My New York: Bridges

New York is a city of five counties divided by water. We rely on our bridges and tunnels to get out of our home boroughs to, well, everywhere else.

Not long ago, the crossings had simple, descriptive names: The Triborough Bridge joins Queens, Manhattan and The Bronx but some buffoon decided it should be renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. Are there not enough schools named after the esteemed Kennedys that they need a bridge too?

The Queensborough Bridge is colloquially known as the 59th Street Bridge because it meets Manhattan at or around 59th Street. And, of course, the Simon and Garfunkel song. It’s now named after a former mayor: The Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge. Sheesh!

The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, now the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel after a former governor, runs under the East River between Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan’s Battery Park area.

The descriptive names are great for visitors, new drivers and new New Yorkers. Thankfully, the rest of the water crossings have retained their names.

I have a love-hate relationship with bridges: They are beautiful but I hate driving on them. I stay in the center lane where I don’t see all that water under me. I live on an island so I fight this discomfort quite a lot.

I viewed Independence Day fireworks from the base of the Throggs Neck Bridge the week before the actual Independence Day. I’m glad I caught the sunset before the show.

WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Bridge