DESTINATION NEW YORK EPISODE #2
DESTINATION NEW YORK EPISODE #2
In our second episode we discuss chocolate, we introduce a virtual chocolate tour, tour guide tips, and interview Author/CEO of BENY and GANYC member Patrick van Rosendaal.
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GANYC Apple Awards Nominee Speaks at Mid-Manhattan Library
On February 15th, New York Times Urban Affairs reporter and 2015 GANYC Apple Awards nominee Sam Roberts spoke to a capacity audience at the mid-Manhattan Public Library. He spoke on his new book “A History of New York in 101 Objects”. Roberts demonstrated how history can be viewed through the lens of physical objects. He talked about how the British Museum wrote a similar book about seeing the entire world through 100 objects.
Roberts laid ground rules for the objects in his book. They had to be transformative. No humans or icons could be included. He mentioned he received hundreds of suggestions by New York Times readers including a lot of suggestions for food. Interestingly he didn’t think pizza was emblematic of New York City. He said pizza was more of a national dish. The bagel, however, screams New York.
The Times writer indicated the list is really artificial because you’re only dealing with objects that survived the test of time. His research included a trip to The Hague in The Netherlands to do some archival research. This included a 17th century letter from Peter Schaghen to the Dutch West India Company informing them of the purchase of Manhattan Island from the Lenape Indians.
The talk was very engaging due to the many great stories and anecdotes told by Mr. Roberts. One included writer Washington Irving putting a missing item of a manuscript on every newspaper in the city only it was really to be a hoax concocted by Mr. Irving, the author of A History of New York by Diedrich Knickerbocker. Robert’s said it would be the first real publicity campaign in American history for a book.
Some stories include Elijah Otis demonstrating the elevator safety break at the World’s Fair. A ticket from the Third Avenue trolley led to a little known story of an African-American woman who sued the trolley company for being thrown off of it due to her race. A lawsuit she won a hundred years before Rosa Parks. A funny story recounted was the making of the Woody Guthrie song “This Land is Your Land.” The original lyrics were to be “Staten Island” but instead became the well-known “New York Island”. At the same token, Mr. Roberts extolled that the words “outer boroughs” are not in his vocabulary.
He discussed the Flushing Remonstrance and how that became the defining moment in how America gained her freedom of religion values that is cherished today. And another peculiar story was how New York gained the nickname Gotham. It came from a fabled town in England where it’s twelfth century inhabitants behaved rather oddly.
There were some objects that he liked that were mentioned to him after the book was published that he would have used in the book including the ever so increasing inflatable rats that striking unions employ today. The artichoke that Mayor LaGuardia banned to get rid of mafia influence.
This was an extraordinary presentation and adds to the dynamic speakers that the mid-Manhattan Library seems to invite.
Sam Roberts is nominated for an Apple Award for Outstanding Achievement in Book Writing (books published in 2013-2014). Come to Symphony Space on March 2nd at 6:30 P.M. to see if he wins.
Destination New York Episode #1
In this the inaugural episode of Destination New York, the gang sits down with President of GANYC Matthew Baker for a wide-ranging interview where they discuss a number of topics including what exactly GANYC is and what the organization actually does. Recorded at the Players' Club, the podcast also highlights the upcoming first annual Apple Awards, the awards ceremony honoring the best in New York City cultural achievement.
GANYC on Z-Travel and Leisure
Our President, Matthew Baker, was featured on Art and Susan Zuckerman's radio show called Z-Travel and Leisure which airs on WVOX radio station 1460 AM. Show information can be found online at http://tunein.com/radio/WVOX-1460-s23608WVOX 1460 AM has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal to be "America’s great community radio station." New York Governors George Pataki and the late Mario Cuomo both agreed that WVOX is "the most influential radio station in New York state." WVOX is the station for families, adults, decision-makers…where many different voices are heard in the land. WVOX is often called the last remaining independent voice of the Golden Apple.WVOX 1460 AM and Whitney Radio reaches over 1.5 million potential listeners in Central and Southern Westchester, Connecticut, The Bronx, Queens, and the North Shore of Long Island.TICKETS AND INFO ABOUT THE APPLE AWARDS CAN BE FOUND HERE:GANYC begins new blog and podcast
The Guides Association of New York City kicked off 2015 with not only a great January Meeting at Theater 80 but also with the birth of a new blog and a new podcast entitled “Destination New York.”
The podcast will be co-hosted by three of GANYC’s active members Aaron Tabackman, Amada Anderson and Stanley O’Connor, all members of the Public Relations Committee. It will seek to explore the world of tour guiding but also the history, culture and politics of the Big Apple all in a fun and funny sort of way.
The first podcast was recorded in January at the Players’ Club in Gramercy. The first guest was the President of GANYC, Matthew Baker.
Matthew Baker, now in his second year as the president of GANYC, sat down for a full-ranging interview introducing the organization to listeners and how he came to live in New York City and how he became a tour guide. The wide-ranging discussion can be listened to on ganyc.org or subscribing to iTunes.
“Destination New York” is the brainchild of Web and P.R. Committee Member Aaron Tabackman and Stanley O'Connor and plans to record monthly with possibility of more frequent podcasts. This is the beauty of the medium. There are no rules as to length or frequency of recordings. Stay tuned.
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GANYC is an association of independent tour guides. Each member is licensed by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. GANYC provides a listing of all member guides to the public. GANYC is not liable, or responsible, for contractual obligations made between clients and tour guides. GANYC stands for Guides Association Of New York City.
