Walkin' In Brooklyn

July came to a close with another trip to East New York on the 3 train, but this time I got off before the end of the line. Instead of Livonia, I went one block south to Riverdaale and walked down to the "L" train boundary with Brownsville. After a detour to the bridge over the tracks, I completed that avenue and crossed over to Clarkson Ave -- which I didn't take to the end because I had someplace else to go! But I'm getting ahead of myself! My trip started at the Van Siclen Ave station, which is one block north from the intersection of Van Siclen, New Lots Ave, and Riverdale Ave. Once at the intersection, I hung a right and went west like the young men of yore, although I only passed a few young men along the way. That's the benefit of traveling so early in the morning. The street running along the east side of the railroad tracks is Van Sinderen Ave. This particular block wasn't too creepy to walk, but it was a bit deserted. The block beyond it ...

For all the long walks from East New York back toward Prospect Park, summer time means the beach and Coney Island. There are plenty of streets closer to home that I needed to walk, and what better time to walk in Coney Island than early on a summer morning (before it gets too hot!)? There are times when I take photos of street signs, particularly with short one-block side streets, so I can sort out the photos. This is one of those times when I wished I'd done that. The first few photos are so generic, I can't place them. And worse, because of all the construction, the pictures don't match up with Google Maps street view either. However, I do remember which way I went. I started off walking west on Mermaid Ave and taking a left down W 17 Street. There was plenty of construction. I remember wanting to get a picture of the stadium and the Parachute Jump in the distance but I was in the way of vehicles that needed to move around. Handing a right on Surf Ave and the...