Hof
May 8th, 2006, 07:20 PM
There have been a number of posts here asking HOW one could survive for a few weeks in The City and do it cheaply.Some years ago,I had opportunity to do just that,and the results were bemusingly satisfying....
...New York on 75 dollars a week...
In late Summer '95,shortly after paying for my divorce,I was left with a few hundred dollars and a 4-week break between an old job and a new job.A friend was running a carnival in New York and asked if I'd like to join him and make some money.
I used to live in The Village and I hadn't seen NY in twenty-three years,not since I moved out in disgust and fled to Florida.
I had about $350/week coming in from unemployment,$500 in my jeans and time on my hands--and the idea sounded appealing--so I jumped in my beat-down 280ZX and drove from Florida to NY.
Along the way,I slept in motels and ate in the Best Denny's on Earth.I splurged on a beer-and-wing night in D.C. and went drinking with old friends in Richmond.I got to NY with about a buck and a half,expecting to go right to work...
Well,surprise,the carnival turned out to be a week away and in TWO places--South Beach on Staten Island,an old stomping ground,and Fort Hamilton,Brooklyn.(When I lived in Manhattan,we used to go to South Beach and play Step-On-The-Syringe a lot,so I knew a bunch about S.I.,and once I lived in Brooklyn--Park Slope--another of my NY "tells",so I was in familiar but yet-to-be-explored territory).
I was back home--but I was almost broke,maybe $150 to my name and my Florida friend forgot to FEDX my unemployment along to me.
TWO WEEKS IN NY--AND I'M BROKE !!!
Leo,the Carny,is a lifelong friend.He had worked his way up from worker to owner and was making a bundle,but until the sideshow began he had no cash,so I was left to my devices as to how to spend a week in NYC without money.
I got settled in on a piece of NY that I had never considered I'd EVER be sleeping on,the Federal Grounds of Ft Hamilton where one of the carnivals was setting up.We had full use of one of the barracks for bathroom privileges,but we were on our own for accommodations.
I slept on base parked amid carny rigs and motorhomes in my Z,right next to the Cannons Of War.I'd pop the hatch,crawl into my sleeping bag and doze comfortably,under careful watch by Base MP's.
In the still of the night,through my open hatch I could hear the Narrows gurgle under the Verrazzano,
and the big boats would glide past in heavy,pregnant silence.You could sense them more than see them.Hell of a location.Waterfront,under the Bridge.
I had to get a Federal ID and a Pass,to come and go.
For a week,carefully stretching the Eagle until it screamed,I would visit parts of NY,either by free Ferry,Subway,a bummed ride or on foot.I gave myself a $10/day budget...I walked a lot...I walked Bay Ridge and Shore Blvd;I learned about Clifton and St George on S.I....sometimes I'd bum a ride with a military guy into The City,where I'd...walk.Frequently,I'd splurge on a Subway.I'd take the Ferry...
Everyday for a week I explored NY,sometimes arriving back at the Fort with small change in my pocket and a million fresh stories to tell.
I carried a water bottle that I would ask restaurants to refill.They always did.If I had a few bucks that day,I'd go to Manhattan,eat at a Papaya stand or get a pizza or a street sausage.If I threw it all to the wind,I'd wind up buying myself a beer or two,a real treat.
I'd ride the bus and transfer to odd parts of the City and explore,go into free museums and spent time in a lot of shops.Furniture,toys clothes,galleries,etc,it didnt matter as long as it was free to do.
I explored,and saw a lot of historical New York for the first time.
Then I'd find my way back to Ft Hamilton and sleep in my car,sometimes eating at the Base Commisary,sometimes not.I was always hungry.I never moved my car:it was my home and I needed the permancy of an address, and was sorta comfy,sorta.A really cheap hotel in a damned nice location.
After that first week the carnival opened and I worked 12-15-hour days,either in Brooklyn or across the bridge.The Boss would drop me where he wanted me,and I must have crossed the Verrazzano twenty times.I was too beat after work--midnight,1AM-- to consider my surroundings or bother to explore.Besides,I was really too poor to do ANYTHING.My budget now became a food allowance;my life,endless toil.
I'd walk Midnight South Beach after work,waiting for my ride to Ft Hamilton,wondering where all the syringes had gone,or I'd slip off Base,using my Military Pass,and buy Bay Ridge pizza with a handful of change,then I'd go sleep in a sportscar down by the River.
I was making money,but I wouldn't see any of it until a week more had passed.I think I was also squatting on Federal Land.
After the second week in NY,I got THREE unemployment checks from Florida and about $1000 from my work at the carnival.It had come just in time.I was totally cashed out.Others were feeding me,out of pure pity,and I couldn't have stood THAT for long.
Freshly flush with cash,I quit Carny Life and spent the next few days in The City,in a $69/night room at the Pennsylvania,binge-eating on slices and gyros and washing it all down with countless pints of beer,which I could now re-afford.
I drove back to Florida with about $1200 in my worn-out jeans.Funny thing--on my way home,even though I had the money for motels,I would sleep in truckstops amid the softly idling monster Big-Rigs,hatch open to the fumes,secure and cozy in my new sleeping bag.
While I was in the City living it up,I left my car under Federal Protection at Ft Hamilton,where,presumably,a few carnys adapted it for THEIR NY hotel room.I left NY owning a brand-new sleeping bag and a Stephen Stills tape,courtesy of someone unknown.How they got into my car has always been a mystery.
