A Train - Beach 44 St.-Frank Ave. (Day 4, 9:48 a.m., stop #155)

Out: Again, this intersection feels a bit desolate.  There is lots of trash surrounding the exits, which are bordered by chain link fencing.  On the south side of Rockaway Fwy, the beach is very close by.  There aren’t any buildings there, just a bunch of weeds and other growth.  I started to walk down a gravel driveway toward the beach, but I thought better of it when I saw some random guys down there hanging out on benches.  Also, the fog was still too thick to see much, anyway.  On the north side of Rockaway Fwy, there are some new condo complexes coming up, but not too much activity or development; still plenty of empty lots as well.  The condo ad calls it the “Water’s Edge at Arverne” (the Rockaways are for some reason divided up into a bunch of neighborhoods, Arverne being one of them).  There aren’t too many people around, but I get the impression this neighborhood is mostly black; however, there is one house flying a Puerto Rican flag.

In: The station is in decent condition, similar to Beach 25 St.  There is lots of trash on the street, though, and it still smells like urine.