Reflections on the East River

Last Sunday I was at Roosevelt Island as I wanted to go to the Four Freedoms Park at sunset time. As I was walking towards the park, I realized that the East River was so calm, it perfectly reflected everything around it, even the Roosevelt Island tram high above.

I arrived at the park at nearly closing time which was 30 minutes before the day's sunset. I didn't take a lot of photos in the park as most of its snowed-in area was cordoned off. This was sundown at the park, taken just before closing time.

Sunset was beautifully reflected on the calm East River.

As was twilight. It was so peaceful to see the fiery colors, it warmed that cold winter day.

At blue hour, I was at the other side of the island facing Queens. Long Island City was shimmering across the East River.

And the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge was glittering like a jewel that night.

Here's a couple of photos I stitched so you could have a panoramic view of midtown Manhattan reflected on the East River. But don't think all is calm, this has been a long winter, freezing parts of the Hudson and East Rivers. When you look at the picture, you can see the ice floes floating near the edge of the river.

I haven't uploaded my photos on Flickr yet. I'll update this blog with the link to the rest of my photos once I upload them. 

So sorry to have been away for a couple of months. I've been going out and walking every weekend, I just didn't have the time to sit down and write a long blog. What I will do from now is post a few pictures of wherever I walked the past weekend, and when I get the chance, I'll write a longer blog with lots of pictures.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the reflections on the East River through my eyes. Thank you for all your patience and support! ❤

The Great Saunter 2014 - East Side

In my previous blog, I wrote about joining the Great Saunter which started on the west side of Manhattan. By 1 pm, we were resting our weary feet and having a little break for lunch in Inwood Hill Park, the park contains the largest remaining forest land on Manhattan Island. 

After the break, we resumed our walk, this time along the east side of Manhattan. At 207th Street, I came upon some street artists hard at work. At the right by the pillar are images by Spanish street artist Bàlu Naiz.

We continued walking east until we reached the Harlem River Drive, which looked so pretty with all the blooming spring flowers.

Then we passed by the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse where Harlem River Drive curves into the edge of the Harlem River.

Located on the Harlem River immediately south of Sherman Creek, the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse reestablishes the historic presence of recreational boating facilities on Manhattan’s northern waterfront.

To avoid harming the fragile intertidal environment, the boathouse is designed as a floating structure, as were the earlier boathouses located on the site. The facility is accessed from the promenade atop the nearby embankment through a gated entrance and down a series of ramped fixed piers leading to floating docks.

I had previously went inside the Boathouse during last year's Harlem River Festival. If you'd like to see some pictures, here's the album on Flickr.

From the Boathouse the three big bridges over the Harlem River are clearly seen - the Washington Bridge, the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, and the oldest surviving bridge in New York City, the High Bridge, which was designed with a pedestrian walkway but was not used for vehicular traffic. It has been closed to pedestrian traffic since the 1960s, but the Parks Department is currently restoring it and aiming for completion in Winter 2014.

By then, we have been walking for about seven hours, and seeing the cherry trees in full bloom have somehow eased some of the tiredness I felt.

Soon , we could see the High Bridge Water Tower which was built in 1872 to provide fresh water to northern Manhattan residents, who were at a higher elevation than the aqueduct. After water crossed the High Bridge, it was pumped into a reservoir next to the tower (now the site of Highbridge Pool), and then into a water tank in the tower.

I have some close-up pics of the tower and the bridge (from what you could see of it) taken on a previous walk along the High Bridge Trail, here's the album on Flickr.

From the Harlem River Greenway, we went up the Harlem River Driveway and passed by Coogan's Bluff, a large cliff extending northward from 155th Street in Manhattan and once was the site of the fabled Polo Grounds, the home of the New York Giants (baseball), and the first home of the New York Mets. I can see the John T. Brush stairway from where I was walking, the renovation of the stairway is expected to be complete by Winter 2014.

From atop Coogan's Bluff, above and behind the Polo Grounds, the stairway went from Edgecombe Avenue, between 157th and 158th Streets, down to the ticket booths behind home plate. The stairs also gave people a way to reach the Speedway, a once-popular Harlem River promenade, in addition to seeing some of baseball's greatest and worst teams.

For nearly a half-century, however, the stairway has played a different role, carrying tenants to a high-rise housing project that replaced the Polo Grounds, and until recently they had crumbled into a dim reminder of a once-proud, bygone era.

At the end of the Harlem River Driveway where it connects with 155th Street is the Hooper Fountain.

It is named after businessman John Hooper (1812-1889), who left $10,000 to the cities of Brooklyn and New York for two fountains "whereat man and beast can drink."

We then continued walking along Edgecombe Avenue, across the Jackie Robinson Park. The street yielded one treasure, one of Manhattan's remaining free standing houses, the Nicholas C. and Agnes Benziger House. Constructed in 1891, the property was acquired by the city in 1989 to provide permanent housing for homeless adults.

After reaching the end of Edgecombe Avenue at 145th Street, we walked further east and crossed one of the many pedestrian overpass along the Harlem River Drive. Looking back I saw the 145th Street Bridge, and the end of the overpass which will take us back to the Harlem River Greenway.

