Sharing and Nurturing the Treasures of
New York City's Neighborhoods One Tour at a Time.
Amazing as it is to imagine now, New York Harbor may have once contained half the world’s oysters. Over time, however, many oyster beds died off due to pollution and over-consumption. Learning from this history, Urban Oyster was founded on the belief that, like oysters, the neighborhoods of New York are treasured resources that require nurturing and cultivation in order to survive and flourish. Through dynamic hands-on tour experiences, Urban Oyster aims to reveal the hidden treasures of this great city, and in doing so, promote an appreciation for the neighborhoods we inherit. On our tours we explore with you how we can live in neighborhoods today in ways that support and value local production and consumption, cultural diversity, historic preservation, and sustainability for the benefit of generations to come. We hope you'll join us for a tour!
The Urban Oyster Team
Interested in joining our team? Please click here for more info
 | Cindy VandenBosch, Co-Founder and Tour Guide
cindyv@urbanoyster.com Cindy believes strongly that every person, building, and street corner has a story that needs to be heard and loves doing historical research. When she's not developing or giving tours for Urban Oyster, Cindy manages a project that helps to improve accessibility at museums throughout the city for visitors with autism and their families. She can also be found doing research or giving tours at the Museum at Eldridge Street, ran programs in recent years for kids with disabilities at City Access New York, and worked for four years at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. From Michigan to Russia to Brooklyn - no matter where Cindy has lived - she has always had a deep interest in the stories of the people and places that surround her, and is eager to share this enthusiasm with you on a neighborhood tour of New York City, a place she is very proud to call home. |
David Naczycz, Co-Founder and Tour Guide
davidn@urbanoyster.com
David is a dedicated urbanist and amateur historian who loves cities and their histories. He has traveled to and lived in a number of cities all over the world and, everywhere he goes, he immerses himself in the history of that place. A resident of New York City for over six years, David has a special interest in the world's greatest city and its history. One of his favorite activities when he's not leading a tour of the city is to explore greater New York by bike and his mission is to have cycled through every neighborhood in the city. He's also an entrepreneur who values sustainability, urban neighborhoods, and the people that live there. Over the past nine years, he has built a consulting practice working with the leaders of cities to help them create viable communities and while living in Detroit he founded Detroit Synergy, a grassroots non-profit that empowers every day citizens to get involved in improving their city. Now, through Urban Oyster, David has found a way to combine all the things that he loves: cities, history, and sustainability and he can't wait to share it with you.
Adam Davidson, Tour Guide
adamd@urbanoyster.com
Adam is an urban planner by training and a tour guide by avocation. He believes that cities are constantly evolving and by understanding that change – past and present – we can shape their future. Born in New York, he has lived all over the US and traveled extensively before returning two years ago and settling in Brooklyn. Professionally Adam has had a hand in designing bike routes in New Orleans, promoting transit in California, and planning for capital improvements of the New York Subway system. His favorite places are ones that mix history with a unique personality and an unusual setting: New York, New Orleans, and Barcelona are among his favorites. He is excited to combine his background with the excellent team at Urban Oyster to show you the BEST that New York has to offer!
adamd@urbanoyster.com
Adam is an urban planner by training and a tour guide by avocation. He believes that cities are constantly evolving and by understanding that change – past and present – we can shape their future. Born in New York, he has lived all over the US and traveled extensively before returning two years ago and settling in Brooklyn. Professionally Adam has had a hand in designing bike routes in New Orleans, promoting transit in California, and planning for capital improvements of the New York Subway system. His favorite places are ones that mix history with a unique personality and an unusual setting: New York, New Orleans, and Barcelona are among his favorites. He is excited to combine his background with the excellent team at Urban Oyster to show you the BEST that New York has to offer!
