Great Blog Review of My Lower East Side Tour

I recently conducted a tour of the Lower East Side in early April and found that only one person showed up. At first I was a little disappointed but felt that hey, she showed up so at least I can give her a tour. Who knew that this person, Lydia Warren, was a blogger about her experiences in and about New York City and that she would write such a nice review of my tour. I would like to share it with you so all can take in what you will experience on my Lower East Side Nosh Tour.

http://todaysthedayi.com/2014/04/16/took-a-tasty-tour-of-the-lower-east-side/

PIER 57 - WHAT IS OLD WILL NOW BE NEW

PIER 57 - Meatpacking District/Chelsea

What is Old Will Now be New 

Pier 57 has long stood next to the West Side Highway on the Hudson River abandoned and forlorn. Its most recent uses were as a bus garage for the NYC Transit Authority and a police holding station for people arrested during the 1994 Republican Convention. Plans have come and gone for its use but finally, a developer has come along and will transform it into a multi-level shopping, dining, and public space extravaganza scheduled to open in 2015 thus adding to the already transformed meatpacking district. It wasn't always like this. Let Ben Bagel give a short history about the pier.

The original pier was wooden and built for both passenger and freight ocean going boats. It was originally built as part of the City's plan in the early 20th Century to "modernize" the piers along the Hudson River. Piers like Pier 57 saw many majestic boats come and go. In 1947, the pier burned down and needed to be replaced. To reduce the potential for fire as well as rotting piers due to insects such as marine bores, the City used a imaginative method for construction of the new pier. Three hollow concrete boxes were built and sunk to the bottom of the river. This served as the foundation for the new pier, opened in 1952 and used by the Grace Shipping Line. Evenutally, the pier was abandoned as shipping lines moved their ocean going freight business out of New York. 

The new plan will not only have shops, some of them in actual shipping containers, but dining, rock climbing in the what is now the hollow spaces in the submerged concrete foundations and a roof level public space. Pier 57's new name will be SuperPier and super it will be. However, everything has some history behind it. That's why you should go on a tour of the Meatpacking District/Highline with Ben Bagel to learn about the past, historical and unknown facts, and the present. Call or go online and let's explore New York!

TWO SYNAGOGUES

TWO SYNAGOGUES

New York is a city that changes and evolves and recycles and I am not just referring to garbage. I recently went to a guide association meeting on the now fashionable Lower East Side/East Village and was astounded to realize that the community center in which the meeting was held was formerly a synagogue. This is not an unusual occurrence but just shows how in this city what is old is new, what is forgotten is reused and what was is now something completely different.

Congregation Ahawath Yeshurun Shara Torah (Love of the People of Israel Gates of Torah) at 636 East 6^th Street was built in 1889 and by the same architectural firm that was started by Calvert Vaux who designed Central Park. The actual congregation was formed in 1905. With the shifting ethnic mix and the movement of the Jewish congregation out of the (then) Lower East Side, the synagogue was converted in 1978 into to what is now known as the 6^th Street Community Center by the 6^th Street Block Association. While the Center has everything from a Yoga School to farmers market, there are still remnants of its past. Memorial stones commemorating past congregants are still to be found in the entrance foyer.

Just west of the community center is Congregation Adas Yisroel Anshe Mezritch. It was originally was a residence but converted to a synagogue in 1910. The Synagogue, otherwise known as a tenement synagogue, still functions as a synagogue and has not joined the list of abandoned Jewish houses of worship.

Even the most experienced of tours guides (such as is Ben Bagel) continues to learn about New York and be amazed at its complexity, history and constant change. That’s why when planning to come to New York and experience it, contact Ben Bagel and he will show you the New York that existed or still exists and makes up the ever evolving fabric of the City of New York.

CONGREGATION AHAWATH YESHURUN SHARA TORAH

CONGREGATION ADAS YISROEL ANSHE MESRITCH

Thanks to All of Ben Bagel's Facebook Friends

THANKS TO MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS

I have recently have been blogging and writing about different well known and not so well known historical sites in New York City. This time, I just want to write to you, my Facebook Friends. I simply want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for liking Ben and Marty's Bagel Tours Facebook page. It is a great vote of confidence from you and I am most appreciative.

Now though, I have to ask a favor. Being that you like us, could you please share us with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, etc.? The objective of this request is to have the site go "Viral". It would get people to notice us and either go on one of our tours or recommend them to their friends, family, acquaintances or people who you know who are coming to New York and want to experience and see the real New York.

Remember, when you share Ben and Marty's Bagel Tours of New York, remind them that every one who goes on our tours starts with a hot fresh bagel! If this is not an a reason to take one of our tours, what is?!

VINEGAR HILL

VINEGAR HILL

One of the advantages of being a tour guide in New York City is knowing about neighborhoods that most New Yorkers have never been to let alone are not even aware they exist. One such place is Vinegar Hill (no, they don’t make vinegar there). It is in Brooklyn by the East River between trendy DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yards. It once encompassed a larger area but the construction of public housing and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway narrowed it down to what is now six-block area with mainly Federal Style and Greek Revival homes. In fact, it still retains some streets with cobblestones.

The name Vinegar Hill gets its name from the Battle of Vinegar Hill in Ireland which occurred during the 1798 Irish Rebellion. The area was settled originally by Irish Immigrants, thus the name. Despite all the development in Brooklyn recently, Vinegar Hill still looks like a hamlet within New York City. The Brooklyn waterfront, once upon a time, was seen as a place where artists and artisans lived and worked, basking in cheap rents, old architecture and isolation. But lately that reality has changed. Market-rate condominium towers and luxury conversions telegraph a need for a higher income bracket.

