There’s never a dull moment in the greatest city on the planet.
Let’s hope the weather cooperates with the mid-September outdoor events, including FREE outdoor movies and concerts. There’s also FREE museum admission nationwide on Sept. 18, FREE streaming Yom Kippur services and so much more – most importantly – the re-opening of Broadway shows, including Hamilton, Wicked, The Lion King and Chicago.
Get more NYC for less money with NYC on the Cheap.
That’s our motto and we’re sticking to it.
NOTE – In accordance with the NYC vaccine requirement, visitors ages 12 and older must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter NYC museums, including those listed here.
Add these virtual and in-person events
to your calendar for the
Week Through Monday, Sept. 20
Last Chance
Courtesy Anthony George
Closing Tuesday, Sept. 14 – Times Square Ferris Wheel
This temporary attraction is 110-feet tall, as tall as an eleven-story building. Open daily, Noon to Midnight, in the heart of Times Square.
Get tickets online for your preferred date and time, to avoid what is sure to be a long wait for the on-site ticket booth.
First Chance – Broadway Shows Re-Open
Tuesday, Sept. 14 is a big day in NYC, with the re-opening of live Broadway shows after 18 months.
These major musicals open this week –
Wicked
Chicago
Hamilton
The Lion King
See our full list of re-opening dates
Also re-opening this week is the TKTS reduced-rate ticket booth in Duffy Square.
Curtain Up!
Celebrate the return of Broadway with three days of FREE performances in Times Square this weekend.
It’s a full schedule of music and dance, with performers from top Broadway shows.
See the full daily schedule here.
FREE Museum Admission Nationwide on Sat., Sept. 18
It’s the annual Smithsonian Museum Day, with FREE admission to more than 5,000 museums in NYC and nationwide.
You can’t just walk in to the museum of your choice – you need to download tickets first.
Full information here. 
Closing Sunday, Sept. 19 – AMNH Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures, an is an amazing exhibition of some of the world’s most spectacular jewelry inspired by animals, currently on display in the new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History.
The exhibition, the first one featured in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery since the hall re-opened a few months ago, includes spectacular imaginative jewels dating from the mid-19th century to the present and from the world’s great jewelry houses and designers, ncluding Cartier’s iconic panthers, Bulgari’s snakes, Suzanne Belperron’s butterflies, and more.
Curated by jewelry historian Marion Fasel, the exhibition includes more than 100 jewels organized into three categories: creatures of air—featuring butterflies, dragonflies, bees, birds, and more; creatures of water—with fish, seahorses, crocodiles, and starfish, among others; and creatures of land, with snakes, lizards, tortoises, panthers, tigers, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and lions.
NYCOTC Insider Tip:
- Make the Hall of Gems and Minerals your first stop when you visit AMNH.
- The earlier you get there, the less of a wait there is to get in.
Free Streaming Yom Kippur Services
L’Shanah Tovah to all our Jewish friends.
Attend these FREE online services live streaming from NYC temples and synagogues including:
- Temple Emanu-el
- Central Synagogue
- Actors Temple
- Park Avenue Synagogue
Alternate side parking (street cleaning) regulations will be suspended on Thursday, September 16 for Yom Kippur. Meters will remain in effect.
Photo: Bryant Park
Now Underway – FREE Outdoor Movies in Bryant Park
The popular series has a new schedule – Mondays and Tuesdays through mid-September.
As usual, the films are about New York City or a special connection to NYC, including three film versions of Broadway musicals.
The series includes such favorites as Moonstruck and The Muppets Take Manhattan.
See the full schedule here.
Photo: Little Island
Wednesday to Sunday – Little Island Dance Festival
It’s not just music, but also dance, which is to music.
Celebrate the rhythms of NYC at this five-day celebration of percussive dance forms at this spectacular new park on the Hudson River.
The festival is curated by artist-in-residence and tap dance star Ayodele Casel with longtime collaborator Torya Beard, and features dance forms from around the world, from tap to traditional, from traditional African drumming to contemporary Indian dance.
Most events are FREE with an RSVP. Other events are $25-$65.
See the full schedule here, on the Little Island website.
Now on View – Obama Portraits Tour
See the famous official White Houseportraits of Barack and Michelle Obama, at the Brooklyn Museum.
The Obama portraits are on a five-city national tour, visiting NYC for eight weeks, through Oct. 24.
More information here
FREE on Wednesday – Financial Seminar
Equity Options – Core Concepts and Terms
Join the NYPL Business Center for this webinar.
