June 1, 2004
A WEEKEND IN THE ISLANDS
After my Maritime Day
href="http://lexiphane.com/lex/modules.php?set_albumName=album12&op=mod
load&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php">exploration of NY
Harbor a week ago, I figured I'd do some urban exploration a little
closer to home this Memorial Day weekend. Sunday I walked up the Bobby
Wagner Walkway, between the East River and the East River Drive, to
103rd St. There one finds a pedestrian footbridge connecting Manhattan
to Randalls and Wards Islands. At one time they were two separate
islands, but now they are one connected land mass. Wards Island is to
the south and seems more bucolic than Randalls Island to the north.
The Manhattan Psychiatric Center is on the East River on the northern
edge of Wards. There is also a facility for the homeless and the ruins
of facilities that once housed inebriates, the mentally ill, and other
frayed ends of New York City's social fabric. Randalls Island is
currently hosting the Cirque du Soleil. There is a track and field
stadium under construction and there is also a golf center with a
driving range, batting cages, and mini-golf. The Triborough Bridge
runs the length of both islands, connecting Manhattan, the Bronx, and
Queens. The east side of the islands is the best place to view Hell
Gate, where the East River meets the Long Island Sound. Tidal forces
at this juncture produce fearsome currents.
Sunday the islands were crowded with people barbecueing, fishing, and
otherwise enjoying a gorgeous day. I decided to circumnambulate the
entire islands, and did so except for segments that were crowded with
things like sewage treatment plants. I'll definitely be heading back
there this summer. Here's a
href="http://lexiphane.com/lex/modules.php?set_albumName=album13&op=mod
load&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php">photographic
tour of Randalls and Wards Islands.
Posted by Lexiphane at June 1, 2004 10:19 AM
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