Canarsie - Rockaway Parkway (L)

Dec 13

Welcome to the end of the L Train, all the way in Canarsie, where there are more places of worship than places to eat. The area is predominantly Black, and it seems aligned with Caribbean and West Indies culture. You can easily find prayer services in French and Creole, hair braiding services, and Jamaican delis.

The street vibe right outside the terminal station.

That was very much not the case some decades ago. White flight was dramatic around here; in 1980 the neighborhood was 90 percent white.

Some of the medical services here cater to the religiousity of the local population.

Now more than 80 percent Black, most residents live in detached single-family homes, a disproportionately high number of which defaulted in the 2008 housing crisis (ah, yes, that would be systemic racism). The homeowners and renters who remain tend well to their front porches, and many are embellished with fancy-looking gates. A lot of homes have… immigrant aesthetic? Like, the vibe is heavy, golden-toned, paisley printed drapes and coffee table figurines. Iykyk.

A realtor I met in Queens referred to this area as, “not gentrifying.” You won’t find a bougie coffee, an indie bookstore, or a wine bar anywhere near this stop. The closest Starbucks is about a 30-minute walk into the trucking/shipping outskirts of Brooklyn where the subway doesn’t reach, and it didn’t seem like it gets a lot of local patrons. There are two “shopping areas” in the vicinity of the Starbucks - both have strip mall vibes, and they’re too far from the subway or require multiple bus transfers to be meaningfully relevant for a pedestrian.

Also a 30-minute walk from the station and somewhat nearby the Starbucks is The Wyckoff House, which was completed in 1636. Its old wooden vibes are in stark contrast to the automatic car wash fenced with barbed wire across the street. I get the sense that it sees a lot of elementary school field trips. If you’re a history buff it may be worth the walk or two bus transfers from the station, frankly if you’re interested in this kind of stuff I recommend the Van Cortlandt House off 242nd Street (1 Train) in the Bronx instead.

Words cannot describe how out of place this house is.

All that said, apparently Canarsie is nicknamed “The Flossy,” because it’s flashier than other predominately Black neighborhoods in New York City. I did catch a shiny Mercedes in one home’s driveway, but they were few and far between.

It’s wild to think that the L train can get you from here to Jefferson Street Station in just 15 minutes. That’s New York for you.