Adam Schwartz, Tour Guide
adams@urbanoyster.com
Adam Schwartz is a full time teacher and part time tour guide, licensed for both by the City of New York. He is currently celebrating 10 years as a New Yorker and 7 years as a teacher, all of it in Bushwick, Brooklyn. He co-teaches an interdisciplinary geography course focusing on the History of NYC. As you might imagine, he became a tour guide through conducting field trips. Through his time in Bushwick, Adam has developed a passion for the tumultuous history of the neighborhood. He co-curated an exhibition for the Brooklyn Historical Society, Up From Flames: Mapping a Recovery of Bushwick 1977-2007. His work continues, in short documentary films (3 so far) and regular tours of the area. Building on the success of his Bushwick work, Adam has joined the Urban Oyster team, giving regular tours of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He's working on more tours to keep the city interesting! Adam originally hails from Atlanta, GA—his parents both escaped NYC, but he has since made up for their efforts. He holds two masters, an MSc in History of Empire from the London School of Economics, and an MEd form Long Island University. When not working, he is exploring the city.
adams@urbanoyster.com
Adam Schwartz is a full time teacher and part time tour guide, licensed for both by the City of New York. He is currently celebrating 10 years as a New Yorker and 7 years as a teacher, all of it in Bushwick, Brooklyn. He co-teaches an interdisciplinary geography course focusing on the History of NYC. As you might imagine, he became a tour guide through conducting field trips. Through his time in Bushwick, Adam has developed a passion for the tumultuous history of the neighborhood. He co-curated an exhibition for the Brooklyn Historical Society, Up From Flames: Mapping a Recovery of Bushwick 1977-2007. His work continues, in short documentary films (3 so far) and regular tours of the area. Building on the success of his Bushwick work, Adam has joined the Urban Oyster team, giving regular tours of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He's working on more tours to keep the city interesting! Adam originally hails from Atlanta, GA—his parents both escaped NYC, but he has since made up for their efforts. He holds two masters, an MSc in History of Empire from the London School of Economics, and an MEd form Long Island University. When not working, he is exploring the city.
 | Allison Radecki, Tour Guide
allisonr@urbanoyster.com Always game to sample a local specialty, Allison’s passions for travel, writing and discovering the taste of a place have steered her around the globe and then some. These edible quests have found her gnawing happily on a hacked off stick of sugarcane in a Kenyan outdoor market, crunching on crispy chickpea fritters at a lively Palermo intersection and observing tofu being made in a dimly-lit Kyoto alley kitchen. |
With a career that spans work with the International Slow Food Movement, a degree from the Italian University of Gastronomic Sciences and various published magazine articles, she is thrilled to guide visitors through the global deliciousness of Manhattan’s midtown lunch possibilities.
Andrew Gustafson, Blogger, Cartographer & Researcher
andrewg@urbanoyster.com
Trained as a geographer, the mission of Urban Oyster resonates well with Andrew's interests and experience. Originally from Hamden, Connecticut, he has spent the past several years studying political geography in Colorado, writing about hockey in Siberia, and exploring the hidden history of New York City. An avid outdoorsman and birdwatcher, Andrew loves finding the beauty of the natural world even in the midst of the city (though he laments the paucity of rodeos where one can eat giant turkey legs, pictured). With one foot still in academia, he contributes his research expertise to the development of new tours, and his own research interests include various criminal justice issues, Russian politics, and baseball history. You can read about his investigations – and those of the rest of the Urban Oyster team – on the Urban Oyster Blog, which he writes and edits. Andrew also creates the maps that we provide to our tour participants, which help orient them in the neighborhoods we visit and act as a tool to continue their explorations even after the tour is over. See more of Andrew's writing and designs on his personal website.
andrewg@urbanoyster.com
Trained as a geographer, the mission of Urban Oyster resonates well with Andrew's interests and experience. Originally from Hamden, Connecticut, he has spent the past several years studying political geography in Colorado, writing about hockey in Siberia, and exploring the hidden history of New York City. An avid outdoorsman and birdwatcher, Andrew loves finding the beauty of the natural world even in the midst of the city (though he laments the paucity of rodeos where one can eat giant turkey legs, pictured). With one foot still in academia, he contributes his research expertise to the development of new tours, and his own research interests include various criminal justice issues, Russian politics, and baseball history. You can read about his investigations – and those of the rest of the Urban Oyster team – on the Urban Oyster Blog, which he writes and edits. Andrew also creates the maps that we provide to our tour participants, which help orient them in the neighborhoods we visit and act as a tool to continue their explorations even after the tour is over. See more of Andrew's writing and designs on his personal website.
