess, it talks about anything related to the NYC Subway system. SUBWAYblogger also has a twitter account.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Facts Of New York City You May Not Know

Photo courtesy of Lida Rose

Today I wanted to start a list of facts about NYC some people may not know about. Some of these are things I recently found out about, such as the number of playgrounds in Central Park and Queens being voted the happiest borough in New York City. I hope you find some interesting facts and hope you can add to this list in the comments section. In no specific order, here they are.

• Central Park contains 37 unique playgrounds
• There are three Library systems in NYC, Queens Borough Public Library, New York Public Library, and the Brooklyn Public Library.
• Queens Borough Public Library - The Queens Borough Public Library has 62 branch locations. The Flushing library was the first Queens library, opened in 1858. The Queens Borough Public Library was the number 1 library system in the US by circulation in 2007.
• NYPL - New York Public Library serves the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island. Of its 82 branch libraries, 35 are in Manhattan, 34 are in the Bronx, and 11 are in Staten Island. The most famous branch library, Main branch building, contains a museum and has been featured in many movies, including the 1984 film Ghostbusters and the more recent film The Day After Tomorrow.
• The Brooklyn Public Library has 58 branches
• NYC Subway - There are 468 stops in the NYC subway system
• Queens is the Happiest Borough - Queens was voted the happiest borough of NYC according to a recent survey. Do you agree?
• Snowy owl population - Not quite New York City, though an interesting fact. An increase in the number of snowy owl sightings across upstate New York may signal how well the owl population is doing. The bird's population may be moving south due to competition.
• Zoos of NYC - New York City has 4 zoos, Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo and Prospect Park Zoo, have you visited them all? And don't forget the New York Aquarium in Coney Island Brooklyn!
• PATH ridership rises - More than 250,000 people ride the PATH every day. Quickcards are no longer available but you can purchase the SmartLink cards for discounts.
• NYC is home to 4 "Chinatown" neighborhoods. The oldest one in lower Manhattan and the largest one currently in Flushing Queens. The other two are located in Brooklyn and Elmhurst Queens.
  

If you have other facts and resources you would like to share with us, please leave a comment with the links. For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

An Englishman In New York

This is a guest post by Chris from Lifestyle Project, a blog where he explores Productive Lifestyle Design. He may become a travel writer in the future, he thinks it would be pretty cool. You can subscribe to his feed here. Chris also runs Lists for Life, a blog of lists.

Arriving in to Newark Airport (it's cheaper to fly to Newark than JFK), bleary eyed but excited, I walk from where the plane has parked to collect our bags. Glancing to my left I am surprised to see the awesome New York skyline, which seems very close. New York is such a flat state (as I noticed from the air) that despite Newark being a distance from down town NYC, the skyline is a clear as day from the terminal building. Downstairs in the terminal building we easily locate the stand where we will catch the SuperShuttle. These blue mini-vans are a shared taxi system. At just $18 return per person from the airport to your hotel door, this is far cheaper than a taxi and much easier than navigating the buses or trains after a long flight.

Squashed into the back of the van (hey for that price you can't expect luxury) we head towards the world famous city, a big smile beams across my face. New York has been on my list of places to go for a long time and now that we are here it all seems a bit surreal. It's one of those places that you have seen so many times before in the movies or on TV that when you actually get there it feels as if you have been dropped into a postcard. The buildings tower above you, the bright yellow taxis pepper the streets all around you and the steam really does rise out of the ground (well it is November after all). The journey took about 40 minutes, but this did involve getting stuck in the tunnel for a while.

Four nights is a very short amount of time to visit New York. A very short time. There is so much to do and so many places to see. Our hotel was near to Times Square so once we had got checked in to our hotel we headed outside and in to Time Square. Wow! With its mesmerizing array of lights, sounds and people Time Square can literally take your breath away. Think about it how many places in the world are there with TV screens as big as buildings and dozens of them to boot?

