Untapped New York is excited to announce our November lineup of special events for Untapped New York Insiders. Every month, Insiders get to explore New York City through free, exclusive behind-the-scenes tours and exciting events hosted by the city’s leading cultural institutions, like our partners at the New York Public Library, The Museum of the City of New York and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Recently, Insiders got to go inside the skybridge at the American Copper Buildings, walk through Hunter’s Point Park with its lead designer, ride around Manhattan on the John J. Harvey Fireboat, and explore the public art of Hudson Square. In November, upcoming events include an exclusive look inside the Tiffany Glass Archives, a special wine and cheese tasting, and a trip to the highly restricted Hart Island! New events are constantly added, so keep an eye on our member events page and this article for updates. There are even some October events that still have tickets available. You can join the next Insiders adventure by becoming a member today!
Go inside one of the oldest crematories in the United States with the President of the U.S. Columbarium Company at Fresh Pond Crematory, J.P. DiTroia. On this unique tour, Insiders will see how the family-run Middle Village location has evolved over the past 100+ years from a single crematory building in 1884, to a sprawling complex with 16,000 niches that house the remains of 40,000 people. The Neo-classical site has had many additions added to it over the decades and inside, each phase has a distinctive character. Guests will admired the marble, historic furniture and stained and painted-glass windows spread throughout the columbarium, as well as the fascinating niches filled with personal effects of those interred more than 100 years ago.
Hear the stories behind some of NYC’s most iconic buildings. On the heels of his book A History of New York in 101 Objects, New York Times reporter Sam Roberts thinks a bit bigger in A History of New York in 27 Buildings. Join Roberts and architectural historian Andrew Dolkart to see what makes these 27 buildings icons of the city’s 400-year history.
Experience four centuries of Brooklyn’s built environment with Cornell professor and urbanist Thomas J. Campanella at the Brooklyn Historical Society. Join Campanella for an unprecedented journey through the history of the beloved borough via its built environment. In his book Brooklyn: The Once and Future City, Campanella brings us from sleepy colonial settlements, to the electric playground of Coney Island, and everything built in between. In addition to sharing what we’ve built and what we’ve lost, this epic story highlights some of the never-realized dreams of Brooklynites through time, from abandoned plans for the world’s tallest building to failed designs to make Jamaica Bay the largest deep-water seaport on Earth. Editor at Curbed Amy Plitt joins Campanella for this urban exploration.
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Central Park might be the most famous and best loved example of pastoral landscape architecture in the United States, but for Upper East Siders, it’s also a brilliant backyard. If you’ve ever wondered how the extraordinary emerald oasis became a reality, join Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts for this illustrated book talk with art historian and New York City Municipal Archives conservator Cynthia Brenwall Drawing on hundreds of previously-unpublished designs, notes, maps and materials from the NYC Municipal Archives, Ms. Brenwall’s new book, The Central Park: Original Designs for New York’s Greatest Treasure, offers a more complete understanding of the development and early history of Central Park than ever before. In this illustrated lecture, Brenwall will give us a lush look at the park’s creation, and show off early examples of Olmsted and Vaux’s extraordinary vision.
REGISTRATION: Opens Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 at 12PM EST Already a member? Book here when registration opens!
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Tucked inside an unmarked warehouse in Long Island City, there is a priceless assortment of Tiffany glass, a colorful assemblage of odds and ends that make up part of the largest Tiffany collection ever assembled. Brilliant pieces of flat glass in sheets and shards and beguiling glass “jewels,” more than a quarter of a million pieces in total, are are stored in towering rows of shelves and drawers. Untapped New York Insiders are invited into the archives for a behind-the-scenes tour led by Lindsy Parrott, the Executive Director and Curator of The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass. On this tour, guests will see the collection come to life with dazzling lighting demonstrations and an up-close look at the stunning glass pieces. Participants will learn the secrets behind Tiffany’s groundbreaking innovations in glassmaking and his revolutionary contributions to the art of stained glass.
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Photograph by Pascal Perich, Courtesy of the French Cheese Board
Untapped Insiders are invited to enjoy a relaxing night of wine and cheese where they will be able to experience the all new “Sweet Cheese” photo exhibit at The French Cheese Board. The evening will begin with a formal wine and cheese pairing led by The French Cheese Board team. Insiders will get to taste various French wines that are paired perfectly with a spread of French cheeses. The pairing will be followed by the opportunity to explore the new exhibit “Sweet Cheese” and the rest of the French Cheese Board. The exhibit features images of mouthwatering desserts crafted by six prominent New York City chefs with various French cheeses. The photographs will be on view through December 31, 2019.
REGISTRATION: This event is booked out! Please sign up below to be notified when more spots become available!
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Explore the striking documentary photography of Henry Chalfant and Bronx-native Alvin Baltrop in two exhibitions at the Bronx Museum on a members-only tour for Untapped New York Insiders. Chalfant documented the street art and urban culture in New York City during the 1970s and ’80s when graffiti artists took over subway trains as their canvas. The exhibit, Henry Chalfant: Art vs. Transit, 1977-1987 brings back to life a tumultuous, transitionary period in New York City that produced creative movements that became global phenomena. In the exhibit The Life and Times of Alvin Baltrop, Insiders will get to see portraits and photographs of New York City that “convey the raw energy that characterized some of the city’s most impassioned grassroots campaigns for survival” with a focus on the underground gay culture that flourished along the Hudson River during the 1970s.
