UPTOWN — Residents are leading several walks this weekend as part of the Jane's Walk series to advocate and educate their neighbors about the history of Inwood and Washington Heights.
The tours, guided by local advocates and neighbors, will take place throughout the weekend at several historical points in Northern Manhattan, including the Audubon Park Historic District, Inwood’s Packard Building, Inwood Hill Park, the World War I Memorial, Meyers Square and the Ring Garden.
The events are held to honor what would have been the late urban activist and writer Jane Jacob’s 100th birthday.
Nathalie Barton, a fellow at the Municipal Art Society of New York, said two additional walking tours were added this year — bringing the total to six — due to heavy attendance and "lots of interest and enthusiasm" from the community last year.
Barton said the number of walks throughout the city has increased from 210 last year to 249 this coming weekend.
Pat Courtney, an Uptown resident and a member of the Volunteers for Isham Park, is leading the “Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses Intersections Along Broadway” tour on Saturday to advocate for the local community and the “recent unfortunate turn of events” regarding local development, she said.
Courtney — who hosted a Jane’s Walk last year, as well as others tours for the Uptown Arts Stroll — said she wanted this year’s walk to focus on recent rezoning projects and development proposals along Broadway.
“We want everyone to come out, have a look and discuss the possibilities, fears and longings that they have for the neighborhood,” Courtney said. “This is really an effort for people to come and talk about the issues.”
Matthew Spady, founder of the Audubon Park Historic District website, will be hosting several walks from Friday through Sunday, noting he's been leading his tours for years.
“I moved to the neighborhood in 1987 and one question led to another [about the area], and I became involved in learning about the history,” Spady said, adding that he went from being fascinated about the history of Audubon Park to "it becoming a compulsion."
He launched the website in 2001, a couple years before he submitted an application to the city to designate the area a historic district. He used the website to promote the initiative and also conduct different walking tours, leading to the district's designation in 2009.
“What we see today has layers of what was here before,” Spady said. “It’s really sometimes hard to see what was there before, because of all the changes in topography.”
All the Jane’s Walks offered are free and run roughly 90 minutes. Spady urged participants to wear walking shoes, especially in Northern Manhattan.
