Share Your Neighborhood Knowledge and Lead a Tour for Jane's Walk 2025
Enthusiastic locals can now submit tour plans for the May event, which features free walking tours in all five boroughs.
A walk through Sunset Park for Jane’s Walk 2024. Photo via Municipal Art Society
Share your passion for your neighborhood with other New Yorkers by volunteering to lead a tour for Jane’s Walk 2025. Enthusiastic locals can now submit tour plans for the May event, which features free walking tours in all five boroughs.
Hosted by the Municipal Art Society (MAS) since 2011, Jane’s Walk NYC is named after Jane Jacobs, opponent of powerful city planner Robert Moses and author of “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” the 1961 critique of 1950s urban planning policy. In the spirit of Jacobs, the free walks are meant to spark conversations about planning, history, preservation, development, and urban life. The New York City event is part of a global Jane’s Walk with hundreds of similar programs in cities around the world.
The 2025 New York edition will again feature both in-person walks and virtual experiences and each year there are usually over 200 offerings throughout the city. Those with a tour plan can submit their ideas online until March 31. The online form encourages using a snappy title and description, giving potential attendees important details about participation, and providing a sneak peek of some of the tour highlights.
Past Brooklyn tours have included a “smell walk” in Bushwick, a tour of the architectural treasures of East New York, an exploration of the Brooklyn waterfront and water quality, and an in-depth look at one street in Windsor Terrace. For those in need of a bit of inspiration, the full list of Brooklyn 2024 tours can still be seen online. MAS is also holding an information session on March 4 for those looking for more details.
If you are more interested in joining rather than leading a tour, the full calendar of events is usually announced in early April. This year’s event takes place from May 2 to 4. While all the events are free, reservations are usually required. More information about submitting or joining a tour can be found online.
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I lead a Jane’s Walk tour of the (then) three PLG Historic Districts 10 or 12 years ago.
Maybe we (I. e. the Lefferts Manor Association) can organize something this year. A walking tour in early May might be a good way to publicize our June 1st house tour. At this point I’m just speculating about it.
It would be great to have a PLG tour!