Greetings from the is-it-really-spring temperature rollercoaster here in New York. When last we spoke, I had promised further details on some irons I had in the fire, so here are the deets:

Aaanyway, before diving into this spring’s tours, two pieces of news:

1. As part of the largest Jane’s Walk NYC yet, I have two tours on May 2: the return of the Ray Carney’s Harlem tour at 1 pm, and an all-new sequel tour, “Everyone Maintains a Private Reel”: More of Ray Carney’s Harlem at 6 pm. “Private Reel” digs into some of the stories behind the story left on the cutting room floor the first time around, from Riverside Drive to City College and a whole lot in between. Registration is open now for these walks and all the offerings in just a few weeks!

2. The registration link isn’t up quite yet, but save the date for June 4 (right after my birthday!) at 6:30 for the premiere of my “The Olympics that Weren’t” class at Brooklyn Brainery. Over the course of two (maybe two and a half) hours, I’ll cover the path to the city’s 2012 Olympic bid (including the two short-lived bids that came before), why they failed, their impact on the city regardless, and what the Games in NYC could look like in the future. (In the meantime, I’ve got another round of my Brooklyn water supply class on May 14.)

3. The return/premiere of the Harlem tours (see item 1) comes a couple of years after the first Ray Carney’s Harlem Jane’s Walk, news of which went from the MAS site to Gothamist to Colson Whitehead and his publicity team at Doubleday, leading to the man himself surprising folks at the end. I kept his publicist’s info in my contacts as I awaited the third book to come out in the future.
   
   The future is now. And with Cool Machine, the third and final book in the Harlem Trilogy, hitting bookstores July 21, I’m pleased to announce that I’m partnering with Doubleday and Untapped NY on an as-yet-untitled new tour of Carney’s, and Pepper’s, downtown in the new book and across the trilogy. It’ll be a look at how Whitehead’s brought lower Manhattan’s twentieth-century evolution to life and the real-life history behind the novel. Sign up to become an Untapped Insider to be the first to find out about this exclusive opportunity.

A Cat

One last thing: Vic’s up for adoption out-of-foster! Give this boy a forever home, while he’s in our home.

Coming Up Next

Unless otherwise noted, the following tours are bookable on Fareharbor for as little as $5 a pop:

April 2026

• April 12, 1pm: The Bridges of Gowanus (The Retirement Special)

• April 26, 1pm: Lower East Side: History and Foodways

May 2026

• May 2: Ray Carney’s Harlem (1 pm) and “Private Reel” (6 pm) as part of Jane’s Walk NYC

• May 9, 3pm: Meatpacking District and Chelsea

• May 17, 10:30am: The Lost Theaters of Bay Ridge

Looking to book a private tour? Email me.

Hope to see you in the streets soon! Back to our regularly scheduled programming sometime in mid-May. Until then, consider forwarding this newsletter to a friend, and stay safe out there.