Take An Educational Stroll Around The Neighborhood With Jane’s Walk NYC

Jane’s Walk NYC is back and ready to remind New Yorkers new and old/grizzled how wonderful and awesome their city and neighborhood is.

The annual weekend of “free, citizen-led walking tours inspired by Jane Jacobs” — the 20th century journalist and champion of community-focused urban planning (aka the anti-Robert Moses) — is held nationwide and “get(s) people to tell stories about their communities, explore their cities, and connect with neighbors.”

Sponsored by the Municipal Art Society of New York, there are over 50 walks planned in Brooklyn alone; here in our corner of the world, there are a few to join:

• Friday, May 1 at 6pm: Brooklyn Navy Yard Walking Tour — Meet in the lobby of BLDG 92 at 63 Flushing Avenue. “Once America’s premier naval shipbuilding facility, the Brooklyn Navy Yard is now a thriving industrial park home to over 300 businesses. On this 90 minute walking tour, visitors will experience the history, mystery & industry of the Yard taking in sites from the country’s oldest continually operating dry dock to the first multi-story LEED Gold-certified industrial building. Given in partnership with Turnstile Tours, this tour will shed light on the rich history of the Yard and reveal development projects currently underway. Tour capacity is limited to 30 people and will be offered on a first-come-first-serve basis. Participants beyond the first 30 will be invited for an after-hours exploration of our exhibit, Brooklyn Navy Yard: Past, Present & Future.” (Led by Cindy VandenBosch of Turnstile Tours.

• Saturday, May 2 at 11am: Fort Greene Lean — Meet in front of Barclays Center, walk towards Fort Greene Park and then to the Brooklyn Flea. “Along tree-lined brownstone blocks, we’ll make stops at a Revolutionary War sights, Charles Pratt’s mansions, murals and schools of Biggie, a (supposed) Underground Railroad stop, the park that inspired Walt Whitman’s and Richard Wright’s writings and see several architectural gems.” (Led by neighbor Mike Fraietta.)

• Sunday, May 3 at 2pm: Art at Pratt and Beyond — Meet at the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Saint James Place. “Travel between the two centuries and look at the 19th  century architecture as a background for contemporary art on the grounds of Pratt Institute. Join this adventure to the past and discover new local attractions and stories. There are treasures all around!” (Led by Diane Dias De Fazio (an architectural historian, librarian and Pratt student) and Anna Efanova.)

If you’d like to also explore neighborhoods you’re unfamiliar with, check out the full list of NYC walks. See you out there!