shivery's guide to new york #3: the manhattan bridge

by and large, it's the bastard stepchild of the east river crossings--the youngest of the suspension bridges that straddle the river; not nearly so iconic as the brooklyn bridge, not so rough and tumble as the queensborough and lacking the indie cred of the williamsburg (by pure virtue of its end point)...but if i were to recommend a bridge to walk over (because crossing the river on foot is an essential experience), this would be the one. starting at canal street in manhattan and ending on flatbush ave in brooklyn (just down the street from junior's deli), the manhattan bridge is 6855 feet of pure suspension bridge hot action, carrying pedestrians, subways and vehicles across the great divide. i love it because it disgorges 100 yards from ross' place. i love it because its supports look like the eiffel tower. i love it because it's always under construction. i love it because nine times out of ten, you could walk faster over it than the trains seem to go.


i walked over it on the day of the blackout; i walked over it two days after my heart was last broken. i like to walk over it when there's too much noise in my head to process things. it helps me grow quiet, because it's difficult to feel confusion when surrounded by sky and river and home. but most of all, i love it because when you look south, you see this.