jane jacobs walking tours nyc

Jane's Walk NYC

The Municipal Art Society of New York’s (MAS) annual weekend of free walking tours celebrating Jane Jacobs is taking place virtually this year over seven days beginning Monday, April 27. Joining together with partners, MAS has reimagined the festival in response to COVID-19, creating opportunities to connect with neighbors and celebrate the spirit of New York without physically gathering. Check out more than fifty virtual tours produced by MAS and participating institutions here on Urban Archive.

New York City, NY

The Municipal Art Society of New York

Since 1893, the Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) has lifted up the voices of the people in the debates that shape New York’s built environment, leading the way toward a more livable city from sidewalk to skyline. MAS has been the NYC organizer of Jane’s Walk since 2011, and what started as a handful of walks has since grown to include hundreds of walks and activities organized across the five boroughs and online. To learn more about Jane’s Walk NYC or to join the movement, contact [email protected] or visit  www.mas.org/janes-walk-nyc .

Walk Stories

Walk stories are chronicles of moments, ideas, insights, and images from a Jane’s Walk, curated and submitted by local participants, walk leaders, and city organizers.

Walk Leader: Savona Bailey-McClain Photographs by: Municipal Art Society, Harlem World Magazine, Curbed

The Central Harlem Historic District is a fairly new designation. It spotlights little-known Black history. Several Black charities like the Clubman’s Beneficial League and the Utopia Neighborhood Club found homes in this district. Many Black entertainers like James Reese Europe, of WWI fame, lived here. The district shows that a tight-knit community once lived and still lives in Central Harlem. They supported each other and made sure they could enjoy a rich, quality of life.

Walk Leader: Jack Eichenbaum Text by: Jack Eichenbaum

In celebration of the glorious life, legend, lore and legacy of Jane Jacobs a group set forth on Saturday morning, May 7, 2016, from the heart of what the Municipal Art Society has characterized as Historic Downtown Flushing, Queens, New York.

With our group Leader, JACK EICHENBAUM, at the helm, we quickly fleet footed past St. George’s Episcopal Church, unto Northern Boulevard and Main Street, the situs of the now infamous RKO KEITH’S THEATER, which has become a symbol of humanity’s unquenchable lust for money at the expense of history if not preservation, fully forward en route to Bowne Street, before attending to what is clearly now the elevation of form over function – FLUSHING HIGH SCHOOL, designated as a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1991, where nearby rests the home of Lewis Latimer, the freed Black slave credited in 1881 with the “Process of Manufacturing Carbons, within the NYCHA.

“Latimer Gardens” complex, which former property is a member of the Historic House Trust and reflects an appreciation of what The Bible caveats: ‘…save what remains’ – thanks to an enlightened late 1980s community push to preserve when the Latimer House – now a Science Museum for Children – faced the developer’s wrecking ball. But I digress…

Cut to the chase: THE QUAKER MEETING HOUSE, THE KINGSLAND HOMESTEAD, BOWNE HOUSE (1661), THE HINDU TEMPLE SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA [in front of which John Cage in the 1970s situated “Waltz 22.3” – Waltzes for The Five Boroughs] – all resounding highlights of this Jane’s Walk – one and all mere foreplay for what in modern American political history may soon become the hugest in Bowne Street’s real estate cache, namely ’41-10 Bowne Street’, a property once known as Kendall Hall.

Why you wonder.

Frederick Christ Trump, the New York-born Father, of the son, Donald H. Trump, the man who would become President, developed this Queens apartment house with his trademark lobby bird cages still in-tact. Interestingly this Father of the man who has revived the tag line – America First – is the very same person who in the middle of The Great Depression pioneered the concept of supermarkets with the ‘Trump Market’ [tag line: “Serve Yourself and Save”] – which became a mega hit. Curiously shortly after her birth on July 6, 1921, Anne Frances Robbins moved into a three story wooden house at 149-40 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, less than a two minute walk from the Trump Elder property. Ultimately that same individual – NANCY REAGAN – moved into The White House.

Will history repeat itself – will Flushing – that is widely viewed as the Home of Religious Freedom in America [THE FLUSHING REMONSTRANCE], as well as the chalice of the rights to free speech and assembly which were fought and ultimately vindicated thereat – yet again assume a singular historic American political connection? Specifically, will BOWNE STREET / MY STREET / be the conduit for a future President’s passage…

Stay tuned, it depends.

But Jack Eichenbaum, the man who named and claimed “Jane’s Walk”, surely has found his very personal connection to the street on which he lives: BowneStreet has magnificent oak trees nearby his residence [thanks to SamuelParsons who founded the well-known Parsons Nursery in 1838 – now the site of Flushing High School]. Eichenbaum incidentally is the topographic name for someone who lived near an oak tree, from Middle High German eiche ‘oak’ + boum ‘tree’. The streets that run parallel to Bowne Street until Kissena Park / Parsons Boulevard – which Park Samuel Parsons, Jr. designed – bear the names of their living plant legacy.

Name it, claim it.

– Francie Scanlon [who resides just off Bowne Street on Beech Avenue tributes Samuel Parsons who in 1847 brought back an oddity known as the European Weeping Beech in a small flowerpot that flourished as a WEEPING BEECH TREE just east of Bowne Street at another New York City landmark, the Kingsland Homestead].

Walk Leader: Alonzo Jones Jr. and the Brownsville Community Justice Center Text by: Stacey Anderson

Alonzo Jones Jr., 20 years old and born and raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn, organized and led this Jane’s Walk because he wanted to help overcome the tarnished image the media paints of his community. Although it covers less than two square miles, Brownsville appears frequently in the news: “#1 with bullets:, “murder capital of New York” and “where optimism feels out of reach” have been some recent headlines.

As Alonzo explains, “Leading the walk allowed me to share our history with other youth, so now, when they go out and talk about Brownsville, they can tell a different story.” He researched the walk thoroughly, by reading books and websites but mainly by talking to community elders, “because not only did they know the history, they had lived it.”

A man known as Uncle Roy provided him with a lot of information. “He has been an entrepreneur in the community for as long as I can remember. He could talk about the past, present and future of Brownsville because he sees it every day and has conversations with everyone who walks by. After I talked to him, I altered my route a lot. Initially, I was only going to take people to places I knew, but Uncle Roy made me want to dig deeper and discover some new places.”

The first stop along the two-hour route was the Stone Avenue branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, which just celebrated its 100th birthday. In 1914, Brownsville’s main library was so popular it became overcrowded, and the city opened this second branch dedicated to children’s books. It was the first children’s library in the world. Many walkers had not been aware of this fact, including a woman who lived just two blocks away and passed by the building every day.

