Giant Squids and Mermaids

Saturday 10/7, Run #62: Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach

Distance: 10.02 miles
Time: 1:15
Pace: 7:29
Temp: 53
Dewpoint: 42
Weather: overcast & windy

click on image for interactive map


Unique Miles Today: 6.95
Total Unique Miles: 493.72
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 28.34

Route: I began at W. 5th and Surf Avene, proceeded east to Ocean Parkway then picked up the boardwalk, which I followed east to Brighton 15th. I then headed north up to Brighton Beach Avenue (with the little dead-end part of Brightwater Ave along the way), east to Corbin Place, south to the dead end and doubling back north up to Cass, then east to West End Avenue, south to the dead end then doubling back up to Oriental Boulevard, east to Amherst, south to the dead end and doubling back north to Shore Boulevard, east to Beaumont, south to the dead end, back north to Oriental Boulevard, east to Coleridge, south to the dead end then back north to Shore Boulevard, east to Dover, south to the dead end and back up to Oriental Boulevard, east to Exeter, south to the dead end and back up to Shore Boulevard, west to the footbridge then doubling back and continuing southeast to Ocean Avenue, south to Oriental Boulevard, east to Manhattan Beach Park, then into the park and west along the crescent-shaped boardwalk to the end then back to the eastern end and back to Oriental Boulevard, then east into the Kingsborough Community College campus: south on Perry Avenue, continuing onto John Berry Boulevard to Seawall Avenue, around the edge of the water up to Oriental Avenue, west past the parking lot then doubling back to Seawall Ave, which I followed around to the north gate on Shore Boulevard, then doubled back to Quentin and went south to Oriental Boulevard and then west to Irwin.

Notes: As with yesterday's run, this was one I'd been putting off for a while, because I knew I'd have to head back to Kingsborough Community College. Of course, I have nothing against higher education (I've spent a good portion of my adult life engaged in such things), but on a run down to the KCC campus a while back I was turned away by a particularly vigilant security guard at the main gate, and it was easier just to concentrate on other neighborhoods than to worry about how I was going to run the campus. Of course, I ended up simply emailing the school's directory of security, who kindly arranged to leave my name at the main gate so I could easily get in (why hadn't I thought of that earlier?). And it was a very cool place to run, since the campus (which occupies the eastern tip of Coney Island) is surrounded by water on three sides. It must be a great place in the summer months, but I wouldn't know about that -- if, as I wrote earlier, Tuesday's weather seemed more like late August than early October, today's felt more like mid-November. It was cool, overcast, and very windy. Still, though, I prefer the cooler weather (though I could live without the wind), and actually recorded a pretty quick pace and ended up having a fine run. At one point I stumbled upon a little photo shoot on the oceanfront at Manhattan Beach Park, with two women dressed up as mermaids. Though they were sporting sleeveless t-shirts instead of what I always assumed was the standard-issue seashell bikini top, they must've been absolutely freezing...

Anyway, today's excursion included over three repeat miles, which kept my unique miles down to a little under seven, despite the pace and the 75 minutes on the road. For better or worse, though, this is exactly what I can expect over the next month or two as I work on finishing up the borough's southern third. On the other hand, I'm now done with Manhattan Beach, making it the second neighborhood I've completed. And there are a half-dozen others which I only need two or three runs to finish, which ought to be happening over the forthcoming few weeks. I'm actually beginning to feel like I'm making actual progress!

I'll be taking tomorrow off to fulfill a social obligation, and probably Monday, too, but I'll be back to by regular schedule on Tuesday. Until then, today's photographic output:


Giant squid sculpture along Surf Avenue


The pedestrian bridge from Manhattan Beach to Sheepshead Bay


My first ever mermaid sighting!


Senior Center on Brighton Beach Avenue


How many community colleges have their own beaches?

