Archive for June 22nd, 2009
Newtown Grafiti
Ms. Heather over at NYshitty recently ran a piece on some interesting runic grafiti found in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Examination by her extensive network revealed a sinister meaning to the appearance of these runes. Connections to the late 19th century German mystics and conjurers who inspired Hitler’s Wagnerian mythos emerged.
As I’ve ambled across the Newtown Pentacle in the last few years, I too have noticed odd grafiti that hints of esoteric knowledge. My interests and studies have crossed the left hand path more than once, and I have the eye of one acquainted with an iconography of the occult. The Pentacle is steeped in magick all the way back to the Dutch.
This makes sense, as the pastoral shamanism of the Koreans and the ghost worshipping of the Catholics stands cheek by jowl with Nestorian Christianity and the Yesidi clan of Kurdish devil worshippers (here’s one of their holy books- I shit you not). Mohammedan or Hasid, Presbyterian or Hindoo, all the mainstream faiths in the area have thrown great spires at the sky and filled the socratic skyline with their particular “gnosis”. The one thing all these people have in common, other than problems with subway service, is that every one of these churches has its apostates. The Catholics have Opus Dei, and the Muslims have the Sufists.
Groups of true believers who think that the “big church” has lost its way, these philosophies offer hidden truths and revelation. Cults, or as we might say it in modern newspeak- “self organizing grass roots gatherings of religious enthusiasts”. Often, these cults form within gangs. The South American and Mexican gangs, in particular, are known to employ magicians called “Padrinos” to amplify their advantages in hostile encounters. If you believe in magick, it works. They do.
In February of 2009, during a religious ritual in Flushing, a 6 year old was burned with “accelerants”. Invocations of a Loa often involve spitting flaming rum at the intended participant of the ceremony. Santeria (and its black magick equivalent- Palo) also employs similar magickal techniques and symbology.
Also… how does Aleister Crowley always end up getting into the mix? The goetia, which that nasty man said was “the Lesser Key of Solomon” contains ritual sigil designs that are very similar to designs found appearing all over Astoria since mid 2007. A better thing to read, would be this. Seriously, this is the craziest thing you’ll see today. Ok, maybe this is.
If you’re interested in this sort of thing, I would suggest reading up on the Rosicrucians, The Order of the Golden Dawn, Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophists, and the 19th century Spirititualist movement. Compare with the “model tenement” movement, John Harvey Kelogg, and eugenics. The occult inheritances of these debauched philosophies have filtered out into popular culture as Veganism, New Age Movement, Alcoholics Anonymous and the Recovery Movement, and a series of badly spellchecked grimoires which all refer to themselves as “the Necronomicon”.
At the end of the 19th century, occult topics played well in the absinthe fueled cocktail party culture of the middle class- the “sustainable living” and “green technologies” conversations of their day.
First, there is a difference between grafiti and occult markings. These are grafiti.
Ravenswood- This is a “tag”, a kind of grafiti which is painted or etched with differing levels of artistic merit. Often, taggers will “bomb” a neighborhood, leaving behind dozens if not hundreds of iterations of their particular icon. Often the tag will refer to gang or ethnic affiliations -photo by Mitch Waxman
Sunnyside Yards Honeywell Bridge Tag. The top right looks sigili-ish, but the 187 (police code for an undercover cop in trouble) indicates this is New York Street culture oriented -photo by Mitch Waxman
Street work painted by DOT. An amazing coincidental drawing of a theoretical tesseract or hypercube -photo by Mitch Waxman
The next two are Latin Kings tags. No affiliation or hate.
Astoria Latin Kings tag -photo by Mitch Waxman
I hesitate to post anything about… umm… self organizing fraternal societies of urban youth- but these are Latin King tags. The number of points in the crown has some significance which I am ignorant of, the presence of circles amongst the points which indicates political standing or factional allegiances of the tagger to the citywide organization is also something I am completely ignorant about. Go ask a King.