Walk Leaders: Lisa Schreibman and Michael Fagan

We called the walk “Crown Heights: Where Change Is Happening”. Seventy-three people showed up. So much for small group discussion, but boy were we happy we had two routes planned. In all honesty, we could have used a third. We started the walk by asking the group where they were from and why they had come. Nearly everyone who attended was from New York City, most from Brooklyn and the vast majority of people had arrived on foot. Those people who don’t live in Crown Heights mostly came for an introduction to the area. A lot of people from the neighborhood came because they wanted to see more of the stores. Residents who had lived there longest were interested in the new stores, the ones who were recent arrivals wanted to learn about the old ones. We threw out themes we had seen evolving in the past decade. The neighborhood had become whiter, richer and younger than when we had moved to it. There was also more housing, though less affordable housing. We asked the participants to think about those trends as we visited the various businesses and why it meant that places had opened or closed. Almost all the participants made it to the two hour mark of the walk. A third few stuck it out for the last half hour and a dozen people had drinks with us after the walk to keep the discussion going. For me, the most interesting take away was to realize how many people never stray from their comfort zones. Whether long-time residents or new transplants people expressed surprise and delight at some stores they had never realized existed despite walking past them regularly.

Walk Leader: Karen Zabarsky

One of the reasons people from all over the world are so attracted to New York City is that it never sits still. The streets flow with an ever-shifting urban dynamic between history and prospect, tradition and trend. I was inspired to set my Jane’s Walk on the cobblestone paths of Dumbo, Brooklyn – one of the City’s coolest neighborhoods – because this dynamic is visible everywhere you look. Here, on the shores of the historic East River, abandoned Civil War-era warehouses are being restored and re-used as tech office spaces and art galleries. Eighteenth century horse stables stand next to twenty-first century glass high-rises.

In leading my Jane’s Walk, I was delighted by the diversity of the audience, among them French tourists, decade-long Dumbo residents, a couple of Swedish professors and college students. We meandered through the neighborhood’s recently developed waterfront park and historic streets, and I noticed the crowd growing with interested passersby as we proceeded. Walkers stopped for photos by the river and snapshots of the famous Empire State Building view down Water Street.

Step by step, discussion spurred among the group about the changes being implemented in Dumbo. The diversity of the walkers fueled the dialogue further: international visitors were curious, students were engaged, and some locals expressed frustration. One walker argued that New York City should be in constant transition; another was concerned about residents’ ability to afford the neighborhood as its prestige grew.

In these final moments of discourse, I came to realize the beauty of Jane’s Walks as a public platform for conversation about the future of our cities. That spring New York day, everyone on the Jane’s Walk was able to ask: What do we want our streets to look like? How do we move forward while holding on to rich historic fabric? How do we maintain healthy, heterogeneous communities and public spaces as we progress? In true Brooklyn fashion, I closed my Jane’s Walk with an invitation to join me for a round of drinks at Olympia Wine Bar, where the conversation continued long into the night.

Walk Leader: Scott Francisco, Founder & Director, Pilot Projects Design Collective Story by: Scott Francisco

Twenty-five New Yorkers and I spent a beautiful blustery spring afternoon weaving through the historic blocks that Jane Jacobs helped save from a Robert Moses wrecking ball between Prince and Canal streets. Looking upwards as we walked, we talked history and industry, used magnets to test the metal, and even attempted a sand-casting (using wax instead of iron) on a windy Broome Street sidewalk.

Walking through SoHo today is a bizarre time warp. Wild-west facades meet industrial revolution tech, set off with the latest global fashion trends. Expansive storefront windows are working as well today as they were when innovative nineteenth century shopkeepers competed for visibility.

By the turn of the century, the invention of the elevator and the introduction of steel in construction led to the decline of cast iron architecture. As did concerns about cast iron’s strength in a building fire. SoHo plunged into a period of neglect as industry and commerce moved north into Midtown’s newly built skyscrapers. Once grand buildings were abandoned or used as unheated storehouses for scrap paper and the neighborhood became known as “Hell’s Hundred Acres” due constant fires. In the 1950s and ‘60s artists seeking low rent and light-filled open spaces for large art pieces helped save SoHo’s cast iron buildings from being razed, while Jane Jacobs staved off Robert Moses’ 10 lane freeway. In 1973 the “SoHo Cast Iron Historic District” was designated by the Landmarks Commission for protection in perpetuity.

Today SoHo has the highest concentration of cast iron buildings anywhere in the world. For better or for worse, throughout this neighborhood’s up and down seasons, the look and feel of cast iron architecture remains unique. Grab a magnet and come check it out.

Walk Leader: Neighborhood Plaza Partnership Story by: Micaela Birmingham

I recently went on a “Jane’s Walk” of three public plazas in Queens to celebrate the legacy of Jane Jacobs. On the tour, organized by the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership, I was reminded of an important voice in the dialog about public space – children. While the need for thriving parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities in every neighborhood cannot be understated, public plazas also play a unique role in the lives of children.

This was illustrated first hand while City Council Member Julissa Ferreras gave an inspiring talk to our group about turning her vision for Corona Plaza into reality. As she spoke, there was another important moment happening – behind the flower pots. With adults discussing the process of relocating bus stops and truck traffic, children in the plaza steps away, played a serious game of hide and seek. As one boy hid, his friend, the “seeker” covered his eyes and wildly counted down in Spanish: “Diez! Nueve! Oche! Siete!…” This spirited game demonstrated the uniqueness of a child’s perspective of a plaza. Experiencing the space from two or three feet from the ground, children can seamlessly transform a safe street of colorful, moveable chairs into a fantasy world where hiding in plain sight becomes the best hiding place ever.

The next stop at 78th Street Plaza in Jackson Heights, included a talk by Georgia Southworth of the Jackson Heights Green Alliance. Southworth began working with local parents in 2007 to provide more play space for neighborhood children. By successfully transforming 78th Street into a play street closed to car traffic, the Alliance has continued its advocacy resulting in a permanent public plaza. A local father described how the 78th Street Plaza had become his daughter’s preferred location for practicing the pogo stick.

As a distinctive toy on the playground circuit, the pogo stick has garnered quite a following in this plaza. He explained: “Last Saturday my daughter counted 1000 consecutive jumps on the stick. That is her record and she is very proud.” He described that over the course of a weekend, his daughter shared the pogo stick with at least 40 other children, most who had never seen one before. She was happy to teach each of them how to use it.

Walk Leader: Elena Martinez Text by: Elena Martinez

After World War II this area where we walked in the Bronx was settled primarily by Puerto Ricans who had left the island due to economic hardship. Many musicians who were important (and still are) in the music we now call salsa, grew up in this neigborhood: Eddie Palmieri, Manny Oquendo, Willie Colón and Ray Barretto, as well as the Cuban tres player, Arsenio Rodriguez, who many call the Louis Armstrong of Latin music as he was a transitional figure, who came to live here when he came here from Cuba. The neighborhood even boasts a street named after Rodriguez.

