Archive for Walking Tours

See the New York Stock Exchange while you can

Andrew D. Smith | April 23, 2011 | No comments

There will be a stock exchange at the corner of Wall and Broad streets for many more years, I’d guess, but it probably won’t be called the New York Stock Exchange for much longer.

The NYSE — which is actually NYSE Euronext because of an earlier merger — is looking to sell itself to Deutsche Börse AG for $9.3 billion. The merged entity could, of course, choose to call itself the NYSE, but I’d guess that national pride will keep the Germans from doing that.

And even if the name remains the same, you just won’t feel the same looking at the grand columns and the big flag and knowing that a German firm controls it.

Related Posts:

  • No Related Posts
Category: Dirty Deeds, Walking Tours | Tags: ,

Compensation for Ground Zero workers

Andrew D. Smith | October 22, 2010 | No comments

People who take my Wall Street & Ground Zero Walking Tour often ask how many people became sick from airborne toxins around Ground Zero and how such people had been compensated. Oddly, both questions remain unsettled, but here’s the latest news.

The Port Authority has added $47 million to a group of just over 9,000 people who filed a lawsuit against the agency citing actual or potential health problems related to Ground Zero. That offer comes in addition to a $712.5 million offer that the city made a slightly larger group of litigants a few months back. (More people sued the city than the Port Authority.)

But neither settlement is a done deal. Large majorities of litigants must approve them before November 8, if they are to take effect.

As for the compensation per person, that also defies easy calculation. The money won’t be split evenly. People with minor problems would get just a few thousand dollars in compensation while seriously injured people (or their survivors) would get much, much more.

Related Posts:

Category: Walking Tours | Tags: ,

August in New York: It can’t be as bad as July

Andrew D. Smith | July 28, 2010 | No comments

Here’s good news for folks who scheduled their New York City vacations for August rather than July: the weather can only get better. Barring an unexpected cold front in the next couple days, this July will narrowly edge out July, 1999 to become the hottest month ever measured in New York. The average temperature so far, including nighttime lows, has been 81.6 degrees.

Thankfully, weather watchers expect that temperatures will be much closer to normal in August, which is always cooler than July anyway. August highs in New York average 83 degrees, two degrees under July. The average August average is 76 degrees — nearly six degrees cooler than has been so far this month and, thus, perfect for a walking tour.

Related Posts:

Category: Walking Tours | Tags: , , , ,

On Vacation: May 23 to June 4

Andrew D. Smith | May 24, 2010 | No comments

I’ll resume blogging — and walking tours — once I get back.

Related Posts:

  • No Related Posts
Category: Walking Tours

Weaker Euro: Why Europeans can still afford New York

Andrew D. Smith | May 19, 2010 | No comments

The euro has fallen 20 percent against the dollar in less than two months, but Europeans shouldn’t worry that they won’t be able to afford a trip to New York now.

According to Bjorn Hanson, a professor of hospitality at New York University’s Tisch Center. Airfare is purchased in a tourist’s native currency, he points out, so it’s exempt from currency fluctuations. Accommodations, the other major expense for tourists, might appear vulnerable. But the city’s hotels have proven adept at balancing currency fluctuations by discounting room rates, a technique that allows the hospitality sector to “turn demand off and on through pricing,” he says.

“Hotel rates are about 30% lower than they were in 2007 at many major hotels,” Hanson explains.

And there are plenty of cheap activities here, like New York walking tours.

Related Posts:

Category: Walking Tours | Tags: , , ,

Reminder: No walks February 16 to March 2

Andrew D. Smith | February 13, 2010 | No comments

Metropolitan Walks is taking two weeks off to warm up. Our New York walking tours will resume on the same schedule on Wednesday, March 3.

Related Posts:

Category: Walking Tours | Tags: ,

The nightmare continues: More snow ahead

Andrew D. Smith | February 3, 2010 | One comment

And not just in the immediate forecast, though it is supposed to snow on Friday night.

The rest of February promises much more snow, according to the calculations of weather nerd Steve Fybish. Since 1947, New York City’s December snowfall has exceeded 8 inches in 12 times. In 11 of those 12 winters, it snowed at least 14 inches from February onward. In 9 of those 12 winters, it snowed at least 17 inches from February onward.

More than 12 inches of snow hit Central Park this December, so history predicts much more snow in the next six weeks.

Not good for walking tours.

On the bright side, the sun will shine 10 hours and 15 minutes tomorrow, a full hour more than on December 21.

Related Posts:

Category: Walking Tours | Tags: , , ,

One day meet-up change today

Andrew D. Smith | November 6, 2009 | No comments

A ticker-tape parade designed to honor the Yankees’ World Series victory will take place today at 11 a.m. and make it impossible to meet at the normal spot. I will thus — for this one day only — meet a block west at the corner of Morris and Greenwich streets.

Related Posts:

Category: Walking Tours | Tags: ,

New schedule starts Oct. 1

Andrew D. Smith | September 30, 2009 | No comments

Please remember that the starting times of both walks move ONE HOUR LATER starting tomorrow. The Money & Power Walk starts at 11 a.m. The Showbiz & Statecraft Walk starts at 2 p.m.

Related Posts:

Category: Walking Tours | Tags: , ,

Train delays kept me from the morning tour

Andrew D. Smith | September 19, 2009 | No comments

Repair work led PATH to cancel my morning train — without any notification. The next train put me at the meeting point 15 minutes too late.

I am extremely sorry for whatever inconvenience I caused. I take my commitment to be at the meeting points very seriously. I have never been more than two minutes late for a walk before this, even when terrible weather made it extremely unlikely that any customer would show up.

Again, I apologize and promise that I will alot even more spare time to make sure I arrive on time to future walks.

Related Posts:

Category: Walking Tours | Tags: , , , ,
« Older Entries