Summer is fast approaching and there is so much left to do before we can enjoy it.  The student body and even members of the administration are getting anxious for our two-month break.  Even though we are still in school, it is hard to focus on our work when all we’re thinking about is what’s going to be our new summer hangout spot.  Don’t worry; there are many cheap and free things to enjoy in New York City during the summer months.      
  
For our student population that loves its music, you could attend the Central Park Summerstage at Rumsey Playfield.  On Friday mornings from May to August, you could watch great performances at Rockefeller Center and have a chance to be on television with NBC’s Today Show Summer Concerts. Good Morning America, also on Friday mornings during May to August you could see popular acts in Central Park like Jonas Brothers, Norah Jones, and Lady Antebellum.     
   
People who enjoy a nice stroll in the great outdoors, surrounded by pretty flowers with wonderful scents, should make plans to visit the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx for six bucks, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in Prospect Park for four dollars with a valid ID, or the Staten Island Botanical Garden for five dollars. You could look at the wide variety of plants in over twenty different gardens. 

If you’re not all about the birds and the bees, you could visit the much larger animals at the Prospect Park Zoo, or the Queens Zoo in Flushing for only seven dollars.  So far all these events are free or cheap, and there seems to be a lot of opportunities like them around.
Some students were willing to share their summer havens with us.  Senior Shiovahn Gustave said that she likes to hang out in Queens Center Mall or Pier 17 at Chelsea Piers.  Sophomore Precious Chandler said, “I like to hang out on Manhattan Beach when it’s hot or go to a spa in Long Island.” 

Sophomore Carli Gardner stated that Starbucks is a great place to chill with an iced frappuccino on a hot summer’s day.  Freshman LeeAnne Roulston said, “There is no one place I go to hang out. I like to go shopping with friends or go to the beach.” 
Overall, it seems that students are unanimous in choosing the beach as the number one summer “chill” spot.  It is quite surprising that in a city like our own where it’s all about the fancy shopping that there are a lot of free things to experience.  Do not, however, limit yourself to the suggestions given here because there are many things to discover when it comes to summer fun in New York City.