20. New York Public Library
Remember the Dewey Decimal System? The New York Public Library, New York’s most famous library (aka the Stephen A Schwarzman Building), which turned 100 in 2011, is situated in a grand Beaux-Arts icon east of Times Square. It’s fronted by marble lions named ‘Patience’ and ‘Fortitude,’ and is just a jaw-dropper to walk through, particularly the reading room fit for 500 patrons reading with the aid of the library’s original Carre-and-Hastings lamps. There’s exhibits too, including a copy of the original Declaration of Independence, a Gutenburg Bible, plus 431,000 old maps. There are free tours at 11am and 2pm Monday to Saturday, 2pm Sunday (closed Sunday in summer). Fifth Ave at 42nd St, Midtown East.

21. Old Stone House
A Breuckelen legacy from Brooklyn’s Dutch origins, and a survivor from the ill-fated Battle of Brooklyn, this Old Stone House features a small exhibit on the battle. Its upstairs is sometimes rented out for the likes of sample sales. Fifth Ave, btwn 3th & 4th Sts, Park Slope, Brooklyn.

22. Public boathouse kayaking
Kayak for free from public boathouses such as the Downtown Boathouse and Long Island Community Boathouse in Queens.

23. Rockefeller Center Public Art
Built in the 1930s Great Depression, the 22-acre Rockefeller Center is more than the setting for NBC’s Today Shows (lines appear by 6am often) and a giant Christmas tree in December (not to mention to $19 NBC tours or $21 trips to the observatory deck!). But do pop by to see the slew of art commissioned under the theme of ‘Man at the Crossroads Looks Uncertainly But Hopefully at the  Future.’ A bit wordy, but the pieces pack a big punch, such as the statue of Prometheus overlooking the skating rink, or Atlas holding the world at 630 Fifth Ave. Jose Maria Sert’s murals in the (main) GE Building used the likes of Abe Lincoln to replace the original ‘communist imagery’ (eg Vladimir Lenin) by a snubbed, outraged Diego Rivera. Between Fifth & Sixth Aves, around 49th & 50th Sts, Midtown

24. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Part of the city’s library system, the country’s largest collection of documents, books, recordings and photographs related to the African-American experience, the Schomburg Center also hosts free exhibits and self-guided tours. Guided tours are also free, but must be booked at least one month in advance. 515 Malcolm X Blvd at 135th St, Harlem.

25. Socrates Sculpture Park
On the East River, overlooking Roosevelt Island and the Upper East Side, the Socrates Sculpture Park, a former dump site, now has interesting art installations, light shows and movies on Wednesdays in summer. Broadway at Vernon Blvd, Astoria, Queens.

26. Staten Island Ferry
Everyone wants to see the Statue of Liberty. Ferry tours there start at $12. But the Staten Island Ferry for commuters, cutting across the New York Harbor, is absolutely free and has long held the distinction as the single greatest free attraction on the Eastern Seaboard. Around since 1905, the ferry carries 19 million across the harbor each year. Technically for transport in between Staten Island and Manhattan, most visitors simply hop back on to get back to New York. It never gets old. East end of Battery Park, Lower Manhattan.

27. American Museum of Natural History
Free its last hour (4:45-5:45pm), and admission price is ‘suggested’ at all other times (so free, if you have the chutzpah to suggest $0). Central Park West & 79th St, Upper West Side.

28. Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Free Tuesday, and 10am to noon Saturday. Eastern Parkway at Washington Ave, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

29. Brooklyn Museum
Free first Saturday of the month, when there’s big wine-sipping, DJ parties that draw half the neighborhood. 200 Eastern Parkway, at Washington Ave, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

30. Bronx Zoo
Pay what you wish on Wednesday. 2300 Southern Blvd, The Bronx.

31. El Museo del Barrio
Free the third Saturday of the month. 1230 Fifth Ave between 104th & 105th Sts, Spanish Harlem.

32. Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum
Pay what you wish, first Friday of the month. 9-01 33rd Rd, Astoria, Queens.

33. Museum of Modern Art
Entry is free 4-8pm on Friday. Gets busy. 11 W 53rd St, between Fifth & Sixth Aves, Midtown West.

34. Museum of the Moving Image
Free 4-8pm Friday. 35th Ave, at 36th St, Astoria, Queens.

35. Neue Galerie
Free 6-8pm the first Friday of the month. 1048 Fifth Ave at 86th St, Upper East Side.

36. New York Botanical Garden
Free Wednesday, 10am to noon Saturday. Bronx River Pkwy & Fordham Rd, The Bronx.

37. New York Historical Society
Pay what you wish, 6-8pm Friday. 2 W 77th St at Central Park West, Upper West Side.

38. South Street Seaport Museum
Free the third Friday of every month. 207 Front St, Lower Manhattan.

39. Studio Museum in Harlem
Free on Sunday. 144 W 125th St at Adam Clayton Powell Blvd, Harlem.

40. Wave Hill
Free 9am to noon Tuesday and Saturday. W 249th St at Independence Ave, Riverdale, The Bronx.

10/5/17