June 19, 2021 --
LPR traveled by subway and bus and subway to Rockaway, on June 6, to get an image for the website of people finally at the beach. The trip was a horror, taking three hours for what should be a trip under two hours. The MTA continues its policy of providing maximum possible inconvenience for Sunday travelers.
Sundays, as well as weekends, generally, are typically the days devoted to track work. For Sunday, June 6, the trackwork was on the A line, the train that usually goes direct from upper Manhattan to beach venues in the Rockaways, in Queens.
LPR feared something was amiss, on noticing that the A train he boarded carried a "Jay Street" notice. Jay Street is a thoroughfare in Brooklyn, and sure enough, reaching the Jay Street stop, passengers were instructed to continue their journey by boarding shuttle buses to Utica Avenue, where we would pick up another A train for the trip to Rockaway.
The shuttle bus traveled to Utica Avenue by way of downtown Brooklyn, and required a multitude of stops at red lights, some stops lasting minutes, en route to Utica Avenue. At the Utica station the A train we boarded was not going to Rockaway, but to Lefferts Boulevard, which meant that we had to get off at Rockaway Boulevard and wait for the train to Far Rockaway. And wait. And wait some more. But the beach I was headed to was in Rockaway Park, not Far Rockway, requiring another change at Broad Channel, with wait, to reach the last stop at Beach 116th Street,
It took three hours for this journey. It takes less time to get to the Jersey beaches or Robert Moses State Park, on Long Island.
But artists must make great sacrifices for their audiences. Fortunately, Nick's Ices was open on 116th Street and before reaching the beach, LPR made sure to have some cherry ices, with bits of cherry in them, before going to the beach in search of photo ops.
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People indeed... |
(Be sure to stop by and check out the July 5th edition of LPR to see more beach images...)
LPR got some beach images, and lolled in the sun an hour or so, before heading back to the Bronx. En route to Rockaway, a worker for the MTA advised to take the L train at Broadway Junction before reaching Utica Avenue, to avoid the time wasted on the bus shuttle. The L train indeed linked up not only with the A train but with the No. 1 train, taking LPR to 231st Street in the Bronx, to link up with the No. 7 bus for the short trip home. The L connection reduced the return trip to 2 and a half hours. Why couldn't the MTA have advised New Yorkers of the L connection? Fact is, until June 6, 2021, LPR did not know that an L train existed.
June 7, LPR went to 47 Fifth Avenue, the Salmagundi Club, near 12th Street to see a painting produced by Dr. Bruce Paly, LPR's outstanding dentist. Dr. Paly calls the work, "All under heaven are equal." It shows a crowd of people close by a monument with Chinese lettering.
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Painting by Dr. Bruce Paly |
The exhibit, dealing with Cityscapes, features the works of a great many artists whose painting reflects realism; the detail in these impressive works is simply staggering.
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Another painting at the Salmagundi exhibit |
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Still another painting at Salmagundi |
The exhibit runs through June 24 and is open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday - Friday, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekend.
From the Cityscapes exhibit, LPR went to the Hudson River, literally, off 13th Street to experience the newest park in New York City, Little Island, made possible through the generosity of entertainment mogul Barry Diller, who spent more than $200 million dollars developing Little Island.
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Entering Little Island Park |
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People entering park |
(Should this park have been named "Dillervale?")
The park includes an amphitheater that will be home to concerts, a pleasant commissary area, and rolling hills offering striking views of the lower Manhattan skyline, and also of the Empire State Building.
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Little Island Amphitheater |
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Empire State Building from Little Island Park |
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Manhattan from Little Island. 6/7/21 |
Looking west, the skyline of New Jersey on the Hudson River makes for more attractive photo ops. Looking downriver towards New York Bay, the Statue of Liberty is discernible. |
The Verrazano Bridge is even more clearly visible, notwithstanding the fact that it links Brooklyn with Staten Island and accordingly, is some miles from Little Island.
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Looking at NY harbor from Park |
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Looking at Jersey skyline from Park |
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Flowers in park |
Reservations are required to visit Little Island. In LPR's case, an unused reservation enabled LPR to go aboard the park and take these images which, now, will bring Little Island to people all around the globe. The park opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m.
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Park interior |
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Park snack area |
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Water fountain in park |
There is a water fountain off to the left of the commissary area, so people do not have to purchase water on the hot days ahead this summer. The park also comes with restrooms!
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Outside Little Island |
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People in park |
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Inside Park looking towards entrance |
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View of Little Island outside S.E. corner. |
LPR has little doubt Little Island will lead to a vast increase in traffic to that part of the Hudson River by the meat packing district that is rapidly become a very chic part of Manhattan, what with the High Line and Chelsea Market close by -- with an Apple store at Ninth Avenue and 14th Street.
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The way back to the mainland |
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Little Island exit ramp |
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Park sunset |
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Reflected sunset off Little Island |
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