Cheapest room in New York? A jail cell for US$1 a night

It sounds too good to be true - overnight accommodation in New York for next to nothing. 

The catch?

Your room is a jail cell - with its own toilet - which is monitored round the clock through CCTV. 

For US$1 (S$1.25) a night, you can be part of the art of performance and installation artist Miao Jiaxin.

"Miao's works often express the ambivalent and sometimes antagonistic tension that always exists between the individual and governing or cultural authorities", he says on his website. 

Thankfully, unlike a criminal, you have the option of unlocking yourself out of the cell. 

The apartment, which is part of Mr Miao's studio, is in Bushwick, Brooklyn - just 15 minutes by subway from the Lower East Side, reported Daily Mail.

There is even access to a roof deck with great views of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Act like prisoner

But there is one condition: you need to act like a silent prisoner for three hours a day. 

"From 9:00am to 12pm, you CANNOT access internet, NO electronic devices, books, radio, pens or craftwork. You CANNOT talk to anybody. You CANNOT do Yoga or any other exercises. You CANNOT sleep," said the Facebook page where reservations for the room can be made.

The accommodation was listed on Airbnb before it was removed. 

Still interested? Book your reservations by Facebook message here. 

Sources: Daily Mail, Facebook