Lower Manhattan Walking Tours by Rick Landman

On my Tours,the "Talk" is as memorable as the Walk!

Bring your own group or class to Lower Manhattan and
have your own professor give you a personalized tour.
It can be a more fun and meaningful experience than a Broadway Play...
and at only a fraction of the cost of Broadway tickets. 2012 available

CAN BE USED FOR FUND RAISING OR SOCIAL EVENTS!

"BOOKING YOUR LOWER MANHATTAN TOUR"

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED...

1. CHOSE AN AREA THAT YOU WANT TO EXPLORE.
ie. City Hall Area, Below Wall Street, World Trade Center area, Civic Center-Courthouses, Tribeca, South Street Seaport, Battery Park City, Brooklyn Bridge, etc.

2. CHOSE YOUR SPECIFIC INTEREST.
Historical, Political, Architectural/Planning, Legal, Humorous, etc.

3. THE COST OF THE HOUR AND A HALF TOUR IS $250 for the tour.
Payment can be by check or cash.

4. CHOSE A DATE AND TIME.
Tours are mostly conducted on the weekends, but exceptions are often made if given enough notice. Morning Tours usually start around 10:30 am. and afternoon tours around 12:30 pm. Email a list of dates and I will see what is available.

Utrecht University 2009

This photo is of the students from the University of Utrecht
during their tour in 2009.

"On behalf of all the 'people from the U of Utrecht' thanks for the great tour!! We really enjoyed our stay in New York and especially your tour with the splendid weather. Your enthusiasm is fantastic. Also thanks for the picture. I'll forward it to the other people."
Peter

Originally my tours were only created for Universities, or various professional or cultural groups who asked me to research a topic and create a tour on the subject in Lower Manhattan. This is still the mainstay of my Tours.

Then people began to ask me if they could invite some friends or visiting tourists for a Tour as a social event or even a fund-raiser.

If you charge your members $20 a piece for the 1.5 hour tour (for 25 members); your group can make $250 as a fund-raiser.

For an hour and a half, I will develop a personalized Tour of Lower Manhattan for your group or class.

Look at the existing Tours on the icons below, or scroll further down the page to see all of the options. I also have some Tours in Greenwich Village listed.

Please Click Here to Email for Reservations or Further Information... but you must get a written confirmation to book the tour.

LOWER MANHATTAN WALKING TOURS	YOU CAN LOOK AT THESE "PACKAGED TOURS" OR MAKE YOUR OWN ITINERARY BY SCROLLING ALL THE WAY DOWN THE PAGE FOR IDEAS.
*Sample of Prior Groups:* New York University New York Law School St. John's University University of Utrecht American Planning Association Holland Society
Netherland Atlantic Association Planners from China St. Nicholas Society Tine Aerts Planners from Singapore Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
LICENSED TOUR GUIDE IS A: AICP URBAN PLANNER PROFESSOR FORMER CB#1 MEMBER ATTORNEY EMERITUS LOWER MANHATTAN RESIDENT OVER 30 YEARS		EACH TOUR CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO AN INDOOR LECTURE

ABOUT THE TOUR GUIDE

Rick Landman, Esq., a Native New Yorker, has been an AICP Certified Planner for over 30 years, and an Attorney since 1988. Currently he is an Attorney Emeritus.
He was an adjunct Professor of Planning at NYU's Wagner School and teaching his Land Use law class from 2003 - 2009. His class was a required core class for the Urban Planning Masters students. He then moved over to teach his class at New York Law School since 2010.
Rick has 3 Masters Degrees (M.C.R.P. in City and Regional Planning, Ed.M. in Curriculum Development, M.S. in Civil (Socio) Engineering) and a J.D. in law (cum laude). He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1988. His B.A. was in Sociology.
He was the Executive Director of Real Estate Development for the City of New York for 5 years and was the Director of Real Estate Development at NYU for 19 years.
One of Professor Landman's Masters Degrees was an Ed.M. in Curriculum Planning, so if you want a "Tour in the Classroom" lecture that can also be arranged. The lectures will be age appropriate to your needs. He also has a permanent certification as a Social Studies Teacher (grades 7-12) since 1974.
Rick was the chair of several committees of Community Board #1 Manhattan, including the chair of the Planning & Community Infrastructure Committee, the Tribeca Committee and chaired what is now called the Landmarks Committee when Tribeca was first designated in 1992.
He moved into a Lower Manhattan converted apartment in the 1970's, that is approximately 1,000 feet from the World Trade Center.
He is a licensed NYC Sightseeing Tour Guide. License No.: 1281818 exp. 3/31/12.
He also has dual citizenship between the USA and Germany. He is the son of two Jewish Holocaust Survivors, and is active in several Second Generation programs.

