F Train - Neptune Ave. (Day 5, stop #211)

Out:  Leafy green and quiet, right in the middle of some big apartment buildings/projects.  The neighborhood here seems pretty Russian, with maybe some Italian.  There are some stores about one block away, which actually resemble a strip mall; definitely haven’t seen too many of those.  There are some elderly folk hobbling around here.  I go over to the CVS in the strip mall to pick up a new notebook, and I notice that this is now part of Brighton Beach, which explains the Russian feel.  There are not really any individual houses here, just these big apartment blocks.

In:  Here the station house is actually renovated, with some new paneling and green and burgundy trim on the stairways.  The layout here is a single platform with tracks in both directions.  There is one column in the middle of the platform supporting the sloped roof, which covers most of the platform.  The platform itself is not renovated and there is no artwork.  There are no walls, so there’s a good view off the edge of the platform.  I can see the Verrazano in the distance as well as midtown Manhattan.