I’ll be heading to NYC for Memorial Day weekend - can anyone recommend a good hostel or budget hotel in Manhatten? Preferably a hostel - I hope to spend less than $50/night, if possible.
Proximity to Penn Station would be nice, since that’s where I’ll be coming into the city, but it’s not essential.
Thanks, folks!
And yes, I know I just started one of these threads about Puerto Rico. Changed plans when I realized just how expensive that trip would be. 
it was too expensive… so you changed your trip to New York? hahahahahahaha…
Anyway, there’s an Hosteling International Hostel, pretty far uptown, supposed to be really nice
Its on the 2/3/1 line, which you can get at Penn Station
I used to often pass by the Chelsea International Hostel
I don’t know what its like inside but its in a pretty sweet neighborhood, and you can take the A/C/E line there, which you can also get at Penn Station.
I can’t help you with a hostel, unfortunately. There is a wonderful hotel on 38th called Americana Inn that is less than $100 per night but that is the only recommendation I can make. If you’d like for $15 a night I’ll let you put a tent in my back yard. I’m right off the 1 line and the weather should be okay for your trip, right? 
Compared to San Juan? It’s a bargain. Bus instead of plane, hostels instead of hotels, public transit instead of car rental.
Yeah I was joshin’ with ya. You can have a lot of fun in NYC pretty cheap if you eliminate the hotel expense as much as possible and aren’t into the key tourist sites.
It will be Fleet Week, which means the opportunity to tour in-service Naval ships, hear the Marine Band play, try the F-18 flight simulator, and other military-themed events, if you’re into that sort of thing:
http://gonyc.about.com/od/holidays/p/fleetweek.htm
I stayed here before and had no complaints. It was VERY central.
http://www.bigapplehostel.com/
There’s also the West Side Y right near Columbus Circle / Central Park (West). Though I would imagine a long weekend is very popular.
I found this website to be very helpful: http://www.hostelworld.com/hostels.php
My bf and I wound up staying at the New York Loft Hostel in the Williamsburg area in Brooklyn. It was $60 per night for a double bed private room and bathroom, and something ridiculous like $12 per night in a room with eight or twelve bunks.
Good luck, and have fun!
Try to stay as close to a major subway hub as possible. You’ll be using the subway a lot, and if your station is a local stop, you might have to wait forever for a train, then spend too much time transferring. If you’re near a station that services several express trains, you’ll save yourself a lot of time.