More details have emerged in that “magic MetroCard machine” story the Post broke yesterday. Turns out it that it wasn’t a MetroCard machine, but a LIRR ticket machine (which also dispenses MetroCards). And make that machines; the Times reports that from 2004 until last May, countless people have unwittingly used the machines to get free tickets and MetroCards, exploiting a software glitch that let riders with insufficient funds on their debit card or credit card......

A trio of grifters allegedly bilked the MTA out of $800,000 over the past three years by exploiting a software glitch in a single MetroCard machine in Penn Station. According to the Post, police have arrested a Roosevelt, Long Island resident named Cary Grant (ha), his wife Lisa Foster Jordan, and their friend Christopher Clemente, a former student at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School whose scholastic career ended in 1990 when he was convicted......

Tonight’s hot ticket, as you know, is Plants and Animals at Central Park Summerstage; the phenomenal Montreal trio will also be joined by up-and-comers Yeasayer and The National (never heard of ‘em.) This event is sold out, but funnyman Mike Birbiglia is giving away a pair of tickets to whoever writes “the nicest request on my Facebook wall.” To snag the tix, you'll at least have to top this misspelled plea: "I request that you......

If you happen to be reading this in East Harlem, you’ve got a good shot at getting quick tickets to the Shakespeare in the Park revival of that ‘60s rock musical HAIR – you know, the one with that song "Age of Aquarius" from The 40 Year Old Virgin. The Public Theater is giving away vouchers for free tickets in all five boroughs through Saturday – today they’re at the El Museo Del Barrio (1230......

Last week there was considerable ebullience voiced by Red Hook residents who were taking full advantage of the free shuttle buses and Water Taxi service provide by IKEA. This weekend many were looking forward to “hacking” free Water Taxi to get to the food vendors’ first weekend back at the Red Hook ball fields. An IKEA rep even told the Daily News, “We are thrilled that we are providing free transit options for the......

When the convenience stores first opened, they were called Tote'm stores because customers toted away the goods. In 1946 they changed the name to 7-Eleven to reflect the store's hours. Though the hours are no longer relevant, without that name change there wouldn't be free Slurpees today! As the company celebrates their 81st year, customers will be given free 7.11-ounce Slurpee drinks in special birthday cups. Last year the day was made a little more......

A new bike sharing program on Governors Island has proven so popular that the DOT is considering ways to implement a similar program throughout the rest of the city. Transportation Alternatives is reporting that since launching “Free Bike Fridays” on June 6th, bike ridership on the island has more than tripled, from 120 daily bike renters to more than 400. On weekends, rentals are available for $5 for 30 minutes, which gives cyclists enough time......

How much would you pay for free Jon Bon Jovi tickets? This much? As the big Bon Jovi concert approaches tickets to the free show are going for as much as $1500/pair, The NY Post reports. The show is going down this Saturday on the Great Lawn in Central Park, and an additional lot of tickets will be released at the Javits Center this Friday (more details at MLB.com). Hardcore fans of Jon Bon......

The free coach style shuttle buses that deliver riders from two Brooklyn subway stops to the new Red Hook IKEA are filling up with passengers who never set foot inside the Swedish retailer. "I'd say before one o'clock, about half the riders from Smith and Ninth Street don't even go into IKEA," one bus driver told the Daily News, adding that many riders are going to a local methodone clinic for treatment. And, as predicted,......

Seems those choir boys at Water Taxi Beach really believe all that stuff about giving being better than receiving. So take advantage of their munificence by eating free BBQ chicken at their Long Island City oasis Wednesday night – the handout is a reprise of yesterday's fowl philanthropy at WTB: “We had such a good time giving away free BBQ Chicken on Sunday that we are doing it again. We have 3 cases of fresh......

Yesterday Bon Jovi fanatics rushed to the closest ballparks to pick up their tickets to a free concert on the Great Lawn next weekend. NY1 reports that fans lined up for hours at all four stadiums; the concert is part of the upcoming All-Star Game celebration. One fan declared of JBJ: "Back in the day he was number one and he still is," while others were happy he was doing the show for free and......

Each summer the Met offers a free outdoor performance, and the one-night-only event is going down in Prospect Park later this evening. Two of the opera world's biggest stars, Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, will be belting out duets as Ion Marin conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Fun fact: Gheorghiu and Alagna were married backstage at the Met during a run of La Bohème in 1996...by Giuliani! Head over to the park (there's......

It's a tempest in an E-Z Pass tag teapot! With scrutiny about the MTA's decision to give lifetime free E-Z passes to board members (past, present, even dead) coming from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, some board members who enjoy the perk plan to fight the MTA's attempt to take away E-Z passes and subway/bus and train passes for board members. It's against the law for MTA board members to take any pay for their jobs;......

Photo via Brian Fountain's Flickr. The Bryant Park Summer Film Festival kicks off its 16th year tonight with the 1962 (Sean Connery era) Bond classic Dr. No, though it's likely the opening evening will get rained (and stormed) out. The Monday screenings will continue throughout the summer, however -- here's a look at the schedule:June 16th, Dr. No June 23rd, Bride of Frankenstein June 30th, Hud July 7th, The Man Who Came to Dinner......

After Health Department's announcement that one in four New Yorkers has genital herpes (compared with the national average of one in five Americans), condom maker Trojan is distributing condoms in all five boroughs today. Per the press release titled, "TROJAN GIVES OUT THOUSANDS OF FREE CONDOMS TO STOP BLISTERING NEW YORK 'HEAT' OF ANOTHER KIND," here are the locations and times of where and when you can get free condoms: Friday, June 13: 7:00 AM......

