Hike #1048; Floyd Bennett Field to Coney Island

Hike #1048; Floyd Bennett to Coney Island

6/17/17 Floyd Bennet Field to Coney Island with Pete G. Wilcox, Justin Gurbisz, Kellie Kegan, Brittany Audrey, Cindy Browning, Patrick O'Riordan TheRed, Mike Heaney, Craig Craig, and Murray Warnock.

Our next hike would be the next one out onto Long Island, which we’d been more actively working on. Eventually I want to get to hiking the entire Long Island Greenbelt, and even greater, the extensive Pomanauk Path.
I’ve jumped the gun and come up with an entire series of hikes on Long Island that I may never even get to. Who knows. But, for now, I had this one ready to go.

Abandoned buildings at Floyd Bennett

One of the reasons for doing this was to finally attend the famous Mermaid Parade on Coney Island that Jack Lowry had told me about. Jack was to be in the parade with his band, Gypsy Funk Squad, and I’d told him that if it worked out with my work schedule that I would definitely organize something.
Well, it worked out perfectly with my schedule, and so we all met at the Floyd Bennett Field, which was New York City’s first airport. It was later used as a naval air station.
The island was originally a runway called Barren Island Airport, and there were several little islands in one area of the Jamaica Bay. These island were all joined together by pumping sand, and the field opened for use in 1930.

Floyd Bennett Field map

Once mayor Fiorello LaGuardia had wanted the site to become the main defacto airport for NY, but that never came to be. The naval station deactivated the area in 1971. It was acquired by National Park Service and added to part of Gateway National Recreation Area which includes lots of beachfront stuff in NY and NJ including Sandy Hook.
The field takes it’s name from a Medal of Honor recipient aviator from Brooklyn.

A Bell HTL-1 taking off over a Grumman Albatross prototype at Floyd Bennett Field (May 1948). Photo from collection of Bill Larkins.

More closures of some of the other buildings happened in 1998 and were also added to National Park service. Today, there are several abandoned old buildings of Classical Revival and Art Deco architecture.

Historic 1930s postcard i mage of Floyd Bennett Field by aviation photographer Rudy Arnold

I’d been looking at the area for quite some time on aerial images, because I’d been looking at extending the hikes west from Brooklyn, but didn’t really get into it until Jillane and I were brought out for a bottle hunting trip at Dead Horse Beach, on the west side of Floyd Bennett, with Jason W. Briggs. It seemed like such an awesome place to explore, and after the last hike out of Coney Island, appeared to be a good place to start off.

Historic colorized FB Field postcard by Rudy Arnold

The previous hike in the area, we started at Coney Island and used some of Belt Parkway Path to get out to Howard Beach to the east. Belt Parkway wasn’t really the best of walking routes, but in doing that hike, we saw lots of other opportunities.
On that hike, we headed north a bit and explored some of Marine Park. This time, we’d keep to the Belt Parkway in connection, and head into Coney Island for the Mermaid Parade.

Old runway

I made the meeting point also the end point. Transportation is so simple at Coney Island, and I didn’t want to worry about shuttling more cars around and parking and such, so we just met there. We could work it out that we’d be out before dark.
We met at the parking area I’d used with Jason, over near the corner of Aviation Road and Flatbush Ave. From there, we could all simply start walking and explore some of what the area had to offer. There were a few that were to meet up with us, but they went to use restrooms and never met up with us either at Floyd Bennett or at the Mermaid Parade.
Others who planned to meet ran behind and did plan to meet at the parade itself.

Old partially grown over runway

We walked to the east a bit past some of the closed off abandoned buildings. Justin looked toward them with a very alert look. I knew he would be coming back. He and Brittany walked closer to them while I looked closely at my phone to figure out which way we should walk.

We ended up cutting to the left at what appeared to be rows of planted grasses and such. Kind of weird. There was an opening beyond through some weeds that led us onto a pathway. We made our way through to a mowed pathway that was part of an official trail to a camping area.
The trail makes sort of a loop around the camping area, known as “ecology village” on the maps. When we got to another paved road or smaller runway, we turned right on it. It was slightly overgrown, but we got through without too much problem to a larger runway.
It was the main access toward the buildings, which really isn’t what I wanted to go by this time. We turned right back through weeds and made our way onto an abandoned portion of main runway heading toward the northeast side of Floyd Bennett.

