Upcoming Public Events
Sun, Jun 04Tour begins at Museum at Eldridge StreetAbout one hundred years ago, it seemed like every street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan had at least one synagogue. Join me for a two hour walk through the heart of the Lower East Side to visit these old places of worship.
Sat, Jun 10Tour begins at C.O. Bigelow ChemistsAt 11:00am on June 10th, please join Brad to learn why the "Village" is a microcosm of New York City- Wed, Oct 18Tour begins at Museum at Eldridge StreetAbout one hundred years ago, it seemed like every street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan had at least one synagogue. Join me for a two hour walk through the heart of the Lower East Side to visit these old places of worship.
Sun, Oct 22Tour begins at New York Public LibraryLearn all about the very famous gangsters such as Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Arnold Rothstein, and also meet the less known and quirky ones like “Dopey” Benny Fein, “Big” Jack Zelig, “Lepke” Buchalter and the Shomer Shabbos hit man Samuel “Red” Levine.
Available Tours
Greenwich Village: History, Music and Activism
From NYU and Washington Square Park, to its legendary music venues, to the famous people who lived there, to its cultural impact, the Village is as popular today as when Dylan, Springsteen, Hendrix, Ginsberg and others roamed the streets looking for gigs. Join Brad for an entertaining and historic tour and learn why Greenwich Village is still, well, the "Village"
Historic Five Points and Secrets of the Old Burying Ground
Herbert Ashbury’s “Gangs of New York” was a fantastic account of the notorious Five Points neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. It was brought to life by Martin Scorsese’s 2002 movie of the same name.
Come join Brad as he talks about what life was really like in what was considered New York City’s first slum, through stories, the famous and infamous residents and visitors, and locations that still exist today.
Jewish Gangsters?
The late nineteenth and early twentieth century witnessed a rise in organized crime in NYC. And as more Orthodox Jews settled in the Lower East Side, so did unscrupulous and vicious gangs of Jewish Gangsters! Join Brad on a walking tour as we visit where these "Not So Nice Jewish Boys" lived and did their illicit business.
Historic Synagogues of the Lower East Side
At the beginning of the last century, there were more than 500 synagogues throughout the streets of the Lower East Side. Very fes still exist in their original form, most are distant memories or have been altered to serve completely different functions. Join Brad and explore the evolution of the Lower East Side through the fate of its synagogues