Submitted by iFlunkedChemistry t3_xwlwmq in nyc
Just a heads up before you read this, I’m a teenager who lives 1 hour away on the Metro North. In no way am I an expert about anything I’m talking about.
So pretty much what the title says, I walked 8.5 miles from Flushing to Greenpoint via Roosevelt Ave and Greenpoint Ave. I had seen alot of people doing the entire length of Manhattan via Broadway and thought it looked pretty cool. So, I did it myself, and had alot of fun peoplewatching and eating food. However, that only left me wanting more.
So, after literally just looking around on Google Maps, I decided on the route I was gonna take. It started at Leonard Square and ended in the WNYC Transmitter Park. I was already sorta familiar with the area because I have taken the 7 a million times to go to Flushing and saw all the commercial buildings right by every stop and have always wanted to check them out. However, I had never actually gotten off at any of those stops.
I got into Flushing really early at around 6:30 and got breakfast at a place called Canaan Bakery. They had these really good toast sandwiches that I got which were stuffed with a bunch of different things. Afterwards I headed towards Leonard Square to start walking.
The first neighborhood I passed through was Murray Hill. It was pretty small but it was pretty cool because everything there was entirely Korean. That itself wasn’t really a shock to me, since I have been to Ktown on 32 street before, but Murray Hill definitely felt more like a community and not just a bunch of storefronts. It was also really quiet.
Afterwards I passed through Downtown Flushing which is generally packed. There were so many people flowing in and out of the station. I actually read somewhere that the intersection between Roosevelt Ave and Main St is the busiest crossroads in the city outside of Manhattan.
Following Flushing was probably one of the worst parts of the entire walk. Once you go past the Skyview Mall there's really nothing and it's obviously not infrastructure designed with pedestrians in mind. Of course there are sidewalks, but the trains and cars are really loud, and there weren't any garbage cans on the bridge going over Flushing Creek, so there were just mask, cups, cigs etc just pushed up against the barrier.
Afterwards, I walked past Citi Field. That part was also not great, since obviously it's a stadium and you're not gonna have houses or shops nearby, only parking spaces. It was just generally pretty bleak. One thing I can say is good though is that on a sunnier day you probably wouldn't have to worry too much about the sun and sunscreen, since the entirety of Roosevelt Ave past the Skyview Mall is covered by elevated tracks, which was noisy at times but provided some shelter from the rain and I would imagine the sun, too, on days with nicer weather. There were also trees by the side of the road.
Once I got into Corona, though, the vibe completely changed. There was so much going on. There weren't that many Chinese or Korean places any more besides a few restaurants, churches, and auto shops. It was almost entirely Hispanic, with the biggest groups probably being from Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. There was no shortage of supermarkets, bakeries, cafes, and juice shops. There were also a huge amount of people on the side of the road selling things like porridge and tamales. My biggest regret is not getting anything there, since everything smelled so good, but idw block the sidewalk or hold up any lines since I wouldn't really know what I was doing with myself or what to order.
After Corona was Jackson Heights. It was just as busy, but, instead of only Hispanic things, there were alot of South Asian restaurants and shops, with some Philippine influence here and there. There were also alot of hair salons that advertised Japanese hair straightening which I thought was interesting. Otherwise though I couldn't really tell the boundary between Corona and Jackson Heights, unlike Flushing and Greenpoint. They both had alot of energy and so much going on in the street.
Once it became Greenpoint Ave, thought, it was alot more quiet. There were still some shops but alot more auto shops and heavy traffic going through. I'm sorry if you're from there but it was just kinda giving nothing. I also wonder if it was just because there weren't tracks going above the road anymore, which made everything feel more spread out.
This stretch also probably had the worst intersection that I had to cross. Right before I crossed the Greenpoint Bridge over the Newtown Creek, I had to cross a busy intersection with alot of heavy traffic going by. And, there was a truck parked on the sidewalk I needed to cross, with another truck parked right next to it on the side of the road. This meant that I had to go into the road to cross the street without any visibility of traffic coming from the righthand side. The bridge itself was nothing special, but I could see the part of the Manhattan skyline that wasn't covered by clouds from there.
Once I got over the bridge, it definitely had more of the Brooklyn hippie vibe. It was also the last hill that I had to go over which was nice. However, there wasn't the same energy that was there when I was walking through Queens, ie no people hanging out on the street and no vendors selling things like fruit. There were a good amount of cute cafes and Polish restaurants which looked nice on the outside, but I usually don't go for that kinda stuff so I ignored it.
At the bottom of the hill was the WNYC Transmitter Park. It wasn't anything super special, but it had a panoramic view of Manhattan. There was also a really long pier that you could walk out on and have a seat and take in the view. I think that on a sunnier day it definitely would have been more of a reward to sit down and take pictures.
Overall, though, it was super fun. I would recommend it to anybody who likes to go on long walks and try new cuisines. I never felt unsafe outside of the intersection before the Greenpoint Bridge, which was because of unsafe traffic conditions anyways.
Also, if anybody has any recommendations for long, straightforward walks like this one, let me know
LessTalkMoreRock1 t1_ir77z1i wrote
I will read this novel later