Brian Hoffman, Tour Guide
brianh@urbanoyster.com
Brian is a trained actor (and waiter by default) who in the 9 years he's lived in New York has developed a passion for the city, its culture, and its food. There's nothing he loves more than walking through the streets as the neighborhoods, people, and architecture change. And now as a tour guide, he hopes to help locals and visitors alike discover the unique and unexpected stories of these neighborhoods. In addition to giving tours, Brian has a food blog (Eat This NY) and web series where he searches for the most authentic and delicious food adventures in the city. He manages to take about one good road trip a year to see the country (and try regional cuisine) but is always eager to come back home to the city that has everything.
brianh@urbanoyster.com
Brian is a trained actor (and waiter by default) who in the 9 years he's lived in New York has developed a passion for the city, its culture, and its food. There's nothing he loves more than walking through the streets as the neighborhoods, people, and architecture change. And now as a tour guide, he hopes to help locals and visitors alike discover the unique and unexpected stories of these neighborhoods. In addition to giving tours, Brian has a food blog (Eat This NY) and web series where he searches for the most authentic and delicious food adventures in the city. He manages to take about one good road trip a year to see the country (and try regional cuisine) but is always eager to come back home to the city that has everything.
Joe Watts, Tour Guide
joew@urbanoyster.com
Joe's first beer was, regretfully, a warm Miller Lite drunk after the homecoming dance in high school. Since that day, the search for better beer experiences has led him to jobs brewing for McAuslan Brewing Co. in Montreal, Quebec, and writing about beer for newspapers and tour guides in Montreal and Portland, Oregon. Now, at Urban Oyster, he leads packs of adventurous drinkers around New York's best neighborhood for beer, Williamsburg.
joew@urbanoyster.com
Joe's first beer was, regretfully, a warm Miller Lite drunk after the homecoming dance in high school. Since that day, the search for better beer experiences has led him to jobs brewing for McAuslan Brewing Co. in Montreal, Quebec, and writing about beer for newspapers and tour guides in Montreal and Portland, Oregon. Now, at Urban Oyster, he leads packs of adventurous drinkers around New York's best neighborhood for beer, Williamsburg.
Laura Lee, Tour Guide
laural@urbanoyster.com
In her past lives Laura has been a page at a public library, a sports reporter and an editor at non-profit teen newspaper. She couldn't be happier to reinvent herself in New York as a tour guide, especially one that celebrates craft beer. She started drinking beer at the appropriate age of 21 and became a homebrewer while living in Los Angeles. A morning person, Laura strongly believes in breakfast beer and is convinced that if you think you don't like beer, you simply haven't had the right one yet. Laura studied journalism in college and got a master's degree in American Studies doing research on women's boxing. Living without a television, she is on a quest to find a bar that shows tennis at 8 a.m. and serves good beer.
laural@urbanoyster.com
In her past lives Laura has been a page at a public library, a sports reporter and an editor at non-profit teen newspaper. She couldn't be happier to reinvent herself in New York as a tour guide, especially one that celebrates craft beer. She started drinking beer at the appropriate age of 21 and became a homebrewer while living in Los Angeles. A morning person, Laura strongly believes in breakfast beer and is convinced that if you think you don't like beer, you simply haven't had the right one yet. Laura studied journalism in college and got a master's degree in American Studies doing research on women's boxing. Living without a television, she is on a quest to find a bar that shows tennis at 8 a.m. and serves good beer.
Nick Capodice, Tour Guide
nickc@urbanoyster.com
Nick has lived in Brooklyn for 10 years, and hopes never to leave. His love for giving tours is only matched by his fondness for oysters, beer, Joseph Mitchell, and the lost art of walking. He currently works as an educator at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, where the stories of current NY families are given as much gravitas and respect as those of our ancestors. He is so fond of walking that he created a club called “The Ambulators”. When not giving tours, Nick is a professional harmonica player in The Flanks (a Brooklyn country band), a food writer (specializing in eating well as inexpensively as possible), and an actor. He believes firmly that every single building in New York has something worth getting excited about.
nickc@urbanoyster.com
Nick has lived in Brooklyn for 10 years, and hopes never to leave. His love for giving tours is only matched by his fondness for oysters, beer, Joseph Mitchell, and the lost art of walking. He currently works as an educator at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, where the stories of current NY families are given as much gravitas and respect as those of our ancestors. He is so fond of walking that he created a club called “The Ambulators”. When not giving tours, Nick is a professional harmonica player in The Flanks (a Brooklyn country band), a food writer (specializing in eating well as inexpensively as possible), and an actor. He believes firmly that every single building in New York has something worth getting excited about.
