Sharing and Nurturing the Treasures of New York City's Neighborhoods Through Our Guided Tours.
Amazing as it is to think of now, New York Harbor once held half the world’s oysters. Over time, however, the oyster beds disappeared 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!
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. 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 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.
Andrew Gustafson, Blogger and Cartographer
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. Check out more of his writing and research on his personal website.
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. Check out more of his writing and research on his personal website.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rebecca Karrin, Marketing Intern
rebeccak@urbanoyster.com
Rebecca is a little fish in a big sea. Her passion in life is to explore the vastness of this green earth, to see and do as much as possible before the light goes out, all while churning cream into butter. Born in New York, birthing from the forgotten borough, she appreciates the greatness of availability, the easy access to everything, and the rich diversity that comes along with such a melting pot of cultures. But what she really cherishes is the backbone of the city, the little spots that people forget about when overwhelmed by sooo many options. It’s the nook and crannies of a place that create the magic and these ‘best kept secrets’ are what she spends her time trying to discover all around the world. With a well traveled background, a belief that the big things just aren’t so big, and infused by the desire to learn and through that grow, she is all too excited to be a contributing factor in the future of Urban Oyster, a company she truly believes will soon be dubbed a best kept secret for experiencing the real New York.
rebeccak@urbanoyster.com
Rebecca is a little fish in a big sea. Her passion in life is to explore the vastness of this green earth, to see and do as much as possible before the light goes out, all while churning cream into butter. Born in New York, birthing from the forgotten borough, she appreciates the greatness of availability, the easy access to everything, and the rich diversity that comes along with such a melting pot of cultures. But what she really cherishes is the backbone of the city, the little spots that people forget about when overwhelmed by sooo many options. It’s the nook and crannies of a place that create the magic and these ‘best kept secrets’ are what she spends her time trying to discover all around the world. With a well traveled background, a belief that the big things just aren’t so big, and infused by the desire to learn and through that grow, she is all too excited to be a contributing factor in the future of Urban Oyster, a company she truly believes will soon be dubbed a best kept secret for experiencing the real New York.
Adam Davidson, Marketing Intern and 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!
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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.