This area was also a hotbed of community and social activism which helped to turn the Bronx around. There are murals of individuals who gave back to the community such as famed Puerto Rican activist, Evelina Antonetty Lopez, who used music and culture to bring people together around political issues. We also walked to the neighborhood of Morrisania or Crotona Park East. Historically this area was settled by African-Americans and people of West Indian descent and the music of jazz, doo wop, gospel, and hip hop are represented.

As you walk through the streets you will pass the house jazz vocalist Maxine Sullivan bought with her husband, the street where Thelonius Monk lived for a few years, and the school attended by NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens. We passed the site of the Dixie Club which was featured in Charlie Ahearn’s groundbreaking movie on hip hop, Wild Style, and where Grandmaster Flash performed after moving up from park jams.

Walk Leader: Bice C. Wilson, AIA Text by: Bice Wilson

One of the stops along our walk was the former location of one of the “Kissing Bridges.” These were bridges that were far enough out of the city that they were considered discreet places for demure couples of steal a kiss. I pointed out the spot where the bridge had once stood–the corner of Canal Street and Broadway. At the request of some walkers, we “crossed” the ghost bridge and–in the midst of the throngs of people out to enjoy a gorgeous Saturday afternoon–several couples did steal kisses, demurely.

Walk Leader: Harlem Hospital Center Text by: Amparo Abel-Bey

At noon, we met up with about 10 community living seniors at the Harlem Hospital Center. We walked down Lenox Avenue until we reached 124th, and from there made our way to Marcus Garvey Park. We did some stretches, then climbed up the Acropolis to the watchtower, where we rested and shared stories about Central Harlem and how it has changed over the past few decades. After that, we walked around the park, and adjourned at the community health fair.

Did you participate in a Jane’s Walk in this city?

Jane Jacobs vs Robert Moses

The battle for new york’s soul: jane jacobs & robert moses walking tour, follow the story of two new yorkers who changed the city forever.

This walking tour tells the story of a series of epic fights over the soul of Downtown Manhattan between two legendary New Yorkers. In one corner is Robert Moses, the heavyweight urban planner and master builder. In the other corner is Jane Jacobs, the writer, urban theorist, activist, and scrappy neighborhood defender. 

Our walk will take us through the Central Village and SoHo. We will visit the sites of the major battles over Moses’s monumental plans for these neighborhoods. Along the way, we’ll discuss some of the urban design ideas and planning theories of Jacobs and Moses as we follow the rivalry between these two influential figures.

Book the tour now!

A recent  TripAdvisor review about the tour :

“ His enthusiasm for the topic was infectious. Aaron was really excellent at painting the picture of what Greenwich Village and Soho were like in the middle of the last century — especially in the context of the neighborhood preservation battles waged here, 60 years ago. We had fun learning from a real expert.”

Tour Highlights

On the walking tour, you will…

• Take in the street scenes of Greenwich Village that captivated Jacobs and inspired her writings about cities
• Learn about the battle to save Washington Square Park from Moses’s plan to extend Fifth Avenue south through the park
• Visit Washington Square Village to see part of Moses’s grand urban renewal plan for Greenwich Village that was built
• Hear about Moses’s ambitious plan to build the Lower Manhattan Expressway (LOMEX) through SoHo, Little Italy, the Lower East Side, and Chinatown
• See the historic cast-iron architecture of SoHo that helped in the neighborhood’s defense against the proposed expressway
• Consider the legacies of these two individuals and their lasting impressions on New York City

• Christopher Street subway station entrance: The spot where Jacobs first encountered the vibrant street life of Greenwich Village •
• 82 Washington Place: The apartment building a block from Washington Square Park where Jacobs lived when she met Bob Jacobs, her architect husband
• Washington Square Park: The first major battleground in the fight between Jacobs and Moses
• Washington Square Village: A part of Moses’s slum clearance plan for Greenwich Village that was realized, and an example of the type of housing that was characteristic of mid-20th century urban renewal
• E.V. Haughwout Building: A magnificent cast-iron building that was along the planned path of the Lower Manhattan Expressway
• Broome Street between Broadway and Thompson Street: The stretch of Broome Street in the heart of SoHo where the Lower Manhattan Expressway would have ran

This entertaining and informative tour is ideal for fans of urban planning and New York City history.

2 hours (we will send you the meeting place after you book)

Person – Walking Tour: $40.00 (Best suited for ages 16+) 

Aaron Schielke is a licensed New York City tour guide who loves exploring cities. He has worked on the design and production of a series of city guidebooks. Aaron has a BA in Architecture with a focus on urban design. He’s excited to be leading the Jane Jacobs vs. Robert Moses Bowery Boys Walk.

Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses on the Bowery Boys NYC History Podcast

Study up for our walking tour by listening to the Bowery Boys episodes: Episode 100: “Robert Moses – Did he save NYC or destroy it?” Episode 200: “Jane Jacobs: Saving Greenwich Village”

Private tours available

Book a private walking tour or a live online experience that makes a fun socially distanced event for your family, organization, or group of friends. Click to learn more

Jane Jacobs West Village Walking Tour – New York, New York

Isaac Kremer / July 10, 2018 / Writing / 0 comments

Photo of entrance to 555 Hudson Street while holding open Eyes on the Street by Robert Kanigel with a photograph showing the same storefront with Jane Jacobs in the door .

We took inspiration from the recent book Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs and set off on a walking tour of the West Village in New York. The author Robert Kanigel gives a thorough treatment of the life and work of Jane Jacobs. Inside the cover is a map showing key sites featured in the book. We used this as a jumping off point for our exploration of the West Village with some interesting discoveries that we found along the way.

1. 23 Bethune St (#3 in Kanigel)

One of the first writing studios for Jane Jacobs was located here at 23 Bethune St. In the fall of 1958 she was 42 years old. After twelve years working at a Midtown office , she briefly freelanced. Early on she realized the need of an office away from home , or , as she said “a room to work in where I am uninterrupted by people, telephone , etc.” (Kanigel, 199). Less than a 5 minute walk from her home on Hudson Street, Jane’s husband arranged for the office for $45 a month. When the building was sold out from under her by a literary agent, she ended up relocating her office to Sheridan Square.

Detail of sub- grade entrance to 23 Bethune St.

2. West Village Houses on Washington St. (#10 in Kanigel)

The West Village Houses were a series of five story walk -ups (without an elevator ). In February 1961, just one month after submitting the manuscript for  The Death and Life of Great American Cities , the Planning Commission sought to designate the West Village as an urban renewal area (Kanigel, 231). The West Village Urban Renewal District called for the clearing of 14 blocks and replacing it with high-rise development. Due to vigorous citizen resistance this proposal never transpired. The West Village Houses were built many years later instead as an alternative to modernist high-rises going up in other areas of the city . There were 475 dwelling units in five - story buildings with two units a floor and no elevator . This development avoided the gentrification of high-rises and expensive condos that came afterward to this neighborhood, and provided moderately priced in- fill housing without tearing existing housing down or pushing people out (Kanigel, 247). Some industrial buildings and truck parking were lost. Housing advocates felt West Village Houses “would restore the balance between residential and commercial that had existed before the overhead rail track (which, farther north became today’s High Line linear park ) and gone in to serve the adjacent warehouse district ” (Kanigel, 244).