 | Princess Yahmeela Aziza Serna
princessy@urbanoyster.com Princess has always been driven by curiosity and loves making new discoveries. From the time she was a kid growing up in the neighborhoods of Bushwick and Bedford Stuyvesant until this day, she has always wondered about the old and abandoned buildings of Brooklyn and enjoys uncovering the mysteries behind them. Fluent in Spanish, Japanese, and English, Princess is a fashion and shoe designer who loves to knit and embroider. Although she was raised in Brooklyn and now lives in Queens, she returns to her family farm in the Dominican Republic to harvest a variety of vegetables, including a variety of tubers and legumes. She is currently studying botany and horticulture at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, getting her PhD in biochemistry at Hunter College, and sharing her love of the lesser-known stories of New York City as a tour guide with Urban Oyster. |
 | Francisco Najera, Researcher
franciscon@urbanoyster.com Born and raised in Kensington, Brooklyn, Francisco is a walking man. He loves exploring his own neighborhood and the outermost reaches of the city on foot. In fact, he has walked the entire length of many of the streets of New York, including Brooklyn’s Flatbush Avenue, Manhattan’s Broadway, and The Bronx’s Grand Concourse. Francisco has worked in various educational non-profits and has given tours at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and of the Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum of Art. While he has spent most of his life in New York, he has also lived in Los Angeles, Austin, and has traveled through all of the contiguous 48 states. Francisco is especially passionate about immigrant rights and furthering Latino educational opportunities. This summer he has been working with Urban Oyster to conduct audio interviews with Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs in E. Williamsburg in anticipation of the launch of a new and upcoming Urban Oyster tour. Starting this fall, Francisco will be a doctoral student in the history department at the University of Chicago and hopes to focus on the history of Latino educational movements in New York City and beyond. |
Mark Foggin, Tour Developer and Tour Guide
Mark Foggin is a freelance journalist, public policy consultant and urban foodie. But most of all, Mark is a New Yorker. He has walked through and explored every one of the city’s more than 300 zip codes and biked along almost every edge of town. Along the way, he introduces visitors and residents alike to out-of-the way places that most people miss in their daily travels. When Mark isn’t sampling street food in Midtown, he is researching and publishing articles about New York City's neighborhoods and its economy for the New York Times, public radio, and local policy think tanks. Mark is a native Staten Islander, and has also lived in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Only the Bronx is left to conquer—and he’s looking!
Mark Foggin is a freelance journalist, public policy consultant and urban foodie. But most of all, Mark is a New Yorker. He has walked through and explored every one of the city’s more than 300 zip codes and biked along almost every edge of town. Along the way, he introduces visitors and residents alike to out-of-the way places that most people miss in their daily travels. When Mark isn’t sampling street food in Midtown, he is researching and publishing articles about New York City's neighborhoods and its economy for the New York Times, public radio, and local policy think tanks. Mark is a native Staten Islander, and has also lived in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Only the Bronx is left to conquer—and he’s looking!
 | Karin Bratone, Tour Guide
“Austrian by birth but New Yorker by choice”. Karin came to New York from Vienna, in 1980 as a tourist and immediately fell in love with the vibe of the city. She also fell in love with Steven, a native New Yorker. She has been working as a licensed NYC tour guide for many years and specializes in German language tours, see: www.karinbratone.com. In addition to being a busy tour guide for mostly European visitors she also works as a translator and interpreter. In her spare time she roams around the New York area documenting her trips in “photographic ramblings”. She has worked as a journalist for German magazines and contributed to a New York Edition of the German travel magazine GEO SPEZIAL. With her husband Steve she runs an |
online out-of-print and antiquarian book business. She is working with Urban Oyster, customizing a variety of their popular tours for German-speaking visitors to New York.
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A special thank you...
Speaking of treasuring what’s most important to us, we are so grateful for the many special people who have helped us create Urban Oyster by sharing their ideas, talents, and guidance with us. We’d especially like to thank the following friends and family members for their love and support: Cate Lloyd, Andrew Gustafson, Jim Kelly, Michael and Sue Naczycz, David VandenBosch, Greg VandenBosch, Charl David, Natalie Barakat, Todd Lefkovic, Jeff Tancil, Kate Fermoile, Jen Strader, Jen Starkey, Dave Rakovsky, Kristin Brenneman Eno, Sean Eno, Robert Frey, Aaron Sugiura, and everyone who has come on our practice tours. We couldn’t have done this without you.
