Sewage, Sex, and Sickness in the Five Points

2 hours 15 minutes
Mobile ticket
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Overview

2 hours 15 minutes

Mobile ticket

This two hour walking tour is a deep dive into the dirty history of the Five Points neighborhood in NYC, once called "the foul core of New York City's slums" and an area of "moral leprosy." In a way, it's also a ghost tour, as we'll be exploring a geography (streets and natural features) erased by development and redevelopment. We will uncover the lives of the people who lived in this area (now Chinatown) from 1800 - 1900, discussing how sewage, sex, and sickness pervaded a neighborhood filled with the "poorest of the poor" until it was razed and rebuilt starting in 1897. This is not a tour for the faint of heart!

Your guide for this tour is a graduate of the Sanitation Foundation's Trash Academy and has a Master's of Public Administration from Columbia University. This topic is her passion!

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Service animals allowed

Public transportation options are available nearby

Transportation options are wheelchair accessible

All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

What To Expect

1

Collect Pond Park

We will discuss how Collect Pond was transformed from a fresh water pond with a park to a reeking, polluted swamp to a foul landfill. In this spot, we will also discuss The Tombs (aka the Halls of Justice).

15 minutes • Admission Not Applicable
2

Columbus Park

The tour will stop just east of Columbus Park on Worth Street. We will talk about the historic location and stories of Paradise Square, The Old Brewery, Cow Bay, and the intersection of streets that gave the Five Points neighborhood its name.

15 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

Options

Sewage, Sex, and Sickness in the Five Points

What‘s Included

Walking tour

Please bring your own water and snacks.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Reviews

5.00

4 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

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  • Interessting educative and entertaining

    meladh2022,Jun 16, 2026

    - Review from Tripadvisor

    5.00

    Mrs: Suzanne is very professional guide

  • Unique different and fun

    SteveC2270,Jun 16, 2026

    - Review from Tripadvisor

    5.00

    Suzanne Reisman brought to life an undercounted era of New York City history. Her narration made the former Five Points district feel like a ghost landscape: a place whose streets, buildings, smells, and social conditions have largely been erased by redevelopment, but whose history still lingers beneath present-day Chinatown. By interpreting the neighborhood through sewage, sex, sickness, poverty, and survival, she allowed us to see what no longer visibly exists and to sense the human reality behind the notorious reputation of the old Five Points.

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