Greeter Outing Program

Greeter Outing to Fort Greene

On Tuesday, June 1, 2010, Greeters met in Fort Greene, a neighborhood located in the northwest section of Brooklyn above Prospect Park, to explore this New York City designated historic district. The outing, organized by Jennifer Stokes from the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, included guided tours of Myrtle Avenue, Clinton Hill, and the Fort Greene Conservancy.

Sarah Farwell, also from the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, conducted the first part of the tour.  She accompanied the Greeters for a walk along Myrtle Avenue, which runs from the Flatbush Avenue extension through Brooklyn to Richmond Hill in Queens. Myrtle Avenue features many locally owned businesses and has been a major roadway since at least the early 1800’s. Between Myrtle Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the group explored the historic Wallabout neighborhood, an area noted for having the largest concentration of pre-Civil War frame houses in the City, some dating back to the 1830’s, and what is thought to be the only surviving home of poet Walt Whitman located at No. 99 Ryerson Street.

During the next leg of the journey, Dave Haberer, former Big Apple Greeter Volunteer and President of the Society for Clinton Hill, in the Historic Clinton Hill District, joined the volunteers.  Mr. Haberer pointed out magnificent wooden, brick and brownstone homes found along Washington, Waverly, Clinton and Dekalb Avenues.  Wealthy magnates such as Charles Pratt built these freestanding mansions at the turn of the century.  In 1877, Mr. Pratt opened Pratt Institute, located at 200 Willoughby Avenue. Mr. Haberer and the Greeters walked through part of the Pratt Sculpture Park that is found throughout the 25-acre university campus.  It is largest park of its type in New York City and features the work of such artists as Richard Serra, Donald Lipski, and Mark di Suvero.

Leaving the campus, the group passed St. Joseph University and continued on to Fulton Street, where they were met by Phillip Kellogg, Manager of the FAB Alliance, who directed their attention to the Churches of St. Luke and St. Matthew with their many Tiffany windows and Atlantic Terrace, a low rise apartment building that is one of the Brooklyn’s first buildings to receive LEED Gold Certification for its environmentally sustainable features.  Then Joan Reutershan, from the Fort Green Association, walked with the Greeters past many ethnic shops and outdoor cafes to South Portland Avenue, where they saw a tree lined expanse of Romanesque Revival Italianate brownstones all with cast iron grillwork.

Charles Jarden, Chairman of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, concluded the day’s outing at Fort Greene Park, originally the site where forts were built for the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. In 1864, Fort Greene Park was redesigned by renowned landscape designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.  Mr. Jarden lead the group to the park’s highest point to view the Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument.  This monument is a memorial to the 11,500 individuals who died in British prison ships from 1776-83.  Greg Rupiano, from the Walt Whitman Project, spoke of the memorial’s history, and Nicole Mitchell sang an ode written by Walt Whitman to the tune of the “Star Spangled Banner” and read Whitman’s poem My Captain.

Greeter Outing to the Greater Astoria Historical Society

On April 30, 2010, a group of 16 Big Apple Greeters met at the Greater Astoria Historical Society located in the Quinn Building at 35-20 Broadway, 4th Floor, Long Island City. They were welcomed by the President of the Society, Richard Melnick, and former President Bob Singleton and given a brief history and slide show of the area.

The Greater Astoria Historical Society, chartered in 1985, is a non-profit organization supported by the Long Island City community. They are dedicated to preserving the community’s past and promoting its future. The Society hosts field trips, walking tours, slide presentations, and guest lectures to schools and the public.  They also have many archival photos and house a collection of antique cooking, household appliances and tools.

After the slide show, the Greeters were escorted to the roof of the four story building and were able to see for many miles in each direction.  As it is one of the higher edifices in the neighborhood, most of the New York City bridges were visible from this grand viewpoint.

The Greeters were then taken on a long walk in the area, passing the American Museum of the Moving Image, the Kauffman Studios (where movies and TV shows are produced), and the Frank Sinatra High School for the Performing Arts. The Steinway Piano Factory is also nearby.

They then strolled through the interesting residential streets with a wide variety of architecture. Many of the homes are single and two family structures.  The avenues in the surrounding area are filled with interesting shops and just about every ethnic restaurant that New York could offer.

For further information about the Society, please visit their website at http://www.astorialic.org.

Volunteer Greeters Visit Washington Heights-Inwood

"There is life after 155th St.," joked our host Dennis Reeder, executive director of the Washington Heights & Inwood Development Corporation, who then went on to show greeters how true this is.

    The Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods combined stretch along the Hudson, from 155th Street to the northern border of Manhattan, featuring the highest elevation in Manhattan, and including the George Washington Bridge crossing and Fort Tryon Park.

    This hilly neighborhood has traditionally been home to a diverse ethnic mix, and today has a population of approximately 250,000 mostly Hispanic residents, two-thirds of them from the Dominican Republic. The area also uniquely combines "homey" residential streets and shopping, historical locations, institutions of culture and higher education, and a renowned medical complex.