If you’re starting out with options, or if you’re interested in a refresher, let The Options Industry Council (OIC) help you on your journey. Join Edward J Modla, a former market maker who is now an OIC instructor, for a free webinar on key concepts and terminology to keep in mind before investing with options.
Topics covered include the rights of option buyers, the obligations of option sellers, option contract terms, how exercise and assignment work, and simple strategies.
- Noon, Wednesday
- Registration required.
Take the Kids
Photo of Lamb Chop via MCNY
Puppets of New York
Get up close with New York City’s quirkiest residents—puppets! At the Museum of the City of New York.
Puppets of New York examines the extraordinary, surprising, and diverse history of the puppetry traditions, practices, and languages that made New York City home.
This wonderful new exhibit features more than 100 puppets that span the city’s history from theater, television, and street life—including Lamb Chop, Sesame Street, Avenue Q, The Lion King on Broadway, avant-garde theater, parades, and more, and poised to bring joy and awe to people of all ages.
Seriously – who doesn’t love puppets?
See also –
FREE puppet shows in NYC parks
with the PuppetMobile.
Stay tuned for live performances, panels, workshops, and more that dive into the world of puppets from the stage to the set to the street.
Puppets of New York is part of a multi-sited collaboration between the Museum of the City of New York, The International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC, Teatro SEA, and The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, which includes the exhibition Puppets of New York: Downtown at The Clemente (August 11–September 30), at 107 Suffolk Street.
Photo: Hudson River Park
Photo: Hudson River Park
Something is Fishy at Weblab at Hudson River Park
This unusual exhibit has re-opened at Hudson River Park.
It is a flow-through native aquarium system and marine biology field station. If that’s too scientific for you – just think of it as a rotating exhibit of fish and other species that live in our Hudson River Estuary, including oysters and crabs.
And it’s FREE to visit.The Wetlab is open Sundays, 11 AM–3 PM, through August 29
The Wetlab also is open for viewing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3pm to 6pm, through October 28
Read more about the Weblab here.
- Wetlab is at Pier 40, at Houston St.
Photo: Harry Potter New York
Harry Potter New York
Opened recently in Flatiron, the store features 15 different themed areas, each one designed to bring the magic of the Wizarding World to life, including specialized shopping areas and several spots specifically designed for selfies with favorite characters and scenes.Open daily.
Expect to wait two hours or more to get in, after signing up on-site
Read more here.
More Things Happening in NYC
The World’s Biggest Applebee’s at 50th St. and Broadway has re-opened serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks (and booking groups and events again)
Where to eat in Times Square at locally-owned restaurants not national chains
NYC Museums Re-Opened Recently
Another sign that NYC is returning to normal – three more NYC museums have re-opened.
Skyscraper Museum
This wonderful small museum just steps from Battery Park is all about the history and architecture of skyscrapers around the world, and how they influenced the growth of cities.It’s re-opening with open the long-delayed Supertall 2020 exhibition, now renamed Supertall 2021.
The show is both a survey of 58 supertalls worldwide – including here in NYC – and a showcase of a dozen recently completed towers that represent some of the most stunning new forms and innovative approaches to structural engineering around the world today.
There’s also a virtual lecture series World View presented talks by the principal designers of these extraordinary projects.
Skyscraper Museum is now open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from noon to 6pm, with FREE admission, but timed-entry reservations are required.
- Book your FREE ticket here.
- The Skyscraper Museum is at 39 Battery Place across the street from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, another must-visit NYC museum.
Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)
This little gem is about the history and influence of Chinese in America, from building railroads to building high tech networks, fashion, games, food, and more.Current exhibitions include Asian American Responses: Resisting the Tide of Racism, and a photography exhibit of Chinatown.It has re-opened with its normal pre-Pandemic hours:
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday: 11am – 6pm
FREE Admission: In celebration of receiving a generous donation from Mackenzie Scott, MOCA is able to offer free admission for all throughout the run of the Responses Exhibit, through to September 19, 2021.
- MOCA is at 125 Centre Street.
- No Reservation Needed.
Louis Armstrong House Museum
This off-the-radar gem in Queens has reopened for in-person tours.
NYC Libraries Return to Full ServiceYet another sign that NYC is back in business – NYC libraries in all five boroughs are back to full service/
That means you can borrow books and CDs, use the FREE computers, and more, at all three NYC library systems, NYPL, Brooklyn Library and Queens Library.