Woodside Latin Kings tag -photo by Mitch Waxman
Dutch Kills abandoned factory: Part of a series of enigmatic scrawls found in a muddy place where no footprints could be seen -photo by Mitch Waxman
Now, either by design or accident of design- the occult::
This is in one of the isolated spots in Long Island City. Similar to Ms. Heather’s runes, these are under the LIE and over the LIRR in Long Island City, behind the midtown tunnel -photo by Mitch Waxman
Mt. Zion altar. Found this on 59th street while walking the Mt. Zion cemetery fenceline. It was a little wooden mortar and pestle with coarse gray ash inside of it. There was candle wax as well -photo by Mitch Waxman
This is a fairly modern, post-industrial era sigil representing the demon Asmodeus. Lamp pole in Astoria -photo by Mitch Waxman
Astoria, chaos dragon/snake mother sigil. Compare with the ancient Naga of the Mahabharata -photo by Mitch Waxman
and another one, miles away in Ravenswood-
Ravenswood Sigil -photo by Mitch Waxman
Obviously the work of a small group or possibly even one person, this next grouping started turning up all over astoria since middle 2007. The one with my shadow in it is in Maspeth, by an abattoir.
Occultish grafiti found along the fenceline of a gigantic Korean Church -photo by Mitch Waxman
Occultish grafiti found in Astoria -photo by Mitch Waxman
Occultish grafiti found in Astoria -photo by Mitch Waxman
Occultish grafiti found in Maspeth -photo by Mitch Waxman
Occultish grafiti found in Astoria -photo by Mitch Waxman
Occultish grafiti found in Astoria -photo by Mitch Waxman
Graphomania like this is all over the place, and gets denser as you travel toward Corona and Roosevelt. Most likely a mexican or ecuadorian fraternal group. Read the text from multiple angles and directions. Correct orientation will be apparent to members. Standard fenceline style of code -photo by Mitch Waxman
Occultish grafiti found in Greenpoint -photo by Mitch Waxman
Of course, Queens being Queens… some things require little or no explanation
Dutch Kills -photo by Mitch Waxman
Adventures upon the East River 2
The Tug Pegasus, doing Tourist duty- Photo By Mitch Waxman
From the Tug Pegasus Preservation Project website (be sure to check out the blueprints):
“The tugboat Pegasus was built in 1907 as S. O. Co. No. 16, for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, by the Skinner Shipbuilding Yard of Baltimore, Maryland.
The Skinner yard had a long history. There had been shipbuilding on that site at the foot of Federal Hill since 1783. Zachariah Skinner established his yard there in 1832 to build small schooners for the Bay and coastal trades. By the 1870s, the yard had produced some of the finest steamboats operating on Chesapeake Bay.
The yard survived into the 1980s, at the end under the ownership of the Bethlehem Steel Company. Bethlehem preserved most of the Skinner plans from the early twentieth century, including many for No. 16 and her sisters. These plans are now in the collection of the Baltimore Museum of Industry.”
Interesting how Standard Oil, so long after its day, is still on the river. John D. Rockefeller is still one of New York’s influential citizens.
NYFD fireboat, which (I’m fairly sure) is the Firefighter- Photo By Mitch Waxman
The Firefighter is a National Historic Landmark. Built in 1938, this was the NYFD’s most powerful diesel-electric fireboat when she joined the fleet. Serving as Marine Company 9, Firefighter participated in putting out over 50 major maritime fires in the last 71 years- including the SS Normandie Disaster, the collision of the Esso Brussels and the SS Sea Witch. Firefighter also helped to quench the fires of September 11, 2001. Firefighter is scheduled for a well deserved retirement this year.
Staten Island Ferry- Photo By Mitch Waxman
The Staten Island Ferry pulling into its Manhattan docks. This particular ferry is the “Spirit of America”- whose spirit, I guess, can be expressed-metaphorically– as a giant orange boat.
This particular giant orange boat is a “Molinari” class ship that can carry 4,500 passengers and 40 vehicles. The docks are called South Ferry, and serve as a transportation hub with connections to both IND and BMT subway tracks. The City’s fleet of ferries makes the 5 mile trip to Staten Island in 22 minutes. Vehicles used to use the Ferry to transit to the St George terminal on the far side, but fear of terrorism has reduced the ferry to passenger only service since September 11th. For the full story on the Staten Island Ferry, check out the wikipedia article here, and the official NYC website here.