    With so much to see, the group began at the The Hispanic Society of America, now under renovation, followed by its neighbor the American Academy of Arts and Letters, famed for its architecture. Moving on, and reflective of the neighborhood's diverse attractions, the group stopped at Manhattan's oldest house, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, built in 1756; the Dyckman Farmhouse, originally from the 1600's; Inwood Hill Park, where Peter Minuit bargained with the with the Native Americans and "bought" Manhattan Island; and The Malcolm X Museum.

    Other trip highlights included the renowned Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospitals; Bennett Park; the Cloisters Museum; and Ft. Tryon Park, where 60,000 visitors are welcomed to its annual fall Medieval Festival.

    We extend a big "thank you" to Dennis Reeder and the Washington Heights & Inwood Development Corporation for the interesting and informative visit, which we enjoyed very much.

-Written by Sally Rose

    Please visit the links below to learn more about some of the attractions in this dynamic Manhattan neighborhood.

Washington Heights & Inwood Development Corporation

The Hispanic Society of America

American Academy of Arts and Letters

Morris Jumel Mansion

Dyckman Farmhouse Museum

Malcolm X Museum

The Cloisters

Other volunteer greeter group visits in the five boroughs, during November and December, 2009, were:

St. George Historic District and Civic Center, Staten Island

Dyker Heights Christmas Lights, Brooklyn

Concourse Village, the Bronx (hosted by the 161st Street Business Improvement District)

The Diamond District, Manhattan (hosted by the 47th Street Business Improvement District, http://www.diamonddistrict.org/home.html)

Greeter Outing to the King Manor Museum

On December 15, 2009, six volunteer Greeters visited the King Manor Museum, an important historic landmark located on an 11-acre New York City park in Jamaica, Queens. The museum was once the stately manor home and farm of Rufus King, a Founding Father of the United States.

King was a framer of the U.S. Constitution, as well as one of New York's first United States Senators, Ambassador to Great Britain and an early, and outspoken, opponent of slavery.  He resided in the manor from 1805 to 1827.

Later it became the estate of King's son, John Alsop King, who served as New York's Governor. King Manor has been a museum since 1900.

Museum caretaker Roy Fox presented a fascinating lecture on Rufus King’s role in shaping the nation. He also made life at King Manor in the 19th century come alive for the greeters in attendance.  The lecture was followed by a tour of the manor and a walk along historic Jamaica Avenue.

Asked about current research that may someday vault Rufus King into the national spotlight, Fox said, “I get the feeling we’re just getting started. There’s a gem in history to be polished and brought out.”

Big Apple Greeter takes pride in its ability to provide New Yorkers with opportunities to enhance their leadership skills. Greeter Outings expand a Greeter’s knowledge by introducing neighborhoods and cultural sites in all five boroughs with which the Greeter may be unfamiliar. Afterwards, many Greeters do additional research, bring visitors and recommend the sites to friends, family, and neighbors.

-Elizabeth Holmes

Location: 150-03 Jamaica Avenue
Jamaica, New York
www.kingmanor.org

Subway: E, J or Z to Jamaica Center
Train:  Long Island Railroad to Jamaica Station

Greeter Outing to the Museum of Chinese in America

On October 21, 2009, thirty volunteer Greeters visited the Museum of Chinese in America, a non-profit institution that preserves and presents the history, heritage, culture, and diverse experiences of people of Chinese descent in the United States.  Founded in 1980 as the NY Chinatown History project by historian John Kuo Wei Tchen and community resident/activist Charles Lai, it was created to develop a better understanding of Chinese American history and community.

After a tour of the museum’s broad array of exhibits, lead by Assistant Curator of Education Daria Ng, docent Alice Fung gave the volunteer Greeters a guided walking tour through Chinatown, tracing the evolution of Chinese American eateries, food ways and local history.

“A jewel of a museum with a rich collection” says Big Apple Greeter volunteer Marianne Gennarie.

Big Apple Greeter takes pride in its ability to provide New Yorkers with opportunities to enhance their leadership skills. Greeter Outings expand a Greeter’s knowledge base by introducing neighborhoods and cultural sites in all five boroughs, with which the Greeter may be unfamiliar. Afterwards, many Greeters do additional research, bring visitors and recommend the sites to friends, family, and neighbors.

Eight volunteer Greeters accompanied by Isiah Hall, a representative from New York City Council Member Darlene Mealy’s office, visited the Weeksville Heritage Center, one of the earliest, historically documented owned and occupied communities of free African-Americans in the country. Established in 1838 in what is now Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Weeksville served as a refuge for slaves escaping the South and northern blacks in need of safe haven during the Civil War draft riots in lower Manhattan.

The landmark site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features The Hunterfly Road Houses, three restored homes from the 1860s, 1900s, and 1930s.

“What made it so fascinating is that it was a racially and socially integrated place,” says Big Apple Greeter volunteer Kate Sheahan.

“The tour of Weeksville introduced me to a sacred part of Brooklyn history that I was not aware of,” says Mr. Hall.

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