Detail of West Village Houses facing up the the sidewalk edge on Washington Street.

Map from ca. 1955 showing elevated tracks which further to the north are part of the popular High Line project.

Washington and Bank St just beyond the northern most point of the West Village Houses. The elevated railway here once connected to the High Line project to the north.

3. 447 Hudson, Clearwater. We took a brief break for lunch at Morton and Hudson Street. Notice the beautiful backyard patio space whether diners are served in good weather . The basement where the restroom is located gives you a glimpse at the construction of this typical New York building type .

This was Jane’s first apartment in the West Village from 1935 to 1944. The rent in 1940 was $50 a month. Once a walk-up , it had been fitted with an elevator .

Entrance to 55 Morton Street

Willa Cather wrote her first novel in 1912 while living in this building . From 1944 to 1947 Jane lived here. One Saturday night in March 1944, Jane had a party at her apartment . Jane’s sister Betty invited some of her coworkers from Grumman on Long Island. One of these was Bob Jacobs. Later he recounted how “I walked in the door and there she was in a beautiful green woolen evening dress , and I fell in love” (Kanigel 93-94). Around 1948 she and Bob moved from Washington Place to her third and final home in the West Village at 555 Hudson St (Kanigel, 113).

6. Washington Square Park 9 (#5 in Kanigel).  This ten acre park was focal point during the time that Jacobs spent in the West Village. When family visited her on Hudson street they would take the 10-15 minute walk from Hudson Street to the park . Later when it was threatened by a proposal to run a sunken highway through its center , Jacobs was among those who tried to stop the expressway and succeeded (Kanigel, 136-137).

7. Sheridan Square (#6 in Kanigel)

Within the first year of coming to New York while she was still living in Brooklyn, Jane ventured to Manhattan and got off the subway at Sheridan Square. Later she recounted, “I was enchanted with this place … I spent the rest of the afternoon just walking these streets” (Kanigel, 68). That same day she decided this was the neighborhood where she would have to move.

Jane Jacobs refers to her office in a building along Sheridan Square in  The Death and Life of Great American Cities  as follows:

The floor of the building in which this book is being written is occupied also by a health club with a gym, a firm of ecclesiastical decorators, an insurgent Democratic party reform club, a Liberal party political club, a music society, an accordionists’ association, a retired importer who sells maté by mail, a man who sells paper and who also takes care of shipping the maté, a dental laboratory , a studio for watercolor lessons, and a maker of costume jewelry. Among the tenants who were here and gone shortly before I came in, were a man who rented out tuxedos, a union local and a Haitian dance troupe. There is no place for the likes of us in new construction . And the last thing we need is new construction (Jacobs, 1961, 193).

Jane’s daughter Mary remembered the office as a “stark little room ” with shouts and thumps of boxing from the gym next door (Kangigel, 200).

In seeking the location of the office it is necessary to understand the background of the Sheridan Square name. The AIA Guide to New York City , 5th Edition, sheds some light on the changing nomenclature to describe this area :

Sheridan Square, between Washington Place and W. 4th, Barrow, and Grove Streets, was scarcely a square , but an abandoned stretch of asphalt defined by strips on the pavement and guarded by NO PARKING signs. Today magnificent greenery flourishes (eyes only), created and maintained by neighborhood volunteers. Before this greening the Square was frequently confused with Christopher Park around the corner , where, confusingly, a statue of Civil War general Philip Sheridan stands. (Willensky, 178).

In searching for the office one needs to go the intersection of 4th St and Seventh Ave where there appears an interesting triangular shaped building . The front section at the intersection is one - story and the rear section fronting West 10th Street is four stories with a basement . Max Page in  Reconsidering Jane Jacobs  identifies 225 West Fourth St as the location of the room where Jane Jacobs wrote  The Death and Life of Great American Cities. 

Manhattan Land book of the City of New York. Desk and Library ed. [1956], Plate 35, G.W. Bromley & Co. (Publisher), New York Public Library

8. Stonewall Inn, 51-53 Christopher St.  Around the corner from Jane’s writing room is the Stonewall Inn. A year after Jane left New York for Toronto a major disturbance broke out propelling the LGBTQ civil rights movement forward. On June 28, 1969, police raided the bar and sought to arrest over 200 people inside. As patrons were taken outside a sizable crowd formed and resisted the arrests. Confrontations continued for several nights in nearby Christopher Park and on adjacent streets. Within two years organizations were set up in major cities throughout the US advocating for gay rights.

10. Jane’s House at 555 Hudson Street (#4 in Kanigel).  This three- story house was built by a sea captain for one of his two daughters in 1849 (Kanigel, 113). When the Jacobses moved in nearly 100 years after it was built in 1947, a derelict candy store was on the first floor , a bullet hole was in the frosted glass window , and the backyard was a garbage dump. The whole place was overrun by rats. Heated by fireplaces, it was often cold in winter.The Jacobses rebuilt the foundation and installed new industrial- grade windows . They had to tear down some of the brick on the street side of the house and reface it.They bought the house for $7,000 (Kanigel, 114). Jacobs moved from this house to Toronto in 1968.

Jane Jacobs refers to her block of Hudson Street in  The Death and Life of Great American Cities  as follows:

My block of the street , I must explain, is a small one , but it contains a remarkable range of buildings, varying from several vintages of tenements to three- and four- story houses that have been converted into low-rent flats with stores on the ground floor , or returned to single-family use like ours. Across the street there used to be mostly four- story houses that have been converted into low-rent flats with stores on the ground floor , or returned to single-family use like ours. Across the street there used to be mostly four- story brick tenements with stores below.  But twelve years ago several buildings, from the corner to the middle of the block , were converted into one building with elevator apartments of small size and high rents (Jacobs, 1961, 38).

Address plate at 555 Hudson

Fireplace in the first floor of what was once a candy store .

11. White Horse Tavern (#8 in Kanigel). This is the place where Dylan Thomas whiskied himself to death. Jacobs was grateful to have a bar on her block , and a famous one at that :

Strangers become an enormous asset on the street on which I live, and the spurs off it, particularly at night when safety assets are most needed. We are fortunate enough, on the street , to be gifted not only with a locally supported bar and another around the corner , but also with a famous bar that draws continuous troops of strangers from adjoining neighborhoods and even from out of town . It is famous because the poet Dylan Thomas used to go there, and mentioned it in his writing. This bar , indeed, works two distinct shifts. In the morning and early afternoon it is a social gathering place for the old community of Irish longshoremen and other craftsmen in the area , as it always was. But beginning in midafternoon it takes on a different life, more like a college bull session with beer, combined with a literary cocktail party, and this continues until the early hours of the morning. On a cold winter’s night, as you pass the White Horse, and the doors open, a solid wave of conversation and animation surges out and hits you; very warming . The comings and goings from this bar do much to keep our street reasonably populated until three in ‘ The uses of sidewalks: safety [ 41 the morning, and it is a street always safe to come home to . The only instance I know of a beating in our street occurred in the dead hours between the closing of the bar and dawn. The beating was halted by one of our neighbors who saw it from his window and, unconsciously certain that even at night he was part of a web of strong street law and order, intervened (Jacobs, 1961, 42).

