My girlfriend and I are visiting New York for the first time 22nd Dec and 2nd Jan. We need ideas for New Year's Eve. We don't want to spend money on Times Square parties, cruises or nightclubs. Just Times Square is also not an option since my girlfriend is claustrophobic and from what I've heard the crowd is awful.
What can we do during New Year's eve that doesn't involve excessive spending? We're looking something simple and nice. Any suggestions?

There are a multitude of other activities around the city.

Have a look at New York Magazine website and search the events section by date.

You don;t say where you're staying, but I would suggest dinner in a neighborhood place - probably ethnic - to avoid the New Year's Eve Special Parties. Then you might want to go see the fireworks in Central Park. There will be a significant number of people - but with so much space won;t be claustrophobic (to say the least) the way Times Square is.

One note - if you're staying near Times Square the subway there shuts down around 4pm (the trains run, they just don;t stop at 42 st - and later at other nearby stops) and the crowds will start to get heavy by 5pm - so get out of the area early while it's early and you still have some access to public transit. And don;t plan on going back until 1 am or so.

Your other option - if your hotel has room service and you're near Times Squar e- is just stay in and eat in your room - and watch the festivities on TV.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine on W. 110th St. has an annual concert for peace. It's free but donations are requested. It usually ends around 9-9:30. You can check on Opentable.com for restaurants in the area or near where you are staying. Many restaurants offer their regular menu.

I like ShunLee West near Lincoln Center. It's upscale Chinese, with great food and friendly, unpretentious service and they have a little celebration at midnight with hats and noisemakers.

There will be several Fodorites coming to the Concert at St. John the Divine, and since I am one of the singers (200 member chorus), I can get tickets. I think I have a total of 2 tickets left if you are interested. We were thinking of maybe doing a little GTG after the concert at one of the restaurants across the street if that sounds like fun.

The concert is one of the nicest in the city, every year. We were even part of the ABC Millenium celebration so that gives you an idea of the level of music. This year Lauren Flannigan will be singing and Harry Smith (Early Morning CBS) is our host. The Cathedral is the largest in the US, so even though it will be full, it does not feel crowded. My favorite part of the program is at the end, everyone has a candle and we all sing old lang syne and Light One Little Candle.

The concert is free, a donation is welcome, and the musicans get tickets for friends and family. You would have the best seats in the house, sitting on the Alter behind the chorus.

Let me know if you might be interseted.

Thanks for the responses. And thanks Travelbuff for the offer. I think we are going to have dinner at a nice place close to the park and then head out for fireworks.

nytraveler - We're staying at a friend's place in the Bronx. What time should we get to the park? Also...any suggestion for a good Indian restaurant in that area? We can always do early dinner in some other area and head to the park after that right? How busy do the subways get during New Year's Eve?

The fireworks are at midnight. If you get there by 11:20 you should be fine. menupages.com lists restaurants by area with reviews. There are no well known destination Indians on the UWS. If Indian is what you want, head for a good one and then take the subway to the park. On east 58th st. there are several upscale Indians (Dawat, Chola, Yuva) and you could walk to the park from there. Darbar Grill on east 55th st. is also a decent neighborhood type place, a bit further from the park but not terribly far. The subways will be busy but running regular hours except they close the stations around Times Square. So as long as you avoid restaurants in the TS area, you should be fine.

Sapphire, on B'way and 64th St. is a very nice Indian restaurant. You can easily walk over to the park from there to watch the fireworks.

ACtually there is an excellent Indian Restaurant at 100th and Broadway called Indus Valley. It is well known in the area and the food is very good.