Robert Brenner is a licensed New York City tour guide, a certified member of the Guides Association of New York City, and a docent for the Municipal Art Society of New York. He has led walking...

On February, 20th, 1939—in honor of George Washington’s birthday—twenty thousand Nazis gathered in Madison Square Garden to cheer Adolph Hitler and boo “Franklin Rosenfeld” and the “Jew Deal.” No,...

My mother grew up on the Lower East Side, when it was still a Jewish ghetto. Whenever anyone mentioned Allen Street, she would make a face and change the subject. Now I know why—Allen Street was...

Not a heavy metal band. In the late 19th /early 20th century, the neighborhood now known as NoMad (“North of Madison Square") was a world-famous red light district filled with saloons, music halls,...

Back in the 1970s, Times Square was a dangerous, exciting, gritty, authentic, racially/sexually diverse neighborhood. Love it or hate it, you couldn’t ignore it. Most of old Times Square has been...

The so-called Sexual Revolution was less an overnight revolution and more a hundred years’ war, with many prisoners and casualties along the way. Some of the most important battles were fought...

Today most people think of Canal Street—if they think of it at all—as the shortest distance between the Holland Tunnel and the Manhattan Bridge. But Canal Street is also a living remnant of New...

No food is more closely associated with New York City than pastrami. But what exactly is it, where did it come from, and what does it signify? On this East Village/Lower East Side walking tour, we...

East Harlem used to be a German neighborhood. At the beginning of the 20th century, Italians started moving to the area, and it became known as “Italian Harlem. ” Since World War II, successive...

Everyone knows Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Lower East Side. But how well do you know some of New York City’s more obscure dining destinations? In this walking tour, we will explore midtown’s...

Times Square is full of tourist traps and boring chain restaurants. But there are some surprisingly good cheap ethnic joints to eat—if you know where to look. On this food walking tour, we will...