SCENE FROM A RUN: BROKEN STREETCHARGE, BLOCKED CAUSEWAY

Tracing out phrases and words while out on a run is fun and all but I'm usually restricted to areas close to home.  Some such run may cover 10 km or more but in reality I would be just a few blocks from home.  One thing I like about running is getting to see different parts of my neighborhood.  I miss all that, so today I made a loop to include a part of the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, one which I haven't ran lately.  My original plan was to re-visit the AT&T StreetCharge to see if they would work with my Android phone now, which uses a micro-USB connection.  Last time I tried, there were some micro-USB cables but none of them work.  Today it was even worse!  Between the two charge stations there should be a few micro-USB cables but in reality there was only one.  Where there should be cables there was none.  I suspect it was a result of vandalism, sad.  The one micro-USB cable remained again didn't work, at least not with my phone.

Another unpleasant surprise I got was that the footbridge connecting the F train West 8th Station and the Boardwalk was closed permanently.  At first I thought it was just under construction, but the sign said "permanently".  I know certain section of it was under repair, as evidenced by the chain-link fence, but it seems the entire bridge will be taken down.  There goes my favorite way to cross Surf Avenue.  I wonder if it's just a bad wording of the construction.

I love footbridges in general, but this particular one is part of my mostly car-free route from home to the Boardwalk.  Starting at Stillwell Avenue and Avenue V, I mostly travel along the Coney Island Rail Yard and have to actually cross the street only once, at Neptune Avenue.  While running, the less I have to deal with cars the better.  In the future, I'll just have to cross Surf Avenue, not that it's that busy in the early morning when I run.  Of course, it takes only one bad driver to ruin the experience.  I know, I know, First World Problem, but it's still a problem.

There is juice in the station, as the green light is on, reflected on the platform, but cable didn't work.

"CAUSEWAY PERMANENTLY CLOSED", oh no!

The soon-to-be-demolished causeway?  In the back is the famed Cyclone roller coaster.

Access to the F train West 8th Station is blocked off by boards.

SCENES FROM A RUN: BOARDWALK EAST

When I set out to run this morning, it resumed drizzling but I soldiered on and in the end the sun came out.  Made me think of my favorite Vietnamese proverb, "Sau cơn mưa trời lại sáng", that is, "After the rain the sky is bright again".  I was going to do just 8 km but upon reflecting on my personal fiscal cliff I thought it may help to go for 10 km.  I already decided to run to the Riegelman Boardwalk via MacDonald Avenue under the F train.  Eight km, that is 4 km out and 4 km back, normally would take me to the intersection of Ocean Parkway and the Boardwalk.  With 10 km, I was at the eastern end of the boardwalk, which was a place I haven't been to since Hurricane Sandy's visit.  Recall that I went as far as Tatiana's, as reported in SCENES FROM A RUN: POST-SANDY RIEGELMANN BOARDWALK.  It's been over a month, so much clean-up was done, I assume, so there was not that much sand in the eastern section of the boardwalk.  There was one place where some piece of the wooden boardwalk came off and had to be cordoned off, but otherwise the boardwalk looked healthy.  At the eastern end though, the bottom section of the ramp was taken over by the sand, as shown in the photos below.  I suppose the area is not of high importance and is still accessible, so there is no immediate need to remove the sand.

Speaking of 10 km, I will be running in the NYC Runs Hot Chocolate 5k/10K race this coming Sunday, in Roosevelt Island.  I prefer longer distances so I will do the 10 km race, set to start at 10 am.  It will be my first "free" run with NYC Runs.  I used the volunteer credit I got from helping out at the Verrazano Half in late September.  With race fees going up seemingly endlessly, earning a free race via volunteering is a good deal.  If you are on a tight budget but still want to run officially, i.e. not bandit run and have a guilt-free conscience, check out their volunteer program at https://nycruns.com/races/?race=volunteer .  It was recently expanded to include big races like the Brooklyn Marathon.

Some debris were collected on the beach at the eastern end of the boardwalk.

I am sure pre-Sandy the sand did not go that high up on the ramp's handrail.

Another view of the bottom section of the ramp, which is now covered with sand.

Questions of the day, which of the following phrases rhyme visually?  Audibly?

I love to gripe
About the Boardwalk and its ipe

Own a piece of history
Visit my store on eBay
Get yourself some ipe

SCENES FROM A RUN: POST-SANDY RIEGELMANN BOARDWALK

For this morning's run, I re-visited the Riegelmann Boardwalk, better known as Coney Island Boardwalk.  It was the first time I ran a section of the Boardwalk since Hurricane Sandy's visit.  I'm happy to report that the C.I. Boardwalk is mostly intact.  I ran as far east as past Tatiana Restaurant then back west past MCU Park, so I didn't cover the entire Boardwalk, but what I saw was promising.  Some places, perhaps without local businesses' push, still had a layer of sand, but in most places the sand was gone.  The fishing pier on the west side was closed to the public because of some missing boards, perhaps a missing rail section too.  Past MCU Park there were some gaps on the floor, but then again the Boardwalk is old, maybe those gaps were there before the hurricane arrived.  Overall, the Riegelmann Boardwalk fared pretty well during Hurricane Sandy's visit.

Around Tatiana Restaurant the Boardwalk was clear of sand.

Around the hand-ball court, this is the more typical view - lots of sand on the Boardwalk.

Fishing pier is now off-limit.

About midway out into the water, the fishing pier has some loose boards, maybe a missing fence section, too.

Definitely not part of the Boardwalk, but I have a soft spot for public libraries so this image of the Coney Island Branch of the BPL is included.  Its doors were perhaps damaged by water and are now replaced by a wooden board.