REGISTRATION: Opens Thursday, October 31st, 2019 at 12PM EST
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How did an unassuming sandstone inspire an iconic architectural movement? When originally published in 1972, Bricks & Brownstonesparked a revival and reappraisal of New York’s brownstone architecture, serving as a harbinger for both the preservation movement and demographic shifts that would redefine Brooklyn’s brownstone belt. At the Brooklyn Historical Society, join Patrick Ciccone, coauthor of the newly updated, re-released volume, as he illustrates how a brown Triassic-Jurassic sandstone captured the imagination of nineteenth century architects and masons, and continues to define the public streetscape for countless New Yorkers today. Ciccone’s presentation will be followed by a conversation contextualizing the last five decades of brownstone communities with architectural historian Fran Leadon.
REGISTRATION: Opens Tuesday, October 29th, 2019 at 12PM EST Already a member? Book here when registration opens!
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Gain exclusive access inside the Friars Club, a members only social club known for its rowdy celebrity roasts and legendary members. On this tour led by Clubhouse Manager Anthony Trombetta, Insiders will see the many rooms of the clubhouse, or monastery as it is called, which are named after some if the most famous friars like Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, and Barbra Streisand. Housed inside a landmarked mansion built in 1909, the clubhouse retains nearly all of its stunning original architectural features such as large windows of stained glass, intricately decorated brass hardware, and stately fireplaces. As you weave your way through the halls once travelled by the likes of Jerry Lewis and Johnny Carson, guests will learn about the history of the 115-year old club and its plans for the future.
REGISTRATION: This event is booked out! Please sign up below to be notified when more spots become available!
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Photograph by Jon Ortner, Courtesy of United Palace
Experience the classic Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest on the very big (52-foot) screen at United Palace. Before the film, Tiffany Vazquez, Senior Manager of Editorial at GIPHY (for all film-related GIFs), and Film historian Lou Lumenick will give an introduction. The classic film about a New York City advertising executive who goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies stars Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. The opulent theater was first built in 1930 as one of the first Loews Wonder Theaters.
REGISTRATION: Opens Thursday, October 31st, 2019 at 12PM EST Already a member? Book here when registration opens
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November 17th – MSG All Access Tour
Madison Square Garden just revamped its MSG All Access Tour which brings guests into spaces usually off-limits to the public. Depending on what type of event is going on that day, the tour may include a trip to the Ranger’s penalty box, the chance to see what it’s like to sit court side at a Knicks game, or a peek backstage. The tour will hit the Garden 366 and Defining Moments exhibits, as well as bring you to different vantage points around the arena, from the famous floor to the suite level and press box. You will get to see the Knicks and Rangers locker rooms, and participate in a brand-new virtual reality experience. When you put on the VR googles you are transported onstage with Billy Joel (who’s piano sits outside the main entrance of the Garden) and to the stands of a basketball and hockey game. Along the way you will learn interesting facts about the Garden’s history.
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As a new generation of “Master Builders” transform our city at a breakneck pace, we take stock of the megaprojects that have shaped New York, from Rockefeller Center and Roosevelt Island to the newly-minted Hudson Yards. Distinguished urban historians Dr. Lizabeth Cohen, Daniel Okrent, and Dr. Samuel Zipp join urban planner Regina Myer to consider the complex legacies of NYC’s sprawling real estate projects, then and now, at the Museum of the City of New York. Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Paul Goldberger moderates. A reception will follow.
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Hart Island, a highly restricted site run by the New York Department of Corrections, is the final resting place to over one million of the city’s unclaimed, unidentified or forgotten residents. Access to the Island is largely reserved for close relations of those buried on the Island, but this November, Untapped New York Insiders have the chance to visit the Island for a rarely accessed view. Insiders will gain access to the gazebo viewing area from which many of the Island burial sites, monuments, and buildings can be observed. A knowledgeable staff member will be on hand to answer any questions.
This storied Island off the coast of the Bronx in the Long Island Sound has served as a mass burial ground since 1869. Since then, the Island has served many other functions as well. Throughout its history, Hart Island has served as a military barracks for the U.S. Navy during World War II, a narcotics rehabilitation center, a quarantine zone for yellow fever, a prison, women’s insane asylum, a tuberculosis hospital, a Cold War Nike missile base, and a training camp.
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Gage & Tollner, Oyster and Chop House circa 1960, Photographic postcard, V1988.54.22; Brooklyn Historical Society.
For decades, the famed Brooklyn restaurant Gage & Tollner, one of the city’s oldest, was hidden inside a discount jewelry and clothing store, but now, the hotspot once frequented by icons like Truman Capote, Mae West, and Jimmy Durante is making a comeback. Built in 1875, the restaurant operated at 372 Fulton Street from 1892 until the mid 1990s. It was a place where New York city’s elite families and the celebrities of the day dined amidst elegant surroundings. This winter, Gage & Tollner will be re-opened to its full glory, but before that, Untapped New York Insiders will have the chance to go inside and see the restoration in progress.
REGISTRATION: Opens Thursday, November 7th, 2019 at 12PM EST
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Nicole Saraniero is the Insider-in-Chief at Untapped New York, leading our Untapped New York Insiders membership program. Nicole graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Televis
Photograph by Argenis Apolinario Photography
