NEW YORK BY FOOT
Walking the five boroughs
Last fall, a question circled around my head — “Can I go to New York City and walk around the five boroughs?” I pulled out an old road map and laid it on the kitchen table; ran my finger in a big circle and estimated the mileage to complete the walk.
If New York City is the parent, then the boroughs — Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx — are the children, each with their own character.
A few weeks later, the plane landed at La Guardia. The logistics of walking five boroughs demanded a central base for my adventure. I found a room (via Airbnb at US$75 a night) in the Manhattan enclave called Hell’s Kitchen. Add a seven-day unlimited Metro Card for subways, buses, and trains (US$32) around New York and I am good to go.
DAY 1
A subway ride coupled with a free Staten Island ferry gets me to the first borough of Staten Island. The ferry ride takes about half an hour and I travel with a mix of commuters and tourists while enjoying views of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Dusk and evening crossings offered great pictures of the Lower Manhattan skyline.
From there, the Staten Island Railway takes me south to the base of the island. With only a few hours of daytime due to a late plane arrival, I accustom myself to the area and make sure I have what it takes for my upcoming longer walks. It is a lazy afternoon of maybe eight kilometres — but I see the walkabout is doable. Staten Island is like Anytown, USA, and a lot of New Yorkers I talk to tell me they’ve never been there. I will be back tomorrow and log in some heavier mileage.
DAY 2
I walk by large swathes of state parks, and water can be seen at the end of most streets; even a boardwalk appears, as I near the Verrazano Bridge. Bagels are big on the island — walking not so much so.
You can’t walk the Verrazano Bridge, so I took the bus over and got off at the first Brooklyn stop. This is the New York enclave of Lou Reed and Mos Def. I walk along commercial roads heading for the edge of Prospect Park. I can see parks and street corners are an extension of living space for locals as they lounge on grass or benches and chat. Day 2 is over — a bus and the subway give my feet a rest and get me back to my fifth-floor walkup in Hell’s Kitchen.
DAY 3
Day 3 is a walk along Flatbush Avenue. This is authentic Brooklyn with local stores lining both sides of the street offering shopping and eating options. I have coffee and cheesecake at Juniors Bakery which gives me some needed energy as I walk toward the waterfront. This is the area known as DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) and home to the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.
I unfortunately walk the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday — the same day everyone in New York got up and thought it would be a good day to walk (or bike) it as well. Still the wonder couldn’t be squashed by mere crowds. The crossing is less than two kilometres, but you have to add access and exit routes for the bridge. The prime view is the Manhattan skyline, and walking toward it from Brooklyn offered the best pics.
Arriving on the Manhattan side, I wander through the East Village, and then up Fifth Avenue — quiet on Sunday afternoon. From here, it is also a reasonable walk over to Hell’s Kitchen and my small room. I keep my eyes open, but still no sightings of Marvel superheroes Daredevil or Jessica Jones.
DAY 4
Day 4 is a walk through midtown Manhattan up to Central Park. I take side trips for peeks at iconic buildings like MOMA, Waldorf Astoria, and the Plaza Hotel. Then, I turn west to cross the Queensboro Bridge (59th St. Bridge of the Simon and Garfunkel song). This brings me to the Queens of Ray Romano and Martin Scorsese, and being a tad tired, I take the subway back across the East River.
If getting around on foot is the physical challenge, then the subway is the mental challenge.
Looking like a string art project gone bad, the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) squirts out from Manhattan to everywhere. Stations are underground, elevated, or just train platforms. Adding to the chaos is finding the station access — some are the size of your house staircase and hidden like a portal from a Harry Potter book.
DAY 5
Day 5 in Queens is walking under the busy elevated subway lines of Long Island City to quieter suburban Astoria Park. From here, it is maybe 10 kilometres over the RFK Bridge to the Bronx. The RFK or Triborough Bridge links Queens to both the Bronx and Manhattan. There seem to be three separate bridges as I walk and at the middle section pedestrians exit the bridge for a walk across Wards Island. The island is a quiet and serene sea of green grass and trees after the concrete of the city.
I pass under a number of arches called Hell Gate Pathway before ascending the bridge to the Bronx. I am worried New Yorkers have a few too many references to Hell, for my liking. I’m just hoping I don’t find myself at a place called Hell’s Waiting Room.
The Bronx was my shortest walk of the five boroughs, and the only one with a “the” in front of its name. Asking directions or confirming I was on the right path generally opens a conservation and Bronx was no different — a bit gruff but happy to chat.
I stay for lunch, traverse some smaller streets and walk across to Harlem on the Third Avenue Bridge. A few more blocks and I am on Lenox Street or Malcolm X Boulevard, the backbone of Harlem.
This isn’t the dangerous New York of the ’70s — I felt safe everywhere. People are helpful. Some places life is gritty; Harlem and the Bronx have that look, but they are people venturing out in the world just like me and making a go of it.
The walk through Harlem ends with a standup lunch at a barbecue takeout by 110th Street and the start of Central Park (Bobby Womack song reference). After Harlem, it is the Upper West Side walking along the edge of Central Park. I add a side trip to the iconic Seinfeld restaurant of the TV show; unfortunately it is too busy for a coffee and the gang was not there anyway.
South of Central Park, I find Broadway, which becomes a chute to Times Square.
Times Square is as big and in your face as befits the world’s second-busiest tourist attraction (the Las Vegas Strip being the busiest). If there is danger in NYC, to me it’s Time’s Square — it seems to be a sideshow of pedlars and con men. Still it is interesting for people watching, and I am drawn to the square with it’s pulsating neon and closeness to Broadway theatres. Once through the crowds, hands on my wallet, it is a long walk through Lower Manhattan back to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and the end of my NYC adventure.
Back home after the one week vacation, I add up the mileage on that old road map and come to more than 90 enjoyable kilometres in five days. Would I do it again? For sure, but I would give myself 10 days to see and do even more next time.