We are celebrating 15 years — and counting — of stories that are deeply researched and deeply felt, that build a historical record of what the city has been.
We are celebrating 15 years — and counting — of stories that are deeply researched and deeply felt, that build a historical record of what the city has been.
In July, August, and September, UO Builder members and supporters of $50 and more are invited to join naturalist and Urban Omnibus contributor, Russell Jacobs for a walking tour anchored in sites explored in his ongoing series, “City Habitats.” In urban environments around the world, animals put human-built infrastructures to new and unanticipated uses. Tours will explore some of these anthropogenic ecologies up close. All walking tours are 1.5 to two hours. If you have accessibility questions or requests, please contact: portis@archleague.org.
Donate $50 or more to Urban Omnibus (or become a UO Builder member of the Architectural League for $125) and receive access to a tour of your choice. There are three options, listed below. Following your contribution, we will send instructions on how to sign up for your preferred tour.
About Russell Jacobs
Russell Jacobs is a writer and a naturalist from New York City, whose reporting and essays have appeared in publications such as Slate, Hell Gate, and Urban Omnibus, as well as local papers such as Rockaway’s The Wave, and The Rockaway Times. He is also the author of Landlubber, a regular newsletter about marine ecology, seabirds, maritime history, and seafood.
Saturday, July 18, 2:00 PM
Start: Grant’s Tomb at Riverside Park
End: Riverbank State Park
Length: 1.5 miles
A walk focused on peregrine falcons, chimney swifts, and other birds that nest along the ledges, chimneys, and in other anthropogenic structures of New York City, this tour begins in Riverside Park, and makes its way uptown towards Riverbank State Park. Along the way, we’ll stop to observe any other wildlife we encounter.
Related UO essay: https://urbanomnibus.net/2026/03/nooks-and-crannies
Saturday, August 16, 11:00 AM
Start: Newtown Creek Nature Walk entrance at 530 Kingsland Avenue
End: 56 Paidge Ave
Length: 1 mile
A walk along the Newtown Creek Nature Trail and around the local wastewater treatment plant in search of swallows, gulls, starlings and other animals that get by on the odd opportunities that the sewage treatment process presents to wildlife.
Related UO essay: https://urbanomnibus.net/2026/04/waste-watering-holes
Saturday September 19, 4:00 PM
Start: Pier 26
End: Pier 40
Length: 1 mile
A look at the urban ecology of the city’s watery edges, this tour begins near the Pier 26 Tide Deck, which is a recent attempt to recreate a sliver of Manhattan’s bygone tidal shoreline habitat, and makes its way uptown towards the Hudson River Park Wet Lab, where participants will get to look at some of the wildlife that currently resides amid New York City’s current shoreline environment of piers and pilings.
Related UO essay: https://urbanomnibus.net/2025/12/the-reefs-beneath-the-piers
The views expressed here are those of the authors only and do not reflect the position of The Architectural League of New York.
