I’ve collected enough photos of NYC over the last 20 years to write a dozen blog posts but my last trip there was mainly based around visiting some of the locations seen in Netflix’s Daredevil and The Punisher.

Years ago, spending August in New York for me was a summer of theatre, baseball, staying out until sunrise and riding the 7 train daily from Queens to the Upper West Side.  These days when I visit New York my itinerary is very different, and setting off on another locations-hunting mission is a good way for me to get out of downtown Manhattan and see areas of the 5 boroughs which are new to me – or which have changed beyond recognition since I was first there in 1997.

I have an immense love for The Punisher and Season 2 of Daredevil (maybe that’s for another post) and while I only had the time and energy to visit a handful of locations from the shows, I was pleased with what I saw and some of them got me out of Manhattan in the August heat.

A couple of hours after arriving in Manhattan I dashed off to Williamsburg in Brooklyn to catch the sunset from Grand Ferry Park. In The Punisher, Frank Castle and Karen Page meet in the park where Karen shares information about Micro. It’s a great spot to watch the sun set over Manhattan and plenty of people had wandered down there with ice creams and drinks to hang out. This was one location which I couldn’t miss on my trip and I’m glad I caught it when the light was so pretty.

 

Sunnyside was my old NYC base in the summertime, so it was strange to retrace my old steps, catch the 7 and walk along Queens Boulevard just a couple of blocks from where I used to stay. For those of you who know how downright unpleasant Midtown can get in August, any rest stops are welcome, so I grabbed a bite and some strong black coffee (of course) at Pete’s Diner & Grill. This is where Frank calls David and they arrange to meet at the Pulaski Bridge.

 

It’s supposed to be a short walk away from Pete’s Diner in the show, but Frank Castle’s apartment is actually under the Long Island Expressway in Long Island City. In the real world it’s offices for an industrial  company, but recognisable as Frank’s home.

The carousel where Frank’s family is killed, and the location for the final showdown between Frank and Billy Russo, is not actually in Central Park – it’s Forest Park Carousel over the water in Queens. I got to the park just before it opened and explained how it might look weird that I was hanging around a kid’s park, and that I was just a geek in search of some Frank Castle moments. A couple of members of staff were fans of Daredevil too and told me some stories about when the crew and cast were there filming.

 

This one I stumbled across by accident after breakfast at the wonderful Egg Shop on Elizabeth Street. I’d got some locations highlighted on my Google Maps app and as I was walking towards City Hall I realised the building which doubled as Homeland Security in The Punisher was nearby. It’s actually the Manhattan Family Courthouse but familiar to viewers as Dinah Madani’s office.

 

There are photos from other Punisher locations lurking on my hard drive from previous trips to New York (Cortland Street, Circle Line Ferry, Columbus Circle) but the show hadn’t even aired when I visited those last.

Some snapshots of New York I took along the way…