As reported in the New York Times, a humpback whale was spotted at around 11 am on Thursday about 1 mile from the Verrazano Bridge.

Petty Officer Annie Berlin, spokeswoman for the Coast Guard, is quoted in the New York Times as saying, “It is fairly close to the shipping zone.  We want to make sure that not only the animal is not in danger,
but that the vessels traveling in and out of New York Harbor are also
safe.”

She said the whale was not too far from Brooklyn. “It’s
right near Bay Ridge,”s he added. “It’s right off of Belt Parkway.” By
1:15 p.m., the whale had moved near Coney Island, the Coast Guard reported.

Brooklyn Heights blogger, Self-Absorbed Boomer has a nice story about the Brooklyn humpback whale, too.