Gerritsen Beach: It's About Time

Friday 10/6, Run #61: Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach

Distance: 9.62 miles
Time: 1:15
Pace: 7:48
Temp: 54
Dewpoint: 42
Weather: overcast & windy

click on image for interactive map

Unique Miles Today: 6.80
Total Unique Miles: 486.77
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 27.94

Route: I began today's run at 29th and Avenue Y, then headed east to Knapp Ave (and did that little dirt-road segment across the street), north to Avenue X, west to Brigham, north to Avenue V, east to Stuart, south to Avenue X, west a block to Gerritsen Ave, then south to the dead end, and back up to Lois. Then I headed west on Lois, doing hitting all the dead-end streets along the water: Abbey, Beacon, Canton, Dare, Eaton, Frank, Noel, and Gain. Then it was west on Lois to its dead end and back to Hyman, than north to Seba, west to Ivan, south to the dead end and back to Seba, west to Just, south to its dead end then back up to Opal, west to Madoc then south to its dead end and back to Post, then west to Post's dead end and back to Madoc, north to Opal, west to the dead end and back east to Just then doubling back to Madoc, north to Seba, east to Just then doubling back and continuing to where Seba dead-ends, then east to Madoc, north to Nova, west to the dead end then back to Madoc, north a block to Melba and doubling back to Nova, east to Noel, north to Melba, west to the dead end and doubling back to Madoc, north to Lester, west to the dead end and doubling back to Madoc, north to Keen then doubling back to Lester, east to Noel, north to Keen, west to the dead end and doubling back to Madoc, north to Cyrus, west to the dead end and then east all the way back to Gerritsen Ave, then doubling back west a block to Abbey, south to Lois, west to Beacon, north to Cyrus, west to Canton, south to Lois, west to Dare, north to Cyrus, west to Eaton, south to Lois, west to Frank, north to Cyrus, west to Noel, south to Lois, west to Gain, north to Seba, west a block to Hyman then doubling back and on east to Gerritsen again. Then it was north up to Florence, west to Ebony, north to the dead end and back to Channel, east to Gerritsen once more, north to Allen, southwest to Avenue X, west to Batchelder, and north to Avenue V.

Notes: I'll admit it -- this run was one that I have been dreading for a while. Not so much because I don't like Sheepshead Bay or Gerritsen Beach (they're both fine places to run, as far as I'm concerned), but because Gerritsen Beach is like a maze. It has block after block of very narrow roads squeezed together (most of them are too narrow to have sidewalks, and the houses are pressed up against the streets), and -- because the entire neighborhood is on a peninsula -- many of the streets dead-end at the waters of Shell Bank Creek and Plumb Beach Channel. Furthermore, the only way in or out of the neighborhood is Gerritsen Avenue. Add it all up and it's not only a somewhat confusing place to run (luckily, whoever planned things gave the streets names that are organized alphabetically), but there was an awful lot of retracing my routes and the subsequent accumulation of a sizeable percentage of non-unique miles (close to three miles' worth). Still, it was much cooler this morning (after a couple of days of above-average warmth and humdity), so I figured it was as good a time as any to take the plunge and head down there. I'm still not done with the neighborhood -- it'll take one more trip down there, I think -- but I'm that much closer to being finished with the southern third of the borough. And thought the morning was overcast and windy, my timing was good, apparently, as it had just started to rain while I was walking into the subway station there on Avenue U. Tomorrow, I think I'll head down to Manhattan Beach and try to finish off that neighborhood.

As for pictures, I did my best with a run that was almost entirely residential and under very gloomy skies:


On the little dirt road extension of Avenue Y


Shed at the end of Frank Street (Plumb Beach Channel behind it)


On Gerritsen Avenue


Just west of Ebony Court

Last Gasps of Summer

Wednesday 10/4, Run #60: Bensonhurst

Distance: 9.77 miles
Time: 1:15
Pace: 7:41
Temp: 64
Dewpoint: 60
Weather: mostly sunny

click on image for interactive map

Unique Miles Today: 7.90
Total Unique Miles: 479.97
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 27.55

Route: I began today at 85th Street and 19th Avenue, went east to 20th Ave, south to 86th then doubled back and continued north to Bay Ridge Parkway, then east to 21st Ave and doubling back to 20th Ave, north to 74th, west to 16th Ave, north to 72nd, east to Bay Parkway, south to 73rd, west to 18th Ave, south to 74th again, east back to Bay Parkway then doubling back to 21st Ave, south to 85th, west a block to 20th Ave and doubling back to 21st, south to 86th and doubling back to 85th, east to 23rd Ave, south to 86th and then doubling back and continuing up to 80th, east to Stillwell Ave, southeast to 24th Ave, south to 85th, west a block to 23rd Ave and doubling back to 24th, south to 86th and doubling back to 85th, then east to 25th Ave, north to 84th, west to 18th Ave, north to 83rd, east to Stillwell Ave, northwest to 82nd, west to 18th Ave, north to 81st, west to New Utrecht Ave, and on to 17th Ave.

