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- Off the Beaten Path
A Queens Sampler
Joined 2022
Learn the early Dutch and English histories, current demographics, and sample the ethnically diverse cuisines, of the Elmhurst and Jackson Heights neighborhoods in the Borough of Queens (the new New York Melting Pot).
Itinerary
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
At your hotel
At your hotel
I'm happy to meet at your hotel.
Queens, New York
We will subway to Elmhurst, Queens, and learn of the neighborhood's early 17th and 18th Century Dutch and English settlement, transitioning to Irish, German, Italian, and Jewish immigration in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, and then transitioning again to East Asian and South American immigration in the 1970s. Along the way, we will visit the “Boulevard of Death;” the former Macy’s “Sendek Notch;” the still extant oldest Anglican Church structure in New York City; the homestead site of Clement Clarke Moore, author of the “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” poem; architect C.B.J. Snyder’s Flemish Renaissance Revival Newtown High School; and City Hospital Center/Elmhurst, “ground zero” during the COVID pandemic in New York.
We’ll then walk to nearby Jackson Heights, which, thanks to bridge construction and elevated trains, developed from marshlands in the early 20th Century to an exclusive middle- and upper-middle class neighborhood of English-style garden homes and apartment complexes for families seeking to escape the recently arrived immigrant masses in Manhattan. Jackson Heights is now a residential neighborhood of mostly South American and South Asian New Yorkers. We will experience the cacophony of trains passing over Roosevelt Avenue, the commercial bustle along 82nd St. and 37th Avenue, the surprising tranquility of nearby 35th and 34th Avenues, ending at Diversity Plaza in the micro neighborhood of Little India. We will return to Manhattan on the No. 7 elevated "subway" line.
The end of the tour
Ending Point
At your hotel, if that's where you're heading back.
Want to personalize this tour?
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Groups of more than four will add an additional $10/hr/person.
Tour Important Information
Welcome to my home turf growing up! Comfortable shoes are a must!
Available weekdays
Important message from the supplier
Travel by foot, subway, and/or bus, rain or shine.
You are responsible for your group’s transportation costs and any meal costs.
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Joined 2022
About Tour Guide Jeff R.
Jeff is a born and bred New Yorker, raised in Queens and now a long-term resident of Manhattan's Upper East Side. Whether this is your first or 15th time visiting New York, Jeff is eager to share with you his love of the City, its history, and the ever-changing character of its many neighborhoods. Jeff is a licensed and experienced sightseeing guide, and has earned an "exemplary" rating from New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. He is a member of the Guides Association of New York City.
Jeff hold’s a bachelor's degree, with honors, in American Studies from Cornell, and a law degree from Vanderbilt. He is a former assistant general counsel for infrastructure and the environment at Con Edison, New York City's power utility.
Whether you have specific locations and sights in mind, or are just looking for a general introduction to New York City, Jeff can customize private half-day and full-day tours for you, your family, or your group. His guided tours via subway and foot through New York's varied and unique neighborhoods, whether in Manhattan or the outer boroughs, will introduce you to the City’s history, and to the sights, foods, and photo opportunities that only come with a local's experience and knowledge. And as you walk the City and chat, you will gain a more intimate appreciation of New York, and return home with a deeper understanding of how this most ethnically diverse City grew from a small Dutch trading post to become the financial, media, and entertainment capital of the world.
Come see the “Big Apple” through a native New Yorker's eyes. It will be a truly unforgettable experience.
$500/ per group
