STREET TALK
Walk outside the lines on these city tours
THE best way to know a city is by foot. Outfits like Big Onion have their place, especially for outoftowners looking for the basics, but locals and the adventurous may want something quirkier. We have just the walking tours for you:
Elastic City puts artists in charge of its free, highconcept tours. The fifth season ends with a bang Tuesday with writerperformer Erin Markey’s “Daddy Warbucks, Please Adopt Me (aka the ‘Annie’ Tour!).” Markey takes her group through hipster Williamsburg, where, she recently announced, “100 percent of the movie ‘Annie’ was shot.”
This is just the first of Markey’s many, many fibs, each more entertaining than the last. And yes, there are singalongs, but don’t worry: She hands out lyric sheets. elasticcity.org
n Where the Elastic City tours are fanciful, the ones run by the Municipal Art Society are grounded in history. Saturday you can explore “E.L. Doctorow in The Bronx,” which visits the late writer’s childhood neighborhood of Mount Eden. Or head to Staten Island on Sunday for the “Snug Harbor History Tour,” for the wealth of Greek Revival buildings. Most walks are $20. mas.org
n Fans of the macabre, rejoice: Boroughs of the Dead dwells on the dark side — like the West Village haunts of both Poe and Lovecraft (Thursday and Aug. 29) or the “Haunting Histories and Legends of Astoria” on Saturday. Most walks are $20. boroughsofthedead.com
n The nonprofit Shorewalkers focuses on NYC’s waterfront, including the group’s annual 32mile “Great Saunter,” in May. On Saturday, the shorter 8mile “Crack Is Wack” explores the history of graffiti. Free with $20 annual membership. shorewalkers.org