Runway

We paused for a bit while I looked more at maps, and some guys who worked for the Gateway NRA asked us not to pause in the road. We went direct across and further onto the runway toward the end of the field section. We skirted the left side of the weeds. I wasn’t 100% certain people were allowed out there, so I just wanted to be less obvious. We crossed over another runway, also heading perfectly to the northeast, and continued ahead on the runway. We stopped along the way at a restroom, which was totally gross. I went to relieve myself behind it, and found myself attacked by horrible flies.
We continued ahead and reached a field where they were flying model airplanes. I had gotten far ahead of the rest of the group, so I watched them a little bit until they caught up.

Beach and abandoned building

From here, we went out onto the waterfront. There was a little section of beach heading to the north toward the Belt Parkway Bridge which was in the process of being replaced. We had walked across that bridge on the previous hike. Ahead was an old concrete building, abandoned on the shore. We had seen this from on the bridge above, but didn’t have the time to go down and explore it. This time we’d go directly there, as it was one of the things on my “to do” list for this particular trip.
The windows were all blown out and it was covered over in graffiti. We walked past it to get around the back side.

Old building

There was a wooden ramp, which appeared to have been built by the park, to get up into the thing.
There was even more graffiti inside. Multiple panels on the walls were all covered in some sort of unique graffiti. Out the windows, we could see clearly to the Mill Basin Draw Bridge, on the Belt Parkway where we walked the previous time.
When everyone was all back together, we exited the building and began heading in to shore more. I know everyone would have preferred to stay on the water, but it wasn’t going to get us to where we needed to go.

Mill Basin Drawbridge

A trail led off of of the back of the structure and then out to the trails in what was called the North Forty Natural Area.
The grassy path continued toward the edge of the park, and then continued sort of east southeast.
This was really cool on one had because it’s an entirely new trail system to me that I’ve never been on. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to enjoy it or decided to go to any other interesting points on it because no sooner did we get into the woods, we were getting eaten alive by what I think was Strawberry Flies.

Abandoned building

We had to hurry along for a bit. The flies didn’t start to get better until we were further to the west end of the North Forty. I even paused for a bit to put long running pants on over my shorts because they were just unbearable.
We ended up on the northernmost leg of the North Forty, and continued to follow it to the west. At the last fork, we turned right and it took us out to a weird fence opening leading out to the Belt Parkway Path where it crosses Flatbush Avenue. I almost missed the turn into the fence because it’s so badly obscured with vegetation.

Abandoned building

We headed to the intersection, crossed the road, and continued on the Belt Parkway Path heading to the west. I took off the long pants as soon as I could. They were getting hot.

The Belt Parkway path continued along the side of the road, back a bit, but shifted before we got to the next bridge at the Gerritsen Inlet, at what maps call Willets Hassock. There are these Dutch names all over the place as they were the first settlers in the area. I really don’t know what the relevance of all of them are. Even my six times great grandfather moved to Delaware NJ from the Dutch section of Nassau Long Island. I’m sure many families have lineage that go back to this place.
This bridge, like the one over Mill Basin, was also under construction, ready to be replaced by a newer, and I believe higher bridge.

Belt Parkway bridge

The walkway moved from further from the road to a temporary walkway right along the edge of the highway, separated by a chain link fence and vehicle blockades. We unfortunately couldn’t see much out to the bays and inlets with the mesh fence material along the waterfront side.
We continued across the bridge and along the Belt Parkway Path when our friend Anne pulled up on her bike to meet up with us. She chose not to stick with us because we’d be too slow compared to the bike, and she didn’t want to try to take it onto the beach, which was where we were heading toward next.

Flower

Once we were across that bridge, we watched off to the left for the first opportunity to get off of the road and paved trail. We soon found an opening and a path that led out to Point Breeze, a section of peninsula that juts out from the Sheepshead Bay area to Gerritsen Creek.
We took a little break just into the sandy area. I was trying to figure out if that was the best route, and eventually just opted to forget looking at the phone for a bit and go for it. There was a really nice bay view from the wall of sand.

Along the bay

We turned right to follow the beach to the east. It was a really nice little section with great views both up and down the bay. We could see the Marine Parkway Bridge in the distance, which is the bridge we’ll be crossing on the next section hike we do out in this area.
There was a little sea wall type of thing as we got closer to the developments, which gave us a view of the buildings at Kingsborough College out on Coney Island, and to the Sheepshead Bay. I figured this was a good spot for our group photo.

Bay front to Sheepshead Bay

We continued walking the beach onward until the first parking lot coming to Sheepshead Bay. We climbed up there and crossed a parking lot. It was at this point that it started to rain a bit. We took refuge under an awning at a motel to figure out what to do next.