POTENTIAL PLACES TO VISIT
IN LOWER MANHATTAN TOUR

Together, we can design a Tour to meet your group's interests. We can also do two Tours back to back either on one continuous loop, or returning to the starting point. The most common DOUBLE tour is one from Chambers Street to Trinity Church and then one from Trinity Church to Battery Park. Tours can also be arranged to start and end near mass transit stops.

NEW AMSTERDAM AREA - BELOW WALL STREET Battery Park Bowling Green Frances Tavern Stone Street Historic District Wall Street - Trinity Church Former Customs House (Fort) Peter Minuet Plaza - Staten Island Ferry
On the base of this flagpole, commemorating the real property transaction of the Native Americans and Peter Minuit. We will discuss whether an actual contract or deed was ever contemplated and if a "meeting of the minds" actually occurred. Was the Native American advised by counsel as to what the Dutch man saying? What if the Native American thought that he was getting a gift of trinkets in order to welcome a new tribe into his community or to become a trading partner, etc.?	We will discuss the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews that came to New Amsterdam in the summer 1654 and how differently they were treated. While Peter Stuyvesant would not grant the Jews the right to build a synagogue, they met in a building on Mill Street (South William Street) until the first synagogue was built under the English rule in 1730 in the location of this present day garage. For more information about the early Jewish history from 1654 on, click here In 1657 a group of Dutch settlers fought to permit Quakers to reside in New Netherlands. For more information about the Flushing Remonstrance, click here.
Look up at the top of the former U.S. Customs House and you can see a Dutchman, Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (b. 1598 Holland – d. At Sea 1653), a famous Dutch admiral. At age 9, he became a sailor and at he joined the Dutch navy as a lieutenant in 1621. He became known in 1628 when as Piet Hein's flag captain, he helped capture the Spanish treasure fleet. In 1639, he blockaded and crushed a Spanish fleet in the Downs of the English Channel. This victory ended Spanish sea power. In June, 1652, he refused to lower his flag in deference to the English Admiral Robert Blake, and started the first of the Dutch Wars. That same year, he won control of the English Channel when he beat the English off Dungeness, but he was forced to withdraw. His inferior fleet lost 20 ships in a battle near Gabbard Shoal in 1653. He then joined with his rival Witte de Witt and attacked the English off Scheveningenin in August of 1653. They were defeated and Tromp was killed in the battle by a sharpshooter. It was the last major conflict of the war. Tromp's death hurt the Dutch navy and hurt the Orange cause, which had sought to defeat England and restore the Stuart monarchy. One of his sons, Cornelis Tromp, became a Rear Admiral in the Dutch navy. The sculpture is by Louis Saint-Gaudens.	Flagpole honoring the 350th anniversary of New Amsterdam in Battery Park. Be careful where you step... We will see the sidewalk with the engraving over the ticker tape parade for Queen Juliana of the Netherlands' visit to NYC in 1952.
The Customs House Building is by Cass Gilbert. In an early nod to political correctness, many of the sculptors were from, or descendants of, the countries they depicted. The armed female leaning on an antique shield is German, even though it says Belgium on the shield. In 1918, America was at war with Germany, and patriotic societies, including the 'Sons of the American Revolution,' protested the public display of an enemy insignia. The shield first read 'keil' and represented Kaiser Frederick Wilhelm II, the last Kaiser and then Germany's ruler. The sculptor Albert Jaeger (himself German) suggested changing the name to 'Democratic Germany' but refused other alterations to the statue because he had been decorated by Germany and did not want to be disloyal. Interestingly, the Germanic Lion remained. Cass Gilbert, the architect, negotiated directly with the Secretary of the Treasury William A McAdoo over the final appearance of the sculpture. Belgium was considered to be Germany's first victim in WWI. The limestone statue of a Viking woman, 'Denmark,' was originally conceived to be that of 'Norway' but Cass Gilbert changed his mind and decided that 'Denmark' should represent the Norse people. The sculpture is by Johannes S. Gelert.	Close Up of shield showing Belgium instead of Germany.
When the Goldman Sachs Building was excavated they discovered the foundations and cisterns from the early era of New York City. But Lovelace Tavern was built in 1670, which would be after New Amsterdam, but was there during the Dutch period of New Orange.	Anything that looks Dutch is not from New Amsterdam, but constructed years or centuries later to be reminiscent of the Dutch presence. Peter Minuit never took the subway.
Where is the Statue of Mayor Abraham De Peyster? He once stood where King George's statue was and was removed for the British Gardens.	This nearly ten-foot-tall granite stele at the northwest corner of Battery Park by the Castle Clinton National Monument was designed by noted architect Henry Bacon. The monument and its gilded inscription commemorates the Walloon Settlers, a group of 32 Belgian Huguenot families who joined the Dutch in 1624 on the ship Nieu Nederland (“New Netherland”) to colonize New Amsterdam. Bacon also designed Washington's Lincoln Memorial and Williamsburg's Metropolitan Pool. The Walloons were natives of the County of Hainaut in Belgium who had fled to nearby Holland to escape religious persecution. Made to feel unwelcome in Holland, the Walloons, led by Jesse de Forest, first appealed to the British in 1621 for permission to settle in Virginia. When was denied, they petitioned the Dutch West India Company to allow them to settle in the Dutch-controlled colony of New Amsterdam. Their application was granted and the Walloons left Holland in March 1624, landing in New York on May 20, 1624. One should also know that other groups fled to Holland before coming to the New World, such as the Pilgrims.