Also,I had to surrender my Pass when I left,and I was no longer under Federal Protection.
That's how to visit New York on the Cheap.
...New York on 75 dollars a week...
In late Summer '95,shortly after paying for my divorce,I was left with a few hundred dollars and a 4-week break between an old job and a new job.A friend was running a carnival in New York and asked if I'd like to join him and make some money.
I used to live in The Village and I hadn't seen NY in twenty-three years,not since I moved out in disgust and fled to Florida.
I had about $350/week coming in from unemployment,$500 in my jeans and time on my hands--and the idea sounded appealing--so I jumped in my beat-down 280ZX and drove from Florida to NY.
Along the way,I slept in motels and ate in the Best Denny's on Earth.I splurged on a beer-and-wing night in D.C. and went drinking with old friends in Richmond.I got to NY with about a buck and a half,expecting to go right to work...
Well,surprise,the carnival turned out to be a week away and in TWO places--South Beach on Staten Island,an old stomping ground,and Fort Hamilton,Brooklyn.(When I lived in Manhattan,we used to go to South Beach and play Step-On-The-Syringe a lot,so I knew a bunch about S.I.,and once I lived in Brooklyn--Park Slope--another of my NY "tells",so I was in familiar but yet-to-be-explored territory).
I was back home--but I was almost broke,maybe $150 to my name and my Florida friend forgot to FEDX my unemployment along to me.
TWO WEEKS IN NY--AND I'M BROKE !!!
Leo,the Carny,is a lifelong friend.He had worked his way up from worker to owner and was making a bundle,but until the sideshow began he had no cash,so I was left to my devices as to how to spend a week in NYC without money.
I got settled in on a piece of NY that I had never considered I'd EVER be sleeping on,the Federal Grounds of Ft Hamilton where one of the carnivals was setting up.We had full use of one of the barracks for bathroom privileges,but we were on our own for accommodations.
I slept on base parked amid carny rigs and motorhomes in my Z,right next to the Cannons Of War.I'd pop the hatch,crawl into my sleeping bag and doze comfortably,under careful watch by Base MP's.
In the still of the night,through my open hatch I could hear the Narrows gurgle under the Verrazzano,
and the big boats would glide past in heavy,pregnant silence.You could sense them more than see them.Hell of a location.Waterfront,under the Bridge.
I had to get a Federal ID and a Pass,to come and go.
For a week,carefully stretching the Eagle until it screamed,I would visit parts of NY,either by free Ferry,Subway,a bummed ride or on foot.I gave myself a $10/day budget...I walked a lot...I walked Bay Ridge and Shore Blvd;I learned about Clifton and St George on S.I....sometimes I'd bum a ride with a military guy into The City,where I'd...walk.Frequently,I'd splurge on a Subway.I'd take the Ferry...
Everyday for a week I explored NY,sometimes arriving back at the Fort with small change in my pocket and a million fresh stories to tell.
I carried a water bottle that I would ask restaurants to refill.They always did.If I had a few bucks that day,I'd go to Manhattan,eat at a Papaya stand or get a pizza or a street sausage.If I threw it all to the wind,I'd wind up buying myself a beer or two,a real treat.
I'd ride the bus and transfer to odd parts of the City and explore,go into free museums and spent time in a lot of shops.Furniture,toys clothes,galleries,etc,it didnt matter as long as it was free to do.
I explored,and saw a lot of historical New York for the first time.
Then I'd find my way back to Ft Hamilton and sleep in my car,sometimes eating at the Base Commisary,sometimes not.I was always hungry.I never moved my car:it was my home and I needed the permancy of an address, and was sorta comfy,sorta.A really cheap hotel in a damned nice location.
After that first week the carnival opened and I worked 12-15-hour days,either in Brooklyn or across the bridge.The Boss would drop me where he wanted me,and I must have crossed the Verrazzano twenty times.I was too beat after work--midnight,1AM-- to consider my surroundings or bother to explore.Besides,I was really too poor to do ANYTHING.My budget now became a food allowance;my life,endless toil.
I'd walk Midnight South Beach after work,waiting for my ride to Ft Hamilton,wondering where all the syringes had gone,or I'd slip off Base,using my Military Pass,and buy Bay Ridge pizza with a handful of change,then I'd go sleep in a sportscar down by the River.
I was making money,but I wouldn't see any of it until a week more had passed.I think I was also squatting on Federal Land.
After the second week in NY,I got THREE unemployment checks from Florida and about $1000 from my work at the carnival.It had come just in time.I was totally cashed out.Others were feeding me,out of pure pity,and I couldn't have stood THAT for long.
Freshly flush with cash,I quit Carny Life and spent the next few days in The City,in a $69/night room at the Pennsylvania,binge-eating on slices and gyros and washing it all down with countless pints of beer,which I could now re-afford.
I drove back to Florida with about $1200 in my worn-out jeans.Funny thing--on my way home,even though I had the money for motels,I would sleep in truckstops amid the softly idling monster Big-Rigs,hatch open to the fumes,secure and cozy in my new sleeping bag.
While I was in the City living it up,I left my car under Federal Protection at Ft Hamilton,where,presumably,a few carnys adapted it for THEIR NY hotel room.I left NY owning a brand-new sleeping bag and a Stephen Stills tape,courtesy of someone unknown.How they got into my car has always been a mystery.
Also,I had to surrender my Pass when I left,and I was no longer under Federal Protection.
That's how to visit New York on the Cheap.