Leisure and Entertainment 

 

You will not be short of things to do in NYC. There are umpteen listings websites, podcasts about the city – and tours to join.

 

What’s On Listings

The following websites are a good place to start:

Time Out
The New Yorker’s ‘Goings On’ column
NYC for Free
Secret NYC
Mommy Poppins – NYC events for families with small children

Podcasts

The following have been suggested by NYLESA members:

The Bowery Boys: If you’re interested in New York history, you may enjoy this gossipy but meticulously-researched series about New York’s famous and infamous inhabitants. Presented by double act Tom Meyers and Greg Young, who also arrange historical walking tours and occasional entertaining cabaret appearances.

Hell Gate – a website owned and run by local journalists, with a podcast that is irreverent, but journalistic. You can also subscribe to Hell Gate to get their full articles, or even just signing up to their (free) newsletter to access their useful ‘$20 dinner map’, which shows the location of a”ordable, tasty and often surprising places to eat across the city.

The City’s FAQ NYC – non-profit local journalism, their podcast describes itself as “The most New York you can put in your ear”.

 Soundscapes NYC is a podcast about music created in New York, how it has shaped the history of the city and how the city itself has been an incubator in which music has blossomed throughout its history

The Daily: Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, the New York Times calls upon its impressive roster of experts to try to unpack the news and analyse what’s behind the headlines. A helpful listen and good level of basic explanation for ex-pat listeners, who might not necessarily be familiar with the ins and outs of the US politcal system.

Awake at Night: A public-facing podcast produced by the UN, examining what it takes to be a United Nations worker in some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous locations. Interviews are conducted by Melissa Fleming, an experienced former radio journalist who is currently UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. 

Tickets to Shows

TDF (Theatre Development Fund) memberships

The not-for-profit Theatre Development Fund (TDF) is a community of more than 100,000 members who get special access to deeply discounted tickets available online and in advance for hundreds of Broadway, Off Broadway and off-Off Broadway theatre shows, dance performances and music concerts. Affiliated with TKTS, TDF offers a wide variety of offerings at significant discounts. Members pay an annual $30 membership.
Membership is limited to select groups, including UN staff members. Well worth checking out!

TKTS Booths

TKTS Discount Booths are a great way for everyone to experience the arts in New York City at affordable prices. Choose from a wide array of Broadway and Off Broadway musicals, plays, and dance productions on sale every day at 20% to 50% off regular prices.

TDF operates three TKTS Discount Booths in New York City, including the main location in the heart of Times Square. When you purchase your tickets from TKTS, you are supporting a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to sustaining and sharing the arts and developing the audiences of the future.

Ticket availability and inventory can change quickly throughout the day. We suggest going to a TKTS Discount Booth early in the day. To help plan ahead, you can browse real-time listings with the official TKTS app.

Club Free Time

Club Free Time provides the following services to the members: information about free cultural events in New York City. This information is available to anyone who visits onto the ClubFreeTime.com website.

ClubFreeTime also offers a membership option. This entitles the member the opportunity to reserve complimentary tickets to events which are not free at all: off-Broadway (and sometimes Broadway) shows, classical music concerts, jazz and dance performances, etc. Membership consists of an annual $20 membership fee.

 

Tours

New York’s Parks department lists free tours throughout the year

Most NYC museums have in-house guides or ‘docents’ who take visitors on tours that focus on particular parts of the collection. Often these are free – although you’ll need to pay regular museum entry. Check individual museums’ websites for tour details and schedules

VoiceMap is a commercial self-guided tour company with some very good tours of differnet parts of NYC. You download the tour to the VoiceMap app on your phone, and the commentary is triggered by GPS along the route. 

 

UN Staff Recreation Council’s Clubs (UNSRC)

UNSRC has more than 50 clubs from music and dance and to cultural clubs and chess and  bicycling. There is an orchestra and a choir. Almost all of these clubs welcome UN spouses as members — but in order to browse for them you’ll need to get your UN-employed partner to log on to iSeek. 

 

(Updated October 2025)