National Museum of the American Indian
NMAI has reopened.
This branch of the Smithsonian is always FREE.
Exhibits feature the arts and culture of native peoples from Alaska to the southern tip of South America.
NMAI is open Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm, at 2 Broadway at the northern edge of Battery Park.
Timed admission tickets are required.
Photo: Cooper Hewitt
Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
This museum, housed in the glorious and opulent former home of Andrew Carnegie, has just re-opened with “welcome back” FREE admission through Oct. 31.
There are three exhibits devoted to fashion, including one devoted to contemporary Muslim fashion, from streetwear to high-end evening gowns, by designers from around the world.
Timed admission tickets are required
Wavetree 1885 Tall Ship at South Street Seaport
The historic cargo ship traveled the world, delivering goods between such fabled ports as Calcutta, Buenos Aires and – of course – New York City, and represents the thousands of ships which have docked along the New York waterfront over the centuries.
- FREE self-guided tours Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 5pm.
Ambrose Lightship at South Street Seaport
Also FREE tours of the historic floating lighthouse on weekends.
The Guggenheim Museum of Art
- Pay-what-you-wish Friday and Saturday, 4pm to 6pm
- Reservations are required.
Jewish Museum
There is FREE admission all day Saturday.
Visitors with disabilities and their caregiver receive free admission every day.Get more from your visit with the FREE audio tour you can download into your smartphone.
Explore the Jewish Museum through the voices of artists, scholars, rabbis, and more. From thematic tours including Jewish Rituals and Artists’ Voices; to tours for kids and families, and Verbal Description tours for individuals who are blind or have low vision. Uncover rich stories from many voices and perspectives at Tours.TheJewishMuseum.org.Headphones must be used in the galleries.
The Rubin Museum of Art
There’s good Karma here, with a collection of art, sculptures and tapestries from India, Nepal, Tibet, China and other Asian nations.
Free Friday Nights are a great time to explore, but timed entry tickets go quickly.All gallery tickets become available for reservation two weeks in advance
- FREE Friday nights are 6pm to 10pm
Also Worth Visiting
KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature at NYBG
This is the first-ever comprehensive exploration of the artist’s lifelong fascination with polka dots and with the natural world.
The exhibit includes monumental sculptures, paintings and other artifacts across the Garden’s 250-acre landscape, including material that has never been displayed publicly before.
Plus, of course, one of the artist’s famous Infinity Rooms. Get tickets now for the separate, limited-capacity tickets to Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart .
On sale now for dates through Oct. 31.
NYBG is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
Get discount tickets here.
14 Miles of FREE Ocean Beaches
The city’s eight beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound are open for sun and sandcastles, but no longer for swimming, since the summer season of Lifeguards has ended.
- Orchard Beach in the Bronx;
- Coney Island and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn;
- Rockaway Beach in Queens; and
- Midland Beach, South Beach, Cedar Grove Beach, and Wolfe’s Pond Park Beach on Staten Island.
See our 2021 FREE parking calendar
Where to find cheapest gas prices in NYC
Road and Bridge Closures
See more daily NYC events on our
Free & Cheap Events Calendar
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More to Do in NYC Every Weekend
Greenpoint Terminal Market
This popular outdoor market is back for the season on Saturdays and Sundays, with a full roster of vendors, including food, and also entertainment.
This season, Greenpoint Terminal Market expands with roller skate rental and lessons, Yoga, Capoeira,fitness, art and dance classes.And there’s always the expansive and gorgeous views of the Manhattan skyline.
There are more than 100 vendors, from vintage and antiques to local art and design, and fashion.
International food vendors on hand reflect the multi-cultural diversity of Brooklyn.
Greenpoint Terminal Market is at 2 Noble St., Brooklyn.
- By Subway – take the G Train to Greenpoint Avenue
- By Ferry – take the East River Ferry to Greenpoint
NYCOTC Publisher/Executive Editor Evelyn Kanter is a native New Yorker who has written for the NY Times, NY Daily News, NY Post, New York Magazine, and is a former on-air reporter for WCBS Newsradio 88 and WABC-TV Eyewitness News.
Evelyn Kanter also is the author of several NYC and Hudson Valley guidebooks, including my latest, 100 Things to Do in NYC Before You Die.
Purchase autographed copies by emailing evelyn@nyconthecheap.com
Follow my other website, Evelyn Kanter ecoXplorer, about eco-friendly national and international travel and transportation.
Thanks for following NYC on the Cheap.
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