While you’re there, consider asking for the West Village Martini. This drink of the 1960s was described as follows:

These were the days of the fabled West Village Martini, gin and a few drops of vermouth in any handy glass , an olive or a picked onion, an ice cube , and then, by Jane’s recipe, “you put your finger in it, and go swish, swish, swish”; no time for niceties.

Then reflect on the sense of urgency by those trying to keep up their West Village neighborhood, while by extension making a contribution to the understanding of other neighborhoods throughout the world. This is the profound debt that we owe to Jane Jacobs and her years spent living, writing, and advocating for great places while also living in one .

Jacobs, Jane.  The Death and Life of Great American Cities.  New York: Random House, 1961.

Kanigel, Robert.  Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.

Kremer, Isaac. (Photographer). New York, NY, July 8, 2018.

Page, Max. Reconsidering Jane Jacobs . New York: Routledge, 2017.

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Weekend Miser

Walking Tours in the Spirit of Jane Jacobs

By A.c. Lee

• May 1, 2014

Jane Jacobs’s 1961 book, “ The Death and Life of Great American Cities ,” a sweeping critique of the modern metropolis, was both a best seller and quite contentious. What set Jacobs apart from many of her critics, including her archnemesis Robert Moses, was that as lofty as her ideas and prose could be, they sprang from, and remained rooted in, the street. So it’s easy to imagine her feeling honored to have inspired Jane’s Walk, an annual series of free guided walking tours across all five boroughs, organized by the Municipal Art Society of New York.

The more than 100 walks stretch from the “real” Little Italy in the Bronx to Fresh Kills Park in Staten Island and cover an impressive array of areas and aspects of the city, taking in the possibilities for the Rockaways in Queens and Red Hook, Brooklyn, post-Hurricane Sandy; a two-part trip through the Roosevelts’ New York; the ever-changing enclave of Flushing, Queens; and the avant-garde artisanal scene in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Although Jacobs lived the last several decades of her life in Toronto, where Jane’s Walk tours began in 2007, she will always be identified with Greenwich Village, the deepest inspiration for her magnum opus. On a tour titled “Jane Jacobs’ West Village,” beginning at noon on Saturday, the Miser is hoping to glimpse some of the “intricate sidewalk ballet” Jacobs rhapsodized so memorably about.

Descriptions of each tour, including starting times, meeting and ending points and details on wheelchair accessibility, can be found at the Municipal Art Society’s website .

(Saturday and Sunday; 212-935-3960; mas.org/janes-walk-nyc.)

CALLING ALL ALIENS

The Miserlings are frighteningly fond of sci-fi fare like “Star Wars” and “Dr. Who,” and their enthusiasm is contagious. Accordingly, Miser père has recovered a keen appreciation for art involving all sorts of transtemporal and interstellar exploits from his own preteen past. That aesthetic will be on display in full force this weekend at “ Cantina at the End of the Universe ,” a party in Gowanus, Brooklyn, hosted by the costumed-events planners Gemini & Scorpio.

With a mandatory costume policy that promises plenty of opportunities to chat up droids, cyborgs and miscellaneous aliens, and a live set by the Rhode Island-based cosmic funk band Big Nazo , the $25 ticket price, though high by Miser standards, may be worth it. After 1 a.m., admission is just $10. Assuming the Miser can stay awake, you may well catch him arriving right around then.

(Saturday at 10 p.m.; R.S.V.P. for exact location at geminiandscorpio.com/events.html.)

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• About #JJ100
• Jane Jacobs Medal

About the Jane Jacobs at 100 Celebration

Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody. -Jane Jacobs

The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is a leading independent advocacy organization that inspires, educates, and empowers New Yorkers to engage in the betterment of their city. This year, MAS welcomes you to join Celebrating the City: Jane Jacobs at 100 , a celebration dedicated to legendary urban activist Jane Jacobs on the 100th anniversary of her birth.

Jane Jacobs believed in empowering urban citizens to get involved in their communities and shape their city. [A great synopsis, called Jane Jacobs: Ten Big Ideas by Nate Storing, formerly of the Jane’s Walk Project Office and now at Project for Public Spaces , is here .] The celebration, spanning May through October 2016, will honor her impact by bringing together hundreds of self-organized events and activities under a single banner that reveal the dynamic energy, innovation and creativity of cities.

Encompassing everything from installations and walking tours to workshops and public performances, this website aggregated all the unique ways that people are paying tribute to Jacobs’ legacy.

• Explore New York
• Beyond Gotham
• About Mindful Walker

Jane’s Walk NYC 2021 Steps Up

May 4th, 2021 · no comments · explore new york.

The house where Dennis Harris lived, at 857 Riverside Drive, is worse for the wear of many decades, shorn of its dignified shutters and cupola. Yet the rich history the house holds and the life story of Harris, the man who owned this Greek Revival-Italianate place in Washington Heights, are important to keep alive even as a neighborhood has transformed around this building. Harris, relatively unknown, was integral not only in the early development of Washington Heights but in an enclave of abolitionist fervor as an agent for the Underground Railroad.

This week, two men, Matthew Spady and Joseph Amodio, are leading a tour, “Ferry to Freedom: The Abolitionists of Washington Heights .” They will share the stories of Harris and others through a walk – virtually – from the sites of a sugar refinery on the Hudson River that Harris ran to an abolitionist church in this neighborhood to the extant building at 857 Riverside. Spady, Amodio, and others with the Upper Riverside Residents Alliance have been working to save this house from demolition by urging a city landmark designation . They led a virtual walk on Monday, May 3, and will do another on Wednesday, May 5, at 9 a.m. (all times are Eastern Daylight Time).

If you miss this one, this week you can take a video tour of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s waterways with the garden’s President, Adrian Benepe; do a virtual walk of the architecture and history of Staten Island’s West New Brighton ; learn about the Syrian Quarter of Lower Manhattan ; or check out, online, the Slavic East Village through its food, its shops, and its houses of worship . These are all part of Jane’s Walk NYC 2021 , which the Municipal Arts Society of New York (MAS) presents. The Washington Heights virtual tour is one of literally hundreds of explorations of all kinds that Jane’s Walk New York is offering from May 3-9. In its 11h year, Jane’s Walk NYC is suspending in-person, guided walks and opting for a wide range of offerings and activities such as live, self-guided tours; Zoom and other online virtual walks; and on-demand programs that one can access any time. True to New York City, the show must go on.