Central Park. Photo by Chris

Just Walk
For the first few days we spent a lot of time just walking around, rather than taking the subway or taxis. I always feel that when I go on a city break that we spend a lot of time walking but it really is an excellent way to see a city. Think about it, where was the last time you took a walk around your local area that deviates from your normal route. Try it, it's amazing what you see when you aren't whizzing passed in a car. We walked from Century 21 (see below - next to the World Trade Center site) back to our hotel in Time Square via Chelsea, Little Italy, Flat Iron etc. I was a long walk but worth it as we saw so much. Cost of walking = $0.


Some Frugal Tips for tourists (and maybe even locals):

Frugal Shopping
One of the main things that my girlfriend wanted to do was some shopping. Frugal Tip - go shopping when there is a massive economic crisis and all the retailers are offering huge discounts! In Macy's if you hold a foreign passport you can go to customer services and get a card that gives you 11% off all purchases. I think they change the offer all of the time but it was 11% when I went. Check out TJ Maxx (which is called TK Maxx in the UK), Filene's Basement and Century 21. These shops offer huge discounts on designer gear. There stock moves fast and is replenished quickly. Be prepared to spend a bit of time rumaging to find some hidden gems.

View from the Top of the Rock. Photo by Chris

Attractions
Check which attractions you are visiting that offer combined tickets. We visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which has lots of Picasso and obviously the odd Andy Warhol, and the Rockafella centre on the same day. MoMA didn't advertised the fact that you could get combined tickets, had we gone to the Rockafella Centre first we would have noticed this and saved $10 each to visit both attractions. I suspect that the Rockafella centre is cheaper than the Empire State Building? We chose the Rock becasue it offers the view of the New York skyline with the most famous building in your sights. If you are standing on top of the Empire State Building you can't see it!

I put a call out on Twitter (and checked out tips on this blog) for free things to do. We visited the Apple Store (I have to I'm a geek) and took a couple of walks in Central Park. These are great things that just make New York a cool place to be.

Eating Out
A sensible tip that I heard (though we didn't do this) was that the many hotels with good restaurants struggle for lunchtime trade so you can get some great offers.

Not So Frugal
We were visiting New York as a birthday present from me to my girlfriend, so there were some extravagances (the whole point of being frugal in my opinion is so that you can have some money to indulge yourself occasionally). We stayed at the Westin Times Square which turned out to be an excellent choice of hotel. It's central location meant that it was great for getting to anywhere in the city, and the room was very spacious and surprisingly for a hotel has the most comfortable bed I have ever stayed in (their trademarked Heavenly Bed concept). Checking out reviews before we went we spotted a tip to request a high corner room, which we did and were pleased to have been allocated. This meant that we had a larger room with windows on two sides. Obviously this tip would apply to a lot of hotels but it is staying here that gave us the idea to ask for this in the future. For my girlfriends birthday we went to Buddha Bar in Meatpacking district. A cool place. Not sure if I was cool enough to be in there, but we had fun. We also saw the lengendary guitar inventor and recording artist Les Paul at Iridium Jazz Club on Time Square. Les Paul is 93 and plays two shows there every Monday. If you are a guitarist, this is a must see gig!

I had a great time in New York, it was just not long enough. I'm sure I'll be back soon!


Tipping (extra notes for Brits)
A few notes on tipping! This is a major leap for Brits, tipping in restaurants and maybe your barber is customary, but in America it's a whole new ball game. Firstly get hold of a load of dollar bills.

Tipping standards (or so I saw):

• Bell Boy - $1 per bag, $1 per taxi hailed.
• Restaurants - 18% apparently (obviously adjust for service quality, and watch out for those restaurants that already include a charge)
• Taxi - 15% is customary.
• Other - If I was supposed to give anyone else cash I must have missed them. I struggled understanding how much to give the concierge to book us a table at a couple of restaurants for example.
  

I was only there for four days so obviously only scratched the surface of all the great stuff New York has to offer. I will be back, what tips can you share in the comments for next time?