Bus stop silliness

We must have looked really nuts, and I don’t even remember what kinds of deplorable conversations we were having this time. Either way, some lady told us to be quiet, she was trying to sleep, from inside a motel window.
We headed out to Emmons Ave from here when the rain started to let up a little. It looked like it wasn’t going to stop for a while, so we just continued until we got to a little store on the right side of Emmons. Here, we were able to find some umbrellas for five bucks! I got the last small one, and I think Cindy or someone, maybe a couple of people, got big ones (someone left one in my car so I ended up with both of them in the end anyway!).

Sheepshead Bay footbridge

Red Sean was wearing his big metal battle helmet which must have looked weird, but with the Mermaid Parade going on this day, I guess it wasn’t all that strange.
We continued from here along Sheepshead Bay to the foot bridge across, which we used on the previous hike. We crossed to the south side, then turned right along the waterfront when all of a sudden the sky let loose with an enormous deluge, worse than it had been before. I looked back to see Justin flipping me off while trying to get refuge beneath some sort of small building

Kitties!

We headed to the west on the path parallel with Shore Blvd, and the at what was probably West End Ave we sought shelter under yet another awning of a building. We took a longer break here while it was coming down ridiculously strong.
While waiting, we were talking and silly things, and discussed some of the David Firth flash cartoons. Red Sean asked if I had seen his newest one, entitled “Cream”. I had not heard or seen this one, so we had to stop and watch it immediately!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/0UgiJPnwtQU

I don’t think we stopped at just this one. Pretty sure we watched some other screwed up thing as well, but I can’t recall exactly which one(s) it was/they were.
When the rain started to let up, we headed south toward the beach again. We ended up taking the wrong street, with no access and had to come back out and around to access at Brightwater Ave, beyond an apartment complex to the Riegelman Boardwalk.

Coney Island Boardwalk

The boardwalk was pretty dead because of the rain. It was still sputtering, but finally starting to let up. We continued walking along the boardwalk toward the main part of Coney Island, where the Parachute Jump came into view.
The Parachute Jump is considered to be the “Eiffel Tower of Coney Island”, the only remaining original attraction from the Steeplechase Park, the longest lived of the famous Coney Island Parks. The pier takes it’s name for the original, and the Steeplechase Park which operated on Coney Island longer than the others, from 1897 until 1964.

Coney Island Boardwalk

The park was founded by George Tilyou, who’s family owned and operated a Coney Island restaurant. He visited the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago where he first saw the Ferris Wheel, and decided to construct his own as a local attraction. It became the park’s biggest and most famous draw.
We continued walking until we got to the Mermaid Parade itself, which was routed right around the main drag, then down along the boardwalk toward the Steeplechase Pier. We walked onward until we found a good spot to watch the parade from. We were right in time, it had just begun and we caught just about the entire thing!

Mermaid Parade

Craig and Murray were out the other side watching I think closer to the parachute jump or something, but they managed to make their way around to the boardwalk to join us with the rest of the group there.

Mermaid Parade

Some of the group got separated as we reached the place, but they soon made their way to where I was standing with Justin, Brittany, and Red Sean.
Everyone was all together by the time Jack came by with his Gypsy Funk Squad entourage, playing the Oud with a mobile Strikesound speaker system. The sound of the Oud was unique to anything else going by, even though there were a great many musical acts, especially drummers, in the parade itself.
When I gave a shout out to Jack, he gave a big shout out to the Metrotrails crew, all together on the sidelines. Jack was singing with a headset mic and continued playing as he moved on.

Jack in the Mermaid Parade

We watched a lot more of the spectacle from the same spot. There were giant dinosaur costumes, occasional topless women splattered with sparkly nipple covers, lots of variations of mermaids from old to young, from fit to handicapped in wheel chairs.

Mermaid parade

We continued down the board walk after watching for a little while longer, until it looked like it was winding to an end (it actually wasn’t quite done, there was just a longer space between a few of the sections of the parade, but it was getting close to done).
Supposedly, Deborah Harry from Blondie was supposed to be the “Grand Marshall” or something of the parade, but we weren’t there for the front of it. Supposedly Both Harry and Chris Stein, also of Blondie, were Queen Mermaid and King Neptune at the front of the parade.

Gypsy Funk Squad keeps things moving

We headed all the way to the end of the parade, where it was a huge free for all below the Parachute Jump. People were all over, a few performers doing their thing, but Jack and Gypsy Funk Squad dominated everything that was going on.

Gypsy Funk Squad rocks it

People were well spread out there, but as Jack’s playing was clearly the superior to anything going on, as was his sound, more people gravitated toward their little spot than anywhere else around the pier. I stayed back behind the crowd as more and more people came up to dance to their music.
When I looked back toward the long Steeplechase Pier and where the parade was dispersing, nowhere else where there more people congregated in one spot.
All sorts of characters in all sorts of garb were dancing. Pretty girls in mermaid garb, a few guys all dressed as spider man, one of them with a horse’s head.

