Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We're going to spend the last few minutes of the show today as we head into the weekend answering this question: Can you have a full night out in New York City for under $20? Listeners, we're inviting your help reporting this story. We're taking your tips on how to have a cheap night in New York City. You can call or text 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692. To clarify that, $20 can't just go to one thing, like one movie ticket or a single sandwich. We're looking to fill an evening. I'm talking about a drink here, a bite there, maybe a cheap ticket or free entry to an event. A classic one I'm thinking of, which admittedly is an open secret, is gallery hopping on Thursday nights.

They don't charge for admission, and sometimes you even get free wine. What's on the itinerary if your budget is just $20? 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692. I know it seems difficult. As we all well know, New York is one of the most expensive cities in the world, but there's proof that it's possible. This segment is inspired by a Gothamist article from our culture reporter, Hannah Frishberg, who took on this challenge. I'll just say she laid out a pretty impressive plan for a night on the town with only a $20 bill in her pocket. Hannah joins us now to give some tips, as perhaps we will hear some of yours. Hey, Hannah, great to have you on the show.

Hannah Frishberg: Thanks for having me.

Brian Lehrer: All right, let's hear about the evening you wrote about. What did you do, and how much did it cost?

Hannah Frishberg: We started at Rudy's in Hell's Kitchen, where you get a hot dog for every drink purchase. That was a filling start to the evening. Then we went on down to Chinatown. For the haters in the Instagram comments on the social video who said that I didn't include my MetroCard fee in the total of the evening, my MetroCard is prepaid through pre-tax dollars from my W-2 job, just FYI. Next, after Rudy's, we went to Chinatown, where I got a plate of noodles for $3.75, which felt obscene. I almost wanted to tell the cashier, "You do know New York has gentrified."

Then, next, we went to ICP, which I had somehow never been to despite growing up in New York. We saw a really moving event called Photo Slam. That cost $5, and the admission got us into the galleries at ICP as well. That was great and quite the deal. Then, next, we had planned on going to Chelsea, but we decided to keep it to the area for galleries. We found one nearby, in walking distance, that had free wine and some really beautiful photos of America by two different artists. After that, I had quite a bit of money to spare. I didn't think I'd have as much at that point.

We wandered over to Ray's Candy Bar across from Tompkins, which, classic, and Ray, the legend himself, was there. I bought a $5 cookies-and-cream ice cream cone, which left me with, I believe it was, $1.75 in change. We joked about what I could spend that on, a vending machine, gambling. There's not much for $1.75 in New York.

Brian Lehrer: Pretty good night out for $20. Again, listeners, what are your tips for a cheap evening out? As Hannah mentioned in her article, there's a joke that New York City has a $20 leaving-the-house tax because it's so hard to venture out without spending at least that much. We know there are ways to get around that, or at least make the most of it if you're going to have to pay that tax either way. Call or text with your tips. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.

Here's one that's come in real quick. It says, "We recently went to the Whitney for Free Friday, and they had a bonus dance party in the lobby." There's one. Another person writes, "Many museums are free on Friday evenings." Hannah, any advice for finding a full meal for super cheap? Just feeding yourself properly could drain a $20 budget in no time. What do you recommend for finding your way around that?

Hannah Frishberg: Chinatown has a ton of ridiculously cheap options. You wander the street for five minutes, and you'll find something. Personally, I think my favorite is De Hot Pot in Crown Heights. You can get doubles for $7. They're really good. They're really filling. It's cash only. It's been there forever. You can't eat there, but you can eat somewhere nearby. Yes, it's super cheap and great, so De Hot Pot's my rec.

Brian Lehrer: Craig in Morganville has an idea. Craig, you're on WNYC. Hello.

Craig: Hey, how are you doing? Why not go for a free ride on the Staten Island Ferry? They serve alcohol, and you get a beautiful view of the harbor, and you've got plenty of time to hang out and talk.

Brian Lehrer: They do charge for the alcohol. That is certainly a wonderful way to do a little bit of sightseeing, right in New York Harbor on the Staten Island Ferry. Is it free? I think that's gone back and forth in recent years.

Hannah Frishberg: It's free.

Brian Lehrer: There you go. There's one, a drink or two, as you look at the Statue of Liberty in Lower Manhattan, or it depends which way you're going. Where do you look to find good events that are cheap or free? I mentioned those couple of museum texters.

Hannah Frishberg: I like Nonsense NYC. It's this amazing email newsletter that goes out every Friday. Prices vary. Almost everything on there is generally pretty affordable and pretty quirky.

Brian Lehrer: Another listener writes, "Would just like to shout out my favorite museum, Poster House in Chelsea, 23rd and Sixth. Fridays are free and open till 9:00 PM." Actually, I was just there recently. They have a very interesting exhibit about Mussolini and Italian fascism and the posters that were associated with that. I'm not sure if that was still up. That was a few weeks ago when I was there. Ditto to that, shout-out to the Poster House. Similar to the Staten Island Ferry caller, Kenno in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Kenno.

Kenno: Hey, Brian. Can you hear me?

Brian Lehrer: I can hear you.

