Day 3: Brooklyn the Better Borough?

Overview of today’s agenda: Louis Armstrong Museum House, NYC Transit Museum, Coney Island and Brighton Beach

It is now day three and I still really haven’t figured out the subway system yet. It doesn’t help that on weekends some of the train lines don’t run. Needless to say I think that I spent as much time on public transit as I did in the museums. But I did have some great views of the Manhattan skyline from the 7 subway line that runs above ground in Queens.

The Louis Armstrong Museum is far out – about 1 hour by subway from Harlem – but well worth the trip! The museum is in the house that Louis bought with his fourth wife and she donated the house after her death. No photos were allowed  inside because it is preserved as it was in the 1970s. It is a pretty awesome house with a gold plated bathroom that was featured, a custom made state-of-the-art kitchen and a massive walk-in closet. They also had an interconnected sound system installed in most rooms in the house (including the bathroom). I think most people today would be envious of the Armstrongs’ House.

After finishing up at Louis’ house I headed across Long Island to the other borough – Brooklyn. It took me about 2 hours (after a few false starts on the wrong trains and closed stations). Most of NYC’s transit runs from the boroughs to downtown Manhattan. It’s harder to get from one borough to another even though its the same distance.

I found Brooklyn to be more like Toronto. Less people, less traffic, less skyscrapers than Manhattan. This was not to say that it was less of a good time. I spent a couple of hours at the New York City Transit Museum. It is definitely off the mainstream tourist track, but still worthwhile for the low admission price of $5. The best part of the museum was the old subway cars they had on display. Because the museum is located on an old subway station the old fashioned subway cars (complete with old advertisements) are on actual subway tracks. Also interesting was the evolution of the subway tokens and turnstiles.

After enjoying a pint of Harp and fish n’ chips at The Atlantic Fish and Chip Shop in downtown Brooklyn, I went deeper into Brooklyn and saw Coney Island. I was a little disappointed with the amusement park – quite run down and over priced (it was $6 for one round of bumper cars). What I enjoyed most was seeing ‘Little Odessa’. This is the area of Brooklyn near the subway stop Brighton Beach, it is inhabited by immigrants from Eastern Europe. Here you are more likely to hear Russian than English.

As the sun was setting I headed back to Harlem by subway. This time it only took me 45 minutes. I think I were to live in New York, living in downtown Brooklyn (Brooklyn Heights) just across the East  River from Manhattan would be my choice. It has enough things to do and places to eat and is close enough to commute. It would be my guess that commuting from Brooklyn Heights to the Financial District is faster than commuting from somewhere north of Central Park.