New York City runs on tourism — and Big Apple Greeter is helping visitors from around the world experience the city like locals. The volunteer-run program connects travelers with knowledgeable New Yorkers who lead free, personalized walking tours of the city’s most historic and culturally rich neighborhoods.
Big Apple Greeter, launched in 1992, is part of the International Greeter Association, which operates in 47 countries, including common tourist destinations (France, Japan, Mexico) and those a bit more unexpected (Ghana, Qatar, Estonia).
Greeters in New York City have met with 185,000 visitors from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Volunteers host free, unscripted tours of neighborhoods they are deeply familiar with, showing newcomers how to use public transportation, recommending off-the-beaten-path shops and restaurants and highlighting the area’s history and diversity.
The Bronx Times caught up with Greeter Ellen Gasnick and her guest, Heike Schünemann from Lübeck, Germany, on their recent excursion in Little Italy. Gasnick grew up in Inwood and now lives in Queens but has visited Little Italy since childhood and has led dozens of visits there. Schünemann is a Greeter in her own hometown of about 220,000 people and jumped at the chance to connect with a fellow volunteer on her first-ever trip to NYC.
Schünemann, who works in a bank, saw a piece seeking Greeters in her local newspaper two years ago. As someone who has called Lübeck home for all her 51 years, “I think this is the right job for me,” she said.
On her first NYC trip, Schünemann hit a lot of icons, including the UN building, Museum of Modern Art and top of the One Vanderbilt skyscraper. But as for the Bronx, she said she’d mainly heard of it in association with crime and violence.
“I don’t know if I’d go alone, for me, into the Bronx,” Schünemann said. “It’s nice to go with hometown people.”
The arrangement worked perfectly, as Gasnick called Greets “a great orientation to neighborhoods we wouldn’t see on our own.” On informal walks for groups of up to six, there’s no need for the scripts and megaphones that some local tour guides use. Visits are personalized based on each group’s interests, physical abilities, language and more, and Gasnick has met visitors ages 1 to 90.
As they walked through Little Italy, Schünemann commented on all the fire escapes (which Gasnick called “very New York”). They stopped into markets, including Borgatti’s Ravioli and Egg Noodles, where they saw fresh sheets of spinach pasta cut to order, which Schünemann said she’d never seen before. Gasnick told her about the annual Ferragosto Festival, Fordham University and other Bronx inside info that wouldn’t have been obvious just by walking around.
Gasnick said she loves working with sophisticated, open-minded travelers and that being a Greeter has deepened her appreciation for her home city.
“People want the stories, the experiences. They want the history that way,” said Gasnick.
Schünemann said she enjoys the reciprocity of being a Greeter. After a few hours exploring together, guests and Greeters invariably become friends. “Everyone gives something,” she said.
More volunteer Greeters are welcomed, as there is more demand than they can meet, said Gasnick. New York City hosted approximately 64 million visitors in 2024, close to the record number of 2019, and is expecting even higher figures in 2025, according to New York Tourism & Conventions. International visitors represent about 20% of all NYC tourists, so Greeters who speak multiple languages are especially needed.
For more information, see https://www.nyctourism.com/attractions-tours/big-apple-greeter/ and https://www.bigapplegreeter.org/
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
