CityGAP at The Living City Project in New York City Recently Updated

Testimonials(14)

• We have been hearing so many great stories about Celine's time in New York City with CityGAP. She's told us a lot about how special Tanya and Andy made the experience, and the wonderful bond the group now shares. Thank you for helping Celine create these unforgettable memories of life in the city - and most of all these friendships that mean so much to her.

  - Michelle P. (CityGAP Parent '22) - June 2, 2022

• Lily is having an amazing experience and has grown so much even in the short time she has been in NYC! She is going to show me around to some of her favorite places when I come up on a solo trip! We are glad we learned about The Living City project.

  - Lauren F. (CityGAP Parent '22) - March 20, 2023

• During CityGAP, I have become far more independent both personally and academically. My experiences meeting with partners have allowed me to gain a clearer vision of what I want to do with my life and contribute to society as a whole. I have gained experience in planning and leadership as well. I am extremely proud of our final group project and the work we poured into it. During this process, I fell in love with human-centered design and the ways in which the spaces we occupy affect us and vice versa. Again, I want to thank you so much for everything from CityGAP and beyond--It was truly a life changing experience and I am so grateful to have learned and made the connections that I did.

  - Lily F, Fall 2022 - March 24, 2023

• When our son enrolled in the program, we hoped for an exciting immersive experience living in New York City. The website has an excellent explanation of what The Living City project is about. What I would like to add to that, is that Andy and Tanya are not only incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about their work, their level of support, guidance, kindness and encouragement makes this program exceptional. Along with learning about points of interest and engaging in fun activities, their program truly fostered things like critical thinking, problem solving, and the individual within the city systems. I was blown away by the level of the group and individual projects, and impressed with the range of professional community partners. As a result of this program, my son has a new sense of confidence, independence, and love for the city. This was a life changing experience for us in the best way!

  - Andrea M. (CityGAP Parent '22) - March 22, 2023

• CityGAP is an incredibly unique experience— I am yet to hear of any gap programs that immerse students in experiential, place-based learning in NYC the way the Living City Project does. This program empowered me to explore the passions I already had, and find new interests to fall in love with. Andy and Tanya dedicate their time and energy to their students with more care than any educator I’ve known; their knowledge and enthusiasm is seemingly boundless. Their connections to individual partners as well as organizations enabled us to meet with a wide variety of committed experts who were not only engaged, but excited to be working with us. CityGAP is an excellent program for anyone who is enthusiastic about urban geography, architecture, American history, city planning and design, building equitable communities, learning to navigate a city independently, making friends, eating good food, and exploring new places.

  - Evan, Fall 2022 - March 20, 2023

• Tanya and Andy, through your guidance, sharing, and connections, New York has shaped me in ways no other city has done before. I’m beyond grateful for all of your excitement, joy, patience, thoughtfulness, and trust - and good laughs! You really are the best educators I’ve ever had.

  - Isabella, Fall 2022 - December 18, 2022

• CityGap has made me more confident in myself, let me see a broader perspective on the city, and given me prep skills for working in the professional world as well as networking skills. I learned about the many issues surrounding housing in NYC, and I learned that I have the ability to help fix those problems.

  - Menna, Fall 2022 - December 22, 2022

• CityGAP taught me important life skills, such as independence and initiative, while being exposed to a wide variety of professions and fields of work. The chance to live in New York City while gaining real world experience was invaluable, and something I will forever treasure. While certainly a demanding program, Andy and Tanya were incredibly knowledgeable and supportive throughout.

  - Claudia, Fall 2022 - March 6, 2023

• CityGAP gave me an opportunity to go beyond traditional schooling in which I could legitimately think and problem-solve in ways that, for the first time, felt like what I wanted to do. Everyone should get a chance to learn like this at least once in their lives. The day to day activities of the group were substantial and interesting, never feeling like busy work and always proving themselves relevant later down the line. Andy and Tanya make a fantastic team of educators, putting their all into teaching a well rounded program and responding tactfully to any hurdles that do appear.  NYC works better as a place to learn than anywhere else, and the longer the program went on the more convinced I was that there is something naturally emboldening about living in the city. The model of learning that CityGAP imploys is empowering, and the level of self-reliance fostered by living in New York is perfectly complemented by the program. 

  - Mitchell, Fall 2022 - December 22, 2022

• Our daughter Wynsome had an incredibly enriching experience in her City Gap semester. In fact, our whole family benefitted! Tanya and Andy have such an exceptional understanding of how cities work. They generously shared their enthusiasm for New York's history, neighborhoods, and institutions while connecting Wynsome and her cohort to the people shaping the city's future. Wynsome got meaningful hands-on experience with community organizations, and felt empowered to follow her unique interests in her personal project. Andy and Tanya weren't just educators, they were also great life coaches, helping Wynsome navigate the college application process and transition to young adulthood. My husband and I were jealous - we wanted to do the program ourselves!