This initiative is much in the spirit of what has energized Jane’s Walk from its founding in 2006, shortly after Jane Jacobs passed away that year. That is when friends and colleagues in Toronto sought a way through walks and citizen engagement to honor Jacobs, the writer, activist, and urbanist whose work and life in New York and then Toronto inspired a strong movement empowering the voices of communities and ordinary people in shaping vibrant, walkable neighborhoods. From a handful of walks for the first event in Toronto in 2007, Jane’s Walk has flourished to encompass citizen-led walks, tours, and walking conversations all over the world, happening annually in early May, to honor Jacobs’ birthday on May 4. (Discover more about Jacobs’ life in Greenwich Village and the places that defined her work and impact, through Village Preservation ‘s Urban Archive story .)

857 Riverside Drive. 1937 Photo: Berenice Abbott / New York Public Library Digital Collections

857 Riverside Drive, today Photo Source: Save Riverside

Yet during the past two spring times, the Covid pandemic has put a heavy strain on our ways of gathering, walking, and sharing in groups. A moment of why Jane Jacobs and Jane’s Walk resonates particularly this year: I have stayed quite close to my Hudson Valley home and, like many writers and tour guides, suspended the kinds of neighborhood experiences that Jane Jacobs inspired. The year has been one of much reflection and prayer; distress that so many millions of people are suffering due to Covid; connection with family and community (both near and far); and gratitude for nature’s solitude and the resilience of the birds and other wildlife in the backyard. Yet, it has felt like an exile from New York, the city that I love and that is part of my soul, while I have engaged in activism and connection in the ways that have been possible.

To that end, Jane’s Walk 2021 is rich, albeit on a different platform. Normally, it would be the first weekend of May, and filled with hundreds of in-person tours and walks, with groups gathering all over New York City. I led a Jane’s Walk based on the writer Joseph Mitchell’s love of building details on his long walks in New York . This year, the festival is a full week, with hundreds of programs and virtual tours in every corner of the city that can spark awareness, knowledge, enjoyment, connection, and activism. To be sure, its full slate can provide inspiration of places and sites to follow up on, post-pandemic – to walk . Furthermore, its virtual reach means people all over the globe can do Jane’s Walk NYC this year.

A Small Sampling

Here are just three Jane’s Walk activities as highlights. Be sure to consult the Jane’s Walk NYC 2021 site and prepare to be blown away by the sheer diversity of offerings.

Queens: Around the World in 90 Minutes – On Thursday, May 6, at 11 a.m., a Zoom walk will take participants through “the World’s Borough,” where 183 languages are spoken. The tour promises to “traverse the length and breadth” of Queens, learn about who lives where and why, and get a taste of various neighborhoods.

Virtual Walk: Sandy and Sheepshead Bay – Superstorm Sandy devastated this community in 2012. Through a virtual self-guided tour via Zoom on Saturday, May 8, at 10 a.m., architects who were involved in the neighborhood’s reconstruction will host this look at the renewal of this area of bungalows. Homeowners will be featured in interviews as part of the tour.

Hunts Point: Village of Murals, Environmental Justice, Print Day in May : On Sunday, May 9, at 11 a.m., this Instagram Live “walk” will focus on public art and environmental justice in Hunts Point in the South Bronx. In this birthplace of hip-hop, delves into “how industry, community, and nature intersect to fuse art, environmental, and social justice” in a city neighborhood.

Find the full listing at the Jane’s Walk NYC 2021 site.

An event on Sunday, the last day of this year’s Jane’s Walk NYC, perhaps sums up the difficulty and challenge that Covid brought during the past year and how cities are emerging with new realities, opportunities, and questions. In “ New York Versus Barcelona: How the Pandemic Is Transforming Our Cities, ” on May 9 at 11 a.m., a live walking tour (via Zoom) will be held in both New York City and Barcelona. Two New York-based Catalan architects will hold a conversation with a Barcelona-based artist collective and address questions such as: “How have public spaces been transformed? Could this stay forever or is this just temporary? What are the local communities’ visions?”

No doubt this liveliness, connection, and vital work are Jane Jacobs’ legacy.

Tags: architecture · cities · historic preservation · new york

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Art & Culture

Get Ready for The 2024 MAS NYC Jane’s Walk NYC ~ May 3-5

The annual Jane’s Walk NYC is back! Celebrating the life of Jane Jacobs in the city that never sleeps, this all volunteer-led event will offer in-person, guided group walks, virtual and self-guided tours with over 200 walks across all five boroughs. The festival is free and open to the public with your RSVP for each tour. Sign up early because many of the tours are capped at 30 attendees.

Here is the Tour Calendar for Jane’s Walk NYC 2024!

Below, a few excursions that caught our eye.

World’s Fair History in Flushing Meadow Park ~ Led by Ed Perlmutter

Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the 1963-64 New York World’s Fair! Relive the history of the 1939-40 and 1964-65 World’s Fair that put Flushing Meadow Park on the map. Originally an ash dump, the controversial Robert Moses transformed this space in to a useable park and led the effort to bring about both of these famous events. Walk through the park and discuss the fairs and view structures that still exist from both of them. This is a two-hour walk.

Wild Woman’s Walk On The West Side ~ Led by Nancy Funke and Renata Renner

On this tour, we will view Central Park West Buildings, explore many sites within Central Park: Great Lawn, Delacorte, Shakespeare Garden and Bethesda Fountain. Remember to wear comfortable shoes!

Remembering Little Syria: The First Arab Americans ~ Led by Asad Dandia, Founder/New York Narratives

Once known as the “Syrian Quarter” in the late-19th century, this area became the Mother Colony from which the Arab American diaspora sprung. It was here that Kawkab America, the first Arabic language newspaper in the US, was printed in 1892. It was here that the linotype machine first began to use Arabic characters, revolutionizing Arabic language journalism all over the world. And it was here where Kahlil Gibran and Ameen Rihani founded the Pen League, a collective of prominent Arab writers and intellectuals.

Navigate & Advocate: How to use 311 to make your Neighborhood Better! ~ Led by Laura Sewell, Director, East Village Community Coalition

NYC 311 service requests are the key to reporting conditions and accessing services provided by the City of New York. From filling potholes to planting empty tree beds, fixing broken street lights or stopping illegal construction, the city’s response depends on your 311 requests.

Tin Pan Alley: Birthplace of American Popular Music ~ Led by Miriam German and George Calderaro, Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project

Tin Pan Alley is the cradle of the music industry in the United States. Here, American popular music as we know it was first created and promoted. This one block of 28th Street offers a glimpse into what has become a worldwide cultural force – pop music – at its specific place of creation. As an enclave of 19th-century structures, it is also largely intact as architecture. Author and guide Miriam Berman will tell the story of Tin Pan Alley sheet music publishers, songwriters and performers who worked on 28th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue to create what would become “The Great American Songbook.”

