Insider Tours of NYC Neighborhoods
"...one of the most extraordinary experiences we possibly could have had..."
— Dee Kramer MES, MSc, PhD; Toronto, Canada
New York City is heaven for tour enthusiasts. It offers a rich history and a multi-cultural present, excellent mass transit to reach far-flung neighborhoods, and walkable streets. With an expert guide and a few hours, you can travel back in time to the streets your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents walked as immigrants at the turn of the century. Or you can feel like you traveled to the other side of the globe. And of course, there's the New York food.
Advance purchase required. Tours usually sell out in advance!
Check availability and buy tickets online:
Timeline Tours of New York City
Or to purchase by phone, call Zerve at 212.209.3370.Timeline Touring offers public and private tours of fascinating Jewish neighborhoods in New York City. We offer tours from the Lower East Side, to the Upper West Side, to Brooklyn and beyond. We also provide specialized guided tours of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Call us to coordinate a complete New York experience.
Lower East Side
Historical sites
- B'nai B'rith site - where the organization began.
- Chatham Square - the first U.S. Jewish cemetery.
- Forward Building - built for The Jewish Daily Forward (Forverts).
- Jarmulowsky Bank - on Orchard Street.
- Kletzker Brotherly Aid Association - a fraternal aid society for new immigrants.
- "Shteebel Row" - a street full of synagogues.
- Sixty Hester Street - an award-winning tenement design.
- Strauss Square
Institutions
- Educational Alliance - where generations of immigrants have learned.
- Eldridge Street Synagogue - recently restored.
- Henry Street Settlement
- Kehila Kedosha Janina (Greek) Synagogue - a Romaniote synagogue.
- Lower East Side Tenement Museum - see how immigrants lived.
- Seward Park Library
- University Settlement
Great food
- Guss' Pickles - pickles from the barrel.
- Noah's Ark - the only kosher deli on the LES.
- Kossar's Bialys - fresh hot bialys, pletzels, and bagels.
- Moishe's Bakery - a neighborhood bakery.
- Streit's Matzo Bakery - family-owned machine matzo bakery.
Visitor resources
- The Blue Moon Hotel - a boutique hotel in a historic tenement building.
- Lower East Side Business Improvement District
Manhattan
Brooklyn: Borough Park
Brooklyn: Flatbush - Middle Eastern Jewish communities
Brooklyn: Flatbush
Timeline Touring was founded by Jeffrey Altman, a life-long resident of New York's Jewish community. When Jeff was a young boy, his father would take him to the Lower East Side, where they would shop for bargains, grab a nosh, and Jeff's dad would meet folks from the old country.
As Jeff says, "I want people to be able to experience the amazing area that I live in and near. It is filled with history, yet it breathes and is always changing. In New York City, the Jewish people and their heritage are very much alive."
Timeline Touring offers public tours of the Lower East Side every Sunday, as well as customized private group tours.
For the Sunday public tour of the Lower East Side, click here.
For tours of Manhattan, click here.
For tours of Brooklyn, click here.
What Our Tourgoers Have Said
"Jeff Altman did a wonderful job bringing the history of the Lower East Side and the immigrant experience to life. Tremendously knowledgable. Our children are 10 and 8 and they truly enjoyed the tour as well. Highly recommended."
— guest on the Time and Again public tour
"This was a terrific way to spend an afternoon. Jeff is an incredible storehouse of knowledge. His stories and references allowed for a re-birth of my family's early experiences after emigrating from 'the old country,' including stories that my parents were never able to tell, although they experienced much of what we saw and heard about."
— guest on the Time and Again public tour
"The confirmation class from our synagogue toured the Lower East Side and Borough Park with Jeff. Don't miss this! I was amazed to see how the students responded to the history they were learning, and the thoughtful questions they asked about what they were seeing in Borough Park. Jeff is a sensitive, helpful guide to these communities."
— M. Morgan, Fort Worth, Texas
"For the past three years I have used Jeff Altman as my New York guide in Borough Park for my student trips from my Midwest Reform Jewish congregation. He engages the students with wonderful stories to highlight his deep knowledge of Orthodox Jewish life and living. This year we added a guided tour of Ellis Island to the itinerary. Jeff impressed me with his understanding of the history of Ellis Island. I look forward to returning to New York with my students each year and my time spent with Jeff Altman and Timeline Touring. He is a great guide."
— Rabbi Jon Adland
Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation
To read more reviews from our satisfied tourgoers, click here.