We will discuss the life of Harmen van den Bogaert, a doctor and married man with 4 children, who helped the colony by negotiating with the Native Indians, but who was caught with his male African servant Tobias in an intimate situation and was arrested and died for that act. Homophobia was alive and well in the New World too. We will also discuss some heroes of the New World that are left out of our English centric text books such as Adriaen van der Donck a real hero for our civil rights.	In addition to discussing how the inhabitants of New Amsterdam (Dutch, English, French, Jews, Quakers, Finns, Germans, Africans, Native Americans, etc.) convinced their Governor Peter Stuyvesant to surrender to the English rather than have their city destroyed, we will also discuss how in August 1673, the English Governor and the inhabitants of New York City, saw Dutch war ships enter New York Harbor and stood by and watched the English flag come down as the city was returned to Dutch rule and called New Orange for a year, until it once again became English, years before the American Revolution.
Once steel construction and elevators turned the real estate market upside down, and each developer tried to build the world's tallest building, New York City was forced to try regulating bulk and use. The Supreme Court upheld NYC's zoning regulations in the 1926 case of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Corp. This tour gives the history while passing the actual locations. It also includes a city park created by the transfer of development rights and discusses several urban renewal projects in the area.	When elevators and steel allowed 120 Broadway to rise so tall that it blocked the sunlight on the sidewalks of the narrow streets in Lower Manhattan, NYC created Zoning Laws (set backs, sky exposure plane, etc.) in 1916 which then spread across the country. This is part of a NYC tax map showing how the deep and narrow 25 foot lots still remain since the Dutch used this concept on the canals in Amsterdam.
This was the site of the former "Corn Exchange Building", a 17 story office building that went in-rem for back taxes and was sold at City Auction for $13.1 million in 1983.	The same property where the developer walked away for back taxes was demolished and a new building was constructed starting in 2005 and is now the 44 story Beaver House. This shows how property values can change in a "down cycle".
We will then walk up to Wall Street and see the building that was almost the tallest in the world.	We will go by the building with no signage and which "terrorists" bombed. If you didn't know who owned this building, then you had no business going in.
Now we will walk down Pine Street and see how the sun actually hits the ground on June 21st at noon during the summer solstice. The woman smoking walked along with the sunlight during her lunch break smoke.	Looking skywards on Pine Street you can really understand the need for zoning set-backs.
After 1916, the Zoning mandated set-backs so that the sunlight could reach the sidewalks for most of the day. This is an example of set-backs from midtown.	This is the Equitable Building which showed the public what could happen if buildings were not regulated. In 1916, the City of New York created height and set-back zoning regulations due to this building.
WORLD TRADE CENTER AREA Ground Zero Temporary Morgue After 9/11 Location of a Fallen Plane Engine Remnants of Former WTC Walkway zoning Corbin Building & Fulton Street Project Battery Park City 7 World Trade Center
I took this photo shortly after 9/11 showing "Ground Zero". Living in Southern Tribeca for 30 years, I was displaced from my apartment for approximately one month, returning home in October. This Tour will change as the site gets re-developed, but the talk during the walk will include what it was like living through that day and the aftermath.	We will be able to sit next to the sculpture that was already situated in the park and was covered with debris. I don't even know if the young people realize that the man sitting next to them is made of bronze.
On September 12, 2001 at 7 a.m. the sky was totally blue without a cloud in sight, except for the area over where the World Trade Centers once stood. This cloud is due to the dust from the destruction. Around October the neighborhood became a "tourist attraction" with masses of people going down to the see "Ground Zero". These people are passing right in front of my apartment house near Chambers Street.	My neighborhood became a "Gated Community" with barricades and police checking all ID's as you entered the area in September. Residents were permitted back to start cleaning up their apartments and other authorized personnel were given access. What most people didn't know was that the electricity was shut off for the entire neighborhood when 7 WTC fell. Con Edison there ran an entire new system of conduit above ground in orange wooden boxes. Most people just walked over them and never realized what they were. This is a close-up of the electrical power lines in the orange wooden boxes as seen from my window.
