I am: an author, a college graduate, a self employed licensed New York City guide and a native New Yorker born, raised and educated in New York City. I have been giving private and publicly scheduled neighborhood walking tours in Manhattan's many diverse neighborhoods for over 25 years and I have been constantly researching and improving each walking tour - I have also developed several specialized walking tours - I offer over 27 walking tours in all along with private slide shows for individuals, groups and corporations.
Every neighborhood tour features landmarks, history and architecture, along with interesting pictures and stories that illustrate the past of a particular Manhattan neighborhood. It is this combination of elements that allows for the unique integration of each area's past with its present and is the theme of all my neighborhood walking tours.
My specialized tours can include a number of different neighborhoods and focus on a specific subject such as: gargoyles, Irish, Jewish or Italian history and architecture or art. One of my specialized tours is The Rockefeller Center's Public Art Tour focusing on its public art and the many renowned artists that created the art, plus its conflicts, its history and its architecture along with some interesting stories and pictures that contribute to understanding its past.
Literally thousands of people have taken walking tours with me over the years and most of my private walking tours now come from word of mouth recommendations. I have conducted walking tours for: Fordham Alumni, Stern College of New York, The Woman's Travel Club, Hofstra University – College of Continuing Education, Harvard Business School Alumnus Association, Second Stage Theater and Maxima Tours just to mention a few institutions that have used me.
If you prefer a publicly scheduled walking tour, just show up at the time and place indicated on the web page (www.nycwalk.com) that has my schedule for this year. I also offer walking tour slide shows for individuals, groups or institutions.
I retired as a supervisor for the New York City Parks Department in 1991 after 25 years of service. Over that period of time I supervised and sometimes trained small groups of employees in various Park Department districts such as: Manhattan Forestry, Mobile Security in Manhattan, Washington Square Park, Riverside Park, The Manhattan Training Center, Thomas Jefferson Pool/​Park, and Queens Forestry. Even before I started to work for the New York City Parks Department I had an interest in the architecture and history of New York City and I was collecting information and pictures especially about interesting buildings and locations in Manhattan. It was a hobby that I talked about on my job that prompted fellow employees to ask me to show their visiting friends or relatives around. Whether it was a tour of Art Deco buildings, historically styled turn of the century mansions, Rockefeller Center, Midtown or neighborhoods like Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Murray Hill, Little Italy or the Lower East Side I was always prepared. In the 1980's I started scheduling public walking tours on my days off and when I retired in 1991, I turned this part time pursuit of giving walking tours in Manhattan into my full time occupation.
In 2010 I decided to use my knowledge of Manhattan and my twenty-seven walking tours as a basis for writing neighborhood guidebooks that focus on each neighborhood’s history and architecture along with some interesting stories and pictures that enliven the neighborhoods past. And I have had four of my neighborhood armchair guidebooks published by The History Press and Arcadia Publishing.
“Exploring Gramercy Park and Union Square” 2015, “Exploring Manhattan’s Murray Hill” 2014, “Exploring New York’s SoHo” 2012, and “Exploring the Original West Village” 2011.
During the time I worked for the Parks Department for several years I was involved in union activities which motivate me to attend Empire State College (SUNY) part time and graduate with my Bachelor of Science degree in Labor Management Relations in 1979 and a Certificate in Labor Industrial Relations from Cornell University in 1979. I became more interested in learning and I developed other interests attending The City College (CUNY) Department of Theater Graduate Program from 1983 to 1985 earning 18 credits.
Throughout all my different endeavors I never lost my love of New York City and its unique history and architecture - it is where I ended up and it is what I do.