Papa Tom, I kind of did your Joe Michaels Bikeway + Fort Totten ride mid-day today ( nyrides.freehosting.net/queens.htm if posting links is allowed). I rode a leisurely 14.5 miles according to GPS, through local streets up towards the Throgg's Neck Bridge, then poking around Fort Totten, back along the bay, and alongside and through Alley Pond Park to the Vanderbilt Parkway/Bikeway and home. At Totten there was an antique car show, and they had three police cruisers on display from the 50s and 60s I think. All along the route there were plenty of places to stop and enjoy the scenery and the people. If you like to "noodle around" like me, and exercise is a side-benefit, this route is definitely worth your time. And let me get in a plug for Papa Tom's site, there are a lot of good hints for good rides to be found there.

As for Flushing Meadow, I agree that the blacktop is a mess and you need to detour around closed sections, though I can't agree that most of it was underwater, at least, it hasn't been underwater while I was there. (High tide? It hadn't rained, so I dunno.) There are bike rental kiosks elsewhere than Meadow Lake though - I'm sure there's one near the tennis center. Flushing Meadow is good for "noodling" but not for spinning.