The world famous Cyclone rollercoaster, Coney Island
New York City Day Trips
Sports, a few hot dogs, a tortilla perhaps, … and plenty of summer sun and fun
By David Gibbons
Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center,
Little Falls, New Jersey
This compact little museum celebrates the life and career of one of America’s greatest living legends, a modest man of towering athletic achievement whose impact extends way beyond sports and deep into popular culture. Through its various programs and presentations, the museum promotes the values embodied by Yogi, including sportsmanship, integrity, honesty, perseverance, tolerance, and humor. Displays include photographs and memorabilia from Yogi’s early life, from his playing and coaching days, as well as from his beloved team, the Yankees. (Mets fans are welcome too.) Check out the organ Eddie Layton played for so many years at Yankee Stadium; ten of Yogi’s championship rings; three recent World Series trophies (on loan from the Yanks); the scorecard from David Cone’s perfect game on Yogi Berra Day at the Stadium; a display of Yogi-isms, including his famous disclaimer that he didn’t say everything he said — and much more.
On a recent Tuesday morning, museum director Dave Kaplan, a former sportswriter and editor who, like Yogi himself, has lived in nearby Montclair with his family for many years, was supervising a visit by a group of 5th graders. Once they had toured the museum, they were ushered into its theater (capacity 80, equipped with Stadium seats of course) for a talk by a Major League scout, with real-life anecdotes, lessons about character. and a question-and-answer session.
Yogi’s museum is on the campus of Montclair State University, about 15 miles from Manhattan, an easy car, bus, or train ride. Yogi Berra Stadium, right next door, is home to the New Jersey Jackals, a minor-league team that plays in the independent Can-Am League from late May through August, is home also to the Montclair State team. In addition to its regular hours, the museum is open for two hours prior to every Jackals home game. So why not make an outing of it?
Regular museum hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 12 noon to 5 P.M.
Schools and other groups: Seven days a week, by appointment; call (973) 655-2378 or e-mail Special Events Director Joni Bronander (joni.yogi@mail.montclair.edu)
Website: www.yogiberramuseum.org
Directions
By train: Take New Jersey Transit from Penn Station to the Montclair State University station (about 40 minutes, no trains on weekends), then catch a campus shuttle bus up to the field and museum.
By bus: Take DeCamp No. 66 bus from Port Authority Bus Terminal to Montclair State stop.
By car (35 minutes with no traffic): Lincoln Tunnel to Route 3 West; immediately after merge with Route 46, take Valley Road exit, bear right onto Valley Road; after mile, enter Montclair State campus at Valley Road entrance and follow signs to museum; if closed proceed on Valley Road to Normal Avenue, turn right into campus and follow signs for museum.
Jersey Jackals information: Call (973) 655-8009 or visit www.jackals.com
Coney Island
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Birthplace of the hot dog, cradle of our nation’s first amusement parks, the latest bastion of baseball in Brooklyn, a cross-section of the 21st century melting pot … Coney Island spells summer fun in the city like no other American destination.
Astroland Amusement Park: The Albert family, which has owned and operated Astroland since 1962, announced the sale of the property to developer Thor Equities in late 2006. Consequently, its rides will all go dark at the end of this summer, reportedly to be replaced by a Las Vegas-like complex. The Cyclone roller-coaster, however, will rumble on under its National Historic Landmark designation and an operating agreement with the City of New York similar to the one that keeps the Central Park Carousel running.
The origin of the hot dog: German baker Charles Feltman is sometimes credited with the invention of this national delicacy, especially if you define it as a small spice-free sausage served hot encased in a sliced bun. In any event, Feltman had a custom-built cart with a tin reservoir to keep the buns fresh and a small stove to boil the dogs. He began selling them around Coney Island, circa 1867. By the time of his death in 1910 he was the millionaire proprietor of several booming Coney Island businesses, including an eponymous restaurant and an amusement park.
