John Keatts has been published in magazines and newspapers. He has appeared in Broadway musical productions, cabaret performances, and on television. It is his voice that is heard on many commercials. He is a licensed NYC tour guide. This is his first book.

Active Passions

I'm interested in what binds the people of our planet together. Before landing in New York City, my service in our Navy's submarine fleet allowed me to visit so much of the world. Our customs may differ, but we all want to laugh; we want to feed our families; we want to live in peace. In this city, I can attend so many different national celebrations. I can taste the cuisine of almost any nation. I am home in a city that welcomes diversity.

I enjoy sports. It's strange to some of my friends that I support any NYC professional team. If you grew up here, for example, you are either a Met or a Yankee fan. It's the Giants or the Jets. To me, it's all New York. Since I'm from the Midwestern part of the country, my idea of a great sporting venue is a seat in Ohio Station for a college football game.

Letter From The Author

Many years in the making, Tales of New York is a lighthearted adventure that is meant to entertain and inspire you. The emotions that drive people - any people, from anywhere in the world - these emotions have built our city. Tales talks about these people. You know, for example, that the Empire State Building and the Staten Island Ferry are landmarks. How did they get here? What drove the people to achieve their ideas? That is what this book is all about.

INSIDE THE BOOK

Central Park
It wasn’t the first choice

What’s the most visited spot in NYC? What is the largest man-made part of town? It’s the park that is named for its location, central to the island of Manhattan. It is a park that spawned new thinking in urban recreation, And it is a park that almost never happened.

When an early 1800s City commission was planning the northward development of Manhattan, the idea of investing in a large park seemed fanciful. After all, the commission said, “salubrious breezes” from our rivers waft across the island and calm the people.

But our population was increasing rapidly by that mid century. There was precious little green space in town. And powerful voices championed the dream of a large park. In 1851, NYC selected the site. Jones Woods? Yes, Jones Woods, a pleasant area of trees and streams that emptied into the East River in what is now the East 60s & 70s. But the River was for commerce, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t that land be used for shipping, warehouses and factories? And so it was that the Jones Woods idea lingered for two years, and then disappeared. Today, Upper East Siders may little suspect that their apartments, shops and restaurants stand where once there were streams, and where the city park and factories were never build.