Shorewalkers: Members Only Group

It’s fun to experience the neighborhoods change while walking through the city, so let's do just that! On this urban history-lite walk, we’ll zig-zag across downtown from park to park. Our trek includes the Financial District, Tribeca, Civic Center, Chinatown, Lower East Side, East Village, West Village.

START TIME: 10:15am to use restroom/check in. Walk begins promptly at 10:30am.
START LOCATION: In front of Staten Island Ferry Terminal, lower Manhattan. Restrooms are on second floor of terminal. We will meet outdoors on the plaza. Look for walk leader in aqua-colored windbreaker.

END TIME: approx 4:15pm. End time is not exact. We might end earlier or a bit later.
END LOCATION: 14th St and 8th Ave: A,C,E,L subway. (Other subway stations are nearby. Subway map: https://www.mta.info/map/5256)

Distance: 7 miles.
Terrain: Flat, city sidewalks.
Pace: MODERATE. This is NOT a fast-paced walk. It is NOT a non-stop walk as we will pause as we walk through some of the parks.

Breaks: We will stop for a short (about 15 minutes) lunch break. Bring your own food/drink. We will not be stopping to make purchases.

Bathrooms available at meeting spot, 3.75-mile mark (lunch spot), 5-mile mark, and a short walk from our final destination.

GROUP SIZE will be kept limited on this particular walk. Courtesy with the RSVP process is expected. Thank you!

Contact: If needed, walk leader can be reached by TEXT only at 917-847-1536. Please identify yourself if you text.

Weather policy: In case of iffy forecast, walk leader will post a comment on the Meetup page with walk status by 7am on day of the walk.

But the curious thing about New York is that each large geographical unit is composed of countless small neighborhoods. ~ E.B. White in "Here is New York"

This will be a guided tour (with much commentary) which will encompass the military history (1783-1966) of Governors Island with an emphasis on the impact of World War I on the Island. After the United States entered the conflict in April of 1917, Governors Island quickly transformed into the major embarkation point for American troops and materiel going to France.

Take the 10:30 am Governors Island Ferry from the Battery Maritime Building (10 South Street). You can book the Ferry online or at the BMB (check the Governors Island website for complete information). We will gather at the Governors Island Welcome Center see the map on the event page for location.

At the conclusion of the tour, you can stay to enjoy the Island. Strongly advise booking your tickets online and arriving at the BMB by 10:10 am to wait for the 10:30 am Ferry.

Restrooms are available at the Battery Maritime Building (New York) and inside the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Art Center to the right as you exit the Ferry at Soissons Landing.

Owning to the Group Guided Tour nature of this event, it will be restricted to 20 attendees.

Will be walking at a moderate (not slow) pace. The walk will last close to three hours and will cover about 4 miles. There will be ample restrooms stops.

Heavy rain/snow or other forms of extreme weather will cancel the walk. Please check this site for updates.

LEADER: Bob Lazzaro email: rlazzaro4@aol.com
Please direct all questions concerning the walk to my email address above, I will endeavor to answer all of them. There is no need to clutter up the comment section below with personal reflections or predictions of the weather conditions that you "foresee" on the day of the event. I will delete all unnecessary comments.

I will use a voice amplification device to foster better understanding and clarity between myself and attendees.

The walk:
Leaving on time, we will walk to the Jerome Park Reservoir, where we will see both the full and the empty sections of the reservoir and the parts that make up the reservoir, learn how one works, and see an aqueduct gatehouse. We will continue along and atop the aqueduct as it makes its way to High Bridge with its famed water tower and over the Harlem River into Manhattan, in places along the walk we will be able to see the stone work that has protected the aqueduct for 135 years. We will walk through five parks and over the city’s oldest bridge, which contains the ghost of the original structure from before it was altered in 1928 to allow for increased boat traffic on the working Bronx River. This section of the walk will end at the Hispanic Museum and Library on Broadway and 155th Street. The walk is linear, ending two blocks from both the C train and the 1 train.

When: Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Where: in front of MON AMOUR COFFEE & WINE, 234 W 238th St, Bronx, NY (arrive early for coffee or whatever, we have a schedule to keep) If you need bathroom before the first stop, use the one here with a purchase.
How to get there: Take the #1 train to 238th Street in the Bronx. The coffee shop is a few doors East. If you come by Metro North, get off at Marble Hill and catch the #1 train uptown. Be sure to get a local MN train for Marble and be in one of the first five cars. If you end up on the express, continue to 125th Street and take the #4 train to Bedford Park and walk down Bedford Park Boulevard to the park benches across from Lehman College and wait for us. But do text.

Good to know:

• Walking conditions: Mostly pavement. One (or optionally two) steep climbs up stairs with railings. Otherwise a very gradual decline. Two potentially dangerous highway and road crossings, so we will adhere to crossing signals.
• Pace and distance: Most of the approximately seven miles of active walking will be at about 2 to 2 1/2 MPH with frequent information and photo breaks, ending around 1:30 or 2:00.
• This is not a pet-friendly event.
• You can buy food and drinks at Fordham or as we walk down University Avenue.
• There will be two or three bathroom breaks, one about half a mile after the start, the last at the end of the walk inside the Hispanic Museum. Most bathrooms are in parks, so be prepared.
• There will not be a formal lunch break, so bring easy snacks for walking or for the short breaks where we find benches in fresh air. The Hispanic Museum has a lovely courtyard that will be comfortable for a lunch at the end of the walk.
• Drop-out options: Bedford Park #4 train, Fordham Road Bx12 bus or Metro North, frequent Bx12 bust stop on University/Martin Luther King/High Bridge Manhattan side #1 train short walk but high stairs to #1 train.
• In case of highly predicted rain, I will let you know any plan changes the evening before.

BONUS: The Hispanic Society (where we end) gives free small group tours at 2:00, which must be booked ahead. If enough people express interest in enough time to do anything, we can probably book a tour. If you would like to be considered for the tour, please answer the question below.

Hike Leader: Gina Miller DAY OF ONLY text (347) 842-5452 with your name, and Christine Summerson (646) 491-0764.