At the Harlem River Park near the Third Avenue Bridge, there are lots of murals on the walls. This is one of them, Untold Stories / Storytellah's Mural.

Across the Harlem River, one of Peter Tunney's Grattitude billboards rises high in the South Bronx for everyone to see.

We went up another pedestrian bridge and when we were back along 128th Street, I nearly missed Keith Haring's Crack is Wack mural, standing on the playground with the same name.

Then it's up another pedestrian bridge to get back to the greenway.

At the end of the pedestrian bridge, I got a great view of the Harlem River span of the RFK Triborough Bridge.

Walking further, I could see the Randall's Island Pedestrian Bridge, it straddles the part where the Harlem River meets the East River.

Walking along the Bobby Wagner Walk I had this view. The walk was built in 1939 as part of the construction of the FDR Drive and is the oldest portion of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway.

Ten hours after we first started walking, we have reached Carl Schurz Park in the Upper East Side. Across the park is the northernmost part of Roosevelt Island, where its lighthouse stands.

The northern part of the East River Greenway has great views of Roosevelt Island and the Queensboro Bridge. Near the Manhattan side of the bridge is Alice Aycock's East River Roundabout, its current location was designated as the future site of Andrew Haswell Green Park, named for the 19th-century planner who had a hand in the creation of Central Park, Riverside Park, the New York Public Library and the 1898 consolidation of New York’s five boroughs, among other visionary plans. When I passed by the area, however, all I saw underneath the structure was a dog run.

After the bridge, we had to get off the greenway again as there is still no access to the waterfront because of the United Nations complex. No flags were flying that Saturday and the Secretariat Building looks great after its renovation.

Across Tudor City is the long abandoned and unused Waterside Pier. City officials have announced earlier this year that it will be replaced with a new pier that contains public park space.

Demolition of the abandoned pier, which is riddled with cracks and strewn with garbage, will begin later this year. The new 800-foot-long pier will open to the public by the end of 2015.

Near PS 281, I passed by this glazed tile mural Δε Σοφíα (Towards Wisdom) by Jesse Bransford which is part of Public Art for Public Schools.

Across the East River, the new high rises of Long Island City were hugging the waterfront in Queens. The iconic Pepsi sign is still there, you can see it on the lower left side on the photo.

We've finally reached the homestrech, walking along the East River Park. Across the Williamsburg Bridge, the warehouse of the former Domino Sugar Company was still standing. It is scheduled to be demolished later this year.

By the time we arrived at the Two Bridges, the neighborhood between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, it was already blue hour.

We rounded off the southern tip of Manhattan and as we passed by Pier 15, there seemed to be a celebration going inside that night. No stopping for us though, we're nearly at the end of the Great Saunter!

Fourteen hours after starting, I finally reached the Fraunces Tavern where it all began.

That was one great but very tiring walk. Would I do it again the next time? I'm not really sure, but it was a very interesting and educational walk for me, and I'm so glad I got to join in the Great Saunter and walk the 32 miles along Manhattan's perimeter. Here's my proof!

Hope you all enjoyed walking along with my Great Saunter. For the rest of my photos, here's the album on Flickr - The Great Saunter, 05.03.14

Three Bridges Walk-Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg

Last November I joined a group meet-up to walk across the three bridges that connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. Often referred to as BMW, the three bridges are the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge. Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges are near each other while Williamsburg is a little bit further. You can see the bridges in this photo I took while riding the ferry to Governors Island last year, even if only the towers of Williamsburg is visible.

The group met at the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall station subway stop which is right across the pedestrian entrance of the bridge. I previously wrote about walking across Brooklyn Bridge. It's always great to walk across the bridge, even if it was slightly raining when we started our walk that day.

There are a lot of love locks on the bridge. I like the colored ones with the names printed, sometimes some of them even have designs of the bridge on the locks.

A close-up of the bridge's overhead cable wires doesn't show the repair works being done which is expected to last until middle of this year. The cable wires always make a great picture of the Brooklyn Bridge.

As we neared the exit on the Brooklyn side, I saw this sweet sign.

After reaching Brooklyn, we walked just a few blocks to start the walk on our second bridge for the day, the Manhattan Bridge. Its pedestrian walkway has great views of the Brooklyn Bridge. I could see the whole bridge and a very foggy lower Manhattan.

This was my view looking up at one of the towers of Manhattan Bridge.

There are lots of graffiti on Manhattan Bridge. I could not even read the bridge data and names of those involve in the building of the bridge as the marker is full of graffiti.

 

As we neared the Manhattan side of the bridge, I could see more graffiti on many of the buildings in the Two Bridges neighborhood.

Soon we reached the Manhattan end of the bridge which is marked by the Manhattan Bridge Arch and Colonnade.

In 1910, a year after the bridge opened, the architectural firm Carrère and Hastings drew up preliminary plans for an elaborate grand entry to the bridge on the Manhattan side, as part of the "City Beautiful" movement. Construction began that year, and plans were finalized in 1912. The arch and colonnade were completed in 1915. The decoration includes pylons which were sculpted by Carl A. Heber and a frieze called "Buffalo Hunt" by Charles Rumsey.

