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LANDSCAPE ASSIGNMENT (DRY RUN)

 

Welcome to my neighborhood, Country Club, Throggs Neck, New York! (For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Throggs Neck, it is part of the Bronx.)

This is the front of my apartment building. I decided to take a walk Sunday afternoon, March 17, 2013. 

 

I started my walk on my street which is Stadium Avenue, which turns into Shore Drive. All the homes and building shown here are within a three block radius and they are Dean Avenue, Clarence Avenue, and Vincent Avenue, with the cross-street Layton Avenue.  (In other words, the pizzeria is located on Clarence and Layton, etc.)

 

 

 

It was a chilly, cloudy day, but not too cold, I was comfortable walking around. What I really wanted to show all of you are some of the beautiful homes in my neighborhood. I grew up in Throggs Neck, and what I always liked about Country Club was that nearly every home was different from the next...

 

 

 

 


I was wondering why my neighborhood seemed so quiet; not that it's usually particularly noisy but there wasn't a person in sight. When I saw the shamrock decorations in this house's windows I remembered -- it was St. Patrick's Day! Probably a lot of people were either in Manhattan or in local pubs celebrating.

 

 


RANDOM: When I was a little girl my grandfather told me never to touch or eat any berries that I didn't see birds eating. I thought of him and those words when I passed this house. These berries looked so yummy! But since there wasn't a bird in sight, I imagine they either taste terrible or may even be poisonous. Growing up I had a cherry tree in my backyard; we were fortunate if we managed to grab a plateful of cherries before the birds ate them all.


ANYWAY! Back to homes in Country Club. As I was saying, I used to love that each home looked different from the one next to it. Not so much anymore. More and more strips of buildings are springing up like this:




And this...


 

 

Hahaha! I realize people get really peeved if you let your dog poop in front of their house, but I had never seen one of these before--had to snap a picture.


 

 

I always say the "B-Boroughs" (Brooklyn & Bronx) have the best New York Pizza. The best pizza in the Bronx is right here, folks, Loretta's Pizza!  When my cousins moved from the Bronx to Connecticut, they decided they'd still make a "pilgrimage" down to Throggs Neck at least once a month for a pizza fix. I'd post a photo of the food here, but I thought that would just be torture to my classmates that live out of the New York area. But if you are ever in the Bronx, stop here for a slice. Trust me, you won't be sorry!

 

 

 

You're probably wondering why I took this photo of this white stone wall. Well, in the Bronx, it's a pretty famous white wall...


 

It's one of several spots in my neighborhood where scenes from the Spike Lee movie "Summer of Sam" were shot. I couldn't find one of this exact street but here's one which is close by:

 

 

 

When I was a kid, there was a tiny strip of private beach I was able to walk to from my house, about a half a mile away. It was called "Golden Beach."  It's gone now, turned into yet more waterfront homes. (This strip is called "Golden Beach Estates.")  These homes are located on Dean Avenue.

 

 

 

Here's another view of "Golden Beach Estates" where you can see the water. These homes cost over a million dollars each. Yes, you read that right! Over ONE MILLION DOLLARS--to live in the BRONX!

 

 

Still, Hurricane Sandy has scared some people away. Here's a nice home right on the water currently for sale...

 

 

 

 

Here's the broker's number in case anyone is interested! Won't you be my neighbor?

 


Quick Vision Test: Find the Swan!




Here is the bus stop where I take my Express Bus (BXM9) into midtown manhattan. On a good day my commute is 45 minutes. But if there's snow or rain or President Obama is in New York it can take two hours.  The bus stop is two blocks from my apartment building, and it's the second stop which is pretty great because I always get a seat. 

 

 

Here is a beach club three blocks from my building. It's called the American Turner Club; has been around for over 50 years. The pier was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.

 

 

 Here is the photo of the pier at the Turner Club in on a beautiful day in July 2012. Hopefully it will look this way again soon!

 


I hope you all enjoyed this glimpse of my neighborhood. Come and visit sometime!

 

(Note: I'm so sorry I chose St. Patrick's Day to do my "walkabout" and there were no people around, because it is a pretty nice, diverse neighborhood with a mix of Italian, Irish, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, African American and Asian familes. The Italian and Irish families have been here the longest, whereas the Puerto Rican, Hispanic, African American and Asian families I see are usually younger, with little children. If I happen to see any families in the next few days I may snap a couple more photos and add them here.)

 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.