We will discuss how this building shook so much on 9/11 that every one of the granite panels had to be removed and either replaced or returned to the facade. You can see that certain panels are not of the same color as the rest.	This building protected the one to the south. It had minor damage because it has very few windows (some broke) on its northern facade.
This is a public plaza created by the transfer of development rights. The bulk was transferred to the large building across the street. There was a Choc Full O' Nuts restaurant on the ground floor of the previous building that was permitted to stay until its lease ran out. It looked like an ancient ruin since the top floors were removed.	View from the upper floor of 7 World Trade Center
15. We will see where the American Institute of Architects was founded.	We can pass the bronze sculpture that was relocated in the park, but that was covered with debris on 9/11.
We pass the Corbin Building, which was the tallest building in the world when it was constructed. It is next to the Fulton Transportation Hub under construction. If time permits we can go and see where George Washington sat when he prayed in Church.	The building that now contains the "J & R Music World" was once the tallest building in the world, and the top cupolas were used for tourists to see the views.
TRIBECA
A new green glass high rise apartment house is going up next to this landmark which started to shift. It is now being braced until the new building can support it.	This shows what a typical C6-4 zoning district allows as far as bulk and no height limits.
Barnes and Nobles and Bed Bath and Beyond are now in this building.	Whole Foods is also in this building and The Palm Restaurant is under construction next door.
We will walk to Church Street and discuss the recently completed or buildings under construction such as 15 Barclay and the new 5 Star Four Seasons 85 story Hotel going up on Murray Street as well as the new 63 story apartment house on Leonard Street. Can you see the difference between a contextual C6-2A zoning district (FAR of 5)and landmarked areas as compared to the non-contexual C6-4 (FAR of 10)zoning district?	Walking down Leonard Street you will see how the zoning lots were combined to permit the New York Law School expansion. Do you see how a zoning lot merger can transfer bulk from one part of a zoning lot to another? What impact did the deed restriction have in limiting height on the site and block?
At West Broadway we turn to go north up to Finn Square where you can look for familiar landmarks, but they are no longer there. Busters Garage is being replaced by an apartment house and El Teddy's famous Statue of Liberty was demolished for another apartment house.	Remember the Sporting Bar... It's also gone! Realty copies art... Do you remember the movie with Nicolas Cage, "It can happen to you?" where this facade was created? This corner is now being developed for luxury housing.
At North Moore Street the we will discuss the legal issue of maintaining a liquor license at (Cercle Rouge) restaurant that is too close to a non-descript Mosque. Could you tell that the restaurant was within 200 feet of a mosque? Do you think the restaurant should lose it's liquor license?	We will pass two buildings that was filed as one extremely large single family house, but before occupancy was converted into a multi-dwelling building. Is there a limit to what can be considered a single family house? This concept of how large can you go also comes into play with rent regulated apartment houses, where the owner wishes to take back units for their private use.
We will hear the story of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s appeal to keep a movie theater out of the Atalanta Building. We will also pass the loft where he lived. Which was as-of-right under the zoning... the apartment house that you see or a movie theater?	We will look up the avenue to see Trump's new Hotel. Which is allowed in this zoning district, a hotel or an apartment house? What is the difference between a transient or permanent hotel? Does the ownership (condo vs. leasehold) make a difference in the land use? At this intersection we can discuss the legal issues of the Trump Condo-Hotel and maybe see some horses going by.
The Sun Building now contains the Department of Buildings, but was once the home of the Sun Newspaper and before that a Department Store. Mary Todd Lincoln used to love to shop there, while staying at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.	Remember the movie Ghostbusters? This is where the Fire House scenes were shot. We actually passed it on the tour.
The sculpture on top of the building was removed in 1950, but no one knows where it is. The DA has his offices in this building.	Walk down Greenwich Street and look for the southern part of the Urban Renewal area. You will recognize it when you see The Palm, or Whole Foods or Bed Bath and Beyond. Do you think that was the intent of the Urban Renewal Plan when they removed the former occupants? Do you remember the movie "She Devil" where this location was used as a prop?
Try to find Robert DeNiro's latest building and the legal problems associated with it. What happens when the final development on the roof is greater than what was approved in plans?	This former nursery for plants is now the Tribeca Grand Hotel. Many 9/11 refugees lived there after the tragedy until the area to the south was re-opened for habitation.