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Now for a Frugal Friday tip! If you were using Quickcards for the PATH system, they are no longer available. Get yourself a SmartLink card and you will continue to pay the cheaper $1.35 fare instead of $1.75. For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader
or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Five Great Reasons To Start Walking Today

Photo courtesy of Nattu

I'm still recovering from my cold. Thank you to all those who have wished me well and to Julie Cohen, from Vicks, who saw my post and sent me DayQuil and NyQuil! While I'm recovering from this cold, I started to think about walking and its many benefits. I walk for many reasons, among them are: to keep healthy, lower my travel costs, photography and numerous others. I walk about 5 to 10 miles on a weekly basis, which includes my weekly commute to and from work (I take mass transit). Sometimes I walk much more than this. Even doing the minimum 5 miles a week adds up to 260 miles walked yearly. By my estimates, I walk closer to 500 miles a year. Even if I only walked 260 miles yearly, it is still more than what the average American does. In a recent study about obesity rates, it has been found that countries with active commuters (walking, biking and mass transit) tend to have lower obesity rates. I think this is another reason why we should all take up walking.

To give you all the reasons why you should start walking, it would take a book, even a volume of books. So I will list five reasons to get you started.

Walk for your Health

Walking is a great way to start your excercise routine. Brisk walking can get your blood circulating and is a great way to warm up your muscle before other more strenuous excercises. How much you should walk depends on your current health status. Before starting any excercise regimen, you should check with your doctor, especially if you are concerned about your health. If you consider yourself healthy, start small and add more distance on a regular basis. On a recent post, I wrote about how I do brisk walking, about 8 times around a track field. This is nothing to those of you who are more fit, and this may be too much for those who are not used to walking regularly. The key is to start walking and keep at it. Like all good habits, be it for health or other aspects of your life, the key to success is starting and keeping at it.


Walk To Save On Travel Costs

Another great reason to walk, is to save money on your travel costs. If you are used to walking regularly, then walking five or ten blocks to your local supermarket or drugstore is not a problem. If you are not used to walking, perhaps it's time to get started on a healthy and more economical habit. Walking will save wear and tear on your automobile and any monetary costs associated with maintaining it. If you take public transportation to get to destinations under half a mile away, perhaps you can think about walking instead. In some circumstances, it may be faster than public transportation.


Walk To Reach Your Destination Faster

I've had occasions when I waited for a bus for half an hour. This is in my NYC neighborhood, usually on a weekend or late in the evenings. If you just missed a bus and need to get only a few blocks away, it is usually faster to walk. I've seen people who use the bus to get to the subway station during rush hour. They live only 2 blocks from the subway station, yet they wait for packed bus after bus, to take them to the subway station. I would just walk the two blocks and get to my destination faster.


Walk To Improve Your Relationships

In the movie "Click
", Adam Sandler plays a your typical guy who wants to skip through the inconveniences of life. When he gets sick, he fast forwards, when he gets into an argument he pushes the fast forward button. At the end of the movie, he realizes he has skipped through some of the best parts of his life. Don't be like his character in Click! Many people talk about lack of time to spend with their loved ones. We are a modern society that makes work number one and family often comes second. We should do everything we can to improve our relationships and walking is one of the best ways this can be done. Instead of jumping in a car or waiting in line for a bus, walk! Walking with a friend or family and having a meaningful conversation, or even just a relaxing one, is one of the best ways to improve your relationships. Often you will get to your destination before you know it, time flies when you are in the middle of a good conversation. When was the last time you walked for 20 minutes with your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend? This may even give the two of you time to relax and forget about everything else. It doesn't matter if you are walking to exercise or walking to get to a common destination, having company during your walk is sure to improve and strengthen your walking habits, not to mention your relationships. So why don't you take half an hour this weekend and walk with your husband/wife?


Walk To Improve Your Photography

Taking life at a slower pace can make it more enjoyable, this can show in the results of your photography. Whether you are taking up photography as a hobby or if it is your profession, you will end up with better photos if you take the time to notice the details. Focusing on your subject and studying it before snapping the photo can do wonders to improve your photography. This is especially true for novice photographers, such as myself. Take the time to walk and study your surroundings, you will develop your photographic eye as you walk and study your subject from various angles.

