Tattoo Parlor Near Me in Chinatown: Daredevil Tattoo and Its Free Museum

Admission to the tattoo history museum inside Daredevil Tattoo is free, and it is open whenever the shop is: every day from 12 pm to 8 pm at 141 Division Street, New York, NY 10002. Walk-ins are taken first come, first served, the shop minimum is $150. Anyone searching tattoo parlor near me on the edge of Chinatown and the Lower East Side can step off the F train at East Broadway and be inside within a couple of minutes.

Michelle Myles and Brad Fink opened Daredevil on Ludlow Street in 1997, the year New York City lifted the tattoo ban it had imposed in 1961. For the 36 years before that, tattooing in the city had been illegal, so the shop opened into a scene that was only just coming back above ground. Both founders still own it and still tattoo there, which is rarer than it sounds in a city full of shops that change hands.

In 2014 the shop moved to its current address on Division Street, and chef Aarón Sánchez, a longtime friend of the owners, came in as a partner. Daredevil is also widely credited with starting the New York Friday the 13th tattoo tradition: on Friday, June 13, 2025, the crew counted 128 people tattooed in a single day. Joan Jett and Boy George are among the clients Time Out has named over the years.

The Museum of Tattoo History grew out of Brad Fink's collection of antique flash and is run by NYC Tattoo History, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Work by Samuel O'Reilly, the inventor of the electric tattoo machine, hangs alongside pieces by Bert Grimm, Cap Coleman, George Burchett and Sailor Jerry. Antique machines and old sideshow banners share the space, and because the museum is part of the working shop you can look around while needles buzz a few feet away.

The room itself does a lot of the storytelling: pressed-tin ceilings, Art Deco tiled floors and framed sheets of hand-painted designs that are older than most of the people getting tattooed. Myles is a licensed New York City tour guide and runs Bowery tattoo history walking tours that usually start from the shop on Friday mornings at 11 am. If you care about where American tattooing came from, the tour is the better use of a morning than a quick photo stop.

Walk-ins are always welcome, first come, first served, and online scheduling is available for those who prefer a fixed time. Some same-day appointments open up, and the posted hours can stretch earlier or later by appointment. The one rule that surprises newcomers is about money: the shop only gives prices in person, from the artist who will actually do the tattoo, so emailing a photo and asking for a number will not get you far.

Booking a set appointment requires a deposit, and deposits are non-refundable but applied to the cost of your tattoo. The shop works in all styles, from traditional and fine line to custom drawings, and it also keeps a collection of original flash to choose from. For a first tattoo, picking a piece of the shop's own flash is the honest recommendation: it is drawn for skin, it goes quickly, and it carries the house look.

On every Friday the 13th the shop posts a special sheet of designs in the window at noon, drawn just for that day and priced at $40 to $60. The first 10 people in line get theirs for $20 each. The day runs on its own rules: cash only, valid state ID showing you are 18 or older with no exceptions, and only the designs on the sheet.

Placements are restricted on those days too, with no necks, hands, bellies, sides, feet, faces or chests. Expect a line, and treat it as an event rather than a casual drop-in. If you would rather skip the crowd, any ordinary weekday afternoon gives you the same walls and the same artists at regular prices, without the queue down Division Street. The next Friday the 13th on the calendar is November 13, 2026.

You must be at least 18 to be tattooed, with valid state ID such as a driver's license, passport or military ID. Bring the ID even if you look older, because the rule is applied to everyone. Eat before you arrive, wear clothes that expose the spot you want tattooed, and carry your reference images on paper or ready to show, so the artist can sketch and quote on the spot.

Payment and pricing are settled with your artist once the design is clear, with the $150 minimum as the floor. That makes a very small tattoo poor value here, so consider sizing up slightly or adding a second small piece in the same visit. Keep in mind that the museum walls make it easy to lose an hour before you even sit down, which is part of the fun.

The East Broadway station on the F line is a few steps from the door, which makes Daredevil easy to reach from Brooklyn or Midtown. From the shop, a short walk east brings you to Seward Park, a calm patch of green with benches where you can sit with fresh ink and let the adrenaline settle. Chinatown's dumpling counters and bakeries line the surrounding blocks if you need to eat after a long session.

For a theme walk, head west toward the Bowery and Chatham Square, which the shop describes as the birthplace of modern tattooing; Kings Avenue Tattoo's Manhattan studio sits further up the Bowery. On Grand Street, Kossar's Bagels and Bialys is a classic Lower East Side stop for a bialy to carry home. Keep the bandage clean and avoid crowded subway poles pressing on a fresh forearm piece.

Daredevil Tattoo is at 141 Division Street, New York, NY 10002, at the border of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. It opens every day from 12 pm to 8 pm, with earlier and later times by appointment. Walk-ins are first come, first served, the shop minimum is $150, and appointments need a non-refundable deposit that goes toward the tattoo.

The Museum of Tattoo History inside the shop is free and viewable during business hours. Clients must be 18 with valid state ID. For Friday the 13th, bring cash and expect a line before noon. If you want to pair a visit with dinner in Chinatown or a quiet bar on the Lower East Side, ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for spots that are open when you finish.