This is one difficult neighborhood to walk around in. Most of the upper part of the neighborhood is covered with unpassable roads and sidewalks leading into the Lincoln Tunnel. And just to remind you that you are entering the tunnel and to be careful, there are plenty of traffic cops from the NYPD watching your every move. There are unpassable sidewalks closer to the tunnel that will have them wondering what you are up to. I realized that when I was walking around from West 40th to West 41st by Eleventh Avenue. Be careful.
Friday afternoon was one of the nicest days of the week with the sun shining and clear skies. The weather really broke, and I could walk around and catch some sunshine while I was walking. The convention that was going on at the Javits Center was on its last afternoon and there were not a lot of people milling around Eleventh and Twelve Avenues. Closer to West 34th Street it was mostly construction workers attending to the new buildings, tourists and locals shopping at Hudson Yards Mall and taking selfies in the park and people rushing to take the subways. For the most part the rest of the streets were quiet.
As I said before, Dyer Avenue leads to the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel to New Jersey starting at the entrance of West 34th Street near the Webster Apartments and when walking down West 35th Street from Twelve Avenue you will see cars whizzing by at crazy speeds who stop suddenly when they realize that they can’t go faster.
Unless you have a reason to walk around this neighborhood in that you live there, this is not the most walkable part of the City. You will be dodging a lot of traffic especially at rush hour and this can start as early as 5:00pm.
I got off to a late start this afternoon after a morning of running errands, so I got into Manhattan at 3:00pm. Since I had wanted to visit the New York Transit Museum at Grand Central Terminal for my blog, VisitingaMuseum.com, first (see link to blog below), I did not start the walk until 4:00pm. I pretty much had the streets to myself, and each street had its own unique aspects.
The New York Transit Museum Gallery at 89 East 42nd Street
https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/6925
The gift shop at the museum
Walking down West 35th Street, you have to start the walk along Eleventh Avenue in front of the Javits Center. The center pretty much was quiet that afternoon with mostly security wrapping up whatever convention finished that day. Bella Abzug Park was still being finished in some parts of the neighborhood and the construction workers were taking a break in groups when I walked around the park.
Bella Abzug Park is still not totally finished but has become a meeting place for residents, tourists and workers for this area and has some interesting playgrounds for kids and plantings with seating for everyone else to sit and relax. It is one of the only green areas in the neighborhood.
The Bella Abzug Park, which was being finished at the time, I walked through the three sections from block to block. Part of the park is being renovated but the other parts look like they are ready to open in the warmer weather with cafes and seating. The park spreads over three blocks that are fully landscaped.
Bella Abzug Park with the Hudson Yards rising like Oz in the background during the summer months (NYCParks.org). The park was named after famous activist and politician Bella Abzug.
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/hudson-park
Politician and Activist Bella Abzug
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_Abzug
Mostly still under construction, Hudson Yards buildings are still rising and not yet finished so there are cars and trucks and scaffolding everywhere so be careful when you are walking around the streets of the complex. It is rising like the magically land of Oz and when Hudson Yards is finished, it is going to be quite a site. A series of office buildings and apartments with a beautiful shopping complex that will rival anything in Midtown.
Be careful though as you are walking towards Ninth Avenue as this is the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel entry ramps and the traffic is crazy all day long and the drivers are not watching what they are doing most of the time.
The McKenzie works at West 35th Street
The McKenzie works with Midtown in the back at West 35th Street
Walking back from Ninth Avenue I came across a tiny park behind a fence and was able to peer inside this small playground. ‘Bob’s Park’ is a tiny spot of refuge on this busy street with a small fenced in playground and park. The park was developed by the Clinton Housing Development Company (Clinton Housing Development Company).
Bob’s Park next to 454 West 35th Street
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=175353
https://www.clintonhousing.org/what-we-do/building-profile.php?id=77
The park is named after Robert Kennedy, a third-generation resident of the community who was very active in the neighborhood affairs. The park is located next to 454 West 35th Street where his grandmother lived. The park is very popular with the neighborhood (HMDB.org).
Bob’s Park at 454 West 35th Street
Right down the block is the Nero Wolfe Plaque, based on the mythical private detective Nero Wolfe by author Rex Stout. The mythical author’s home was supposed to be located on West 35th Street near Ninth Avenue and in the middle by the Hudson River (The Wolfe Pack).