  - Lisa Richmond, City Gap parent - August 28, 2022

• Clara attended the CityGAP program in the spring of 2021, after spending the fall of 2020 essentially stuck in her dorm room with classes only on zoom and her friends and community inaccessible. With spring semester looming as more of the same, the opportunity CityGAP offered was enticing! Certainly it would have been an improvement if they had only held classes outside and in person, but it was so much more than that. Clara physically explored the city in terrific detail, then focused on the production, distribution and availability of food in the city. The students had the opportunity to visit, speak with and learn from strong, creative individuals who are actively working to make these existing systems better. Clara was already fairly confident and comfortable speaking with peers and adults, but an almost year of Covid restrictions had demoralized her. Through this program Andy and Tanya nudged Clara back out into the world, believed in her, encouraged her and transformed her into a force to be reckoned with. She can tackle difficult situations, change directions when faced with immovable obstacles and speak her mind in uncomfortable situations, but she is also a kind, thoughtful and supportive listener. She spent the semester using and strengthening her various skills, again with the support of Andy and Tanya, and with the other students created a beautiful book, ostensibly a cook book, but actually an in depth look at various aspects of food production and distribution. Andy and Tanya continue to be an extraordinary two person support network with countless ideas and contacts to help Clara continue her journey! I can't thank them enough.

  - Deborah Pitt - July 5, 2022

• CityGAP offers an incredible opportunity for young people to explore their interests and passions at a critical moment of transition in their lives. Whether they are about to leave for college or are already on their college journey, CityGAP allows students to reflect on and explore what excites and intrigues them about the world around us. Program directors Andy and Tanya create a space that asks students to think critically, while also celebrating the wonder of New York City. Andy and Tanya are two exceptional educators who not only care deeply about their students, but have also spent a lifetime studying the city and bolstering its success. They bring a long career of invaluable connections, which gives students a window into communities across the five boroughs, allowing them to meet with remarkable partners who live each day trying to make this city a better place. As a staff member I have had the joy of witnessing students' inspiring work unfold through the steadfast guidance of Andy and Tanya. They are endlessly committed to supporting the success of each of their students, and have taught me the value of place-based learning. It was such an honor to work for Andy and Tanya and I will miss my time with them as I embark on my own path as an educator.

  - Sophie Moss-Slavin - August 1, 2022

• ?I am deeply grateful for what CityGAP offered Julian, Pelumi, Mateo, their families, their friends, and the restaurant industry. I so appreciate how you structured CityGAP: highly collaborative, demanding but supportive, focused but loosely enough so that each student could explore a personal interest. It was very clear to me from last night's presentations that these students have emerged from CityGAP with increased confidence. The single subject mentality offered by high schools and colleges sets students up for a rocky transition into the messy, complex, and interwoven reality of the real world, where nothing starts or stops inside of discreet boxes; where everything has its tendrils. I have no doubt that what Mateo experienced over the past semester at CityGAP will serve him in countless ways as he navigates through college and life.

  - Justine S. (CityGAP parent) - May 27, 2021

• My son participated in the CityGAP program last semester, and finding it was like a gift. What has made the current moment so difficult for some parents is that just when their kids most desperately needed something fulfilling and enriching to do, the majority of substantive gap programs shut down. Yet here was CityGAP, with a program that was COVID safe, intellectually engaging and socially rich. Having watched them pull this off, I was then tempted to ask, "Why hasn't everyone been doing this?" I suspect it has to do with the fact that Meyers and Gallo each have decades'-worth of robust NYC contacts in the arts, city government and non-profit activism, and years' experience putting them to educational use. The remaining piece, which they crafted superbly, was a protocol enabling groups to meet regularly all over the city without danger of infection. On consideration, perhaps nobody else coud have managed this. ?There is an additional attraction to CityGAP. One of the many dispiriting aspects of COVID is anxiety that the nation may not be able to recover economically, and a sense that there is nothing the average person can do about it. CityGAP features the very people in New York who are doing something: the activists, key city employees, the creators. I could not have guessed that my son would have had the opportunity to be exposed to their practical, optimistic efforts. As a proud New Yorker, I was especially thrilled. But I think that anyone can be excited about their child's witnessing first-hand a great city meeting a great challenge. What CityGAP offered my son was vastly richer than a see-all-the-shows trip to New York; this is an invaluable trip into its indomitable soul.

  - David V.B. (CityGAP parent) - May 27, 2021