Nathan’s World-Famous Frankfurters (or Nathan’s Famous, for short): Nathan Handwerker, from Poland via Belgium, started as a young dishwasher in Manhattan and worked weekend odd jobs at Feltman’s restaurant. He opened his own hot-dog stand at the corner of Stillwell and Surf Avenues, across from the subway stop, where it still is today. Who knows how many billions of hot dogs they’ve served at Nathan’s. but it’s a good place to start — or end — your pilgrimage to Coney Island.
Directions: Located two blocks east of KeySpan park (see below) and directly opposite the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue subway terminal.
Baseball in Brooklyn: The Cyclones brought pro baseball back to Brooklyn in 2001 after nearly four and a half decades of ignominy owing to the 2056 desertion of the beloved Dodgers and having to root for a team that played — not always so well, but a helluva lot better lately — in Flushing, Queens. The Cyclones are the minor (A) league affiliate of those same Mets, and they play at KeySpan Park, just down the street from Nathan’s. Their season runs this year from June 17 to September 7. The Cyclones have been managed by a succession of Mets royalty, including Mookie Wilson and Howard Johnson; current skipper Edgar Alfonzo is a longtime minor-league hand who guided the Cyclones to their league’s title in their inaugural year, amd whose younger brother, Edgardo, was an all-star with the big-league club, and whose son, also Edgar, has pitched for the Cyclones.
Directions: KeySpan Park is on Surf Avenue, two blocks west (or to the right, if you’re facing the ocean) of the Coney Island/Stillwell Avenue subway station, which is served by the D, F, and Q trains. By car, take the Belt Parkway and exit at Cropsey Avenue (Exit 6 if you’re traveling east, Exit 6S if you’re traveling west), then follow Cropsey Avenue until it turns into 17th Street and eventually intersects with Surf Avenue.
Brooklyn Cyclones information: Visit www.brooklyncyclones.com or call (718) 507-TIXX (8499)
The New York Aquarium: For anybody who grew up in the city, this hugely popular destination — billed as “where the city meets the sea” — invariably ranks near the top among favorite school trips and/or family outings. Summer hours (through September 4) are Monday through Friday, 10 A.M. to 6 P.M., weekends open to 7 P.M.). It’s at Surf Avenue and West 8th Street and is serviced by the F and Q trains to the West 8th Street station. For more info call (718) 265-FISH (3474) or visit www.nyaquarium.com.
Other attractions: Brighton Beach, toward the eastern end of Coney Island, is the cultural epicenter of New York’s Russian-immigrant community, with shops, restaurants, and nightclubs indicated by signs in the Cyrillic alphabet. Sheepshead Bay (Exit 9 for Knapp Street off the Belt Parkway), which defines the eastern end of Coney Island, harbors party boats for daily fishing cruises, and is ringed by restaurants of various nationalities. Back in Coney Island proper there are two more classic New York food destinations to consider for your itinerary: Totonno’s Pizzeria (1524 Neptune Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets), for arguably the best old-style thin-crust pizza not just in Brooklyn but in the entire universe; and Gargiulo’s (2911 West 15th Street), where you can consume more than your fill of traditional Italian-American fare after an energetic day at the beach.
Red Hook
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Sundays at the sprawling complex of athletic fields around the Red Hook Recreation Area are an all-day celebration of Latin cultural expression centering on sports and food. The main artificial-turf soccer field (entrance at the corner of Clinton and Bay Streets) is ringed by stands where you can sample all kinds of delicacies from ceviche and horchata to every possible use of the tortilla imaginable, and a whole lot in between. The predominant influence is Mexican, but there are also other Central American, Peruvian, and South American cuisines here. Lively games of adult recreational weekend-league soccer and baseball provide the entertainment to a soundtrack from scores of boom boxes and the occasional mariachi band.
Directions
By car (from Manhattan): Take the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel from the Westside Highway south; after the tunnel, stay right and take Exit 26 (Hamilton Avenue); go right onto Clinton Street, proceed past the Red Hook public-housing complex several blocks to Bay Street and the fields.
