Nice House

Tuesday 9/12: Sheepshead Bay

Distance: 9.51 miles
Time: 1:10
Pace: 7:22
Temp: 58
Dewpoint: 38
Weather: mostly sunny

click on image for interactive map


Unique Miles Today: 8.31
Total Unique Miles: 411.44
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 23.61

Route: I started at McDonald and Avenue X, and headed north to Avenue W, west to Lake, south to 86th, west to Van Sicklen, north back to Avenue W, east a block back to Lake but then north up to Village Road South, west to Van Sicklen then doubling back to the dead-end Village Court, continuing east to E. 1st then north on Village Road East, east just a bit on Gravesend Neck Road then north on West, north up to Avenue T, west to Lake, south to Avenue U, east to McDonald, north to Sloan, east to West, south to Whitney, west back to McDonald, north to Avenue S, east to E. 1st, south to the dead end and then doubling back all the way back to Avenue S and east to E. 2nd. But wait, there's more: I took E. 2nd south to Avenue Z then up a half-block to Brighton Court, took that east to E. 6th, north to Manhattan Court and back west to East 2nd, then up to Avenue Y, east to E. 3rd, north to Parkway Court, east to Hubbard, north to Ocean Court, west back to E. 3rd, south back to Parkway then doubling back and heading north all the way to Avenue P, east to E. 4th, south to Avenue X, doubling back to Angela then heading east to E. 5th, north back to Avenue P, east to Ocean Parkway, and then south to King's Highway. Notice how complicated these things are getting lately?

Notes: On an absolutely beautiful morning (and one that was nearly perfect for running), I took the F down to Sheepshead Bay yet one more time to fill in some gaps down there. Today I explored some of the northern reaches, though, especially the Homecrest section of the neighborhood. The homes on the numbered streets east of McDonald in this area are sizeable, and most are lavish and often ostentatious in much the same way as some of the fancy houses I ran by on Sunday's run in Dyker Heights were. Without really trying, it seems that in the last week I've made my way through some of the more upscale neighborhoods in the southern parts of the borough (Mill Basin, Dyker Heights, Homecrest), but the thing that strikes me the most is the very different ways that people with a bit of money present these homes to public view. In Park Slope or Fort Greene, for instance, the "nicest home on the block" might be a brownstone impeccably restored to period detail; in Homecrest or Dyker Heights the same real estate-based status might derive from the number of red granite columns on the front of the house or the extensiveness of the landscaping. Either way, it's more of an academic thing for me -- I've never owned a home, and with the prices being what they are here, it's doubtful I will any time soon. But from what I've seen, thinking about real estate while engaged in other activities like running is certainly not unusual among my fellow New Yorkers, so maybe I'm acclimating to my new home just a bit.

Whatever. A handful of photos:


Memorial on a support for the elevated F tracks (McDonald Avenue)


Also on McDonald Avenue


Just off of E. 4th Street


E. 2nd Street


E. 3rd Street