New York State Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner RoAnn Destito today announced special tours of the Capitol will be offered in conjunction with the ongoing exhibition The People of New York. The free, 45-minute tours will focus on diversity and cultural pluralism in the history of New York and the Capitol and will be offered at 1 p.m. on August 29, September 12, and November 7. Preregistration at empirestateplaza.ny.gov is required.

“Governor Cuomo often reminds us that here in New York our differences and diversity in backgrounds are also our greatest strengths,” Commissioner Destito said. “I encourage everyone to take this special tour of the Capitol, which will include a visit to an exhibition, The People of New York, that celebrates our state’s rich and diverse history.”

The New York State Capitol has served as the seat of government for New York since the 1880s. The building is a marvel of late 19th century architectural grandeur, built by hand of solid masonry over a period of 32 years. Through images, objects, and stories, The People of New York exhibition, located in the East Gallery of the Capitol’s second floor, features the people of New York — past and present — and their firsthand accounts of perseverance and migration.

The special tour will connect stories of diverse individuals with the sections and themes of the exhibition, showing how people from New York represent a multitude of backgrounds who come from every walk of life.  From the story of Capitol architect, Leopold Eidlitz, one of the America’s first famous Jewish architects who emigrated from Eastern Europe; to the first full-time archaeologist at the New York State Museum, Arthur C Parker, born on the Cattaraugus Seneca Reservation; to Henry Johnson, African American hero of the first World War whose Medal of Honor (awarded posthumously) is on display in the Capitol; the tour features remarkable stories of lesser known individuals who made New York what it is today.

The September and November tours will feature special guests who are featured in the exhibition and will add to the tours by sharing their and their families’ experiences coming to New York and the opportunities they found here that allowed them to succeed:

• Alejandro del Peral will join the September 12 tour as a special guest. Del Peral is the founder and owner of Nine Pin Cidery, New York’s first cidery. His father Casiano, an artist, immigrated from Barcelona, Spain in the 1980s, and his maternal grandfather immigrated from Punjab, India in the 1940s and married a descendant of President John Adams.
• Jinah Kim will join the November 7 tour as a special guest. Having immigrated to the United States at the age of 3, she is the founder and owner of the Korean restaurant Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen in Troy. The restaurant provides jobs for refugees and immigrants and helps them learn English as well as computer programs.

Visit  www.empirestateplaza.ny.gov and @NYSCapitolVisit on Facebook and Twitter for more information about tours, special exhibits, and the history of the Capitol, Empire State Plaza, and the Empire State Plaza Art Collection.