Radical History of The Village ~ Led by Lucy Piccochi, Social Justice Tours

This will be an in-person walk that visits some historic buildings and places in the East/West village where radical activists and artists of all stripes once gathered. We will go to the sites of former saloons where Emma Goldman, Walt Whitman, Dorothy Day, and their many friends frequented, as well as the sites of the Yippie Cafe, the African Grove Theater and Eve Adams Tearoom, while discussing the long history of the Village as a hotbed for the political and cultural avant-garde. The walk will be about a mile long, so wear comfortable shoes and bring water.

Brooklyn Heights ~ America’s First Suburb ~ Led by Ellen Simon

Explore NYC’s first Landmark District – Brooklyn Heights was called one of the 10 most beautiful neighborhoods. See homes and taverns dating from the 1790’s. Learn the history and walk the tree lined “Fruit” streets. See Plymouth Church, a stop on the Underground Railroad, the Capote House, see gorgeous views from Colombia Heights, sand where George Washington had his headquarters during the Battle of Long Island. And more.

Revisiting the Politics of the 125th Street Zoning ~ Led by Dr. Gregory Baggett (A Virtual Event)

This virtual tour looks back on the controversial application to rezone 125th Street that triggered heated public hearings and a symbolic “human chain” that stretched from the Harlem River to the Hudson River. First, we screen the short documentary Rezoning Harlem, where ordinary citizens challenge decision-makers in the city government. The application was eventually approved under the leadership of then City Councilmember Inez E. Dickens who saw in the rezoning an opportunity to set strict height limits on future development, negotiate a community benefits package that included capital funding for three famed institutions, hundreds of deep affordable housing units, additional commercial units, a hotel, all developed with workforce construction as well as the creation of city’s first entertainment and arts special purpose district.

Harlem Village ~ Led by Kathy Benson, Landmark East Harlem

Join members of Landmark East Harlem in a visit to the site of Nieuw Haarlem, established when New York was New Amsterdam and centered around present-day 121st Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. We will see the landmarked Harlem Courthouse, Elmendorf Reformed Church, which traces its history back to the first church in Harlem, and the charming group of seven row houses called Sylvan Court. Before and after the village center, we will look at the Richard Webber Harlem Packing House, also a landmark, Harlem Art Park, surviving examples of Third Avenue’s commercial corridor in the late 19th century, and Taino Towers, a residential development that marked the transition between the civic optimism of the 1960s and the urban collapse of the 1970s. A virtual companion guide to the tour will be available at www.landmarkeastharlem.org.

Jane’s Walk Bike Ride on theHutchinson River Greenway ~ Led by Kevin Dalola and Erik Gonzalez, Administrator, Friends of The Hutchinson River Greenway

Ride starts on North end of public Greenway and will travel South along the Hutchinson River Greenway to Westchester Ave. About 75 minutes, 3 miles. Stopping at 3 new crossings, 2 new nearly complete tree and brush replantings from construction, two areas pedestrian areas that need gardening and better highlighting. Finishing with pizza in a newly taken over lot of land turned garden less than 1 year ago.

NYC Subway Art Tour ~ Led by Amanda Li

Skip the museum snooze fest, hop on the express train to artistic adventure! Discover NYC’s hidden art scene, a vibrant underground gallery unlike any other. No art expertise needed, just a curious mind and comfy shoes! You won’t want to miss the opportunity to unleash your inner art detective, hunt down mosaics, murals, and installations in iconic stations. We will see diverse stories unfold through art, revealing the city’s history and spirit.

East Harlem Walking Tour ~ Led by Christopher Bell, East Harlem Historian

East Harlem Historian Christopher Bell will give tour goers a tour of the East Harlem Neighborhood. Chris was thrilled to participate in Jane’s Walk last year. Participants will see historical sites of the neighborhood’s cultural and important places in East Harlem. Several sites along the famed Museum Mile and Chris will regale tour goers will important facts along with historical photographs from his collection.

Ladies Mile ~ Led by Jeremy Willinger

Explore Ladies Mile and why this stretch of Manhattan became known as the leading district of commerce and popular society. Spotlighting unique buildings and retailers between Union and Madison Squares, experience a tour replete with stores and stories, while discovering how Ladies Mile also influenced women’s suffrage, popular music, and shaped more than just the latest fashion trends.

NYC Public Bathroom Walking Tour ~ Led by Julie Chou, Principal, Purpose by Design Architects

With the recent public health crisis, the shift to remote work and vacant storefronts, and the growth of delivery workers in NYC, the need for public bathrooms is more urgent than ever. Join us to delve into the history of public bathrooms in our city, understand the current system, and explore the future of public bathrooms in NYC. We’ll discuss recent bills introduced to provide an additional 3,000 public bathrooms for our city and look into different public bathroom typologies. We will start off at the David Rubenstein Atrium at 61 West 62nd Street where a public bathroom is located in the privately owned public space (POPS). We will next visit a parks public bathroom at Central Park’s Merchant’s Gate and end at a subway public bathroom at the N,Q,R, W West 57th Street Station.

Walking the Forgotten History of Jewish Harlem ~ Led by Barry Judelman, Founder, New York Jewish Tours

Explore Jewish sites in the remarkable urban settlement of Harlem, which by 1900 was a major center of Jewish life and the 3rd largest Jewish community in the world, after the LES and Warsaw. Discover legendary Jewish landmarks and people of this forgotten time: the magnificent Temple Israel by noted Jewish architect, Arnold Brunner; the “Commandment Keepers” – Harlem’s Ethiopian Hebrew Synagogue; the trendsetting Institutional Synagogue, (the “shul with the pool”); Ohab Zedek, synagogue of the world famous cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (king of cantors); songwriter extraordinaire Richard Rodgers; actress Gertrude Berg (AKA Molly Goldberg), and Lena Himmelstein Bryant – the founder of the successful clothing enterprise “Lane Bryant”.

5-Boro Comic Book Store Tour ~ Led by Raph Schwelzer, Tour Guy(D)

This will be a walk to the city’s most historic and culturally important comic books and collectibles stores. There are over 35 of these types of businesses but they are always in a precarious state due to the lack of commercial rent protections for brick-and-mortar stores. The oldest LCS (Local Comic Store) is 45 years old, with a half dozen others in business over 20 years. We will do the first tour in May, going to 3-4 stores, and hopefully bring the participants to all of them by September/October at this once-a-month event. There are so many family-run hidden gems that sell baseball cards, physical media (VHS, Vinyl, Laser Disc) and other items that preserve cultural history (even if it’s “Pop Culture”, it’s still a piece of history.

