off the L: A Curious Wander

I really love taking long walks on the weekends. I feel like this not only helps shake off the sedentary-blues of the workweek, it also lets you see so much more of the city than you would hopping train-to-train. So, a few weekends ago James and I set off on a walk that was aimed at the specific goal of obtaining Jacques Torres chocolate. When I set a goal, I don't mess around.

We decided to walk from Bushwick to DUMBO, hitting up the Jacques Torres shop at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. The walk ended up stirring our curiosities and led us through a Hasidic neighborhood, past the abandoned Admiral's Row, and into Manhattan to a beach bar. I'll let the pictures tell the story...

Flatbush Avenue: We realized too late that we were invading the insular Hasidic neighborhood
on this stretch of Flatbush during Shabbat. The giveaway were the few glares sent our way.

This old station was near the Navy Yards, though I'm not sure how it was used when it wasn't so rusty!

Industrial-meets-wasteland

B is for a-B-andoned....

Further along Flatbush, James and I found ourselves staring through an ivy-covered iron gate. Behind it was a long stretch of rotting houses. I counted ten as we paced out the block, but it turns out there were more beyond sight. The buildings gave me the chills -- they were beautiful and clearly from an era that had cared about details in architecture and integrity of materials. So why were they ruined and who had let this happen? Since we were bordering the Navy Yards at this point on our walk, James guessed that they had perhaps been owned by the U.S. Navy and been used to house officers. It turns out he was right. (When I got home later, I had to search for information and found plenty of it online. The housing is called Admiral's Row, and it was used until shortly after the end of World War II. The future of the buildings is a highly contentious issue. On one side of this issue are those who want to preserve them, which would cost roughly $25 million, and then there are those who see the land as highly valuable neighborhood turf. Those people want to put a much-needed grocery store on the plot of land. Anyway, even as I'm writing this, decisions have been made and I'm out of the loop, so I'll just post links here and do some reading-up myself. http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=344 )

condemned buildings make for great photo ops...

In contrast, here's the view that's across the street from Admiral's Row.

Once we made it to DUMBO, we discovered a new Carousel that was apparently built as a permanent structure in the waterfront park (it's so ugly I don't even want to put up a picture!) and also a temporary sculpture installment that has reactive LED lights. I'm not sure exactly what they react to -- but it seemed like radio waves were affecting their glow the most.

Above the park, Range Rover had set up a testing-grounds for their new SUV.
Anxious Manhattan drivers were taking these cars over mounds and between
tropical transplants. It was hilarious to watch, and more hilarious to wonder
when these potential car-owners would ever use the rugged steering capabilities
of their 'Rovers in stop-go-traffic.

The Brooklyn Bridge is still under construction. I learned a bit about this during my post-wander research as well! The bridge is being re-painted and checked for structural problems, and this process will take another year. That's an awfully long time to send tourists through a glorified cattle shute! This is the bridge's first new paint-job since 1991, and it will cost the city $85 million. It's about 12 years overdue.

On the other side of the bridge, we discovered a beach bar with sand floors, beer garden tents, firepits, and glowing couches. We made a trip there the week after, which was a bit of a let-down only because I think the employees were recovering from a late Halloween party that Saturday, and the weather was so snappy I had to cuddle the fire and stink up my clothes. It was still pretty neat though.... just don't buy your friends a round of the Apple Cider drinks. The price will hurt!