The Nero Wolfe Plaque at 454 West 35th Street
https://www.nerowolfe.org/htm/about_us/454_W_35.htm
The plaque on the building at 454 West 35th Street
All along the cement barriers that lead to the Lincoln Tunnel from West 34th through West 36th Streets is the colorful and creative art of artist Ashley-Simone McKenzie. This really is the bright spot of being stuck in traffic as you enter the tunnel.
The McKenzie work at Dyer Avenue leading to the Lincoln Tunnel
Where bridge covers the highway and down Dryer Avenue, there is an interesting art entitled “Art by Ashley”, which is a colorful display on the cement barriers protecting the road. The work was done by New York based artist Ashley-Simone McKenzie.
“Art by Ashley” by artist Ashely-Simone McKenzie
Across the street:
The work was created by Queens based artist Ashley-Simone McKenzie who is an educator and multidisciplined in paintings, illustration and animation.
Watch her interview on this interesting piece of art
Rounding the corner at West 36th Street, you will pass the main artery of the Lincoln Tunnel so be very careful but like many blocks there is a little gem of a park as you get closer to Ninth Avenue.
The McKenzie Works at West 36th Street
The works are very colorful and dominate the cement barriers
The Metropolitan Community Church at 446 West 36th Street has the most unusual painting above the entrance way.
The Metropolitan Community Church at 446 West 36th Street
https://www.facebook.com/MCCNY/
The beautiful heart painting outside the church welcomes the people here. I could not see the signature that well to see who painted it.
I walked down West 36th Street to Ninth Avenue to a small park that I passed when walking the borders of the Garment District a few months earlier. This little park called “The Canoe” Plaza is part of the Hudson Yards/Hell’s Kitchen Alliance and is at the corner of Ninth Avenue and West 37th Street. This was the creation of the design team of Design Wild and was convert the block to a flowery heaven right at the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel (Hudson Yards Alliance/Design Wild).
The Canoe Plaza designed by Design Wild
http://www.designwildny.com/canoe-plaza
https://www.hyhkalliance.org/about-the-bid
The unique statue that graces the garden is by artist Jordan Baker- Caldwell called “Ascension”.
“Ascension” by Artist Jordan Baker-Caldwell
Ascension
Jordan Baker-Caldwell is an American born artist from New York City and is the youngest artist in the history of New York to have a permanent public sculpture. The artist’s work has been noted as evoking questions about gravity, structure, balance and the human body in relation to space (Artist’s bio).
Please watch the video of the artist describing his work in the park
https://m.facebook.com/mrjordanbc/posts
This little park defines how small spaces are being used in Manhattan for the pleasure of the residents of that neighborhood. It shows what a little creativity can create in a tiny area right next to an extremely street.
West 37th Street was mostly dodging cars as the afternoon got busier and the traffic around the arteries to the tunnel got busier. I have noticed that people have gone back to honing their horns for no reason again. That had disappeared for almost twenty years. Probably the result of COVID frustration.
When walking down West 38th Street, you will be walking over an elevated walkway over all the entrances to the tunnel. In the midst of all the building and the new neighborhood rising around it, is the firehouse Engine 34/ Ladder 21 which sits like a holdover to another era of the neighborhood. Its solid brick building is surrounded by the encroaching Hudson Yards development with its shiny towers and office complexes that it protects. Here is a section of the City that has changed night and day in twenty-five years.
Ladder 21 was founded in 1890 and when the Lincoln Tunnel was built the original building was knocked down and the new building with Engine 34 was built in 1939. It is one of the busiest houses in Manhattan (9/11 Lesson). I stopped to admire the memorial that the house created in honor of the members lost on 9/11. As a fellow fire fighter, it really touched me.
Engine 34/Ladder 21 at 440 West 38th Street
https://nyfd.com/manhattan_ladders/ladder_21_history.html
http://wikimapia.org/21954112/FDNY-Engine-34-Ladder-21
A reflection of 9/11 from Engine 34/Ladder 21
Watch where you are walking when travelling down West 39th Street from Ninth to Twelve Avenues because like the rest of the neighborhood, the roads got busier during the rush hour. It got harder to walk around this part of the neighborhood.