Jane’s Rock! ~ Led by Tom Devaney, Senior Director Land Use and Planning/Municipal Art Society and Jack Rabid

The world-famous Jane’s Rock returns for a seventh year! Please join MAS’ Tom Devaney and rock zine The Big Takeover’s editor-in-chief Jack Rabid on this entertaining exploration of the Lower East Side’s rock and punk rock past. The walk visits the sites of some of New York’s most iconic and historic music venues including Max’s Kansas City, The Fillmore East, The Palladium, The Electric Circus, and CBGBs. Tom and Jack provide lively descriptions covering the history of the buildings—many started out as vaudeville theaters and social clubs for new immigrants—to when they were at the forefront during their music heyday.

Garment District NYC Walking Tour ~ Led by Michael Kaback, Licensed NYC Tour Guide

The Garment District Business Improvement District (BID) will once again offer a Jane’s Walk covering the Fashion District, from its beginnings in the sweatshops of the Lower East Side to its evolution and survival in the modern world of electronics.

Discovering Chinatown: A Herbalist’s Guide to Cultural Treasurers ~ Led by Yong Zhang

Embark on an immersive stroll through historic Chinatown, where I’ll lead you on a journey through its landmarks and the fascinating world of Chinese herbalism. As we wander, I’ll share insights into the medicinal properties of Chinese health foods and answer any questions you have. Our itinerary includes stops at iconic sites like the Museum of Chinese in America and visits to New Kam Man Supermarket and Po Wing Hong Food Market, where you’ll discover a treasure trove of traditional herbs and ingredients.

As your guide, I bring a wealth of knowledge and passion to this experience. Having served on the staff of a Chinese herbal medicine company, also used to be a journalist, and pursued ongoing education in Chinese herbal history, I am eager to share insights and anecdotes with fellow herbal enthusiasts.

Sailors’ Snug Harbor Historical Tour ~ Led by Nancy Kipari, Educator

See the past and the future at Snug Harbor! Learn the history of our 19th century campus and the architecture that put Snug Harbor on the map of irreplaceable architectural collections, featuring six of the first 40 New York City landmarks. Explore Snug Harbor’s master plan for the future and share your vision for the future of Snug Harbor. Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather.

Past, Present and Future of Elizabeth Street Garden ~ Led by Brandon Pachuca and Eveline Schneider

Elizabeth Street Garden is a cherished community garden located in Little Italy. The garden has evolved from a vacant lot, to a one-of-a-kind sculpture garden hosting community wellness events, poetry, music, movie nights, and welcomes all New Yorkers to pause and enjoy nature.

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#JanesWalkNYC

We found some interesting reading and walking in the City that never sleeps.

As anAmazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

National Geographic Walking New York, 3rd Edition (National Geographic Walking Guide) in Paperback

The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City (in paperback).

Take a tour of the gorgeous work underground with MTA Arts & Design New York and the new book ‘Contemporary Art Underground: MTA Arts & Design New York’

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Jane’s Walk NYC 2021

A Note from the Jane’s Walk NYC Team at MAS

Throughout the challenges of the past year, many of us at MAS have found ourselves inspired in new and deeper ways by the mission of our annual Jane’s Walk festival. This volunteer-led celebration of urban life, inspired by Jane Jacobs, has always been a time to come together and share our love for this city.

Although guided, in-person walks must remain suspended this year, Jane’s Walk NYC is back in a new format that will offer live and on-demand activities, with more room for creativity and connection. From self-guided strolls to zoom talks to social media activations, we’re gathering a roster of “walks” that will take us to every corner of the five boroughs.

View the Roster of Walks

Did you recently submit a walk?

• Receive support: We have overhauled our walk leader curriculum including a downloadable Training Guide and FAQ , a dedicated Jane’s Walk NYC Slack Channel to connect with the Jane’s Walk community (join here !), opportunities for confirmed walk leaders to book rehearsal time with the Jane’s Walk NYC team, as well as trainings hosted on Zoom (see below to view past recordings!). For a list of additional resources scroll to the bottom of the page.
• Spread the word: Share your excitement for Jane’s Walk NYC! In addition to the Slack Channel, you can also connect with the Jane’s Walk community online by using #JanesWalkNYC.

May 3 - May 9, 2021

Virtual Activities and Self-Guided Strolls

Tickets: Free!

Trainings and Recordings

Jane’s Walk NYC 2021 Orientation Thursday, March 4, 5 PM

On March 4, the Jane’s Walk NYC team shared more details on the 2021 festival, including tips for planning your “walk”! Whether you are a long-time walk leader or are new to the celebration, this orientation covered: a background on the Jane’s Walk festival, examples of virtual and self-guided live and on-demand formats for creating a Jane’s Walk, instructions on the submission process, how the Jane’s Walk website will function differently this year, and resources and ways to connect with the Jane’s Walk NYC community. View the Orientation recording here !

Tips for Leading a Live Virtual Jane’s Walk on Zoom or Social Media Tuesday, March 16, 5 PM

Are you thinking of leading a live virtual Jane’s Walk activity but would like some help to understand how best to do this on Zoom or social media? Perhaps you are seeking some tips on the basic functions of these platforms, or ways to engage your audience through their various features? On March 16, the Jane’s Walk NYC team and MAS Urbanist Leadership Council Member and digital strategist, Cristiana Peña, shared an overview of how you can use these technologies to produce and lead a fun virtual walk. View the recording of this training here!

More Information and Resources

What is Jane’s Walk

Jane’s Walk was founded to celebrate the life and legacy of urban activist, Jane Jacobs, who believed in the power of individuals to influence their city. It now takes place in more than 200 cities worldwide during the first weekend in May each year, with Jane’s Walk NYC, presented by the Municipal Art Society of New York, as the largest of these festivals. What started as a handful of walks in 2011 has since grown into a weekend of collective neighborhood storytelling featuring hundreds of walks online and across all five boroughs (this year, the festival will run for a full week!)

Who was Jane Jacobs?

Jane Jacobs was a famous urban activist and writer who lived from 1916-2006. She is best known for galvanizing New Yorkers to stop Robert Moses’ plans for an expressway through the West Village. She believed in the power of individuals to influence their city. Today, her principles are represented in participatory planning approaches that have been embraced in communities around the world. Click here for an illustrated guide of Jane Jacobs’ major ideas.

Want to Learn More?

Walk themes and formats run the gamut, from history of activism in the South Bronx to an exploration of local cuisine in Flushing, Queens. Each walk provides a unique snapshot of New York City and the opportunity to celebrate its vibrant past, present, and future.

You can view the full roster of 2018-2020 Jane’s Walks at the links below, demonstrating the diversity of topics, formats, and locations.

• Jane’s Walk NYC (From Home) 2020
• Jane’s Walk NYC 2019
• Jane’s Walk NYC 2018
• When and Where to Host a 2021 Jane’s Walk: Examples .
• Jane’s Walk 2021: FAQ .
• Jane’s Walk 2021: Reading List .
• Jane’s Walk 2021: Training Guide .
• Jane’s Walk 2021: Zoom Guide .

The Jane’s Walk NYC team is here to help. Contact us at [email protected] .

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