There you have it, five great reasons to start walking today! I'm sure many of you have your own great reasons to start walking. Please share your thoughts in the comments. I hope you have enjoyed this post. Thanks for visiting. Follow me on Twitter for additional links to Frugal tips and tricks. If you would like to contribute to Frugal NYC in any way, articles, ideas, posts, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add this to your RSS reader.

Souvenir From The Big Apple

Photo courtesy of 708718

New York City is no doubt one of the most visited cities in the world. You visit New York City and you will probably visit the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Broadway shows, Carnegie Hall, and whatever strikes your fancy. Hopefully you have made use of my blog and picked out some free venues to visit as well! If you have not, you might want to head over to check out my visit to the Queens zoo, Free Ice Skating, Governor's Island, or any post labeled NYC, or Central Park. Most visitors to New York City aka The Big Apple, tend to leave with a souvenir from their trip. Whether its a t-shirt, mug, pen, keychain, or thousands of other items that will remind you of your trip in New York City - how do you do so frugally? If you're reading my blog, I know you want to save a buck!

Frugal Souvenirs

There are the free options: pictures, videos, artistic finds from street vendors and many other creative ways I'm sure your children (if you have them) could think of. If you're not married with children, then depending on the clubs, bars, and other venues you may have attended, you have probably ended up with some type of souvenir as well. Most people do want to take something back as a tourist, plus visiting the New York City souvenir shops is an experience on its own!

Discounts!

If you like to haggle and ask for discounts, you can try doing so at many of the souvenir shops anywhere in the city. Though you may get some snide remarks or dirty looks if you low-ball or dig too deep into their sometimes slim profits. After-all, real-estate in New York City is one of the most expensive in the world, and the shops do have pretty big overhead. There are thousands of souvenir shops in New York City, most people shop around for a bargain or just visit the stores near their hotel. In an effort to make my blog more useful to my readers, I've contacted my cousin, Peter, who is a manager at Big Apple Souvenirs and Gifts.



The Deal And Directions

Its been some time since I've paid a visit to the store, but I know anytime I do visit, I'm always greeted warmly by the staff and I always find something new. Whether its a new t-shirt, bobble-head, or some nifty knickknacks with a New York City theme, I am never bored when I visit. After talking to Peter he has agreed to help my audience. Readers of my blog will get a discount from Big Apple Souvenir and Gifts located at 840 7th Avenue New York, NY 10019 at the corner of 54th Street and 7th Avenue. It's conveniently located in midtown and is very close to Central Park and many of the Broadway Theatres. You can reach Big Apple Souvenir and Gifts by taking the N,R,Q,W trains to 57th Street station or E,B,D trains to the 7th Avenue station. Peter was kind enough to offer a 10% discount to all my blog readers. Just print out this blog post and bring it with you during your visit to NYC and Big apple Souvenir and Gifts. While you're there, say hi to Peter for me!

I know several people from my blog audience have visited New York City recently. I wish I could have gotten this done sooner so they could have benefitted, but if you should come visiting again, you have this deal waiting for you! For the rest of you, let me know how this works out if you should happen to shop for souvenirs at Big Apple Souvenirs and Gifts in New York City! If this works out well, I'll work on getting additional shops involved! I hope this post has been helpful to you!

Here's your Frugal Friday tip! Get your credit report via annualcreditreport.com if you have not done so this year. It's free and doing so will save you a ton of headache later on! It only takes about 10 minutes to get all three reports. I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for visiting. Follow me on Twitter for additional links to Frugal tips and tricks. If you would like to contribute to Frugal NYC in any way, articles, ideas, posts, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add this to your RSS reader.

Our Visit To The Queens Zoo

Photo courtesy of law_keven

Last Saturday, December 6, 2008, started out as usual. I took my wife and older daughter to Chinese school. I made use of the 2-3 hours by reading and doing some excercises, not to mention a bite to eat from Carnation Bakery. I wanted to finish reading The Gargoyle, so I sat in the car to read for the first hour or so. I read up to the final chapter, but decided to stop. It was getting cold, I decided a bit of physical excercise would help. I walked to the nearby track field in front of the school and started doing my 8-lap brisk walk. When I finished all 8 laps, I felt warmer, and class was about to end for my wife and daughter.

