Rafael Blunt Walk

After years of construction, this month New York has opened its newest park right off the West Side Highway. It’s called “Little Island” and it is exactly that, right over the piers in the Chelsea area. Now for quite a while I’ve been smoking past it in anticipation to get onto this futuristic oasis, not even a stone's throw away from The Whitney Museum. Finally, in the second to last week of May, it has opened its doors and of course, I was there on opening night with a joint in hand.

When I first arrived at the bridge entrance of the park there was a huge crowd and at the head of it was one of the park security turning everyone away. He just kept telling everyone that the park was closed and no one could enter, I stuck around, knowing that the park doesn’t close till 1 AM, and sure enough park security changed their tune and let the next wave of people in. As I pulled up to the entrance, I could see the podlike structure of the park in more detail, each footing of the park was built on what looked like planters stretching from stilts out of the Hudson River. Another thing I noticed before entering was the park was completely staffed by private security, which got me worried about my prospects of smoking in the park. But as soon as I passed the last roped-off section on the line, I was greeted with the sweet smell of weed drifting over this huge sloped lawn in the center of the island.

Happy Munkey Fam David & Danielle were also on the island so I ran up the grassy knoll, dodging both kids and adults attempting to roll down, to find them. Once I got to the top I found myself winding through all these trail, only to find out that there are these little shortcuts cut into the rocks so you can skip to and from one part of the path to the other. Sitting on a few of these rocks were David and Danielle puffing away at their Puffco. This gave me all the confidence in the world to blow it down in the middle of this brand new $260 million park. As I lit up, the park was calm as the staff left everyone alone. I brought out my speaker to match the various vibes I could hear across the park. The crowds of people were lively and amped to be outside, It felt like New York coming back to its true form. As I rounded off my joint me and my brother split up as I went to go explore the rest of the park.

To the north is this big amphitheater with nice cozy wooden seats that holds about 800 people, I could definitely picture seeing a concert or "Shakespeare In The Park" performed here. On either end of the theater are two viewpoints where you could see as far down as the mouth of the Hudson near where the Freedom Tower sits. After catching the view I immediately went online to book a reservation during the day on the following Tuesday. I rounded off the night by trying to get a beer from one of their food trucks but just as I pulled up they closed on me, but it gave me time to read through the delicious menu of actual meals and some good looking snacks (and for the neighborhood, it wasn’t too much of a price gouge either). I left happy and high, as I wished the staff a good night, full of excitement to smoke here during the day.

To be honest with you guys I would have ended the story there but, the first night I went, I got too high and took zero pictures of the place. I was so caught up in the newness of the park that my phone just sat in my pocket ringing up a storm. So I went back on that Tuesday on a mission to get some photos and of course smoke a couple of joints while getting a tan in the 93 degree smoggy New York weather. When I got to the "Little Island" on that Tuesday, I noticed a huge difference in the vibe. It was so quiet as if we were all walking through a museum. And worst still, I found out Tuesday is the only day of the week they close the lawns on the island to maintain them and let them rest. I was livid because I planned a whole day of baking in the sun in more ways than one. So I solved the problem the best way I know how, I grabbed myself that beer I missed out on, my first time around, and I sparked a joint in the amphitheater. I must say people were giving me funny looks because I was definitely the only one smoking anything on the island. I kinda picked up in the vibe, so I smoked as Nonchalantly as possible, not trying to draw too much attention, but inevitably the smell was doing it for me.

So I kept walking around and I ended up stumbling onto some interactive installation for kids, and my high ass jumped on them like there was no tomorrow, so much so, some kid had to ask if I was done yet. I got off because I felt bad, but those wobbly platforms were dope as fuck after baking in the sun with a beer and joint in hand. Just as I was finishing said joint, a woman runs up to me panicked, “Hey can you put that out there is no smoking on the island.” I laughed as she was already way too late, I put out the smallest of clips and threw it out in the trash. This kind of threw me off because I was just smoking here the other night but I guess the park is tryna keep up appearances.

Now that I’m jointless, I went to look for some shade because the sun was beaming on my black shirt like Scottie, and I think I had tanned enough. But I realized really quickly, there is no shade anywhere other than the cafe area. And let me tell you everyone and their mother was sitting under these 3 little canopies. There was no way I could fit under there, without pulling up a chair to a private picnic. So instead I found myself hopping over the railing of some flower beds, making sure not to ruffle any foliage, so I could chill on a rock in the shade. Not 2 minutes later, the very same women from before rushed to me out of breath, “hey can you...” and before she could finish her passive-aggressive sentence I was already hopping over the railing and lighting another joint. I told her I’m leaving and I made a slow walk to the exit puffing my jay.

Moral of the story if you’re trying to smoke on the Little Island make sure it's at night cause daytime was such a hassle. And avoid Tuesday like the plague because the best part about the park is its lawns. Until next time. Munkey Fam!