Interesting note…
the original Ferry service, the one that was bought in 1838 by Cornelius Vanderbilt, was bought by the B&O railroad in 1884. B&O- as in Canton Iron- as in Peter Cooper– as in Cooper’s Glue from the Newtown Creek. Also, as the story progresses, B&O, through acquisitions and mergers morphs into the Pennsylvania Railroad which ends up owning the Long Island Rail Road running freight to Manhattan along the Newtown Creek.
Brooklyn Bridge, from the East River, Manhattan Tower and skyline.- Photo By Mitch Waxman
Built in 1883, the iconic span was slapped with its current moniker because of a letter to the editor at the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and officially pronounced “da Brooklyn Bridge” in 1915. For all the history on this, watch the Ken Burns documentary or hit the the wikipedia page.
Brooklyn Bridge, from the East River, Manhattan Tower and skyline.- Photo By Mitch Waxman
What I can tell you is this place holds a weird reputation, and has claimed a lot of lives over the years. Its a favorite spot for suicides, and some woman on the Manhattan side claims to have been abducted by a ufo- from her apartment. Said apartment is behind the largish white building to the right of the bridge. I knew a couple of Goth girls that liked to come down under the FDR drive by the tower, back during the 80’s, to play witch. They said it was “a place of power”, got high, and lit candles inside a sidewalk chalk circle.
Brooklyn Bridge, from the East River- Photo By Mitch Waxman
NYPD doesn’t keep an official record of suicides, at least not publically. Once, it was quite in vogue to jump from the bridge. A fellow named Donaldson tried to jump 3 times before construction was even finished, a professional daredevil named Odlum learned a few fatal facts about physics in 1885, and then… there was Steve Brodie.
Brooklyn Bridge, from the East River- Photo By Mitch Waxman
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m from Brooklyn. The part of Brooklyn that says “Erl Cumpnie”, and “Doity Boid”- a place where the “F word” is simultaneously a verb, noun, synonym, term of affection, and adjective. When using the “F word in polite” company, one uses “effin”. The pizza is very, very good there. So are the bagels.
Steve Brodie was some kind of weird iconic figure to my dad and uncles, who grew up during the Great Depression. Brodie, apparently was bookie. He jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge to win a bet. When you’re from Brooklyn, and someone dares you to do something, and you have money on the line, you either do it or you’re an effin… well that’s another use of local vernacular. Brodie, of course, turns up in a Bugs Bunny cartoon as well.
image from wikipedia
Manhattan Bridge, from the East River- Photo By Mitch Waxman
The steel colossus next door to the Brooklyn Bridge- this thing carries 7 lanes of cars and truck traffic and also has 4 subway tracks, and a couple of pedestrian/bicycle ramps. It connects Manhattan’s lower east side to the Fulton Landing in Brooklyn, now called DUMBO.
from nycroads.com
PLANNING “SUSPENSION BRIDGE NUMBER 3”: The Manhattan Bridge was first planned as a traditional wire-cable suspension bridge to be used exclusively by trains. In 1892, elevated railway magnate Frederick Uhlmann proposed this span just north of the present site of the Manhattan Bridge. The bridge was planned in conjunction with another one of his proposals, the Williamsburg Bridge. While Uhlmann’s railroad bridge was never constructed, the Williamsburg Bridge was approved in 1895 to handle mixed traffic.
This tug, the Dorothy J, is pushing a barge of shredded autos, most likely coming from the Newtown Creek, down the East River. Manhattan Bridge in background- Photo By Mitch Waxman
Moving under the Manhattan Bridge, our trusty vessel passed a tugboat, the Dorothy J. was threading a load up the East River. My friend, by whose largesse I was enjoying these splendid times on the waters surrounding New York, advised that it most likely coming from the auto salvage operations on the Newtown Creek. Inset below are images of just such a business on Newtown Creek, viewed from the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility Nature Walk. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s actually sort of lovely.