We will walk to Church Street and discuss the recently completed or buildings under construction such as 15 Barclay and the new 5 Star Four Seasons 85 story Hotel going up on Murray Street as well as the new 63 story apartment house on Leonard Street.	Walking to Leonard Street you will see how the zoning lots were combined to permit the New York Law School expansion. The corner lot will contain a 63 story apartment house.
CIVIC CENTER - COURTHOUSES U.S. District Court N.Y.S. Supreme Court N.Y.S. Civil Court N.Y.S. Criminal Court Family Court Collect Pond Park Surrogates Court African American Burial Ground Tweed Courthouse	...
Squeezed in at 346 Broadway is the Old Clocktower Building. The picture shows the original sculpture by Philip Martiny on top. No one knows where the sculpture went to when it was removed in 1948. Originally built for the New York Life Insurance Company. The sculpture on top was of four crouching figures of Atlas, each one 11 feet tall, stood atop the four corners of the clock tower. On their shoulders rested a hollow globe, 15 feet in diameter, laced by a latitudinal and longitudinal network. On top of the globe was a 7-foot-tall eagle, its wings spread. Within the globe was a solid sphere, 7 feet in diameter. The sculptor was Philip Martiny, a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and the creator of two-dozen statues that adorn the former Hall of Records on Chambers Street. The building now houses the DA Offices and some court functions.Building Today at right.	The entire black granite exterior of this building has been removed and replaced with the light colored gray which is less threatening and more in conformity with the other buildings. This is the Family Court Building.
This is the Housing Court (and Civil Court matters) the parking lot next door is planned to become a new City Park.	The is part of the Criminal Court complex which includes the Tombs to the north.
The New York State Supreme Courthouse contains courtrooms as well as administrative functions and the place where the juries first meet.	A portion of the WPA mural of the Supreme Court's Rotunda showing the 10 Commandments. The entire ceiling shows the"Law Through the Ages". The artist was Attilio Pusterla. If you go to the 4th floor you can see murals of the history of New York from pre-European to the 1930's scenes by Robert K. Ryland. These three murals are located in the NYS Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street on the 4th floor Jury Room by Robert K. Ryland during the WPA.
Notice the 1626 Date on the Municipal Building, representing the beginning of New Amsterdam.	The Urban Renewal Area is now completed with luxury apartments a school and retail stores.
The Federal U.S. Courthouse.	10. The U.S. Court of International Trade.
When excavating the federal office building they uncovered bones and discovered the African American burial grounds for free blacks and slaves. Only white Christians could be buried in the city limits at the Trinity Church cemetery. The Jews were buried near present day James Street.	The Surrogates Court Building contains the Muncipal Archives and the information about deeds, etc. and probate.
No longer a courthouse, the former "Boss Tweed Courthouse" was known for its corruption and cost overruns more than anything else. It is now used by the Dept. of Education.	The Sun Building now contains the Department of Buildings, but was once the home of the Sun Newspaper and before that a Department Store. Mrs. Lincoln used to love to shop there.
BROOKLYN BRIDGE & SOUTH STREET SEAPORT AREA Woolworth Building City Hall Park
On the former Urban Renewal site near City Hall and Pace University, we will pass the Frank Gehry luxury apartment house under construction.	This area was created with the aid of Landmarking and Historic Districts and urban renewal plans, and is now under consideration for a new proposed development.
We pass the Woolworth Building, which was the tallest building in the world until the Chrysler Building surpassed it.	Proposed Design for a proposed future development at the Seaport.
Do you where this building is located? This is is the only place where I was able to find the word "German" on or in a building that was created in the 20th Century. While there are many buildings in the East Village (Kleine Deutschland) from the 19th Century with German inscriptions, I am still searching for anything German in Manhattan from after World War I. The stained glass skylight (was originally built as a functioning skylight until the additional floor was added over the skylight in 1919) was created by Heineke and Bowen, the same people who made the ceiling tile. The elevator door covers are by Tiffany. The skylight contains the date 1879 which was when the Woolworth company began and 1913 when the building was completed. It also lists the major trading countries in the world at the time.	Here you still see the words, "German Empire" (and the Eagle) on the periphery of the skylight with other countries such as France, United States, Russia, Great Britain, Argentina, Austria, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Japan and China.
There is also a stereotypical gargoyle of a Jewish banker, something that would in years to come become a frequent topic of ridicule by Nazis such as Julius Streicher in his Sturmer Newspaper. I have not found a definitive story about who this gargoyle represents.	I have found the word German in another location in Lower Manhattan. It is at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. It relates the story of the building of the bridge and how John Roebling was a German Immigrant. This is a new sign that was installed recently.
We will go on to the pedestrian path of the Brooklyn Bridge to go halfway and look back at Manhattan.	We will be able to see the South Street Seaport from the bridge.

