New York City welcomes everyone, even if the popular imagination sometimes paints New Yorkers as gruff and standoffish fast talkers and walkers with business on their minds. And perhaps no local organization embodies the welcoming spirit of the City more than Big Apple Greeter, a free service that pairs visitors with NYC volunteers who show them around.
What started as an initiative of the Manhattan borough president’s office in the early 1990s spun off into a nonprofit volunteer network that has spread worldwide. Any visitor can book the service, and any New Yorker can sign up to be a greeter. Founder Lynn Brooks aimed to dispel the idea that the City was unapproachable or too expensive; she wanted the rest of the world to see it as she and fellow locals did. In doing so, Brooks formulated an inclusive recipe that both inherently reflects New York City and provides a blueprint for greeters everywhere.
According to Gail Morse, director of programs and volunteers, those who are attracted to the service—both greeters and visitors—are “people people.” They want to engage. They want to connect. They are curious and open to surprises, rather than looking to follow a script.
How It Works
Visitors in groups of up to six people traveling together fill out request forms that ask questions about their party and their interests. (Big Apple Greeter does not combine different groups like tours do.) A drop-down list of popular topics includes photography, NYC daily life, theater and residential neighborhoods. Other details include languages spoken and if a traveler requires any reasonable accommodations—further testament to how Big Apple Greeter works to welcome all.
Volunteer greeters—of which there are nearly 200 at present—review the incoming requests; match themselves up, taking into account date of availability, neighborhood, language and shared interests; and correspond with the visitors. The organization averages around four to six greets a day, which typically run around four hours each. Requests come in year-round, with nearly 6,000 from April 2023 to March 2024.
Greeter Bob Nathanson
NYC Greets the Lemmons
Earlier this year the Lemmon family, who were traveling from a small village outside Peterborough in England for their first trip to NYC, filled out such a request, noting an interest in sustainability (both parents have jobs related to the field) and the outdoors—an affinity shared by the person who would become their greeter, Bob Nathanson.
A retired professor who started as a volunteer about three years ago, Nathanson usually does multiple greets a month, covering spots such as Coney Island; the Upper West Side, where he now lives; and the Lower East Side, where he lived as a kid (and where he says he “grew up on Economy Candy,” the oldest candy shop in the City).
We accompanied the Lemmons on their greet with Nathanson this summer, and we saw and learned a lot, as one might expect over eight hours, two boroughs and more than 20,000 steps—the last number confirming one thing Morse emphasizes: “Greeters walk.”
After a walk in the woods, the Lemmons head to the Meer
The Meet-Up, Then a Path Less Traveled in Central Park
Nathanson met the Lemmons at their hotel, the Innside New York Nomad, which is typical for a greet. From there, it was over to the C train and up to Central Park, specifically its less-visited northern section.
On the walk, Nathanson discussed the competition to design the park, the rise and subsequent razing of Seneca Village, a free Black community on part of the land that was seized to build the park, and the wind-resistant design of distant skyscrapers from a vantage point at the reservoir. In the North Woods, there was a real sense of nature in the man-made landscape: changes in elevation, water running over rocks and the rusticity of the Huddlestone Arch, which uses nothing but the pressure of the rocks to hold itself in place.
After circling Harlem Meer and learning that the anglers at the edge of the water were fishing for bass and koi (don’t worry; it’s all catch and release), the group exited near the northeast corner of the park, at around 109th Street and Fifth Avenue.
The group passes St. Cecilia's Parish on its unhurried way to lunch
Around East Harlem and the Upper East Side
A few blocks away at the Graffiti Hall of Fame, covering the walls surrounding the schoolyard of the Jackie Robinson Educational Complex, there was talk of hip-hop’s birth and questions of what graffiti artist tags the family might use.
Heading south on Lexington Avenue, Nathanson shared stories of working in the neighborhood before it began to gentrify, as well as expounding on why buildings over six stories have water towers on their roofs. During lunch at Tal Bagels, Charlotte Lemmon asked what a standard bagel order was in New York City (Nathanson’s response: smoked salmon and cream cheese). One of her sons’ bagel sandwich looked anything but standard: a pile of salami so high, half the meat needed to be removed for it to even look possible to eat.
The family’s ties to the environment (and time spent in their own garden) shone through in Carl Schurz Park, in front of Gracie Mansion. One of the Lemmon sons casually displayed a deep knowledge of birding while spotting a few; his recitation of species would put him in good stead to lead his own nature-oriented walk.
Greeter Bob points the way
A Ferry Ride Along the East River
Waiting for the NYC Ferry at the East 90th Street dock, a secret society formed: Nathanson spotted two fellow greeters waiting to board. He had led a group of volunteers on an excursion the previous week to familiarize them with the ferry system. They were taking his lead and on their way to a greet themselves.
The ride contends for one of the best ways to see the City, tacking along the East River between Upper Manhattan and Lower Manhattan, with views along the way of Roosevelt Island, the Queensboro Bridge—the sight of which inspired Nathanson to croon a snippet of “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” (who knew that live entertainment was part of the package!)—Long Island City’s classic Pepsi-Cola sign, the Chrysler and Empire State buildings, the Brooklyn Navy Yard and dozens of other moments of interest.
Bob and the Lemmon family take in the streets of Dumbo
The Views from the Brooklyn Waterfront
By the time we transferred ferries and made it to Dumbo, a small break was in order: ice cream from Van Leeuwen. Over cups and cones, Nathanson talked about the Brooklyn Bridge and the legacy of its unsung hero, Emily Warren Roebling, who took over management of its construction after her husband was sidelined by the bends, as well as PT Barnum’s safety demonstration, done with the help of a score of elephants.
Upon arrival at Washington Street between Front and Water, Nathanson delighted in showing why the street is known as the most Instagrammable place in NYC (hint: it has to do with the view of the distant Empire State Building aligning within the arches of the Manhattan Bridge). Obligatory photos taken, the next move was to the Archway, site of the weekend Brooklyn Flea, and to the waterfront pickleball courts, the popularity of which was discussed back in Central Park.
Fittingly, after a stroll through Brooklyn Heights, the last leg was a walk back to Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge—finishing a greet that lasted around the average length of time Nathanson says is typical for him.
The Lemmons and the author head underground
After the Greet
According to Morse, “By the time [greeters and visitors] meet, they are already friends.” Sometimes they stay that way. Nathanson says that he has kept in touch with several visitors, and that one family he led around, from Aarhus in Denmark, told him to let them know if he was ever in the area. On a trip to Scandinavia, Nathanson and his wife did just that. They met up with the family, who showed them around their city, made them a full Danish dinner and even drove them back to their hotel.
Indeed, the Lemmons say that the greet exceeded their high expectations and their favorite part was Nathanson himself, in his generosity with his time and how he brought the City to life. “He stopped our trip from just being about seeing a lot of landmarks and was able to talk about things we shared an interest in and show us things we didn’t know we were interested in,” Charlotte Lemmon says.
When asked, after the family’s return to England, if the Lemmons would recommend Big Apple Greeter to others, Charlotte responds they “already have.” There’s no better testament that the recipe still works.
To register for a greet, begin the process here.