One small patch of green is located in the neighborhood surprisingly is Astro’s Dog Run, a tiny little park that is members only near the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel at Tenth Avenue and West 39th Street. This tiny stretch of property offers a safe place for neighborhood pooches and their masters a place to stretch out and run around.
Years ago, I have known it as a Community Garden, but things change over the years. Still, it is one of the only patches of green in this part of the neighborhood and a gathering place for dog lovers from the community. They have extended the green down the block as well.
The Astro Dog Run at West 39th Street was a community garden at one time
Untitled
https://m.facebook.com/ManhattanBoard4/posts/3999500046801880
Be careful when walking under Dyer Avenue at the West 40th Street overpass as there were some not too legal activities going on under the streets after dark. Just walk fast and ignore everyone. Be careful when crossing the street as traffic is coming in all directions. Walking down the street towards Twelve Avenue, there are parts of the sidewalk you will not be able walk. That and the traffic cops will stop you from walk around the street. There are cars everywhere.
The most interesting part of walking down West 41st Street is the St. Raphel’s Catholic Church Croation Parish at 502 West 41st Street. The church is the last of the holdovers of the old neighborhood as the area quickly changes around it.
St. Raphael’s Catholic Church Croation Parish at 502 West 41st Street
https://www.croatianchurchnewyork.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/74380157302/
St. Raphel’s Catholic Church was founded in 1886 and the church started construction in 1901. The church was designed by architect George H. Streeton in the French Gothic style. The church has been the seat of the Croatian parish since 1974 and services are performed in both English and Croatian Wiki).
The church is one of the most beautiful buildings left as a reminder of this neighborhood is reinventing itself for the modern era. Detailed and gorgeous architecture like this is a testament to a time when craftsmanship was part of the building process and that these buildings were meant to last. Take time to admire the detail work from across the street.
I spent the last part of the afternoon as I finished my walk watching the traffic cops’ direct traffic out of Manhattan and back to New Jersey. It fascinated me that all the years that I have come in and out of the City, I never walked around the very neighborhood that houses the building that thousands of New Jerseyan’s travel through everyday. Now that I have walked all around it, I will look at it differently every time I travel in and out of the Manhattan knowing all its secrets. It is a unique neighborhood that will keep changing over the next ten years.
I stopped at 9th Avenue Gourmet Deli at 480 Ninth Avenue for a sandwich (See my review on TripAdvisor) that evening. The food here is wonderful and very reasonable. I had one of their Chicken Salad Club Sandwiches ($10.95) and it was delicious. Layers of chunky chicken salad with crisp bacon on toasted bread hit the spot after a long walk around the neighborhood.
9th Avenue Gourmet Deli at 480 Ninth Avenue should not be missed
https://m.facebook.com/115798258443108
https://menupages.com/9th-ave-gourmet-deli/480-9th-ave-new-york
I watched from the window bar seat six police cars stop right outside the window. I thought they saw what I saw under the overpass, but it was just another drunk person causing problems.
The Hudson Yards on a nice day
That’s New York City for you. Always jumping!
Please read my other Blogs on walking Hudson Yards:
Day Two Hundred and Twenty-One-Walking the Borders of the Hudson Yards:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/22253
Day Two Hundred and Twenty-Three-Walking the Avenues of the Hudson Yards:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/22609
Day Two Hundred and Twenty-Four-Walking the Streets of Hudson Yards:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/22698
Places to Eat:
9th Avenue Gourmet Deli
480 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY 10018
(212) 695-6204
https://m.facebook.com/115798258443108
Open: Sunday-Saturday 24 hours
My review on TripAdvisor:
My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:
Places to Visit:
Bella Abzug Park
542 West 36th Street
New York, NY 10018
(212) 239-1619
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/hudson-park
Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-11:00pm
My review on TripAdvisor:
New York Transit Museum Gallery
89 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10001
(212) 878-0106
https://www.facebook.com/nytransitmuseum/
Open: Sunday-Tuesday Closed/Wednesday-Friday 11:30am-6:00pm/Saturday Closed
My review on TripAdvisor:
My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:
mywalkinmanhattan 
Wear good walking shoes and watch for traffic when walking around the Hudson Yards.
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