Canarsie Pier

Canarsie Pier, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, isn't a city park, or even properly a park at all. But its wide spaces, open air, and location jutting into Jamaica Bay make it feel like one. Even the approach from Rockaway Parkway and the Belt Parkway is parklike.

We had the place nearly to ourselves on a late afternoon in February.

The pier is best known for the fishing excursions that leave from it in the early mornings. There are also kayaking in season, summer concerts, birds, and the occasional "dead man floating." ("At first, police thought Nieves was dead, but then, he started flapping his arms and yelling for help," the Daily News reported in July 2015.)

We spotted a duck, or duck-like creature, that we couldn't identify. It wasn't flapping anything, not even its wings, nor was it yelling for help. Instead, it kept diving under the water to find food, which made it hard for me to get a sharp photo. But I'd like to know what species it is.

I like the bird and fish designs in the side arches of the entrance.

Things were busy here a century ago. The Golden City Amusement Park opened on the site in 1907, looking pretty spectacular in this image.

Image from the Brooklyn Public Library's Brooklyn Collection

All that's gone, of course. But some big old metal bollards are here to remind us of old seafaring times.