Goodbye Blue Monday off the Myrtle-Wyckoff stop of the L (a little ways past Williamsburg, that is) for random nightly live music, no cover. I was there on the Spring Equinox and there was something that looked like an exorcism/masturbation/seance backed by a drummer on stage. Secret Project Robot for a fun art collective that has semi-regular shows. There are a bunch of interesting extra-commercial venues but they're not always doing something. The best general events listings are nonsensenyc and toddp for rock shows. Nonsense will generally tell you if flux factory/secret project robot/whomever is doing something.
MoMA's curation is a real yawn compared to a lot of contemporary art museums, but it does have some pretty important pieces in the permanent collection so you should definitely go (on the free Friday 4-8 pm slot, b/c twenty five bucks is ridiculousness). When you're hungry after MoMA you're not too far from Koreatown (32nd st between 5 and Bway) or Curry Hill (East 20's). Make sure you check out PS1, MoMA's contemporary arm, in Queens. Try to find your way to Queens as well as Brooklyn. Go to Flushing New World Mall off the 7 train and check out their crazy big Asian foodcourt. Go to Chinatown in Manhattan and get some herbs at Lin Sister herb shop:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lin-sister-herb-shop-new-yorkCheck out what's going on at the Brecht forum. That place seems to have some overlap with RI politics.
In Williamsburg, the best mini-museum is the City Reliquary, and the best arty comics shop is Desert Island - right around the corner from Barcade actually. And there's an awesome place to get a flan de queso cupcake three blocks down Union from Barcade called Brooklyn Cupcake. I know how annoying cupcakes are, but they have 5 or 6 different Latin flavors and none of the Sex and the City tours stop here. Some really good cheap food along Grand St. like Bahia, Taj Kebab and Curry, or New Mexico Place. There's a lot of great more expensive food in the other direction (towards ground zero of gentrification, Bedford). All of this is a few short blocks from the House of Yes which usually puts on circus draggy dance things on weekends (although once I accidentally walked into a metal show there). A smart phone or map is good if you don't know your way around Brooklyn.
I just did a whole week taking someone around on a big tour so I did a bunch of the basic things, including a free ride past the Statue of Liberty on the Staten Island Ferry. I also went to the memorial for the first time. I know that place/event has a lot of baggage here but it's free and I'd actually recommend it. Things like this shouldn't just be left to people who lack context, and the design of the memorials doesn't have the icky feeling that almost all other 9/11 stuff has for me. They're really, really well done. It's kind of bizarre to watch tourists snapping photos there and smiling, but hey, that's part of the story too, unfortunately. It's right by the Ferry/not far from Chinatown so there's lots of stuff to do. You can also check out the NYPD police presence at Zuccotti while you're down there.
Don't pay full price at the Met or AMNH, as they're both suggested donation.
The best sandwiches ever at Num Pang on 12th st btwn University and 5th by Union Sq. Go say hi to the Occupiers in Union Sq. park, check out the dollar racks at the Strand and have a sandwich here, most definitely.