Vinegar Hill is not trendy. In fact it was only in 2008 that the Vinegar Hill House on Hudson Avenue, a restaurant, opened in late 2008. It draws local patrons as well as from the rest of Brooklyn and the City.

One of the biggest secrets within Vinegar Hill is the Commandant's House overlooking the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Built early in the 19th century, the big white house, formally known as Quarters A, is the yard's oldest surviving structure, with exquisite Federal-style detailing.  It was built in 1806 and local lore has it that the oval dining room has the same proportions as the Oval Office at the White House. Matthew C. Perry was commandant for two years starting in 1841. He left 10 years before the signing the treaty that opened Japan to foreign trade. The commandant of the yards oversaw the constructions of such famous navy ships as the USS Maine in 1890, the USS Arizona in 1916 and the USS battleship Missouri on which the final surrender of World War II was signed in Tokyo Bay.

While Vinegar Hill is in walking distance of DUMBO, you may not be familiar with how to get there and what to look for. A tour guide like Ben Bagel knows these neighborhoods and can give you the lowdown on the history and sights of this hidden gem. If you are up for a guided walking tour of New York either in Vinegar Hill, Dumbo, Brooklyn or Manhattan, he is the one to contact.

And remember, all tours start with a hot fresh bagel!

VINEGAR HILL

One of the advantages of being a tour guide in New York City is knowing about neighborhoods that most New Yorkers have never been to let alone are not even aware they exist. One such place is Vinegar Hill (no, they don’t make vinegar there). It is in Brooklyn by the East River between trendy DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yards. It once encompassed a larger area but the construction of public housing and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway narrowed it down to what is now six-block area with mainly Federal Style and Greek Revival homes. In fact, it still retains some streets with cobblestones.

The name Vinegar Hill gets its name from the Battle of Vinegar Hill in Ireland which occurred during the 1798 Irish Rebellion. The area was settled originally by Irish Immigrants, thus the name. Despite all the development in Brooklyn recently, Vinegar Hill still looks like a hamlet within New York City. The Brooklyn waterfront, once upon a time, was seen as a place where artists and artisans lived and worked, basking in cheap rents, old architecture and isolation. But lately that reality has changed. Market-rate condominium towers and luxury conversions telegraph a need for a higher income bracket.

Vinegar Hill is not trendy. In fact it was only in 2008 that the Vinegar Hill House on Hudson Avenue, a restaurant, opened in late 2008. It draws local patrons as well as from the rest of Brooklyn and the City.

One of the biggest secrets within Vinegar Hill is the Commandant's House overlooking the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Built early in the 19th century, the big white house, formally known as Quarters A, is the yard's oldest surviving structure, with exquisite Federal-style detailing.  It was built in 1806 and local lore has it that the oval dining room has the same proportions as the Oval Office at the White House. Matthew C. Perry was commandant for two years starting in 1841. He left 10 years before the signing the treaty that opened Japan to foreign trade. The commandant of the yards oversaw the constructions of such famous navy ships as the USS Maine in 1890, the USS Arizona in 1916 and the USS battleship Missouri on which the final surrender of World War II was signed in Tokyo Bay. 

While Vinegar Hill is in walking distance of DUMBO, you may not be familiar with how to get there and what to look for. A tour guide like Ben Bagel knows these neighborhoods and can give you the lowdown on the history and sights of this hidden gem. If you are up for a guided walking tour of New York either in Vinegar Hill, Dumbo, Brooklyn or Manhattan, he is the one to contact. 

And remember, all tours start with a hot fresh bagel!

ACME FISH

ACME FISH

Some of my blogs and tours seem to have an emphasis on food. Why not?! In New York City with it myriad of cultures, it is only natural that foods of the many people in this City play a major part in their lives and the lives of New Yorkers. While it use to be considered exotic to eat Chinese food (It’s really American), now you can find samples of foods from nations around the world. However, there are still local old style standouts to be found that have been around seemingly forever and still excite the salivary glands of New Yorkers. One such establishment is the Acme Smoked Fish Corporation factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. You haven’t heard of it?!!!. Then let me tell you about it.

If you buy smoked salmon (Lox, Nova, Gravlox and others), it probably is made by Acme. It started in 1902 when Harry Brownstein went to work in the smoked fish business. Through marriage, the Caslow family joined the ranks and began a smoked fish company in Brownsville, Brooklyn. It wasn’t until 1954 that Harry Brownstein decided to open his own smoked fish plant at its present site at 26 Gem Street. The rest is “lox” history.  

Acme is a major supplier to establishments large and small such as some well known bagel stores in Manhattan and large ones like Costco. While it is mainly a wholesale establishment, you can go there on Friday mornings  and purchase either pre-wrapped or fresh cut smoked fish. For tasty smoked fish like this, it is definitely worth the trip into industrial Greenpoint.

Acme can be hard to find but a trusty guide like Ben Bagel can not only direct you to it but take you there as well.  Sign on to Ben and Marty's Bagel Tours for a tasty tour to "Gems" like Acme. And remember, everyone who goes on a tour with us starts off with a fresh hot bagel (especially when you will be going to Acme Fish for some of their incredible smoked fish!!!)