Art, Views, and Optional Drinks/Dinner on Roosevelt Island
Details
About 6.5 miles. About 3 hours (followed by optional drinks/dinner). Moderate pace.
Meet in the plaza outside Trader Joes at 59th St. and 1st Ave. Use the restrooms in Trader Joes, TJ Maxx, or Home Depot (at 60th & 1st) before the walk starts.
We’ll meet at 1:45 p.m. and leave at exactly 2 p.m. We’ll walk over the newish pedestrian pathway on the south side of the bridge, then head to Vernon Blvd and make our way to Roosevelt Island, where we'll walk north to the lighthouse, then south to Four Freedoms Park. The first restroom break is about 3.5 miles into the walk.
At the park, we'll see the new installation by Ai Wei Wei called Camouflage. The exhibit coincides with the 80th session of the UN General Assembly and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Four Freedoms Park Conservancy says the artwork transforms the FDR memorial into a platform for reflection on the impacts of war and human conflict.
To speed our admission, please download a free ticket here before the walk: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/camouflage-by-ai-weiwei-tickets-1622516212669. (Tickets on Eventbrite seem to be only available for September right now. Please check in Oct. for new availability.)
After we take in the artwork, we'll head back up the east side of the island and have a couple of options for drinks and/or dinner. One is the Panorama Room of the Graduate Hotel, where drinks and bites are pricey but the views are great (see the menu in the link). The other is the close-by, more casual Granny Annie's Bar and Kitchen. We can try to decide where to go as group, or we can split up based on what we're in the mood for.
Both venues are close to the Tramway, the F train, and the NYC Ferry, which all go back to Manhattan.
Bring the usual: Water, sunscreen, a hat, whatever works for the weather that day. We won't stop for lunch but feel free to bring snacks to enjoy as we walk.