Flying the Hudson River corridor below 1300' is done all the time. You will need the TAC chart and a thorough brief. You can even circle the statue of Liberty at 600' following the standard procedure.
Rental of a Skyhawk is in the range $100-180/hr depending on age/kit/location etc. An instructor will add $25-60/hr typically. You will need at least 2 hours of instructor time to get your flight review to be legal - that's 1 hr ground and 1 hr flight. If you're new to flying in the US, you may need a bit more than that.
I've flown that route myself but no specific knowledge of clubs and rental in that area.
For Vegas, most people head to Henderson.