My wife wanted to do something, so I suggested we visit the Queens Zoo. Since we were in Flushing, it was not very far away. We picked up some food and then drove to the Queens Zoo. Since it was my first time there, I got a little lost. After about 10 minutes of back and forth on the streets, I found my way down 111th street in Flushing, Queens. We found the parking lot that was adjacent to the zoo and parked there.

Until now, we have visited all the other NYC zoos, except the Queens zoo. We've been to the Bronx zoo, Central Park zoo, Prospect Park zoo, The New York Aquarium (where our 2008 zoo adventures all began), and now the Queens zoo. Its ironic that I've lived most of my life in Queens and this is the first time I have visited the Queens zoo.

Cost

Visiting the Queens zoo is not even that expensive. Adult admission is $6 and children's tickets are only $2. Children under 3 years get in for free, and seniors 65+ get in for $2.25. Admission includes a map of the zoo plus a red decoder card that helps explain what you are seeing at some of the exhibits. Since we are members of the WCS, our admission was free. I have mentioned it before but its worth repeating, I encourage you and your family to join the WCS. Membership will help enable your family visit the NYC zoos more often and also help fund the preservation of animals all around the world.

What You Will Find

So what animals can you find at the Queens zoo? Surprisingly, more than I thought I would find. The first exhibit we saw were the ducks. This stood out for me because I saw many mallard ducks that I'm used to seeing, but among them was one white feathered one. So I did what many people would do, I took a photo snapshot. We moved on to see what I thought was a bobcat, but it turned out to be a lynx. We visited some pumas, then noticed an exhibit about extinct animals, the dodo bird was among them. Next came an aviary that stood out, it was a spiraling path that led up, twisted around like a pretzel and then came back down. You can view many species of birds while walking along this spiraling path, watch out for bird droppings! We also saw pumas, bears, sea lions, among other animals. Then we walked over to the domestic animals section to do some feeding, the animals, not ourselves. We left the zoo happy but cold, which may have been the trigger for my current condition.

Location

The Queens zoo is located at 53-51 111th Street in Flushing, NY 11368. It is open 365 days a year, you can find the hours of operation on this page. As of today, it is open 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Do you love animals? Would you like your children to experience the joy of seeing animals in real life, not just in books and museums? I encourage you to join or contribute to the WCS. If you are a member of other wildlife groups, feel free to chime in and make yourself heard in the comments. I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for visiting, follow me on Twitter for additional links to tips and tricks. If you would like to contribute to Frugal NYC in any way, articles, ideas, posts, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else, feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add this to your RSS reader.

Frugal NYC - Top 10 Popular Posts November 2008

Frugal NYC has over one hundred posts now and it may be a little hard to figure out what may interest you. I've compiled the Top 10 Popular Posts as of this writing for you to check out and hopefully get you coming back for more. I've been blogging on a steady schedule since September 2008. Please let me know if you have enjoyed the content. Your feedback is very important to me, and I would love to hear from all my readers. You can leave me a comment on a post that interests you, which gets sent to me via email, or email me directly at frugalnyc@gmail.com. If you miss my regular posts, scoot over to my Frugal NYC Twitter account for quick tips!

1. Inbox Zero - In Three Steps!
2. Affordable Dining In NYC
3. GTD - Getting Things Done
4. Governor's Island
5. 10 Free Places to visit in NYC
6. Embedding Google Maps in Blogger
7. No Time To Think
8. 10 Free Blackberry Games
9. Windows Notepad Productivity
10. Central Park Series

What post do you like best? Am I addressing the topics you enjoy reading about? If you would like to contribute to Frugal NYC in any way, articles, ideas, posts, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else, feel free to contact me via email at frugalnyc@gmail.com.

Harlem Meer

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I visited the Harlem Meer once, after I left the Central Park Convervatory Garden. It was memorable to me because I never knew there was such a lake at the upper end of Central Park. My travels through Central Park usually consisted of the lower half of the park, unless I was rollerblading. I saw several people fishing, catch and release is allowed, and noticed a good sized lake. I could not see the full expanse of the lake, it is pretty sizable. I may head back for a visit this coming summer, in 2009. For those visiting or living in the vicinity of the upper half of Central Park, I think this is a great place to visit, especially since there is an ice skating rink there. For everyone else, its definitely worth a trip if you have never seen this area of the park.

