I wanted to do a tour where people would look at something else beside architecture.

People get attached to these things. It's really heartbreaking to take them back.

The place is in a shambles. It needs renovation, and we don't want people getting nervous.

The threats to our architecture have surpassed the giant ape. Airplanes with jet fuel were far more dangerous than any primate, however big.

When you go to Nashville, you know that's the home of country music. New York needed to step up to the plate, to say officially that this is the birthplace of hip-hop. The city was sleeping on it. I discovered that younger visitors who loved rap music were eager for more knowledge, for a different kind of tourist experience that would get them out of Times Square.

We have a real thing in hip-hop about out with the old, in with the new. I'm shocked about how little awareness of history there is, especially since so many people are making so much money in the rap industry. There's much more awareness of hip-hop history in other countries.