Fort Totten Park

Great park and worth the trek. I journeyed out here for a guided tour and it was very educational. There are a lot of buildings that are old and falling apart but that just makes this place just a bit more interesting. I would recommend taking the Q16 bus instead of the Q13, you'll save about 30 minutes of commuting.

One of my favorite places in NYC. The battery is only open from April to November, Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 4pm or by appointment. But the rest is open all year.
Usually, the park is pretty empty even in summer, so the walks are quiet. There are some of the old houses that have been renovated and are being used by EMT, some others are empty and some that are covered in growing green!
Some areas feel like ghost towns, check the kids playground all the way in the back, it's all full of rust, it looks like from a horror movie.
There's a lot of military and EMT personnel around, but if you are not doing anything wrong, nobody will bother you. The places that are restricted are marked.
Check the urban park rangers calendars as there are some interesting events available. From time to time they have a star gazing event, considering you are still in NYC, the night sky is pretty OK, you won't see the milky way, but it is a nice activity.
The parking lot is open again with plenty of space.

stationed there for 3 years. I sure do miss having a few out of my living room window of Long Island Sound just yards away. Having the fort as my own private backyard playground was amazing!!

The renovation to the parking lot and trail area make Fort Totten park a pretty neat place to visit. There's always a ton of people walking on the rocks and on the sand so it's pretty safe. You could park in the new parking lot and walk into Fort Totten if you wanted to walk in a quieter area.

I went on Halloween night. Beautiful park right by the water and you can have a great view of Throgs Neck Bridge and the bay area.