Joyce Gold is an instructor of Manhattan history at New York University and she’s been conducting history walks around New York since 1975. Her tours are a mixed bag. On some she curs right to the core of the story, dispensing telling details that bring a neighborhood's history to life. Others can be slightly dry and academic, dwelling too long on real estate pricing, over the years. So if you’re choosing between this and “Free Tours By Foot”, I’d go with the latter.