Turnstile Tours

03/28/2024

Ever wonder what those naval insignia are all over those apartment buildings in Clinton Hill? We’ve got your answer! Also in our newsletter, we feature Earth Day harbor tours with Center for Architecture (AIANY) and Classic Harbor Line, the history of housing in World War II at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the return of weekly tours at Prospect Park. We also highlight special events at the South Street Seaport Museum, Intrepid Museum, Battleship New Jersey, and the Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center, and a book talk Daniel Campo.

Learn how WWII changed Brooklyn housing, take a stroll in the park every Saturday, and cruise around Manhattan to learn about climate impacts. We also have special events from the Battleship New Jersey, Intrepid, the Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center, BLDG 92, and the Seaport Museum.

02/20/2024

In our February newsletter, we have special tours at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, who is also opening a new photo exhibit at BLDG 92 and launching a connected series of talks and networking events with Yard businesses. We feature our Jackson Heights Food Cart Tour, winter tours in Prospect Park, and tours, exhibits, and classes at the Brooklyn Army Terminal with Biobat Art Space and Makerspace NYC. There are also special events from Schooner Apollonia, Battleship New Jersey, New Haven Museum, and Pratt Institute. Lastly, we pay tribute to our beloved dog Salty, who we lost this year and was a big part of our team.

Architecture & Infrastructure Tours • Street Food of Jackson Heights • Winter in Prospect Park • Farewell to Salty • New Brooklyn Navy Yard Exhibit

01/11/2024

In our newsletter, take our customer survey for a discount, or enjoy 2-for-1 tickets during New York City Tourism + Conventions Must-See Week. We have special tours coming up celebrating Black History Month at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, tours of the Brooklyn Army Terminal, a Valentine’s Day Food Cart Tour, and weather permitting, a skiing tour of Prospect Park. You’ll also find special events from our friends like a community feedback session for a new visitor center in Prospect Park, learn about architect Jacob Wrey Mould with The Green-Wood Cemetery, take an architecture boat cruise with Center for Architecture (AIANY) and Classic Harbor Line, support our new local PWHL Professional Women's Hockey League team, and explore the American Precision Museum.

Black history at BNY, share your feedback for discounts, join a tour during NYC Must-See Week, eat your way through Manhattan and Queens street food, ski Prospect Park, and learn about Vermont's Precision Valley.

12/09/2023

See the progress of the restoration of Intrepid Museum’s Concorde at Brooklyn Navy Yard’s GMD Shipyard Corp.

10/16/2023

There are so many things to do during Open House New York Weekend (Oct 20–22). We put together a guide highlighting some of our favorite places, including the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Prospect Park, Makerspace NYC, Biobat Art Space, Sure We Can, Pratt Institute, Fort Greene Park, Friends of Olmsted Beil House, Brooklyn Grange, and many, many other places to explore.

Open House New York Weekend (Oct 20–22) is just a few days away, and with over 330 partners participating this year, it's impossible to do it all. So we scoured the Weekend planner and highlighted some of our favorite spots. So don't be surprised if you see one of us there, leading a tour or

10/07/2023

To all those who celebrate, happy Manufacturing Day! We marked the occasion at Nanotronics, which held their annual manufacturing summit at their Brooklyn Navy Yard facility, attended by many students (with great questions!) from nearby Brooklyn Technical HS. The big closing event was a speech by company CEO Matthew Putman about their new venture into , a new typology for manufacturing semiconductors and other electronics that will be modular, prefabricated, and distributed, leveraging scale and AI to build these facilities at 1/100th the price, 1/10th the size, and in 1/5th the time of a traditional chip fab. Exciting ideas, born here in Brooklyn!

Read more about the announcement in Fast Company: https://www.fastcompany.com/90962875/nanotronics-cubefabs-prefab-chip-factories

10/02/2023

We’re proud to be a sponsor of the 2nd annual Street Vendor Project Street Heroes gala, taking place on Wednesday at MoMA PS1. Come hang out with our whole team, and meet some of the street vendors, organizers, and supporters that make up this vital community. There will be incredible street food, too!

STREET HEROES GALA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We’re thrilled to announce that our second annual gala,

09/28/2023

In this month's newsletter, support the Street Vendor Project at their annual gala next Wednesday, join special Archtober tours at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, taste your way through the street food of Midtown and Jackson Heights, and get ready for Open House New York. We also featured special events from Biobat Art Space, Sarah Lohman, GreenspaceNYC, and artists Nathan Kensinger and Nate Dorr. Plus, we take a dive into the history of NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, and we have a very special announcement!

Join us at the Street Vendor Project's gala, explore architecture at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, get ready for OHNY, learn about a Sunset Park institution

09/06/2023

Join us on Thursday night to explore the street food of Jackson Heights! This special tasting tour delves deep into the vendor community in NYC’s most diverse neighborhood and shares the stories, flavors, and challenges of the street. Try some Tibetan momos, Bangladeshi fuska, tacos al pastor, and much, much more. A portion of the proceeds support the Street Vendor Project, and you’ll come away not only full, but with new appreciation of the work of vendors feeding the city.

Tours are offered on select Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Info and tickets: https://turnstiletours.com/tour/food-cart-tour-jackson-heights/

08/31/2023

Ten years ago today we launched our tours of the Brooklyn Army Terminal! From that first tour, the program has grown to host tens of thousands of visitors over the last decade, showcasing the history, architecture, and engineering of the stunning complex, and the service, industry, and creativity of the people that have occupied this space over the past 105 years. We want to thank all of our tour guides and researchers that have helped share the stories of the Terminal, thank our friends and partners at NYCEDC, and of course thank all of our visitors for supporting the tours.

We have seen the industrial park grow so much since 2013, with many new companies and nonprofits joining the community, but we want to give a big thanks to Biobat Art Space, BioBAT, Makerspace NYC, Adapt Ability, MOMO dressing, MOMO test kitchen, Uncommon Goods, FABSCRAP, Pete's Brooklyn Eats, and many, many more for participating in and supporting the tour programs through the years. And we have to give a big shoutout to Open House New York, which has brought thousands of visitors to the Brooklyn Army Terminal during the Weekend. We’re looking forward to many more years learning and exploring with our team, partners, and visitors!

Join one of our upcoming Saturday tours: https://turnstiletours.com/tour/brooklyn-army-terminal-tours/

08/22/2023

In our August newsletter, take a tour of the Brooklyn Army Terminal, explore architecture and ecology at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and join a walking tour of Prospect Park every Saturday morning. Also in this edition:

• Special events from FABSCRAP, Olmsted Network, Lefferts Historic House, and Brooklyn Grange.
• Join us on October 4 for the Street Heroes gala for the Street Vendor Project.
• Listen to Andrew Gustafson talk about the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard on The Bowery Boys podcast.
• See photos from the arrival of Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's Concorde, which is spending the next few months at GMD Shipyard Corp for a new paint job.

Explore industry and art at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, listen to Navy Yard history on the Bowery Boys, see Concorde at the Yard, roam Prospect Park.

01/26/2023

With the recent announcements that Western allies will be sending Abrams, Leopard, and Challenger tanks to Ukraine, here are M3 Grant tanks for British forces being loaded at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in 1942. These tanks were key to the victory over the Axis at El-Alamein.

Learn more about the World War II history of the site on one of our upcoming guided tours: https://turnstiletours.com/tours/brooklyn-army-terminal-tours/