A little bit of history on this section of the park. The Harlem Meer was an addition to the original park, which ended at 106th Street. Central Park now ends at 110th Street. The Harlem Meer is about eleven acres and is near the Lasker Rink and Pool, which I only found out about at this writing. Surrounding the lake are some of the park's most impressive trees, such as oak, bald cypress, beech and ginkgo (the yellow ginkgo leaves are exquisite this time of the year). There are two playgrounds near-by, and of course it is adjacent to Conservatory Garden, which I really enjoyed visiting. In the summertime, there is a jazz festival.

Check out some great pictures of this area and you can find more pictures on Flickr. A couple years ago, the art installation, Christo's Gates also made it through the Harlem Meer.

Have you been to Harlem Meer? What is it that you like best about this area? Check out my other posts on Central Park.

Conservatory Water

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I never knew this location in Central Park was called Conservatory Water until now. I've visited numerous times and have seen bird watchers watching Pale Male, watched people sail toy boats in the boat pond, and watched numerous fish swim about as children play near the statue of Alice in Wonderland. This area has a lot going on and is a great spot to sit and people watch, or just read a book.

There are usually street performers here during the summertime. The last time I was there, a few months ago, there was a singing group who kept the audience spellbound with their harmonizing. Several feet away, there was a jazzman playing his saxophone. There seems to always be life in this part of the park.

If all you want to do is relax, you can lie down on the nearby grassy lawns and just sunbathe for a couple of hours in the summer. Now, in the fall, you may be able to see foliage not found anywhere else in the city. Trees in the area include Lebanon Cedars, willows, pine and beach. In the spring you can view a great display of blossoming cherry trees.

There is a cafe along with public restrooms in the middle of all this, so it is very convenient. You can spend a whole afternoon here if you were inclined. Conservatory Water is located by 5th ave and 74th street in Central Park. It stretches from 72nd street to 75th street.

Have you spent any time at Conservatory Garden? What did you like best about this area? Check out my other Central Park series posts.

Delacorte Theater

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I have not personally experienced a play at the Delacorte theatre, mostly because I don't want to wait on the ticket line for numerous hours. The closest thing to a play at Central Park I've had has been a theatre in the Park production of a Mid-Summer Nights Dream. This actually had the actors and audience move from several locations in the park.

Getting back to the Delacorte Theater. Established in 1962, the Delacorte Theater is an open-air theater located in Central Park. It is adjacent to both Turtle Pond and Belvedere Castle. Tickets are free, and there are usually very long lines due to this. Each individual can pick up two free tickets each, starting at one p.m. of each performance day. The line could start forming at dawn, so be prepared to wait and bring some form of entertainment while you wait. Waiting in line can be an experience in itself and you may very well enjoy a full day in Central Park. The theater has over 1800 seats and hosts an audience of 8000 every year.

This year, Hamlet and Hair were the productions performed. Hamlet took place from May - June and Hair took play from July - September. You can find more details from the New York Shakespeare Festival, now known as Shakespeare in the Park at the Public Theatre website.

To get to the theatre, the closest entrance to the theater is at 81st and Central Park West.

Enjoy your time at the theater! Have you attended a play at the Delacorte Theater? Share your experience in the comments. If I've left out anything important in this post, let me know in the comments and I will amend the post, giving you and your source credit. Have you enjoyed my series on Central Park so far?

My Series on Central Park

This post contains updates to my Central Park series of posts. I hope you will find this to be a great resource for taking short day trips in and around Central Park.

1. Belvedere Castle
2. Bethesda Terrace
3. Conservatory Garden
4. Delacorte Theater
5. Diana Ross Playground
6. Harlem Meer
7. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir
8. The Lake
9. The Ramble
10. Strawberry Fields
11. Tavern on the Green
12. Wollman Rink
13. Central Park Zoo
14. More to come...
    

