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Best New Year's Eve Options for $100 or Less

By Julie Shapiro | December 28, 2013 9:34am
 From yoga classes to salsa parties, DNAinfo New York picked the top New Year's events across all five boroughs for less than $100.
New Year's Eve Events
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NEW YORK — Celebrating New Year's Eve in New York doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Whether you want to ring in 2014 with a 4-mile race through Central Park, a salsa dance party in The Bronx or a yoga meditation workshop in Astoria, DNAinfo New York has your perfect evening planned.

Here are some fun ways you can say goodbye to 2013 with a bang — all for less than $100:

MANHATTAN
Watch the Ball Drop in Times Square
42nd to 47th Streets between Broadway and Seventh Avenue, Midtown
Free

Nothing can beat the energy of Times Square on New Year's — but you have to be ready to pack into the crowded hotspot many hours ahead of midnight, leave behind your backpacks or other large containers, and give up using the bathroom! On the upside, there will be plenty of free entertainment while you wait, starting with the 6 p.m. raising of the sparkling, 11,875-pound ball to the top of One Times Square. Performers including Miley Cyrus, Blondie, Icona Pop, Melissa Etheridge and more will help revelers forget the cold, and at midnight a ton of confetti will fall to mark the beginning of 2014.

Run Through Central Park at Midnight
Race starts on the 72nd Street Transverse inside Central Park
$60 for New York Road Runners members on Dec. 31; $65 for non-members.

Race headlong into 2014 with the 4-mile Emerald Nuts Midnight Run through Central Park. Fireworks will signal the start of the race at midnight, and after completing the loop runners will be able to enjoy roasted almonds and hot cocoa. Get there early for a dance party (10 p.m.) and costume contest and parade (11 p.m.).

Go Clubbing, 'Jersey Shore' Style
AMC 34th St., 312 W. 34th St., Chelsea
$55 general admission including open bar

Start 2014 with a fist pump at this party hosted by "Jersey Shore" star Vinny Guadagnino. AMC is turning its 34th Street theater into a massive club, with a dance floor, an open bar, an appetizer and dessert buffet and music by DJ Tommy TuneZ (Thomas Adams Jr.). Your ticket stub will get you into the after-hours party at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St., starting at 2 a.m.

Party Into New Year's Day at Webster Hall
125 E. 11th St., East Village
$50 for general admission to the after-hours party starting at 3:30 a.m.

For those who don't want to go to bed after the midnight ball drop, the party will keep going strong at Webster Hall, where after-hours performances start at 3:30 a.m. A $50 ticket will get you free party favors and the chance to see Wolfgang Gartner, R.L. Grime and more take the stage. There will be a cash bar, where the liquor will keep flowing until noon on Jan. 1.

Antibalas Afrobeat at SOB's

204 Varick Street, TriBeCa
$40 in advance

The pioneering Afrobeat band Antibalas — who backed the original "Fela!" musical before the show went on the road — share their sound at SOB's. The show starts at 12:30.

BROOKLYN
Watch the Prospect Park Fireworks
Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Heights
Free

Fireworks will light up the sky above Prospect Park at midnight, as a family-friendly crowd cheers the new year. Festivities begin at 11 p.m. in Grand Army Plaza with entertainment and free hot chocolate, and there will also be a ceremony in which Marty Markowitz cedes his Brooklyn borough president title to the incoming Eric Adams. Best spots to view the fireworks include Grand Army Plaza, West Drive in Prospect Park and Prospect Park West between Grand Army Plaza and Ninth Street.

Get in the Afrobeat Groove at the Knitting Factory Brooklyn
361 Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg
$60 in advance, $70 on New Year's Eve

The Fela! Band is heating up the Knitting Factory Brooklyn with the jazzy African rhythms that were a hit on Broadway in the "Fela!" musical. The high-energy performance is all but guaranteed to get attendees on their feet, clapping and dancing along. DJ Rich Medina will perform as well. 

Rock-n-Bowl at Brooklyn Bowl

61 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg
$40 at the door

Start 2014 with a strike at Brooklyn Bowl. Along with 16 lanes where you can show off your moves, the bowling alley will host a special New Year's Eve performance by indie rockers Delta Spirit. The Cults will do a DJ set and SACCO will perform as well. Advance tickets are sold out, but there will be a limited number to buy when doors open at 8 p.m. The music starts at 9 p.m.

QUEENS
Toast 2014 in an Astoria Beer Garden
Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, 29-19 24th Ave., Astoria
$80 per person

Toast 2014 with beer at Astoria's Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, which bills itself as the oldest beer garden in New York City. Admission includes an open bar starting at 7:30 p.m. and a dinner of classic Czech treats. At midnight, you can trade your beer mug for a Champagne glass, then keep drinking until 2 a.m. RSVP at events@bohemianhall.com or 718-274-4925.

Breathe in the New Year with Yoga and Meditation
The Giving Tree Yoga Studio, 22-56 31st St., Astoria
$25, $5 for members

Let go of 2013 and breathe in 2014 at a two-hour New Year's Eve Manifestation Workshop at Astoria's Giving Tree Yoga Studio. Bring thoughts of something from 2013 that you want to leave behind and a token of what you're hoping for in the year ahead. The class, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., will include yoga, meditation and visualization. Sign up in advance online.

THE BRONX
Dance All Night at Salsa Con Fuego
2297 Cedar Ave., University Heights
Free admission

Dance until 4 a.m. at The Bronx's Salsa Con Fuego, which will show a simulcast of Times Square on a 30-foot video wall and will pass out complimentary Champagne toasts at midnight. La Mega's Alex Sensation will spin salsa, merengue, bachata, house music and more to get patrons dancing. Make reservations in advance if you want to come early for a three-course dinner or if you want bottle service.

STATEN ISLAND
Have Family-Friendly Fun at the Staten Island Children's Museum
1000 Richmond Terrace, Randall Manor
Free with museum admission, $6 for people 1 year old or older

For those who won't be able to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, the Staten Island Children's Museum is throwing a party while it's still light out. Patrick and The Rock-a-Silly Band will play at the event, which runs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and also includes crafts, games, snacks and a pretend countdown to 2014.

With reporting by Gustavo Solis