By bike (from Manhattan): Take the Brooklyn Bridge bike/pedestrian path from Chambers Street adjacent to City Hall; at the end of the bridge path go right onto the Tillary Street bike path; go two blocks and make a right onto Cadman Plaza West; one block and left onto Clark Street, another block and left onto Henry Street; follow Henry Street, which has an on-street bike lane, all the way to the expressway, go left two blocks then right onto Clinton Street and proceed approximately five blocks to Bay Street.
By subway: Take the F train to the Smith/9th Street Station, Brooklyn; proceed about three blocks west on 9th, go left onto Clinton and continue to Bay Street.
The Red Hook waterfront
Approximately four blocks west of the Red Hook fields is Van Brunt Street, at the southern end of which you’ll find the new Fairway supermarket in a restored warehouse (visit www.fairwaymarket.com or call (718) 694-6868 for more information).
At the back of the store is an outdoor café and alongside are three old Brooklyn streetcars on a stretch of track that ends at the piers. The Beard Street Warehouse, built shortly after the Civil War, is home to dozens of small businesses, and its pier is the site of the New York Creates/Brooklyn Crafts Festival, which runs July 28 through August 19 and September 29 through October 28. (For more information visit www.nycreates.com.) The craft fair is organized in association with the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists’ Coalition, which stages art shows on the pier in Red Hook and also offers a self-guided tour of local artists, studios throughout Red Hook and nearby Carroll Gardens. (Consult www.bwac.org for more info.)
If you’re not up for taking the trip by the subway-bus connection or by car, consider catching a New York Water Taxi. The water taxi terminal in Red Hook is directly behind the Fairway market; it services stops in downtown Manhattan and all the way up the West Side to Pier 84 at 44th Street, as well as Williamsburg, Wall Street, and the Brooklyn Army Terminal. Visit www.watertaxi.com or call (212) 742-1969 for routes, schedules, and fares.
Rockaway Beach
Queens, N.Y.
From the A train terminal at Beach 116th Street it’s a short walk to the pristine white sands of Queens, then just a quick hop and a jump to a refreshing dip in the Atlantic Ocean. There are delis, restaurants. and other amenities — including the Rockaway Beach Surf Shop -- close by. Enjoy a day at the beach, take a sunset stroll on the boardwalk, and be home in time for dinner. For surfers, strap your board on top of your woody and park close to the Beach 88th Street jetty — New York City’s only designated surfing beach. It gets crowded on weekends, especially right next to the jetty where the swell breaks largest and the rides are longest. So get there early and exercise proper surfing etiquette: Don’t drop in on anybody, and always remember that sharing is caring. Surfline.com has a Webcam so you can check conditions in advance.
Oh, and by the way, don’t forget to hum that good old Ramones tune on your way out: “Rock-rock-Rockaway Beach … Rock-rock-Rockaway Beach … Gonna hitch a ride to Rockaway Beach!”
Directions (by car): Belt Parkway to Exit 11S, Flatbush Avenue South, follow Flatbush Avenue. across Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge (toll); after bridge, proceed east (left) on Beach Channel Drive to Beach 108th Street, go right and proceed to shorefront.
Other attractions: Jacob Riis Park, New York’s largest beachfront park, is between Beach 169th and Beach 150th Streets, immediately upon crossing the Gil Hodges Bridge. The white sands do attract big weekend crowds, but there’s more space than you might imagine for a city beach. Rockaway’s boardwalk extends about 4 miles from Beach 126th Street nearly to Atlantic Beach. Ambitious cyclists may park at Plumb Beach parking lot, off the Belt Parkway East, after Exit 9 (Knapp Street), and follow the bike path all the way across the Hodges Bridge, through Riis Park and, after a stretch on Rockaway Beach Boulevard, right onto the boardwalk at Beach 126th Street.
