START: Astoria Boulevard subway station (N train, fully accessible)
FINISH: Ditmars Boulevard subway station (N train)
DISTANCE: 2.1 miles (3.4 kilometers)
Images courtesy of Google Maps except where noted.
Map of today’s walk.
Profile of today’s walk.
Today’s walk was designed to be an event for the stroke support group at New York Presbyterian - Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, of which I am a member. It was an easy walk with only one gentle hill, on Ditmars Boulevard. I was joined by Peter, the leader of the stroke support group.
This was a perfect day for this walk, with sunny skies and a high temperature of 55F/13C. The dog run in Astoria Park was full of happy puppies. From the Astoria Boulevard subway station we walked down to the East River and Astoria Park, then along the riverfront on Shore Boulevard past the Triborough and Hell Gate Bridges to Ditmars Boulevard. As many times as I have biked this route, I had walked only a portion of it once before; see my post entitled “Marching Through Astoria” on the “Stair Streets of New York City” page. Peter and I had lunch at an excellent Greek restaurant, Agnanti, on Ditmars Boulevard and 19 Street, then walked to the elevated subway station on 31 Street at Ditmars Boulevard. This extended the originally planned walk by 0.6 mile (1 kilometer).
I recommend this walk for anyone, not just those with mobility issues. Astoria is a busy, diverse, fascinating neighborhood with a fine restaurant scene.
Hell Gate Bridge and Triborough Bridge (photograph by Michael Cairl); Agnanti Restaurant (photograph courtesy Google).