Is Coney Island an island?
(FYI., it is not). There was probably less confusion before the bridges were built, when New Yorkers took ferries between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Today, there are water taxis connecting Queens and Brooklyn to Manhattan, but no one uses them as casually or as frequently as the subway (possibly due to their significantly higher fare) – although in some places, like Red Hook, they would actually be the most logical means of transportation. “The bridges are very indirect,” pointed out Hannah Borgeson, the swimmer. “You have to go so far out of your way to get on them and off them and over them. It would be so much more direct if you could just cross the water directly.” Many organizations in New York share a goal of bringing New Yorkers closer to the water. To name just a few: the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club offers free canoeing and kayaking in Brooklyn, the Long Island City Community Boathouse does the same in Queens, and the Downtown Boathouse is for that purpose in Manhattan. Shorewalke
