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[wiseprof06]

Across the river in New Jersey near one of the Manahattan train or bus lines is an option.....  depending on how familiar you are with the general area.  But then again, it would probably be more fun going home to tell all your friends about how you shared bathrooms with perfect strangers in your hotel.

[notaprof]

I am too old for hostels and pods myself.  I just stayed at the Pan American in Queens for $100 per night.  It's nothing fancy but clean and no bedbugs (I checked the headboards and mattresses carefully) only three blocks from the subway and a 20 minute ride to Times Square. The staff were very nice and helpful.  There was a nice pub called the Grand Stand just around the corner with a cozy atmosphere and good food.  I booked through cheaptickets.com but the rates do go up a bit on the weekend.  The shuttle driver

I also learned about the lottery system for Broadway shows where you can get a ticket in the front row for $25.  I didn't do this myself but another traveler told me about it and she saw 4 shows for $100 during her week stay.  I was there for work, not pleasure, drat!

[schoolmarm]

I do the lottery, rush and standing room all the time for Broadway shows.  As a last resort I do 1/2 price a the TKTS line.

For a listing of all the rush policies, go to www.allthatchat.com and click on "On the boards" to give you a listing of all the shows on (and off) Broadway.  If you click on Show Rush policy, you will get a list of shows that have standing room, rush or lottery. 

For standing room in NYC the show must be sold out.  You can check box office capacity at www.playbill.com the click link is on the left and is called weekly grosses.  You can estimate whether the show will sell out or not.  More sell-outs on the weekend than during the week.  Sometimes you can ask at the box office if they are close to selling out, and come back later for tickets.

For a list of what's on the TKTS list go to www.entertainment-link.com and click on Broadway (or maybe it is musicals) and then when you get the list, click on "what's on TKTS" for what was on TKTS for the past week.  entertainment-link also gives you lots of info about the shows, too.

See if your university has a membership to Club Quarters.  They have great weekend and holiday rates and three locations in Manhattan.

[4tech]

Good topic question! I'm thinking of moving in NY, but the prices there are killing me. So I've heard.. but I gotta get more info about this..

[sockgumbee]

Harlem B&B's are good places to get $100/night rooms--large usually and you share a bath. Quick subway trip to Midtown and lower. Of course, as a Black friend of mine said it's good to be comfortable there. I used to work near Marcus Garvey (now there's an interesting person) Park so it was no big deal to me.

Hostel near Columbia: came back to my shared room to find some nice girls about to go through my backpack.

Chelsea Star:--okey--strongly smelled of pizza--clean, small private rooms and shared bath. Really catered to younger folks.

Ditto the suggestion for Craigslist. Ask a lot of questions if you go this route--especially about cleanliness, pets and smoking if that makes a difference to you.

Try Tripadvisor.com for reviews etc. list of places.

[red_fish]

The Gershwin Hotel is located at 5th Ave. and 27th St. and has "auberge" bunk beds for $40/night. Their basic room with double bed is $109.

The website is very pretty: http://www.gershwinhotel.com/english/site1.html

[stanwyck]

Well, I may regret giving up the name of my cheap hotel, but we often stay at either the Hotel 31 or the Hotel 17, depending on where we want to be located in Manhattan.  A double w/a private bath is about 120/night, a double w/a shared bath is 85/night.  Small rooms, but we've been happy w/them.

[charlie00]

Take a try with Latham Hotel, it's 4av and 28th.

[margarete]

I try to stay at the Chelsea Inn whenever I'm in New York.  The location is great, if slightly noisy at night, the rooms are all different and interesting, and the prices are the best you're going to find.  I stayed at the Hotel 17 once (when the Chelsea Inn was full), and it was fine as well, though it doesn't have as much personality.

[britmom]

https://secure7.e-insites.com/chelseahostel/reservationscreate.aspx

This is popular among Japanese and European college students in their 10s, 20s, 30s. Well, dont fancy that you can pick up any of them. They are as busy as academics in the 40s, 50s, 60s.

I know this is a long-dead thread, resurrected by PeePee (credit: SciencePhD), but I just wanted to add that I stayed at the Chelsea Hostel the last time I was in NYC. I was in a private room that had hot water pipes that ran up the wall, and along the roof. It was August and I boiled. I have memories of spending the night looking out  the window, watching a (presumably) homeless person sleeping on some steps. He seemed far more comfortable than I was.