Auto recycling at the Newtown Creek, from “newtown creek nature walk with George Trakas”- Photo By Mitch Waxman
This tug, the Paul Andrew, is pushing a barge of shreded autos down the East River. Most likely coming from the Newtown Creek. Williamsburg Bridge in background- Photo By Mitch Waxman
Soon, another Tugboat- the Paul Andrew passed by bearing a similar load of in the process of being recycled autos. Below can be found one of my controversial challenges to conventional orthodoxy and challenge to use “institutional memory” when thinking about modern times:
Something to consider, says wise Old Mitch, is that contrary to what most people think- recycling is probably the least “green” industry there is. Think the whole chain through- toxic materials, gathered from every festering hole that New Yorkers can stuff garbage into, loaded onto diesel trucks, and carried to concentration points in places like Greenpoint and Long island City and Maspeth. All around the Creek, industry reduces these materials to constituents, and in turn, the valuable elements are loaded onto barges and and eventually shipped to infinitely distant capitals in (currently) Asia for resale and manufacturing. So, ummm, what do you suppose happens to the stuff that nobody wants? The oil that drips, the printing inks, and all the little bits of paint? Where do you suppose that goes, and whose ground water is poisoned? Were the Night Soil docks green? And can I open a recycling center next door to your house?
I’m just saying…
Auto recycling at the Newtown Creek, from “newtown creek nature walk with George Trakas”- Photo By Mitch Waxman
Williamsburg Bridge, from the East River- Photo By Mitch Waxman
Not quite the monolith that Manhattan is, nor as stylish as the Brooklyn, the Williamsburg bridge connects Delancey Street with the tony Brooklyn neighborhood for whom the span is named. To any longtime Brooklynite, of course, calling Williamsburg tony always brings a smile. Up until yesterday, this was one of the skeeviest parts of Brooklyn. Bedford and Grand was four corners of brick lots with naked hookers roaming the deserted streets. A small community of Hasids lived here, with most of the population in the projects. It was so bad in the late 80’s that my friends wouldn’t even drive down here, and a threat was “I’ll leave you in Williamsburg…”.
Williamsburg Bridge, from the East River- Photo By Mitch Waxman
The bridge’s Manhattan landing is in another of New York’s 1980’s garden spots- the Lower East Side. Used to be dangerous and fun, now its safe and boring.
Empire state and public housing, former (today would be superfund) siting of part of the Gaslight District- Photo By Mitch Waxman
As we moved back up the river to our eventual docking at 23rd street, we passed by two more items of interest. Once, when it was its own lonely self with only part of the Bronx for company, Manhattan had to actually do all the nasty industrial stuff for itself- or pay through the nose to anyone in Brooklyn or Long Island City with their hands stuck out to generate power or handle sewage or manufacture things- which is the way Manhattan does it now. These buildings, which are public housing, sit either on or just south of the former location of Manhattan’s gas light district.
Editorializing again:
The “wild hunt” of the industrial revolution came in the night . Amongst their number were cholera, and tuberculosis, and the timeclock- and the period after the civil war was their first real attempt at subjugating nature. and first real chance at the complete destruction of the nature of mankind. The tenements fed the bosses labor, hapless mendicants who were consumed by the “dark satanic mills”. If a worker was sick, or killed, 10 more were waiting for “their place”. Industry ran wild in Manhattan during this time. Hell’s Kitchen on the west side got it’s name from just such a gas work as the ones that were sited here. Matter of fact, the people who swept away all the bad stuff down here in the early twentieth century, they were named Rockefeller. The electric industry grew out of the gas industry. They grew on top of it, and sold all the properties they didn’t need anymore- the reeking tanks and leaky pipes could be someone else’s problem.
United States Coast Guard’s ship, Katherine Walker- Photo By Mitch Waxman
Below 14th street and above Delancey, the east side was bristling with docks and sailing vessels being fed textiles, and iron, and manufactured goods of every kind from a vast industrial zone. Today, there was just us and a Coast Guard ship.
The power plant behind the ship is the East River Generating Station, and the ship is the Coast Guard’s Katherine Walker.
The Newtown Pentacle 