BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
New York City is full of expensive restaurants, expensive theater tickets, expensive nightclubs and expensive historical sites. Yet Howard Goldberg, the president of Adventure on a Shoestring, has several tips for enjoying Manhattan on a limited budget.
At the North Brunswick Public Library on June 19, Goldberg shared secrets he has acquired over the years as a resident of the Big Apple.
“People will spend more time investing in places in Europe, Africa and Asia than in New York City,” he said. “It’s the most exciting city in the entire world and how long did it take me to get here? Forty-five minutes. … Do you realize how lucky you are to live in the New Brunswick area?”
For starters, he mentioned behind-the-scenes guided tours.
The Metropolitan Opera House can be visited October through June, touring artisan shops, rehearsal facilities, dressing rooms, the stage complex and the auditorium. The ticket price is $10 per person or $5 for full-time students.
The Federal Reserve Bank, the world’s richest bank, has a one-hour free tour Monday through Friday and includes the gold vault where the gold bullion of 48 nations is stored. A packet of shredded money is given to tourists if supplies are available. Reservations are needed at least 10 to 14 days in advance.
Yankee Stadium offers one-hour guided tours at noon when the team is not playing. Monument Park, the dugout, the field, the clubhouse and the press box are seen.
Gracie Mansion holds one-hour tours on Wednesdays and Thursdays from March until November. There is a suggested donation of $7 for adults and $4 for seniors. The residence of the mayor of New York since 1942 has recently undergone a $7 million renovation, although current Mayor Michael Bloomberg lives in his own townhouse off-site. Also, free guided tours of City Hall are offered on occasional weekdays.
Carnegie Hall has one-hour tours during the week, except on Wednesdays, and show a view of the hall from the dress circle and orchestra levels, and the Hall of Composers and the Carnegie Hall museum. The cost is $6 for adults and $5 for seniors.
For those looking for theatrical entertainment, TKTS in Times Square and on Water Street at the South Street Seaport offer discounted Broadway tickets the day of a performance; Water Street sells them one day earlier as well. The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute, the HB Playwrights Foundation, the Actors Studio and the New Dramatists have free theatrical presentations. In addition, the Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy troupe performing seven days a week.
There are also several live television shows that let the public join the audience, such as “Good Morning America,” “Live with Regis and Kelly,” “The View,” “The Maury Povich Show,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “The People’s Court,” “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?,” “The Martha Stewart Show,” “The Dr. Keith Ablow Show,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.”
“Free is good. Free is what this country is about,” he said.
On the museum front, most educational centers are free or pay-as-you-wish. There is the Morgan Library, the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of National History, the Museum of Television and Radio, the Jewish Museum, the American Folk Art Museum, the Frick Collection, the International Center of Photography, the Dahesh Art Museum, the Asia Society and Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, the Rubin Museum of Art, and the Museum of Arts & Design. Many offer special features such as contemporary art displays or classic movies.
“Watching a film on television is not the same as watching a film on a movie screen,” he said.
Other activities include the Mannes College of Music, the Merchant’s House Museum, the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden, the Forbes Magazine Galleries, a tour of Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, the haunted area of Greenwich Village, and the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center.
Then, after a long day of touring the city, a bargain meal is the best dessert. Goldberg suggests paying for drinks at the bar and bringing them to the table because they are less expensive. He said to ask if there is a bread or water charge or a cost to share entrees. Don’t hesitate to bring home what you don’t finish eating, and if you use the first name of your waiter frequently, you’re apt to get better service.
“Many are aspiring actors and love the sound of their name,” he said.
For bargain meals, he advised visiting the Natural Gourmet Cookery School, which serves a four-course dinner on most Fridays for $32, including tax and tip, cooked and served by students. L’Ecole Restaurant at the French Culinary Institute serves a three-course $20 lunch and a $31.50 dinner during the week.
The United Nations Delegates Dining Room offers public dining between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., a choice of 20 hot and cold specialties, including soup and dessert, for $25. However, reservations must be made in advance and a driver’s license or passport is required.
The Gotham Bar and Grill, East of Eighth, Dallas BBQ, the Palm Too Restaurant and the Cabana Carioca Restaurante all offer a variety of pre-fixed menus and prices. Goldberg also cited cafeterias as must-eat locales because of their simplicity.
“The great thing about cafeterias is the food is fresher than you’ll have at a restaurant, you see the food being served to you, and there’s no tipping,” he said.
Goldberg also suggested afternoon tea as a great alternative to stopping at a snack shack. He said most locations offer hot scones, finger sandwiches, pastries and live music. His favorites include the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon, the Four Seasons Hotel, the Carlyle Hotel, the Peninsula New York Hotel, the Pierre Hotel, the St. Regis Hotel, the Pavard Patisserie and Bistro, and Tea and Sympathy.
If one day in New York is not enough, Goldberg mentioned overnight accommodations at the Leo House. Rooms range from $70 for a single to $160 for a family for the night.
Or, for annual events, there are features such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Chinese New Year celebrations. There is also the largest Greek community outside of Greece in Astoria, Queens, and cultural diversity in Coney Island, Brooklyn. He also said to explore centers for every major religion of the world.
“Ethnicity is very alive and well in New York City,” he said. “You don’t have to feel guilty about exploring the tenets of another religion.”
He also said that New Yorkers don’t need cars, because they have an expansive mass transportation system.
“We have an excellent subway system in New York City. If you haven’t been to New York City in the last 15 years, I never have seen it in better shape than now in my life,” he said.
Overall, Goldberg described New York as choice, a way to explore the world through competition, resulting in lower costs. For specific information regarding the locations he suggested visiting, contact the library at 880 Hermann Road or (732) 246-3545.