Notes: On a morning that felt a lot more like late August than early October, I took the D train down to Bensonhurst with the hopes of having a run as good as yesterday's while also filling in a nice rectangular section of the "big map." While there wasn't quite the visual overload I experienced 24 hours earlier in Coney Island, there was still plenty to see. Most unusual this time out was a house on 85th Street with over a dozen life-size figures arranged around the driveway, front yard, and over the garage -- mostly iconographic cultural figures like Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Elvis, and the Blues Brothers (!), though -- presumably for Halloween -- Frankenstein and Dracula were there, too, along with an Indian chief and a pirate and the Statue of Liberty. The driveway was also lined with old street signs, gas pumps, and mailboxes. I'm not sure if this was a seasonal display or if it's always there, but it was certainly a surprise to see all of this on an otherwise quiet residential block. Unfortunately, it was all in the shade this early in the morning, which made it a bit harder to take any good pictures, though I've included one below which gives at least a little sense of the place. Anyway, I'll take tomorrow off, and run again either Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday, so see you then.

Pictures, as always:


73rd Street


The top of a 2-car garage on 85th Street


Mosaic over the entrance to St. Mary's Church, also on 85th

Coney Island Without the Crowds

Tuesday 10/3, Run #59: Coney Island & Gravesend

Distance: 7.86 miles
Time: 1:00
Pace: 7:38
Temp: 62
Dewpoint: 52
Weather: partly cloudy

click on image for interactive map


Unique Miles Today: 5.45
Total Unique Miles: 472.07
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 27.09

Route: Today I started at W. 8th and Neptune, headed west to W. 12th, south to Surf Avenue, west to Stillwell Avenue, north back to Neptune, west to W. 15th, north to Hart, west to W. 16th, south to Neptune but doubling back to Hart, west to Cropsey Avenue, north across the bridge over the Belt Parkway to Avenue Z, east to W. 16th, south to Shore, east to Stillwell Avenue and then doubling back to W. 15th, north back to Avenue Z, east to Stillwell Avenue, north to W. 15th Place, west to W. 15th Street, south to Avenue Z, west to W. 16th, north to Bay 50th, west to W. 17th, south to Avenue Z, then west back to Cropsey and south back over the bridge to Bay 53rd, west to W. 22nd, north to Bay 52nd and doubling back south to Bay 56th, which curves around to Bay 54th, which I ran west on then doubled back to Cropsey. After that it was south back to Neptune Avenue, east to W. 15th, south to Surf Avenue, west to W. 16th, north back to Neptune, west to W. 17th, south back to Surf, west to W. 19th, north to Neptune, west to W. 21st, south to Surf, west to W. 22nd, south to the boardwalk (including a quick out-and-back on Highland View Avenue), east to W. 21st, north to Surf, east to W. 16th, south to the boardwalk, east to W. 15th, north to Surf, east to Schweikerts Walk, south to Bowery Street, west to W. 15th then doubling back east to Stillwell, north to Surf, east to Henderson Walk, south back to Bowery Street, west to Stillwell, south to the boardwalk again, east to W. 12th, north to Bowery, west back to Henderson Walk, north to Surf, east to W. 12th, south to Bowery, east to Jones Walk, north to Surf, east to W. 10th, south to the boardwalk, east to W. 8th, and north back to Surf Avenue.

Notes: Coney Island is a strange place, I think, a place where kitsch and history and ugliness and odd beauty exist side by side right along the ocean, and where the both the best and worst aspects of capitalism and urban life and American culture are all there in a gaudy neon display. This impression is compounded by visiting the neighborhood at 8:30 on a weekday morning in October, when being there gives you that same slightly unsettling feeling you get in a church on a Tuesday afternoon, say, or a school building on the weekend. That's how I felt today, where the throngs of New Yorkers that pack the boardwalk and amusement park during warm summer evenings were long gone and the place was kind of like a surreal ghost town, though with food wrappers and paper coffee cups scuttling across mostly-empty streets instead of tumbleweeds. That said, it is also an intensely interesting place, and one that -- as with many neighborhoods in Brooklyn, it would seem -- is at a crossroads between past and present, between sometimes inscrutable local color and future megadevelopment. Whatever Coney Island was or will be, though, right now there's an awful lot to look at and enjoy. And that's what I did on today's run, on a pleasant and fairly warm morning. It was a relatively short affair (only an hour!), and included a lot of repeat miles, but it was also one of the most enjoyable runs I've had in a while. I wish they could all be like this.

