We previously hiked the western section of the Shore Parkway Greenway and (what we thought) was half of the eastern section, from Brigham Street to the Canarsie Pier.
We decided to finish the remaining section of the Shore Parkway Greenway, from the Canarsie Pier to 84th Street in Queens. As it turned out, the remaining portion was a lesser distance than the Brigham Street-Canarsie Pier walk, and it was far inferior in terms of the view. In addition to having traffic on the inland side of us (which all of the Shore Parkway Greenway has), we very rarely had any view of water on the “shore” side. Instead, this section walked past two abandoned landfills, which presented themselves as high mounds of dirt with only a thin layer of grass over them, separated from the Greenway by chain link fencing.
These were the 110-acre Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill and the 297-acre Fountain Avenue Landfill, which in 1956 were opened by the NYC Department of Sanitation for receipt of residential and commercial waste. Both sites were deeded to the National Park Service in 1974 as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, though the Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill continued receiving waste until 1980, and the Fountain Avenue Landfill continued receiving waste until 1983. The landfills were capped and have grass, and allegedly there were shrubs and trees planted, though I saw little sign of those. Every few years the City announces plans to rehabilitate the landfills (which is interesting if they are Federal property), but in any event nothing significant is ever accomplished.
Anyway, I will not sully my photoblog with photos of an abandoned landfill, and I only took a few photos that day that were worth posting.
Vegetation along the Shore Park Greenway
Vegetation along the Shore Park Greenway
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae):
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinguefolia):
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinguefolia)
At one point we had a view of the World Trade Center:
World Trade Center from the Shore Park Greenway
At another point we actually did have a brief view of Rockaway Inlet:
Rockaway Inlet from the Shore Park Greenway
After our short and disappointing walk to Queens, we returned the same way to the Canarsie Pier to end the walk.
The sections of the Shore Park Greenway that I previously investigated were the better portions. There is little to commend this third portion.