New York Like a Native — Local services in New York

Having really enjoyed our family’s first private tour a few months ago (which was fantastic), we wanted to have the same experience in Brooklyn. Norman was well-reviewed. Our family had two perspectives of our tour. First, Norman knows Brooklyn well, and he takes his craft seriously. Tell him what you want, and he will prepare well and share a ton of information! He is also good at pointing out things to do following the tour (for us it was a great ferry ride to Williamsburg). From an experience and vibe perspective, he will admit his direct style. That’s fine and is aligned with the NY style, it just has less storytelling that is helpful with historical context. What dropped my rating was him moving beyond direct. He would ask a question that we couldn’t answer (or answer correctly) and then smile/chuckle at our responses. There were times that we felt like we were not in line with the teacher. Ultimately, Norman knows his stuff, works hard, and will share fascinating information. His style just didn't click as well with us as with the...

My wife and I spent the weekend in Greenpoint and wanted to have a walking tour of the neighborhood. Doing a Google search, I came across Norman's website and saw that he had fantastic reviews on TripAdvisor. We booked a 2.5-hour tour with him and absolutely loved it! Norman is enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and... a very fast walker! We consider ourselves to be good walkers, and I have to say that at the end of the tour, I had a hard time keeping up! Part of it was due to the fact I like taking lots of pictures and I had to up my pace to not lose him! We learned tons on the tour, had a lot of fun, and got some great recommendations for restaurants and a few other places to visit. We will book a tour with Norman for Williamsburg in the...

I brought my 15 year old grandson to NYC for a week because he wanted to experience the culture of ethnic neighborhoods. We spent the first day with Norman, who had tailored his information and walking route to our specific needs. We walked 5 neighborhoods, all unique. I can’t say enough about how great he was. A native and student of Brooklyn and NYC, he was able to point out and explain things we never would have discovered on our own. It was a master class. He puts a Lot of thought and care into his work, and he obviously loves his native City. We connected with him for another half day later in the week, and throughout the entire week he was sending us tips and ideas that were incredibly helpful. My highest...