City Island: Off-Season

One of the obvious perks of living in New York vs. visiting is being able to visit places I love over and over again. I'm particularly enamored with visiting places in their off-seasons, like Coney Island, and most recently, City Island. City Island feels a little strange and abandoned even in the summer, so I was interested to see if it felt any different in the winter.

The contrast wasn't as drastic as I've noticed with Coney Island, but there was still a noticeable lull in activity compared to when JMP and I went in July. Most of the shops were closed, although most of the restaurants were open, even if their hours were limited. The cemetery, diner and antique store were all open, but the nautical museum was closed for the season.

This was my third trip to City Island in three years, and nothing much seems to change between visits—I've had the same waitress all three times I've eaten at the diner. The only major change is that the City Island bridge is being torn down and rebuilt. I wonder what will become of the delightfully charming "Seaport of the Bronx" sign that used to welcome visitors?

I say that winter is the "off-season" of City Island, but now I'm starting to think that every season in City Island is the off-season. I'll never not be fascinated by a place that is so close to the city, and yet seems as if it's part of another world entirely.