That Manhattan end is in Chinatown. We walked several blocks in the neighborhood to get to the Williamsburg Bridge pedestrian entrance which is in Clinton and Delancey Streets. Along the way we passed by many of its business establishments and also its fire department, the Chinatown Dragon Fighters.

We also passed by and stopped at Seward Park as some wanted to use the restroom facilities. A short walk around the park perimeter led me to a statue of Togo, the lead sled dog of Leonhard Seppala and his dog sled team in the 1925 serum run to Nome across central and northern Alaska.

Then we were on our way to the Manhattan entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge.

Here's the group walking in the light rain across the bridge.

Looking up from pedestrian walkway, I saw one of the bridge's towers.

There are also a lot of street art as we neared the Williamsburg end of the bridge. I like this American flag formed with car doors. Very original!

We also passed by this huge mural by twin brothers How & Nosm.

Our walk ended at the Brooklyn Flea Market where we bought lunch. Upon arriving, I saw this huge artwork Queen Mother of Reality by Pawel Althamer.

The Brooklyn Flea is located inside the East River State Park which has great views of Manhattan, especially on clear days. However, by the time we arrived rain has fallen steadily and the fog over Manhattan has thickened. When I look across the East River, some of the buildings were no longer visible.

After lunch I bade my leave from the group and boarded the East River ferry to go to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The ferry ride gave me a great view of the Williamsburg Bridge.

When I got to Brooklyn Bridge Park, lower Manhattan looked hauntingly beautiful covered in fog.

It wasn't as foggy in Brooklyn looking at the Watchtower building.  I can still see the numbers on the LED clock.

I walked a little bit at the park and when I looked out the New York harbor, Lady Liberty was a very faint outline in the thick fog.

I proceeded at the back of the park's Pier 1 to walk across the Squibb Park Bridge, which opened in March 2013.

If you walk across Squibb Park Bridge, you may notice a little bounce in your step. The bridge was designed with trail bridge technology and is meant to be lightweight and flexible like the trail bridges in our state and national parks. So whether you’re a first timer or returning visitor of the Squibb Park Bridge, expect an extra pep in your step and know that this is completely normal and part of the design. 

The bridge offers a great view of lower Manhattan, as well as the beautiful vegetation of the park.

I could also see more construction work going on. I know when all the work is done, Brooklyn Bridge Park will be one of the city's best parks.

I finally made my way back to Pier 1, lower Manhattan was still shrouded in fog,

I also dropped by the area at the park where visitors often leave love locks.

Then it was time to head home. One last look at the park near Jane's Carousel with Manhattan still covered with heavy fog.

It was also foggy at Manhattan Bridge, to think we were just walking there earlier.

At the start of our walk across Manhattan Bridge, I saw artwork along some of the walls and promised myself to look into it. I learned that the artwork are part of Dumbo Walls.

Using brick walls as canvas, international artists transform DUMBO’s streetscape with works by CAM, DALeast, Eltono, Shepard Fairey, Faith47, MOMO, Stefan Sagmeister, and Yuko Shimizu. - See more at: http://dumbo.is/itineraries/667#sthash.MP1x9SSP.dpuf

The DUMBO Improvement District has teamed up with Two Trees Management to bring art to the blank brick walls underneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Called "DUMBO Walls", the installation brings eight world-renowned artists to the Kingsborough, transforming disused space into an outdoor gallery.

Artists CAM, MOMO, Stefan Sagmesiter, Yuko Shizimu, Shepard Fairey, Eltono, and Faith 47 added their signature styles to the walls with colorful, semi-permanent murals. Visitors can marvel at the outdoor art exhibition, which traverses the walkway near the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Each of the eight murals signify the debut of the DUMBO Walls project, which hopes to transform other areas in DUMBO into an open air exhibition space.

I like the owls at the Bar and Grill Park by CAM.

And the reindeer by DALeast at the BQE Underpass on Pearl Street.

All of the murals are really good, I've placed the photos in a separate album on Flickr - Dumbo Walls

That was a great walk even if it was raining and foggy. 

This is just a rough illustration of the paths we took on the Three Bridges walk but I'm posting this map to give you an idea where I walked that day.

For the rest of my photos, here are the albums on Flickr:

Three Bridges Walk

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Dumbo Walls

DALeast

Pearl Street (BQE Underpass)

sing brick walls as canvas, international artists transform DUMBO’s streetscape with works by CAM, DALeast, Eltono, Shepard Fairey, Faith47, MOMO, Stefan Sagmeister, and Yuko Shimizu. - See more at: http://dumbo.is/itineraries/667#sthash.MP1x9SSP.dpuf

Using brick walls as canvas, international artists transform DUMBO’s streetscape with works by CAM, DALeast, Eltono, Shepard Fairey, Faith47, MOMO, Stefan Sagmeister, and Yuko Shimizu. - See more at: http://dumbo.is/itineraries/667#sthash.MP1x9SSP.dpuf