OTHER TOURS:

NEW AMSTERDAM TOURS

ZONING ORIGINS: REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT IN LOWER MANHATTAN

GREENWICH VILLAGE - URBAN RENEWAL HISTORY

3 TRIBECA TOURS

JEWS IN NYC

WTC TOUR

GERMAN TOUR

DETAILED TOUR INFORMATION

STANDARD RATE FOR GROUP TOURS
( up to 25 people). Existing listed tours can be modified for your interests at a rate of $250 for an hour and a half touring experience. This is like having a special tutorial by your own professor and not just a tour guide.

FORM OF PAYMENT
Cash, Travelers Checks or NYS checks (with proper identification) are acceptable forms of payment.

INSURANCE
Clients assume all liability and risks during the walks. Please be vigilant when crossing the streets.

LANGUAGES
The tours are given in English or German (Deutsch).

CANCELLATIONS
Should the tour guide cancel the tour, then a total refund of any deposit will be given and no fee will be charged for the tour. No consequential damages will be offered. However, if the tour was an individualized tour that required specific research, then the deposit from the group is not refundable, should the group decide to cancel. But the rest of the fee will be forgiven should the group wish to cancel the tour. Please give at least 24 hours notice.

RESERVATIONS
To make a reservation, please click the email icon below and supply the following in the email. Make sure that you get a written confirmation from me before considering the reservation confirmed:

The time and days that you are interested in having a tour
How many people are expected in your group
The location that you are interested in seeing
Any special interests, such as historical, cultural, religious, architectural, etc. that you would like me to research for your tour.
Your name, phone, address and email address
Means of payment

Please Click Here to Email for Reservations or Questions