In an attempt to pump up its shrinking customer base, starting today Starbucks will offer two hours of free Wi-Fi per day. Well, free for anyone who puts at least $5 onto a reloadable Starbucks Card and registers online for the Starbucks Rewards Card program. Rewards program members get other perks too: free syrup and milk options with drinks, free refills on coffee and one free beverage with the purchase of a pound of coffee......

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man bears a striking resemblance to the Pillsbury Doughboy. So much for a healthy start to the morning. The Pillsbury Doughboy will be in town come sunrise, and he's promising "a sweeter morning commute." Armed with a giant cake of the United States, he will not only be handing out slices to the masses, but he'll also declare Park Avenue and 51st the Sweetest Spot in New York City (could......

Photo by Elizabeth Weinberg. JellyNYC has finally announced their free Sunday shows at McCarren Park Pool. This could be the last season of the Pool Parties, with the space getting redesigned soon -- so try to soak it all up:June 29th: The Hold Steady, The Loved Ones, J Roddy and the Business July 6th: Ronnie Spector, The Rabbit Factory Soul Revue, Featuring: Roscoe Robinson, Ralph ‘Soul’ Jackson, Hermon Hitson and Wiley & The Checkmates......

The elegant 7th floor roof garden at Rockefeller Plaza is usually off limits, but for the next two evenings the general public is invited up to sip cocktails while savoring the twilight view. The only catch is that you have to absorb a lot of information about Canada, because our northern neighbor's tourism board is the one footing the bill. But since their national sales pitch comes with free food, music, drinks and hand massages,......

Barbecue fans will want to start bracing their colons for the 6th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, which has been announced for June 7th and 8th in Madison Square Park. Gothamist tore through the festival of regional barbecue last year, devouring everything from pork shoulder to Brunswick stew to candied ribs. New York will be well represented this year by Hill Country, Rack and Soul, Blue Smoke, and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que; other purveyors range......

Madonna, who recently stated that NYC gives her the zzz's, was stirring things up in town for an intimate performance last night. Her Madgesty took the Roseland Ballroom stage in front of 2,200 fans, for a show which demanded die-hards wait in line for what turned out to be 60 hours, just for a chance to get into. Fanatics? No. One of them, a Brooklynite, swears, “I’m not fanatical. But I do collect Madonna magazine......

Note to middle management: today’s the day workplace productivity takes its annual nosedive, as employees across America wait on interminable lines for handouts at Ben & Jerry’s. Free Cone Day – not to be confused with Free Clone Day – lasts until closing time at five participating Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops in Manhattan. Ben & Jerry's at 104th & Broadway (2722 Broadway), Ben & Jerry's at Macy’s Herald Square Food Court, Ben & Jerry's......

Chris Martin will be (attempting to) steal the spotlight back from his wife Gwyneth Paltrow soon. She's been in the news for fainting from live-food fasts and being honored by Food Bank NYC, and you know he must be shivering there in her shadow. Well not for long; Martin and his band Coldplay have just announced a free show to help hype up their forthcoming album. If you're a fan of the fellas, set that......

Although the proposed redesign to Governors Island won’t be finished until at least 2013, the island’s administrators are coming up with plenty of reasons to pay a visit today. Starting May 31st, the island, which has expansive parks, a full-circle bike path, former military bases and a spectacular view of Brooklyn and lower Manhattan, will be open on more days and for longer hours than ever before. And the calendar of concerts and events is......

Top photograph of Tibetan protesters outside the United Nations building by Mary Altaffer/AP; lower photograph of the riots in Lhasa, Tibet from the AP Roughly 100 protesters, most of them Tibetans, demonstrated outside the United Nations today against the Chinese government, which has been trying to put down protests and rioting in Lhasa. Three demonstrators were arrested for trying, unsuccessfully, to enter the U.N. and six were arrested for disorderly conduct. This demonstration coincided with......

A proposal by City Council Member Hiram Monserrate would give hybrid car drivers free parking at meters for a year after their initial purchase. If the legislation passes, drivers with receipts for hybrid cars could apply for the permits, which the Queens councilman says would cost the city little in lost revenue, because the taxes from new car sales would make up for the quarters lost at parking meters. But Council Member John Liu, chairman......

ART: In 2002 Hamburger Eyes xeroxed some pamphlets for what became the first of the crew's photography magazine. Since then "Hamburger Eyes has become an elegant yet underground periodical combining the documentary approach of National Geographic with the hit-‘em-hard sensibility of a late-night tagger." Tonight, in conjunction with the Spring 2008 release of their first book, The powerHouse Arena will display a selection of photographs (one of which is pictured) by the magazine's masterminds......

CONTEST ALERT: Tomorrow night the indie-elite will gather at Terminal 5 for The Plug Awards -- featuring Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, St. Vincent, José Gonzalez, Dizzee Rascal, The Forms, DiVinci and more. Tickets are sold out, so you can either watch the show here, or you can win tickets from us! We're giving away 5 pairs, starting now. Just email GothamistContest@gmail.com and tell us why you want to go. MUSIC: White Williams,......

ART: Unhappy with your old point and shoot? Today marks the opening of the National Krappy Kamera Competition, proving that even inexpensive cameras can snap good shots. "The exhibit features images that are produced using equipment from the lowest end of the technological scale. The concept underlying this show is that an artist can use any piece of equipment to create engaging photographs. Cameras generally range from the well-known Diana, Holga and Lubitel to......

Left cover by Gretel sent to subscribers, right runner-up cover by Wieden + Kennedy. New York’s Best of New York lifestyle catalog is out, and among the rightful winners, like Best Old School Lobby: The Chrysler Building and Best Dive Bar: Mars Bar, there are some curious ‘bests’ to ponder. In the New York Classics section, for instance, the sterile, six-month old Music Hall of Williamsburg is hailed for its “unequaled” sound and sightlines. This......