Reviews

A swell way to see some different sides of New York. Thanks!
Unfortunately, the day we’d booked for SwingStreets’ Harlem tour was really lousy: chilly, windy and overcast. Still, our guide made the whole experience a sunny one. He has a quirky sense of humor, interacted easily with members of our group…and made sure that we didn’t feel like strangers with one another. This helped to bring some participants who’d come alone into our conversation … Because of prior commitments, two couples had to peel off as we passed the 135th St. subway station. But we had all exchanged phone numbers, so maybe we’ll meet them again. Walking tours like this one tend to attract bright, outgoing people, don’t they?

The guide provided plenty of historical information but not overdoing it.

Our leader was enthusiastic - and that was contagious. He got group members talking and laughing with one another, which heightened everyone’s enjoyment.

This [Harlem] wasn’t a food-tasting tour, although we’ve enjoyed those during past New York visits. But our guide did point out several worthwhile eating places we passed along our route, including a very classy patisserie along Malcolm X Blvd. On 116th St., near our finishing point, there are also several West African restaurants that we’re curious to try someday. Most of our group decided, however, to walk a few blocks back to Sylvia’s, which is surely the most famous restaurant uptown. It’s crowded on weekends but offers outstanding Southern dishes. We enjoyed one another’s company, as well as the chicken-and-waffles house special. Dee-lish!

A nice variety of [Brooklyn] neighborhoods … A great variety of sights.

By coincidence, the [Harlem] tour I took last weekend included another architect besides myself. Since he was Hungarian and I’m from the West Coast, we both welcomed this chance to examine a spectacularly beautiful neighborhood we had read about but never seen before.

I have always been a huge jazz fan, with Duke Ellington as my ultimate hero. For me, taking this Harlem tour was like a dream come true. Along the way, we managed to pass four different places where Duke lived at various times during his career. There were also many other addresses and locations of interest to a hard-core jazz lover like me. It seemed to my wife and myself that nobody else joining in for this walk is as crazy about this music as we are. But everyone really enjoyed the sights. What’s more, the lively conversation among participants enroute made this a totally delightful experience. In fact, I may fly from Cleveland again sometime in the future, just to do this same walk again.

We have recommended your Harlem walk to other friends here in Chicagoland.

I wouldn’t change a thing about this walk.

Our guide would be a great ambassador for New York.

We are German speakers and English is not our first language. However, our guide speaks slowly enough and clearly enough that I don’t think we missed any details.

Paul and BBC Crew

Our group touring Greenwich Village numbered fourteen persons in all. Oddly enough, three of them constituted a crew from BBC radio in London who were in the city gathering material for a broadcast documentary about the New York jazz scene. There was an interviewer, a sound technician and a producer. Remarkably, our guide somehow maintained his poise with a microphone stuck into his face at every stop along the way … If the finished program could ever be posted on the SwingStreets website, that would be great, since our party guesses that some of our comments and questions are probably included.

Our tourguide is knowledgeable and enthusiastic. He really knows his stuff.

One problem with many walking tours I’ve taken is that once you begin, there are no rest rooms available along the way. Our guide through Harlem made it easy for us by telling us at the starting point where we could find “comfort stops” at various points enroute … The guide also set a comfortable walking pace: not so quick that my husband and I couldn’t keep up (he is 76 years old) but also brisk enough that no one became bored. Generally speaking, the route from where we began down to 116th St. is either flat or gradually downhill. Even people in wheelchairs could easily do it.

I went along reluctantly on this [Greenwich Village] tour. My wife likes these kinds of “educational” outings more than I do. But this walk was fun…Our guide was a fellow who, as they say, wears his learning lightly. I intend that as a compliment, too!

If you like exploring new neighborhoods, take this [Brooklyn] tour. Out-of-towners will love it. There were even three youngish professionals from Manhattan who said they’d never seen any of these areas before and didn’t even know they existed. To me, the most surprising part was Flatbush, where you go from a hectic Caribbean district almost instantly into another section where the streets are lined with impressive Victorian mansions surrounded by perfectly manicured lawns and gardens. This is a New York that I’d never imagined.

As first-time visitors, we got to see a lot of things we wouldn’t have found on our own.

For more comments by ticket buyers, see the Zerve website.

Paul and a group

Well worth the money. I can recommend this [Bedford-Stuyvesant] walk to anyone who loves beautiful buildings, grand boulevards and urban greenery.

Our guide helped us to understand how neighborhoods have changed over the decades. He also showed us two neighborhoods [in Brooklyn] where dramatic changes are now taking place. These neighborhoods are Coney Island and Brighton Beach. He told us that Coney Island’s glory days were about 100 years ago - but, at the same time, explained how and why its very best days may still lie ahead. His insights were provocative. He also used his rich sense of humor to make telling points … Our only disappointment was discovering that hot dogs at Nathan’s are nothing special. Overpriced, too!

I love guided tours, always have. However, in my experience, some tour guides have stock spiels and don’t really welcome questions. This particular SwingStreets guide, though not only seemed open to questions; he even solicited them.

You may want to take notes along your route through Harlem, so that you can go back later for shopping and eating at some of the places you’ll see on the streets you walk.

In Harlem, the major north-south avenues tend to be crowded and somewhat noisy. But once you turn off those avenues onto side streets, things are remarkably quiet. People are cordial, too. Many greeted us with smiles, asked where we were from and so on … We also were lucky enough to meet a new homeowner near Marcus Garvey Park who’s in the process of fixing up a beautiful old brownstone. Our conversation with him proved to be very enlightening.

We would go again and probably bring our husbands along next time.

Our family went along on the SwingStreets tour which our guide called “the Manhattan quickie.” Actually, it took six hours in all and I think we saw just about everything in Manhattan below Times Square, hitting nearly every tourist attraction on the lower half of [the island] that we had on our to-do list, except the Empire State Building. We walked through the Flatiron District, the Greenmarket in Union Square, some of Greenwich Village, the fashion showrooms in Soho, the most hectic streets in Chinatown, the Wall St. area, the WTC site, just a bit of the East Village and the Lower East Side (lunch at Katz’ Deli was worth the time)…and ended up by walking through Grand Central Terminal (the Chrysler Building was across the street but they wouldn’t let us into the lobby) before being taken back to a corner close to our hotel. We didn’t walk all the way, though, since we had purchased all-day Metro tickets. This is a good deal, especially for first-time visitors.

Your Queens tour is really good. We especially liked the outdoor beer garden in Astoria (who knew?), the one block in Jackson Heights with all the Indian/Pakistani shops, and the grand finish with a ride back into Manhattan on the aerial tram. Phew!

Our twins seemed to enjoy this [Greenwich Village] tour, and they traveled along with us in their stroller because they aren’t yet two years old. The color and bustle along the avenue kept them well occupied. Maybe we will bring them along when we explore Harlem next time.

Thanks for a great afternoon in Harlem. Now I’m sure I’ve seen more of that neighborhood than most New Yorker have!

Our guide seemed to have a special knack for keeping participants involved and encouraging them to talk to one another and ask questions.

Thanks for helping us to discover parts of Brooklyn we had never before seen. I can see why young people are eager to move to Fort Greene. Beautiful homes of all types. Also, the row of old mansions in Clinton Hill is really a treat.

If you’re from out of town, take this tour soon after you begin your visit - and ask all your New York questions.