Sharing the hidden treasures of New York City's neighborhoods...
The People Behind Urban Oyster
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. When she's not collecting oral histories, digging around in old newspapers, or giving tours for Urban Oyster, Cindy gives tours at the Museum at Eldridge Street and teaches NYC history and geography to children who are blind or have low vision for City Access New York. Cindy formerly spent several years at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum where she developed tours, managed guides, and worked to make the museum accessible to visitors with special needs. Cindy has a BA in Anthropology and Russian Studies from the Univ. of Michigan and spent two years in Russia researching story telling traditions of ethnic minorities and working for an international development organization. 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.
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.
andrewg@urbanoyster.com
Andrew is a recent arrival to Brooklyn, having spent the past three years in graduate school at the University of Colorado-Boulder studying geography. Originally from New Haven, Connecticut, he is glad to be back near the ocean. Goals he wishes to accomplish while in New York include visiting every Russian bath house in the city, swimming to Liberty and Ellis islands (to avoid the ferry fee), and eating as much smoked fish as humanly possible. Andrew is the company's resident cartographer and sometimes tour guide, and in addition to writing for the Urban Oyster blog, he is the co-founder of the Walter Duranty Report.
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