Spring Fever Tour! Conservatory Gardens to Randalls Island via East Harlem!

RSVP's open up on Tuesday, March 24th @ 8:00pm

Space is set aside for new members and other members who have yet to attend an in-person tour with our group and 2nd timers if space permits. If you are in one of these categories and land on the waiting list, feel free to email me at hankorenstein@gmail.com to request a spot.

To bring: Picnic lunch (as we will have a decent break), water to drink, sun protection (lots of open space). Make sure you check your travel directions in advance and allow extra time.

Total walking distance: approximately 4 miles (longer if you opt to walk back to Manhattan). This tour is free with an optional contribution to your leader/guide and the end via cash, venmo or zelle.

Itinerary and Description
We'll meet at Central Park's Conservatory Gardens - entrance is 5th Avenue between East 104th & 105th Streets. We'll meet at the rear of the garden by to the left of the fountain near the restrooms. After a brief exploration of Central Park's only formal gardens, enjoying some spring blooms, we'll walk through East Harlem (also known as El Barrio and Spanish Harlem), taking in some of the street art, murals and neighborhood history. We will reach Randalls Island via the East 103rd Street bridge which crosses the East River.

We'll have a lunch break at Randall's Island and learn about its unique history and visit their Urban Farm which is having an open house that day. Randall's Island has many restrooms.

About Randall's Island
Back in 1637, Dutch Governor Wouter Van Twiller "purchased" Randall’s Island, then known as Minnahanonck, and Wards Island, then known as Tenkenas, from the Native Americans. During this time the islands were mainly used for farming – Randall’s Island becomes known as Little Barn Island and Wards Island is named Big Barn Island.

Randall’s Island Park has a long and colorful history, leading to the comprehensive sports and recreational facility which today welcomes New Yorkers and other visitors to its shores. The Island’s 480 acres once comprised two separate islands, Randall’s and Wards, which for hundreds of years were used not as a public park but as a location for a range of public facilities including a boys’ home, a hospital, and a home for civil war veterans. The islands were first designated for recreational use by Robert Moses, and the park was opened in 1936 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, along with the new Triborough (now the RFK) Bridge.

As we recount the island's history we'll take an approximately 2 mile walk around the island's pathways to experience the unique vistas of the city surrounding waterways along with its wildflower meadows, salt marsh and urban farm (pictured above). There are picnic areas so do bring your lunch and/or snacks and water.

After our walk and tour there will be an option to head back across the bridge and there's also the M35 bus to Manhattan for if you wish to travel that way. The bus stops at 125th Street & Lexington Avenue convenient to buses to the West Side and the 4,5,6 subways and Metro North.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Your organizer and guide

Hank
646-596-3005
hankorenstein@gmail.com