Have I missed any interesting places in Central Park? Have you enjoyed this series so far? Please leave me your comments and thoughts, and check back for updates to this post and series.

Belvedere Castle

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This is a first in a series of posts about places to visit in Central Park. Many of you may have visited Central Park before, but I bet you do not know all the different features and venues that Central Park offers. So here is the start of My Series on Central Park.

Belvedere Castle is located on top of the second highest natural elevation in central
park, Vista Rock. The highest natural elevation being Summit Rock at 83rd street overlooking Central Park West. Belvedere castle is a great spot to view fall foliage at
Central Park, and I'll be heading there for a visit within the next week.

Belvedere Castle overlooks Turtle Pond, the Great Lawn and Delacorte Theatre. This makes it a very busy area during the summer time. You can watch wild life, both aquatic (turtles, fish among others) and aerial (birds, dragonflies, butterflies and others), in the area. During the summer, you can catch a play at Delacorte theatre - FREE! This is also the spot where meteorological readings are done in Central Park. Now you know where the temperature comes from when you watch the local news' weather report.

To get to Belvedere Castle, located at 79st and the middle of the park, take the park entrance at 79th street and 5th avenue.

Have you visited Belvedere Castle? Did you enjoy the view? If you have never been to this Central Park venue, why not make a visit today? I would appreciate your thoughts on this post and how you have enjoyed the venue.

Carl Schurz Park and Gracie Mansion

Over the weekend I took my family to a New York neighborhood park for a spendid Saturday afternoon. Our objective was to go somewhere we have not been to. Though I have visited this park once before, my wife and daughter have never visited. There are a number of activities you can enjoy at this park, most of them are relaxing of course. So if you would like to enjoy a relaxing afternoon on a sunny day, perhaps you too can enjoy your time at Carl Schurz Park. Here is the official site for Carl Schurz Park.

The park entrance is located at East End Avenue and 86th Street in Manhattan, New York City. The park is also home to Gracie Mansion, home to NYC's mayor. This is a link to NYC's history of Gracie Mansion. You can reach it via the M86 bus and walk one block toward the river and park. Activities you can partake at the park include: sunbathing on the lawn, river side stroll, jogging, walking, biking, playground for kids and a dog park. We went for a stroll along the river, watching boats go by and having a great view of the northern tip of Roosevelt Island and its light house.

The playground in this park is great for young children and toddlers. On this early Fall afternoon, with great weather and the temperature in the low seventies, its a great day to be out in the park. I relaxed by a bench while my wife accompanied our daughter on the playground. After some time, my daughter settled in the sand box and remained there for the remainder of our visit. Activities at the playground include: monkey bars, swings, slides, towers to climb, pigeons to chase, build a sand castle and any other childhood sports you can think of.

If you have a low budget and would like to do something for a Saturday afternoon, why not visit this park? The only cost I incurred was for travel and any snacks we wanted. Pack a picnic and all you have to pay is transportation costs.

Have you been to Carl Schurz Park? What did you most enjoy at this park? Would you like to see more suggestions? Check out my other posts on NYC parks.

For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add FrugalNYC to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalNYC by Email.

Photo by Ed Yourdon

Frugal PATH

I currently work in Jersey City (steps from NYC) and have to take the PATH train for part of my daily commute. To save a little bit for my commute, I started purchasing Quickcards once I learned about it from a colleague. You can save a bit of money - and every dollar counts in this economy. You can also purchase the PATH SmarLink cards , which I believe costs a little bit more for the card activation, the benefit being a bit more durable (plastic vs paper Quickcards). I'm going to stick to talking about QuickCards since that's what I use.

You get approximately 2 extra rides for every 10 ride QuickCard you buy instead of using a pay-per-ride metrocard. This includes the current 20% bonus you get with a MetroCard over $10.

What does this mean? If you take the PATH for 4 weeks you save about 4 rides or approximately $7 a month, or $85 a year. Not bad for buying bulk ride cards. You can get quickcards for 10, 20 or 40 rides at $13, $26 and $52 respectively.

Do you find this helpful? Do you take the PATH in NYC or NJ for your commute?