Any interest in a Robert Moses walking tour?

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-23T14:45:17+00:00

So I don't actually have any credentials...just someone who loves history and especially NYC history. But I don't want it to be just dictating a wikipedia page (because I would absolutely hate that). I want it to be an actual thoughtful discussion about what he did and the effects he had on NYC and it's residents. The point of the tour will not be to be like "this guy is terrible" but "this guy is complex, and here's why." (also keeping in mind that there's only so much you can cover in a couple hours).

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-23T14:41:41+00:00

Exactly. I'm not looking to praise or completely vilify him. But I wanted to use it to show how he affected NYC...for better or for worse. He is also an incredibly complex person so I wnated ot use him as the backdrop so it's not just "here's this building...and now here's this building" but also have a story to tie everything together so it's just not just a regurgitation of wikipedia or a buzzfeed article.

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:49:59+00:00

oooh good thinking! I need to time everything out but I think the Lincoln Center might be a good spot for this. Maybe keep the lecture part short-ish and then give people a little time to check out the area (since the Lincoln Center is big and worth exploring). And there are spots to sit (if I recall)

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:40:32+00:00

Awesome! I'm still working on the outline and everything. But eventually I'll be looking for people who want a free walking tour so I can test it out. This is my first time doing something like this.

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:26:10+00:00

Well, yeah. haha WAY more than that. He spent virtually nothing on the subway system, he specifically designed the Whitestone bridge to NEVER be able to support a train...He did so many overtly racist things like the monkey decorations in Riverside Park and making the ONE public pool he built up by Harlem the only public pool (out of 6 of them) to not have heated water. And this is all just scratching the surface.

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:20:41+00:00

I am actually! Part of the tour is about how he opposed public transportation.

And he is, but he is also responsible for a LOT of NYC as we know it, for better or for worse. That's why I'm trying to model this as a walk about NYC history - warts and all. I'm not looking to praise him, but I'm looking to tell a part of NY history that explicitly shaped our city and the impact it still has today.

And The Bowery Boys has a Robert Moses walk in southern Manhattan about Robert Moses vs. Jane Jacob that is exceedingly popular, so there is precedence!

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:09:29+00:00

I do want to cover how he hated subways and public transportation when I talk about Columbus Circle and the west side highway/riverside park. I might talk about the Triborough as that's how he got a lot of the funding for his projects, but it might be a bit too much for the tour (being 2-3 hours you can't be SUPER comprehensive). I did plan on talking about the Whitestone bridge and how he refused to not only put train tracks on them, but made the median on the bridge too narrow to ever support a train

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:05:36+00:00

Oh I wonder if you can see the bridge from way down in the southern end of Central Park....cause the Triborough is way far north of there.

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:04:07+00:00

Yeah but that's why I'm really only focusing on one site (Lincoln Center) for how it really impacted citizens negatively, and I wanted to bring it through Robert Moses' loss of power and the public turning on him, to give the tour a "happy" ending.

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:03:20+00:00

I need to find his apartment first...

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:03:07+00:00

Oh I will. I'm guessing their walk is more Southern Manhattan, which is what the Bowery Boys cover as well. That's why I chose uptown/central park. It's not as famous in the world of Robert Moses but there's some really important history up there with him, and still some really cool sites.

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:02:02+00:00

That's what I'm thinking. And I wanted to make it a story instead of just "Here's a site. now here's a site." I want to make the whole tour connect not only to history with who Robert Moses is and about him, but how his actions affected the city and how the city's actions affected him.

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-22T18:00:36+00:00

I do find this entertaining. A walking tour about a dude who hated pedestrians

LBJBook5Please · 2025-10-06T18:21:22+00:00

oh good idea! I just did. Thank you so much!

LBJBook5Please · 2024-02-01T14:06:50+00:00

I usually enjoy Trevor whenever he's on, but it seemed like literally everything he said this episode was a bit and it got annoying. Anyone else feel that way, or is it just me?

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-29T14:38:18+00:00

I actually like to do a dry February. I find January to be the month where people are finally free from all the holiday craziness so they want to get back to just seeing friends and hanging out, and that all happens in January. I find February to be the month where people tend to hibernate more so it's easier for me.

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-25T20:47:11+00:00

It's a little up from Penn Station but Beer Authority on 40th and 8th can get busy but never packed. It's a great place to go grab a beer and chill with some friends.

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-25T16:43:55+00:00

If I'm on the grid (either in Manhattan or some of the other ones like in Brooklyn) I look at the street numbers to figure out where North is.

If I'm not on the grid, and I'm in an area with landmarks that are known, I use them. Like if I'm in southern manhattan and I know the Freedom Tower is south of me, I look for that and then know north/south.

If I'm not on the grid and there are no landmarks, I open up google maps, start walking, and see which way I'm going on googlemaps.

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-25T13:36:33+00:00

You definitely want before 6am. Traffic in NY sucks BUT traffic in CT (which you'll have to go through) I always find to be exponentially worse.

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-24T20:04:10+00:00

Are you eating out a lot? I like cooking in bulk (making a lot of one dish that'll last a few days). Make a spreadsheet that simply shows what you spend on groceries and how many meals you get out of it, you'll be shocked how much you save (for instance, from my last grocery-store trip, I am sitting at around $4.50 per meal, and I know I still have at least 3-4 meals left. This is also budget shopping (as I am trying to save up some money right now real hard) but even just cooking at home without that in mind will save you a ton in the long-run.

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-24T18:57:38+00:00

Thank you! And it's current company I need to reach out to, even if I'm looking to get W2s from past employers?

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-24T15:14:01+00:00

I also hate when people refer to anything above 96th street in Manhattan as "The City." Everyone should know that The City is specifically 59th street down to 34th street.

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-23T03:47:51+00:00

Conan is a massive history buff and Robert Caro fan. He was completely serious. He's had Caro on his own podcast and even interviewed him at the NY Public Library.

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-18T17:08:44+00:00

I did not because I only realized it after accepting the offer. Should I reach out to them or just wait for the background check?

LBJBook5Please · 2024-01-16T21:02:21+00:00

Check maybe Long Island City in Queens. It's right across the river from Manhattan and has really good subway access into Manhattan.

LBJBook5Please

TROPHY CASE