Parachute Jump

Most of the people were really cool, some were sort of borderline annoying characters. The different spider man characters at one point had a dance off that was particularly impressive.

Gypsy Funk Squad Rocking Mermaid Parade/Coney Island

There was one particular guy, in good shape with blonde hair and blue eyes, that was doing all sorts of dance and yoga moves and coming across as jaded. He got up in people’s faces and moved around a lot where people were trying to watch the band and other dancers, acting like he was the main act for the entire thing.
I think he must have realized that at some point because he eventually moved off to get attention elsewhere.
Jack continued to play as even more of his group started to disperse, till it was only he and Jason Eaton still going. Dancers stayed around a while too, until people just started leaving the area altogether in general.

Jason and Jack of Gypsy Funk Squad

Before packing up to go, I stopped to sing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, the old Tokens hit, as well as the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” with them.
We said our goodbyes, and the rest of us were headed onward to do some more walking and look for some delicious food for dinner.

Parachute Jump

We were going to stop by Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs again. I really like them, but they were a little too famous for this visit. The lines would have been hours I would bet. We instead moved on down the board walk heading back to the east.
I was discussing it with Craig and Murray what we should have, and at some point we started talking about Mexican food. I think it was all over then. The sound of what we were describing to ourselves was just too good, and we were soon on our phones searching out a good Mexican restaurant in the vicinity.

Tacos El Rey

We settled upon Tacos El Rey on Coney Island Avenue. We ended up walking the entire stretch of the boardwalk yet again, and bypassed where we wanted to get off for the place because I got engrossed in too much good conversation. We cut through streets and the apartment complex walkways in order to get back to that point a few blocks away.

iQUE BUENO!

The place was great and the food was excellent. They seated us right away at a longer table toward the front. There was a guy there decked out in full mariachi garb, and singing with a microphone from a karaoke machine.
I was in part laughing a bit, but another part of me was rather impressed. The whole event and ending up at this place just felt funny at the time. We took part in this silly event of so many characters coming together, I suppose it was the mood of the day.
The singer came over and serenaded Brittany a bit, and we continued to laugh.

OMG YUM

From this point, it was decided that the best way to get on back wasn’t to take the couple hours and switching trains for public transportation. We would simply call an Uber or a taxi or something. I think we used Uber. I forget exactly. One of the girls called it in, Cindy or Kellie I think.
The fun didn’t end there. Our Uber driver showed up at the restaurant, a young Asian man who drove like shit. He nearly crashed us into other cars on at least two occasions, so we didn’t go out of our way to be polite.
Not that we were at all rude, but we spent the ENTIRE car ride back watching ridiculous David Firth videos and laughing rather maniacally.
I think we watched the “Black and White Cartoon About Berries” which is totally weird, as well as some Jerry Jackson and who knows what else. I know we did watch “Not Stanley”.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ainTbj54EBM

We got back to the Floyd Bennett Field without dying, and then stood in the parking lot laughing at what we suspected the Uber driver’s perception of us must have been.
I realized by the end of this that it was really another pretty good day out as everything went pretty well on time and as planned. We got to all the places I’d planned on visiting, did the mileage, and this was with stringent time constraints of a parade we wanted to make. Some hikes have turned out rather messy, but this one was overall pretty good.
Red Sean and I, who carpooled got in my car and headed back toward home. In the middle of Staten Island, I somehow managed to blow out a tire pretty badly. After a rather calm day that went as planned, I had a mess on my hands. My tires had a special lock that would require a key to get off. I couldn’t find it in the dark, in a questionable neighborhood. After messing with it for a while, I just decided to get a tow from AAA.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was liable to pay for all tolls for the truck back to NJ, which was rather costly. The driver wasn’t too interested in taking me back all the way to Washington either, but he did it. It turns out he is from the Catskills, and dismissed that I would not know where he was from when I asked which town. Eventually he admitted “Gilboa”. I responded “Oh yeah. South Gilboa still has a train station standing on the Ulster and Delaware line”. He was rather surprised that I’d known the place. He went on to tell me there is an old locomotive back in the middle of the woods on a lumber line that was abandoned and washed out before it could be removed. I had never heard of such a thing, but I won’t just completely dismiss it. Maybe one day I’ll find out more.
My work schedule is screwing up how many hikes I want to do in areas like this for the Summer. I’d definitely have scheduled another beach hike on the section into Long Island had I more free weekend days, but for now I’d have to settle and try to get in the ones most important to me, which is really difficult to prioritize. Maybe we’ll get to another in September.