McNeil Tours

09/10/2026

Back to School, Just for the Field Trips: 10 NYC Field Trips Worth Taking Again

Relive the best part of school, without the homework. From museums and zoos to ballparks and hidden corners of NYC, here are 10 field trips worth taking again, no permission slip required.

09/05/2026

The BQE is gonna fall down any day now… okay, maybe not any day. 😬

But there’s a fascinating story behind how the BQE came to Brooklyn Heights—and how New York’s “master builder,” Robert Moses, may have gotten exactly what he wanted in the process.

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t another highway. 👀

Come take a walk with me and discover the stories hiding all around Brooklyn Heights.

📍

09/03/2026

You thought I did these in one take?

A few moments that didn’t quite make the final cut of Washington’s Retreat.

08/30/2026

Washington’s Retreat | Part 5 of 5: When the British Ruled Brooklyn

Washington and his army escaped Brooklyn, but the story here was far from over.

The British would occupy Brooklyn for the remainder of the Revolution, and years later, they built a massive fortification on the heights overlooking New York Harbor.

08/29/2026

Washington’s Retreat | Part 4 of 5: The Decision at Four Chimneys

The battle was lost. Thousands of American soldiers were trapped in Brooklyn with the East River behind them and the British Army in front of them.

Now George Washington had a decision to make.

What happened next would become one of the most remarkable moments of the American Revolution.

08/28/2026

Washington’s Retreat | Part 3 of 5: The View From Cobble Hill

It’s hard to imagine today, but this part of Brooklyn once looked out over the battlefield from one of the highest points in the area.

And on August 27, 1776, George Washington stood here and watched a disaster unfold.

08/27/2026

Washington’s Retreat | Part 2 of 5: The Fort Built to Save New York

In the spring of 1776, George Washington knew the British were coming.

So along the Brooklyn waterfront, the Americans began preparing for an attack, including building a fort overlooking the East River.

08/26/2026

Washington’s Retreat | Part 1 of 5: The Patriot Who Called Brooklyn Home

Before the Battle of Brooklyn, this quiet corner of Brooklyn Heights was home to one of America’s Founding Fathers.

But when war arrived in New York, Philip Livingston’s connection to this neighborhood would take on an entirely different meaning.

08/20/2026

Washington’s Retreat: The Decision That Changed the Revolution

The Battle of Brooklyn was a devastating American defeat. But what happened next helped change the course of the Revolution.

Washington’s Retreat is a five-part series following the story through the streets of modern-day Brooklyn.

Part 1 arrives August 26. 🇺🇸

08/11/2026

Before this month’s Guides Association Of New York City meeting a group of us were treated to a tour of Green-Wood Cemetery and the newly reopened Green-House at Green-Wood.