The Shore Parkway Greenway is a walking and bicycle path that runs on the bay side of the Shore Parkway automobile route. The Greenway exists in two noncontiguous sections, separated by Coney Island. The western section runs 4.3 miles, from Bay Parkway at the southern end, passed under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and continues to Bay Ridge Avenue at the northern end. [The eastern section runs from 68th Street in Brooklyn to 84th Street in Queens.]
We parked on Bay Parkway, at GPS coördinates 40.5948/-74.0012, where a large parking lot is provided. We then began walking north on the western section of the parkway:
Shore Parkway and Verrazano–Narrows Bridge
When completed in 1964, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a center span of 4260′:
Verrazano–Narrows Bridge
A laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) flew past us:
Laughing gull
This double-crested cormorant (phalacrocorax auritus) put on a good display of swimming and diving, moving north at the same pace that we were walking:
Double-crested cormorant
This is a Forster’s tern (sterna forsteri). Terns were at one point considered a subfamily of gulls, but now are recognized as a separate family:
Forster’s tern
A boat passes in front of Hoffman Island, an island created in Lower New York Bay in 1872 by the addition of landfill to natural shoals, and unused since World War II:
Hoffman Island
A double-crested cormorant in flight:
Double-crested cormorant
The NYPD keeps boaters safe:
NYPD Patrol Boat
We spotted common chicory (cichorium intybus) growing beside one tree:
Common chicory
A substantial piece of lumber appears as driftwood:
Driftwood
We also saw a couple of very large cubes of styrofoam while we were on the walk. Other marine debris included what appeared to be a dock bumper painted “No Step,” i.e., warning people not to step on it, that may have torn loose during a storm:
Marine debris
Batya pointed out the Statue of Liberty, about 4 miles to the north in Upper New York Bay. My telephoto lens brought her closer:
Statue of Liberty
A Forster’s tern rests on a rock:
Forster’s tern
A speedboat in the Narrows, which separates Upper New York Harbor from Lower New York Harbor:
Speedboat
The Bayonne Golf Club:
Bayonne Golf Club
We reached Bay Ridge Avenue, at the northern end of the Greenway. We had lunch on the American Veterans Memorial Pier, and enjoyed seeing the 1928 Delaware Bay oyster schooner A.J. Meerwald:
A.J. Meerwald at American Veterans Memorial Pier
After lunch, we began our return walk, reversing our path and walking south.
Here, a sightseeing boat passes in front of the Orange Sun, a Swiss tanker (Liberian-flagged) dedicated to shipping fruit juice:
Orange Sun
A sailboat passes east of Hoffman Island:
Sailboat passing east of Hoffman Island
Batya had fun:
Batya enjoys Lower New York Bay
This was an easy 8.6-mile walk, on pavement, with hardly any elevation change.
beautiful scenery