INTRODUCTION
New York can be anything you want it to be. It’s why countless people have pinned their dreams on the place, thrown caution to the wind and shown up on its doorstep.
If you like a day filled with culture, start with a look at some Tseng Kwong Chi photographs celebrating East Village creativity in the eighties at the Paul Kasmin gallery, before ducking through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the current Japanese art exhibition.
Round out your afternoon with some off beat/experimental theater at the Abrons Art Center on the Lower East Side.
If you rather your city a little grittier, spend some time in the hidden, restful Trinity Church cemetery, then cross to the Lower East Side where the Tenement Museum paints an evocative portrait of early migrant life on the island. Grab a hot dog from a street cart and stroll around the recently renovated Columbus Park, watching the mah jong and domino players compete against a backdrop of basketball.

1)Upper West Side: Newton Hotel

Clean and cheap, this functional, almost chain-like hotel overlooks Broadway and boasts fairly spacious rooms with all new furnishings (including beds and TVs). Business gets a mix of international visitors and plenty of academic folk from Columbia University, 30 blocks north.
All 109 rooms in this nine-story former residence are new but nothing entering the realms of swank. Each comes with huge closets (with full-mirror doors), TVs, a microwave and refrigerator, and sparkling but small bathrooms. Double-paned windows won't keep all of Broadway's sirens out. Still lifes on the wall are cheesy, and higher-priced suites have an enigmatic sitting area with a sofa facing a wall. The single lobby elevator is slower than molasses, but there's free internet while you wait. There's no restaurant or snack area, but the next door Greek diner offers room service till midnight.