John V. Lindsay East River Park: New Elevated Section

After much effort both physical and political, a new raised section of John V. Lindsay East River Park opened this past Memorial Day. When completed, the new park, as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, should withstand the rising levels and tides of climate change.

Residents and some parks advocates complained as the project was proposed and planned. So many mature tress would be sacrificed. Neighborhood playing fields would vanish for years.

When the new section opened, visitors complained too – this is New York, after all. There's no shade! So much concrete! Plus now, the section north of this one is shut down. All the way up to Stuyvesant Cove.

Well, yes. These huge projects do have to be completed step by step.

Meanwhile, of course there's no shade at this new section by the Williamsburg Bridge: The freshly planted trees are still mere young'uns.

With all its amenities, this piece of riverfront parkland isn't yet connected to adjacent acreage, so as it's fairly far from the subway it's not so easy to get to if you don't live close by.

But lots of people do live close by.

The present access is via a footbridge at the the south side of Delancey Street, hard by the soaring arches of the Williamsburg Bridge itself.

(Biking would be a good option, but not if the biking itself is your reason for going – the bike path within is necessarily a mere stump.)

Once inside, you come upon square stone blocks picturesquely fringing snazzy new basketball courts.

The bridge looms overhead.

Past new plantings and wide grassy fields the Brooklyn skyline rises. That's right – the Brooklyn skyline. Whodathunk? (That tallest building is called Brooklyn Tower. Get used to it. The years when Brooklyn builders weren't allowed to build higher than the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower are long past.)

The intervening brick structure in the photo above is the East River Park Fireboat House. The Village Sun reported last year as construction of the park was underway that this "two-story Moderne-style building was erected in 1941 in East River Park for the Fire Department’s Marine Company 66, replacing similar structures that had operated from a pier at the end of Grand Street since 1898." Most recently the building served as the headquarters of our friends at the Lower East Side Ecology Center.

The barbecue area wasn't in use at 10 in the morning on a Sunday. But it's ready.

A handful of people were about. Strolling. Fishing.

The black dog you see in the distance in the next photo ran up to me eagerly, tennis ball in mouth. Dogs, right?

The day was already hot, making this fountain tempting.

The soccer field, baseball field, and tennis courts are already popular. Another complaint: there are only half as many tennis courts as there were before climate change got so urgent. People were already queuing for a court at the Brian Watkins Tennis Center. (It's named for "a Utah tourist and University of Idaho tennis player who was slain in the subway while attending the 1990 U.S. Open," Courts morbidly explains. The Courts article also has some good photos of this part of the park in former days.)

It was a slow Sunday morning. But the amount of trash this worker had collected suggested much heavier recent use of the grounds.

Some doubted whether this park would actually get off the ground – or off sea level, to be precise. Well, it did. And there's clearly much more to come. A small but maybe not insignificant bit of evidence that this chaotic, almost ungovernable city can actually get important things done. Sometimes.

All photos © Oren Hope

Queens County Farm Museum

Flush up against Nassau County, on the eastern edge of Queens ("Deep Queens"?), is a place that feels less a part of New York City and more like Long Island. As a working farm, this place, now known as the Queens County Farm Museum, dates all the way back to 1697.

With farm animals, hayrides, a corn maze right now, and free admission, this outdoor museum gets packed with families with children on a sunny weekend. On a warm sunny fall day there was even a a field strewn with pumpkins, generously called a "pumpkin patch."

There's even live music – on this day, a band that plays only songs from the '60s. They were good. They also added to the impression that we weren't in New York City any more, but in the strong orbit of suburban Long Island.

And where else can you find a hayride within the five boroughs?

The goats are a big hit with children – and grown-ups.

And who doesn't love alpacas?

It wouldn't be a canonical farm without pigs and chickens.

The farm grows crops too, enough not just for educational purposes but to sell.

As for the maize maze, we took the easy way: around instead of through.

The museum also invites history buffs into the Adriance Farmhouse. The home's original three-room form dates back to 1772. It's been added to in the intervening centuries, and the conservators have done a nice job setting up rooms to reflect different centuries of habitation.

The farmhouse has been restored nicely, with original elements like floors and some windowpanes. The museum offers tours of the house, also free.

What self-respecting farm wouldn't have a barn?

The farm is a good spot to take urban kids to learn about where food actually comes from, and to see animals and have some outdoor fun. Its sheer size is also a great feature for explorers looking for spaces to walk around at length without worrying about getting run over by a vehicle. Just gotta look out for those hayrides...

The Queens County Farm Museum is open seven days a week from 10 to 5, year-round except major holidays. There's a seasonal farmstand that sells fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs grown right on the farm. Also eggs. And free parking.

So don't be sheepish. Hop on a city bus, or into your car if you've got one. The Farm awaits.

All photos © Oren Hope

Liz Christy Garden

I don't generally count community gardens as part of this blog's quest to visit every park in New York City. There are six or seven hundred such gardens all over the five boroughs, and they're fundamentally different from parks. A park, for my purposes, is a space free from motorized traffic and intended at least in part for passive enjoyment. A garden is for growing things, whether for consumption or beauty or education.

I've made exceptions in the past when a community garden has something special about it or something that just appealed to me. The Liz Christy Garden in Manhattan's East Village is special, if only for the distinction of being the city's very first community garden.

Originally the Bowery Houston Community Farm Garden, the Liz Christy Garden was founded in 1973 by urban designer Liz Christy, who headed the city's Open Space Greening Program, and her Green Guerillas community activist group. They went on to create more green spaces around the city.

As City Lore explains: "Three decades into the movement, both the Liz Christy Garden and the Green Guerillas are established organizations that continue to provide leadership. Both welcome new gardeners and guerillas, for, as the gardeners’ orientation brochure so aptly states, 'In the dog-eat-dog world of Mother Nature, the weeds usually win.'"

Original founding member Donald Loggins recounted the garden's origin story to NY1 back on 2021.

When Christy died in 1985 the garden was renamed in her honor.

Community gardens often have charming disjunctions, like a path where brick-shaped blocks give way to larger, square slabs of bluestone or just find themselves in a bit a jumble. These bricks were repurposed from the buildings that once stood on the plot.

Unexpected details, like a dollar bill posted on a birdhouse or an antique birdbath on a stump, contribute to the character of places like this.

Wildlife is limited in community gardens because of their small size. Mostly you'll come upon birds, chipmunks, and squirrels. (And rats.) But if you're lucky you may come upon a human perched on a bench concealed by the dense flora. And if you're quiet you might even spot an individual maintaining the garden. Take photos and tread with caution, though, as these creatures are often shy.

The Liz Christy Garden also has a pond that is said to support fish, turtles, and frogs.

With its lush plantings and surprising seclusion this garden can offer a few minutes of nature and whimsy – things we city folk can all use more of.

All photos © Oren Hope