I maintain an email list of folks who are updated on my public tours about every two months. You are welcome to join this list by registering below. I try to maintain the schedule on this page of the web site but if it’s looking like it’s behind the times, don’t hesitate to email me jaconet@aol.com for a list of upcoming tours.

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Photos courtesy of Forgotten New York www.forgotten-ny.com

Jack Eichenbaum’s Public Walks  August-October 2010

Notes

1. Thanks to all of you who contacted me after hearing me on WNYC. I even heard from an early childhood playmate!  The sound bites, transcription and some pictures are at

http://beta.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2010/jul/19/passion-all-things-queens/

It was one of these scalding days in July. They didn’t tell me to dress for success.

2. This fall I am collaborating with Groupon (see below) on a series of tours aimed at

the exodus of young people from across the river, not quite at home on Long Island.   

 

Schedule

Free Tours

Historical Jamaica    Saturday,  September 11  1-3pm   AND   Saturday,  October 9,  1-3pm

One of the earliest settlements in NYC, Jamaica boasts centuries old homes, churches and cemeteries. Focusing on Jamaica Ave at the foot of the glacial moraine, we’ll dwell on its strategic location and make some interior visits including Grace Episcopal Church and the meticulously restored Valencia theater.  >Meet at King Manor museum front lawn, Jamaica Ave between 150-153 St. (E,J Jamaica Center, LIRR Jamaica station); Sponsored by Jamaica Center BID. Tour is free (and rain or shine) but RSVP is required. 718-526-2422 or info@jamaicacenter.org

Municipal Art Society Sponsored Tours

Three Chinatowns     Sunday,  August 29,  9:30 am-4:30 pm 
Since the 1965 change in immigration laws, the Chinatown in Brooklyn (Sunset Park) and the Chinatown in Queens (Flushing) have developed in different ways and with different demographics than Manhattan’s traditional Chinatown.  Tour leaders Joe Svehlak and Jack Eichenbaum, natives of Sunset Park and Flushing, respectively, will lead walks focused on the transformation of these neighborhoods and Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership, will lead a walk and discussion of contemporary issues in Manhattan’s Chinatown.  We’ll begin the day with an optional dim sum meal in Flushing at 9:30 a.m. Tour begins at 10:30 a.m. $59, $49 MAS members.  Fee includes transportation from Flushing to Manhattan to Sunset Park by Chinatown van and or subway and a light lunch in Chinatown. Dim sum not included.  Reserve at MAS.org/calendar or call 212-935-2075

Public Housing’s Fertile Crescent    Saturday, October 16  11am-1pm
Have attitudes about publicly and philanthropically assisted housing changed? Many huge housing projects were designed to maximize off-street open space that is open to the public. The walk concentrates on the benign allees of vast projects that parallel the East River Bend from the Brooklyn Bridge to 14 St in Manhattan. Commentary centers on the socio-political history and geography nurturing these projects. This tour meets under the arches of the Municipal Building and ends in the East Village. No reservation needed.

Rejuvenating Queens   (in conjunction with Groupon)

A century ago, when the Queensborough Bridge and the first subways made western Queens easily accessible to the new midtown district in Manhattan, industrial infrastructure was modernized and residential development blossomed. Now, this part of Queens is experiencing a renaissance as industrial areas have been rezoned for other functions and young people and immigrant groups markedly change the residential demography.

These tours are designed for the young (and the young at heart) who are interested in the future of these neighborhoods as much as in their past! They each begin at 10am, and last for 2.5 to 3 hours at a fee of $20. 

In order to receive a special offer on the Rejuvenating Queens tours, follow the link below  to sign up for Groupon. Copy and past into your browser.

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu2864692

Groupon is a website that offers great deals on cool things to do in Queens. On 8/31/10,  Groupon will be offering the tours at half-price – so tell your friends! Remaining space on these tours will be open to all after Groupons have been sold but by reservation at the full fee. I’ll advise in an update.

La Rive Gauche  1:  Long Island City to Astoria                                                                                   Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010     Meets NE corner 21 St/41 Ave (F, Queensbridge)

Follow the East River shore between the Queensboro and RFK (Triboro) Bridge through the remnants of old Astoria to its current center. The sights include views of Manhattan’s Upper East Side from three parks, a (former) piano factory, a huge power plant, a “big box” store, the Socrates Sculpture Park, the Isamu Noguchi Museum, ante-bellum mansions, the Bohemian Hall beer garden and Astoria’s restaurant rows. 

La Rive Gauche 2:  Long Island City to Greenpoint                                                                                             Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010    Meets NE corner 21 St/41 Ave (F, Queensbridge)

The Hunters Point waterfront has seen many waves of redevelopment due to its special transportation advantages. We walk in the shadow of midtown where new commercial, residential, and creative functions compete for space in an older industrial landscape.  Nosh and rest on the piers of Gantry Park.  Cross the Pulaski Bridge and meander through Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 

More Space and New Arrangements: Sunnyside to Jackson Heights (Residential)                             Saturday, October 2, 2010   Meets under the Sunnyside sign, South side of 46 St (#7)

During the first third of the 20th century, Western Queens nurtured developments where traditional open space/building area relationships were altered to create new urban architecture. The Sunnyside Gardens and the Jackson Heights Historic Districts anchor the route which also includes Phipps Gardens, Matthews Flats, Metropolitan Life apartments, and early truck-oriented industrial buildings. Gentrification in progress!

Under the International Express:  Sunnyside to Jackson Heights (Commercial)               Sunday, October 17, 2010   Meets under the Sunnyside sign, South side of 46 St  (#7)

After American immigration laws were changed in 1965, the middle class rental neighborhoods along the #7 train became the nuclei of cultures new to New York. The ethnic diversity under the “The International Express” has visible commercial concentrations of Irish, Mexican, South American, South Asian, Filipino, and Thai cultures.  The train and the constantly evolving eats are always in focus.