Alyssa Loorya

Alyssa Loorya brings unique insights from her work excavating beneath New York City's streets, revealing the hidden layers of urban history that most people never see. Through her archaeological investigations in one of the world's most densely built environments, she has discovered how the past literally underlies our present-day city life.

Her TEDxNewYork presentation shared the remarkable lessons learned from digging through centuries of urban development, where each layer tells a story about the people who lived, worked, and shaped the city before us. Her work demonstrates how archaeological methods can illuminate the human stories buried beneath our feet, connecting modern New Yorkers to their city's forgotten past and providing unexpected perspectives on urban development and historical preservation.