Tour the neighborhood from the comfort of your couch

If you’re not getting out much these days, it may be a fun diversion to tour the neighborhood with comedian and NYC tour guide Tomas Delgado, who starts at the top (Canal) and wends his way down (Chambers), hitting a lot of the hotspots. He’s also got some fun tidbits that I had never heard, such as the man behind the word Roxy and its connection to the Rockettes. He hits among lots of others the Liquor Store at 2 White; the American Thread building and its Keith Haring mural on the wall (Dianne??); and Ladder 8, the Ghostbuster’s firehouse on N. Moore.

(The video also reminds me that I want to catalog — and then complain about — the sidewalk bridges all over the neighborhood.)

I did want to know how he gets his intel, and he explained: “The videos I have done are all tours that I have given in the past so most of the framework of information and route is already in place, but to flesh them out, I go through blogs, restaurant and institution websites, newspapers, and books. Before the pandemic, I worked for different tour companies, but have recently focused more on private tours.”

I might take issue with some of his observations (like black cars waiting to pick kids up at Washington Market Park?) but he hits a lot of fun highlights. He also makes sure to mention the Cary Building, which happens to be my fave and ends with Civic Fame on the top of the Municipal Building and the model on which she was based, and the landmarks on Chambers. As the video ends, a bike protest rolls down Broadway. “New York’s not dead, baby, at least not yet.”

 
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11 Comments

  1. Appreciate the effort but poor lighting and failure to identify the streets he was walking on made this a tour of failed potential.

  2. This is awesome! Tom’s tours are absolutely amazing. There’s no one out there doing what he does. Thank you for this article!

  3. excellent! so fun to see my neighborhood through the lens of a tour guide – I def picked up some new knowledge and will pay more attention to details on the buildings. tom is clearly a natural in front of the camera – I intended to only watch for a few minutes and ended up watching the whole thing! thanks, tom!

  4. This sounds great. Definitely will check out.

  5. Really enjoyed this video. I worked & lived in Tribeca from the late ’80s (before it was swanky) up to 9/11 (after it was a perpetual construction site) at which point I moved up to Westchester. Miss the spirit of Tribeca. Nice to see these favorite locations again. And heck yes, Bubby’s will always have the best darn pancakes.

  6. Use to work in TriBeCa, enjoyed walking the neighborhood again. Would have liked more of the streets to be identified, as well as the history. But that aside, this was a fun tour.

  7. Tom is the best. His tours are both informative and entertaining. I’ve learned a lot watching his tours. Thank you, Tom.

  8. You won’t go wrong following the antics of TDNYC and his knowledge is just sick. He knows stuff you wouldn’t even think of about NYC. The history bod the city, the streets, the buildings and anything inbetween. You get a cupful of humour bin every video, a few sick plugs, a couple of “ anyways “ thrown in just to wind up the Brits 😂😂😂

  9. tomd@nyc is a rock star! One of THE best tour guides in NYC, both for his incredible knowledge and awesome delivery! I get a kick out of watching his diverse and fascinating videos on YouTube, including some that he has done in Spanish!
    Thank you for sharing! Tom is a hidden gem imho!

  10. Tom D’s knowledge of all areas of NYC is incredible. The history, the architecture and the human stories are all here. Check out his other videos!

  11. Well done video! You should do a 2nd episode . So many old buildings on TriBeCa. And of course the coolest little street ,Staple St.

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