I [RUN] Bushwick: Land of Sunflowers and Potholes

Text and Photos by Chris Heuberger

One of my favorite things to do is explore a new city or neighborhood and I’ve always thought one of the best ways to do it is a running tour.

Now Bushwick isn’t exactly new to me but whenever I run there, I find it has new things to say.

Sightseeing on foot allows you to stop and investigate things; to interact with people and puppies. It allows you to see what’s going on up close, smell the smells, hear the sounds and catch the photo ops.

You can’t cover as much ground walking than you can by bike or car though, so running is the way to go, allowing maximum flexibility and freedom. Not to mention it’s a decent workout.

Of course, I’m a runner and actually enjoy this sometimes grueling activity. So for anyone not so inclined, you can still experience the highlights with me now.

The route is your basic loop, 8 miles beginning and ending at my apartment. Like a sort of urban obstacle course, it includes long, uphill straight-aways early on and then shorter block zig zags towards the end, trying to hit any parks I could along the way. I’m pretty sure at some point I was technically in Ridgewood but for any fellow Bushwick runners, I recommend it to get a good sense of the variety in this part of town. Some stretches were through wide open industrial sections, some through denser residential areas and the last mile went right through the new Bushwick Artist Market on Bogart. I strayed off course quite often when something grabbed my interest but this map shows the general path. The numbers indicate roughly where each photo was taken. So lace up—and let’s go.