START: Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn
FINISH: The Unisphere in Flushing Meadows - Corona Park, Queens
DIFFICULTY: Easy. No big hills. Watch for traffic approaching Fulton Street, making the left turn from Myrtle Avenue to Central Avenue, and between Station Plaza and Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills.
Flushing Meadows is one of my favorite destinations for a casual bike ride. It was the site of the 1939-1940 and 1964-1965 World’s Fairs. Only one structure from the 1939-1940 Fair remains, the Queens Museum (built as the New York City Pavilion and worth a visit). Several structures remain from the 1964-1965 Fair, including the Fair’s focal point and the end point of this ride, the stainless steel Unisphere. Today, Flushing Meadows - Corona Park is a vast playground for the richness and diversity of Queens.
The route follows bike lanes only on some portions but there isn’t much traffic except along 71 Avenue in Forest Hills. It goes through the neighborhoods of Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Bushwick in Brooklyn; and Ridgewood, Glendale, and Forest Hills in Queens.
Look for a separate blog post for two different return routes.
Some points of interest along the way:
Grant Square, intersection of Bedford Avenue, Rogers Avenue, and Dean Street. Note the large equestrian statue of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and, behind it, a grand late-19th Century structure in need of some tender loving care, the Union League Club.
Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, on Decatur Street as you turn off Lewis Avenue. I stopped in front of this church one day when I was riding out to Flushing Meadows with friends from Montreal. I had never stopped to look at this impressive church from the 1880s. That day, a member of the congregation happened to be in front and asked if we’d like a look inside. It is a beauty.
Myanmar Baptist Church, 78 Avenue at 79 Street. A humble building and a congregation for the growing Burmese community in Queens.
Station Plaza, Forest Hills. Named for the Long Island Rail Road station. Note the Tudor-style buildings surrounding the station, a focal point of this wealthy early 20th-century planned community. Ride carefully on those brick pavers!
McMansions in Forest Hills. Ugly. You’ll see a lot of them on 112 Street.
Flushing Meadow Lake. A pleasant place to stop just before the Unisphere.
The Unisphere. Built entirely of stainless steel and a gift from the United States Steel Corporation. The fountains surrounding the Unisphere are normally off except in summer, around the time of the U.S. Tennis Open.
Turn sheet for this ride is at https://goo.gl/maps/VrnHMdozxg8mfPLdA
The Unisphere. Photograph by Michael Cairl.
Map courtesy Google Maps.