Kenno: Roosevelt Island, New York. Nice place to visit for a tram ride. Probably $2.90 on the tram taking off from 59th and Second Avenue. Everybody knows the tram in the Spider-Man movie. You can touch down on Roosevelt Island. There's a free red bus that goes around the island, where you can visit at least anywhere from six to seven designated landmarks on the same island. A cup of coffee out there for $1.50 or a cup of coffee and a bagel, maybe $3, and take the same tram ride back for $2.90. If you go out there during cherry blossom time, what a wonderful occasion. The whole New York skyline is available for free. Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Kenno, thank you very much. I will note, Hannah, that there was a recent controversy about the tram being overcrowded and residents requesting priority boarding. I don't know if you know about that, but it doesn't make anything that he said not true.

Hannah Frishberg: Tram's kind of freaky. I got to be honest. The ferry, there's always room. You're just on a giant boat. The tram, it's like the glass everywhere, and you're really high up. I do it, but a more courageous one than the free public transit of the ferry.

Brian Lehrer: It's not quite the roller coaster at Coney Island. Yes, there's this feeling of amusement park ride up there for sure. Paul in Washington Heights, you're on WNYC. Hi, Paul.

Paul: Oh, hello, Brian. Well, on April 18th at Church of the Village at 13th and Seventh, Country Dance New York is holding a pay-what-you-wish contra dance with live music. 6:30 to 7:00 is a lesson if you've never done this kind of dancing before. Then you get the whole night of dancing with all kinds of interesting people. All of our dances are available to students for just $10. Tuesday nights English, Saturday nights contra.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much. That's a good one, Hannah. Pay-what-you-want contra dancing. I wonder if there are many other pay-what-you-want participatory events in the city.

Hannah Frishberg: Lucinda's on the Lower East Side. They have, I think it might be free, actually, country dancing. It's a bar that's owned by Lucinda Williams.

Brian Lehrer: It seems like even dive bars have gotten expensive. Are there best neighborhoods for dive bars that are still, well, divey in terms of their prices?

Hannah Frishberg: The Lower East Side continues to hold it down, and a little north of the Lower East Side. I would like to give a shout-out to Beauty Bar, which has, for every $10 beverage you buy, you can get a free manicure, which is a insane deal.

Brian Lehrer: [chuckles] That's a new one, pairing a manicure with that. I wonder what made them even think of that. Ollie in the Rockaways, you're on WNYC. Hi, Ollie.

Ollie: Hi. Thanks for having me on. I'm calling from the Rockaways, and I just wanted to shout out Rockaway Film Festival that operates out of the Arverne Cinema in the Arverne neighborhood. They do a lot of really cool events, a lot of free events. I think I'm on the mailing list, and they're opening for the season in a couple of weeks with a free Earth Day event. They're showing a bunch of movies about trash and Department of Sanitation, and stuff like that. A lot of their movies are free. Otherwise, it's only $10 to go see a movie, and there's often the directors there, and it's a pretty cool thing at the Arverne Cinema.

I want to give a shout-out to them. I think that they do most weekends throughout the summer and stuff. Then there's an actual film festival at the end of the summer.

Brian Lehrer: Good one. Thank you very much. Let's go to Kyle in Clifton, who says he has a hack for Chinatown. What do you mean, a hack for Chinatown? Kyle, hi.

Kyle: Hi. Used to frequent Chinatown a lot when I was working in Manhattan and living in Queens. The best one I ever did was if you first go to a restaurant called Mei Lai Wah. They make the best bao buns throughout the entire city, some roasted and traditional Chinese, but very cheap. Around $3, $4 per bao bun. Takes you over half. Then, if you go around the corner, this is more for the Formula One and racing nerds. There's a place called OS NYC. It's actually a video game bar, but if you buy just one cocktail from the front of the place, you can do the Formula One and racing simulators unlimited for the rest of the day. For around that $20 mark, you're getting quite a lot. That's--

Brian Lehrer: I'm going to leave it there. Great one, Kyle. Thank you very much. I'll read one more text. Then we're out of time. Listener writes, "I love fishing. For $20, I can buy myself hours' worth of live bait just before heading over to any of the hundreds of public piers or docks." Hannah, to close it up, any resources that you can offer our listeners to find where to have a full evening for cheap?

Hannah Frishberg: Nonsense is great. Gothamist, our news site, fantastic.

Brian Lehrer: I've heard of it.

Hannah Frishberg: I'm often writing up deals. The new newsletter that I wrote up that segment for is called Looped In, and you can subscribe via Gothamist.

Brian Lehrer: The Looped In Gothamist newsletter, as we get a plug for the home team. To finish it up with Hannah Frishberg, culture reporter at WNYC and Gothamist. Thanks so much for joining us with all these tips.

Hannah Frishberg: Thanks so much for having me, Brian.

Brian Lehrer: That's The Brian Lehrer Show for today. Produced by Lisa Allison, Mary Croke, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, and Esperanza Rosenbaum, with help today from Sasha Lydon-Cohen. Our interns this spring are Arlo Bivins and Jack Walker. Juliana Fonda, Milton Ruiz at the audio controls. Stay tuned for Alison.

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