Posted: Dec 9, 2014 | 3:05 PM
by Jared Goldstein
1975: President Ford approves a $2.3 billion loan to prevent New York City bankruptcy. We were two days away from defaulting on huge loan payments, saving us from bankruptcy.
Teens on my NYC group tours don't seem to understand NYC's transformations. They were born twenty five years after, brought up on glamorous NYC shows and movies, not Serpico, French Connection, and Taxi Driver, among others.
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Posted: Dec 7, 2014 | 7:44 PM
by Jared Goldstein
1902: Thomas Nast, one of the most influential people in media, the late 19th Century Cartoonist who invented or defined images including: 'Uncle Sam,' the Democrat Jack-ass (Donkey) the Republican Elephant, and Santa Claus as a fat jolly old elf giving presents to children* or scurrying down chimneys, the great Harper's Weekly Cartoonist died.
Nast's pen, imagination, originality, wit, boldness, skill and directness was feared by politicians and the corrupt.
NYC's Boss Tweed detested Nast's nasty depictions of him. When Tweed was on the lamb in Spain, he was recognized and captuted because of Nast's cartoons.
Some big wigs set up a phony foundation which offered him $100,000 for Nast to study art in Europe. Tweed, ever the wag, bid the bribers up to $500,000 and then he declined the fellowship. Probably a good idea. Bumping him off in Europe would be one way of extending his study abroad.
*Thomas Nast is featured in my Santa Claus the NYC Tour. Book a private tour of Santa Claus' true NYC history.
I have some Nast Santa Claus drawings in the Destinations page and on my Santa the NYC Tour facebook page.
Posted: Dec 4, 2014 | 7:10 PM
by Jared Goldstein
Thank you for doing your usual excellent job. J
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Posted: Dec 4, 2014 | 7:03 PM
by Jared Goldstein
Hello Jared,
Heard things went very well today.…Thank you for making their tour experience a real success!
J from Pa.
Posted: Nov 2, 2014 | 1:29 AM
by Jared Goldstein
"
Hi Jared. Just thought I'd say thanks again for our tour on Tuesday. The
students really enjoyed it. All the best for the future. From Mr M... and
The ... School." U.K.
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Posted: Nov 2, 2014 | 12:02 AM
by Jared Goldstein
"Thanks for the great job Jared - It was good working with you."
- fellow Tour Guide who hired me to work in tandem with him.
"Hi Jared: Thank you for taking such good care of
our customers...and thank you again for taking care of our clients."
"Received a call from ___ ___ from __ and he is
coming back for a Hudson River Valley and NYC Tours. He asked for you, of
course. ... Mark your
calendar."
- Receptive Tour Operator.
Posted: Oct 17, 2014 | 1:16 AM
by Jared Goldstein
I did a neighborhood tour for a company that wants to orient its employees to their new location.
"On Oct 15, 2014 4:14 PM, "E. C." wrote:
Jared,
Today was great!
We would like to do another tour like this one for some more employees. Are you available on November 7, 2014 around the same time?"
Posted: Oct 17, 2014 | 1:11 AM
by Jared Goldstein
"[The] passengers are continuing to enjoy the NYC tours this year, so the more tours the merrier!"
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Posted: Oct 6, 2014 | 12:24 AM
by Jared Goldstein
"Hello Jared,
We made it home last night....
I thought you might like these two photos [of you and my daughter dancing with a Chinese Opera ensemble in a Chinatown park] and knowing that we made it around the city all by Subway on Friday and Saturday morning! We were pretty excited about that accomplishment! Thanks again for showing us the ropes....we managed to get to NYU, Hunter, and City College as well as FAO Schwarz, the Empire State Building, and more. Such fun....
Take Care"
T from Ohio.
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Posted: Oct 6, 2014 | 12:16 AM
by Jared Goldstein
"Hi Jared
Thank you for all your hard work today, everyone had a good time and learned lots."
D. from UK cruise ship tour
[This was a tough tour, since two passengers delayed the tour because they got lost before it started. I gave a New York City talk about history and immigration, and what it is like to live in NYC, as we circled around the piers for a half hour.
And the bus didn't have a working microphone. Luckily, I had my personal amplifier that day.]
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