Our Team
An Intro to Carpe City
by Founder Christi Scofield
It took me five seconds to know I loved New York. It took me 5 years of living here before I REALLY knew New York. I finally got it. People stopped grunting/pushing/cursing at me for my leisurely Southern ways. I have serviceable subway skills. I can walk up to three miles in heels on questionably-paved sidewalks with a smile. I have become comfortable with a lack of personal space in, well, pretty much everywhere and, most importantly, my bagel guy only needs to hear “the usual” to know my order and my address.
Almost 20 years now into my New York experience (let’s just say I moved here when I was five and leave it at that) and I am even more in love with the city, its energy, food, culture, history, and its people.
Carpe City emerged from a love for all things New York. People say “Carpe? Like, seize the city?” And I say, Yes. It’s about seizing, grasping, embracing the best the city has the offer. Take a second look at the logo; not only is it a location pin, but it’s also a person embracing the city.
I am a confessed touring nerd. I take all types of tours everywhere I travel (well… except for a Segway tour) but even more so, I love to take tours in my own city. With so much history and culture in New York, no one has time to learn it all, and that’s where Carpe City comes in.
I wanted to create a city guide that not only helps people who are too busy to search and navigate the ridiculous number of bars and restaurants we have in the city but a guide that can help solve the “what’s next?” problem when you’re done with brunch or dinner or leaving the museum and you want to do something else. You can look to Carpe City to point out all the cool things nearby, from other bars and restaurants to street art, architecture, movie/TV spots, unique shops, music, history and more. It’s like having a tour guide for locals (and visitors who want to get the local experience), and a knowledgeable concierge rolled up in one and available on-the-go.
Other elements I wanted to incorporate in the guide are fun facts and trivia. I have a history in creating board games, designing greeting cards and coding apps (more on that another time!) and anything that I can gamify or attempt to make witty and pithy is fun for me, so you’ll find a variety of sound bite trivia all throughout the site.
Lastly, I wanted to create a site that inspires people to take pride in their city and encourages responsible preservation. The first step in doing so is by helping people recognize some of the amazing places they might walk by every day and not realize the cultural significance. But most importantly I wanted to create something that helps people truly enjoy the best our great city has to offer!
Thanks for checking out the site! Please sign up below and be the part of the Carpe City experience as we continue to grow and include more neighborhoods and cities!
Cheers!
Christi Scofield
