Secret New York: An Unusual Guide

Admire an apocalyptic pillar in a church, relax in secret gardens, discover the New York version of the Sagrada Familia, visit a secret metro tunnel, contemplate an elephant electrocuted, find bullet impacts outside the Bank JP Morgan, observe the stars with a university telescope, find a statue of Lenin, fly your skirt in the same place as Marilyn Monroe, explore a room filled with earth, discover a gigantic Venetian palace above an old stable, visit an island whose independence was proclaimed from a canoe in 2004, discover the “pig” of St. Patrick's Cathedral, play scrabble with the signs of Queens, find out where is the last tooth of Washington, find the house who hides a metro mouth, locate a plaque in memory of an event of another dimension, have your bike or elephant blessed , go get inspected any natural quirk at an annual professional identification session …

An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew New York City well, or who would like to discover the hidden face of the city.

T.M. Rives was born and educated in California. During studies in Los Angeles, he was struck by a need to widen his experience through travel; after completing studies in France, he spent the next 12 years in different countries in Europe, publishing translations and fiction. Eventually landing in New York City, where he has lived for the last ten years, T.M. Rives continues to write and photograph, as well as make documentary film on travel and the arts.

Michelle Youngis the founder of Untapped Cities, a web magazine about urban discovery and exploration in New York City and around the world. Michelle holds a B.A. from Harvard in the History of Architecture and a Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where she is also an Adjunct Professor. As a photographer, Michelle's work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, and exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York and the Venice Biennale. Michelle is also the author of the book Broadway, about the history of the famous street and she is one of the authors of 100 Ways to Make History, published by the New York Public Library. She has been interviewed for The New York Times, Huffington Post Live, and appeared in numerous documentaries. Always looking for the next adventure, Michelle has traveled to over 40 countries, always with an SLR camera in tow, and as a Juilliard-trained cellist, toured around the United States as a cellist in an indie rock band.