Anyway, for a terrific look at the past and present state of Coney, check out Kevin Walsh's Forgotten New York pages dedicated to the neighborhood. And for a look of what might be in Coney Island's future, read this August 3rd piece from Curbed.

Finally, as always, we've got pictures. I've included a few extra today, since there was so much to see.


P.S. 90 on W. 12th Street


The rusting hull of an old boat in Coney Island Creek


One of the rides, off Bowery Street


Off of W. 15th Street


In a vacant lot on Bay 54th Street


On the boardwalk


King Neptune, on the old Child's restaurant building on the boardwalk

Rain Delay

Sunday 10/1, Run #58: Bath Beach & Bensonhurst

Distance: 9.06 miles
Time: 1:10
Pace: 7:44
Temp: 63
Dewpoint: 58
Weather: mostly sunny

click on image for interactive map


Unique Miles Today: 7.08
Total Unique Miles: 466.63
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 26.78

Route: I began today at New Utrecht Avenue and 17th Avenue, headed southeast on New Utrecht to Bay 16th, then it was south to 85th, west back to 17th Avenue, south to 86th, east to Bay 16th north back to 85th, east to New Utrecht again, southeast to Bay 19th, south to Benson Avenue, east to Bay 20th, south to Bath Avenue, east to 19th Avenue then doubling back to Bay 19th, south to Cropsey, east to Bay 20th then doubling back to Bay 19th, south to Shore Road, west to Bay 8th, north to 86th, west a block to Bay 7th, south to Cropsey, west to 14th Avenue then doubling back and continuing down to Bay 19th again, north to Bath Avenue, west to 14th Avenue, north to Benson Avenue, east to 18th Avenue, south to Rutherford, west to 17th Avenue then doubling back to Bay 19th, then north to 86th, west to 16th Avenue, north to 76th, east to 17th Avenue, south to 84th, east to New Utrecht, southeast to 18th Avenue, north to 84th, west back to New Utrecht, northwest to 72nd, west to 15th Avenue, south to 76th, west to 14th Avenue, north to 74th, and east to 16th Avenue.

Notes: Okay, so the Hawks lost yesterday, and by a substantial margin (38-17). I guess that's why Ohio State is ranked first. Anyway, Iowa's still 4-1, and with a trip to Michigan the only really serious challenge, they might still be able to pull out a great season. Oh, and the NY City Opera's new production of Semele was fantastic -- the story was moved forward from ancient Greece to late 1950s-early 1960s Washington, DC, and with the philandering Jupiter recast as the US president, Juno as his Jackie-O type first lady, and Semele herself as a clone of Marilyn Monroe seeking immortality not among the gods, but on the pages of the celebrity magazines. It was very well done, quite clever, and often very funny. And the singing was great too. I might come around on the baroque opera stuff yet.

As for today's run, it was fine. The rain was coming down pretty good when I got up early this morning, so I went back to bed for a while, only to find it raining harder an hour later when I got back up. I was just about to call off the run and reschedule for tomorrow, but a quick peek at the weather radar seemed to indicate that the precipitation would be clearing out soon. And it looks like I timed it well, after all -- when I got on the G train here in Greenpoint it was raining, but 50 minutes later, I got off at the 79th Street stop on the D under mostly sunny skies. As you can guess by the subway journey, I went back south once again to fill in yet more gaps. And it looks like I can close the book on Bath Beach, which I think is the first neighborhood I've run in its entirety thus far. So see you later, Bath Beach, and thanks for the memories.

I need a nap, so let me post today's pictures and get on with it:


St. Finbar Church at Bay 20th and Benson Avenue


Electioneering on Cropsey Avenue


Bath Avenue


New Utrecht Avenue


Also on New Utrecht Avenue