Archive for February 2010
dimly lit and illimitable corridors
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over in the part of Long Island City that isn’t shiny, where it stinks of work and sweat and oil and shit and every surface is painted with an iridescent sheen – the colour- scuttled your unworthy narrator. Perambulation through the apocalyptic wastelands of a post industrial Long Island City is no picnic during the urban season defined by “wind chills”, I assure you. This location will be familiar to longtime readers, this is 51st ave. and what would be 21st street, across the street from the Blanchard Building.
This little pedestrian bridge- officially known as the 51st avenue Bridge, is meant to be replaced fairly soon, according to the City.
from queenscourier.com
“The existing bridge there will be demolished. The new one will be realigned over the tracks and will have brand new ramps,” said Craig Chin of DDC. Chin confirmed that after final design approval has been received by the New York City Design Commission bidding will start for the project in spring 2010, with a possible completion by winter 2010.
At first glance the 51st Avenue bridge appears not to be in such bad shape. However, a DOT spokesperson said that in an internal rating system, that includes many structural elements that might not be visible to a pedestrian or are only visible from the topside, determined that this bridge at 51st Street was a replacement priority.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the only pedestrian connection between the shiny new Long Island City, Tower Town, and the grimy industrial engine which it is being built on top of. Personal observation reveals that the people who use this bridge are laborers moving back and forth from mass transit centers along Jackson Avenue and the Great Machine at Queens Plaza. Underserved as the area is by mass transit, the city nevertheless anticipates an enormous surge in pedestrian and vehicle traffic once a catastrophically bad idea called Hunters Point South is completed.
from nyc.gov
More than 5,000 new apartments are anticipated to be constructed in the primary neighborhood character study area by 2017, including completion of the residential development at Queens West and many other mid-size residential buildings throughout the immediate area. Almost 11,000 new residents are expected in the primary study area as a result of this new construction activity.
As the primary study area (and the secondary study area, discussed below) becomes more densely developed, traffic and pedestrian volumes will increase noticeably from the current levels. Intersections throughout the area will be more congested in the morning, midday, and evening peak hours. The intersections that currently experience some congestion on Vernon Boulevard will be noticeably more congested, with some levels of service D and even LOS F, indicating high to unacceptable delays. In addition, other intersections along Vernon Boulevard in the primary study area will also have moderate to high congestion in the peak hours. On the east-west avenues in the area near the project sites (i.e., 48th, 49th, 50th, and 51st Avenues) traffic volumes are expected to increase slightly.
Pedestrian volumes will also increase in the future without the proposed actions, but sidewalks, corners, and crosswalks will generally continue to operate at acceptable levels. The crosswalk across Vernon Boulevard on the north side of 50th Avenue will, however, become noticeably congested during the morning peak hour, as people cross to enter the subway station there. This crosswalk will operate at LOS E, as will the subway stair closest to the corner (Stair S8). Buses serving the primary study area will also be noticeably more crowded.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Borden Avenue is the main attraction hereabouts, a loathsome stretch of fortress walled warehouses which passes by the Queens Midtown Tunnel, the LIRR tracks, the Pulaski Bridge– and all the while following the bulkheaded course of a certain body of water. The Newtown Creek is one block away, but you knew that by the smell already. Lately, my headphones have been playing music again, rather than the podcasts and audiobooks normally presented- but even the Dropkick Murphys can’t drown out the sound. There’s an app for that, as the ad slogan goes, and one I like is called “Decibel Meter“.
Here, under the LIE and again- a couple of thousand feet from the Queens Midtown Tunnel and over a rail yard and near the Pulaski- its rough metering reported a sound level 106 db (which is the limit of the iphone microphone). The iphone is hardly a scientific instrument, of course, but all the union guys I see working around here are wearing ear plugs. The non union guys aren’t.
from wikipedia
Louder sounds cause damage in a shorter period of time. Estimation of a “safe” duration of exposure is possible using an exchange rate of 3 dB. As 3 dB represents a doubling of intensity of sound, duration of exposure must be cut in half to maintain the same energy dose. For example, the “safe” daily exposure amount at 85 dB A, known as an exposure action value, is 8 hours, while the “safe” exposure at 91 dB(A) is only 2 hours (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1998). Note that for some people, sound may be damaging at even lower levels than 85 dB A. Exposures to other ototoxins (such as pesticides, some medications including chemotherapy, solvents, etc.) can lead to greater susceptibility to noise damage, as well as causing their own damage. This is called a synergistic interaction.
Some American health and safety agencies (such as OSHA-Occupational Safety and Health Administration and MSHA-Mine Safety and Health Administration), use an exchange rate of 5 dB. While this exchange rate is simpler to use, it drastically underestimates the damage caused by very loud noise. For example, at 115 dB, a 3 dB exchange rate would limit exposure to about half a minute; the 5 dB exchange rate allows 15 minutes.
While OSHA, MSHA, and FRA provide guidelines to limit noise exposure on the job, there is essentially no regulation or enforcement of sound output for recreational sources and environments, such as sports arenas, musical venues, bars, etc. This lack of regulation resulted from the defunding of ONAC, the EPA’s Office of Noise Abatement and Control, in the early 1980s. ONAC was established in 1972 by the Noise Control Act and charged with working to assess and reduce environmental noise. Although the Office still exists, it has not been assigned new funding.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The afternoon sun is always a pleasure around this little truss bridge, the 21st street truss as Forgotten-NY once called it. It lights the smoggy miasmas, produced by the fuming exhaust of the thousands of vehicles passing overhead as they mix with those unstudied emissions wafting from the Newtown Creek. The same vapors that tattoo the “colour” and dissolve the marbles and bronze of Calvary, a corrosive ether that smells of petrochemical filth and reminds one of rotting pork, hatch up through the loathsome mud found all along the Creek.
from epa.gov
Newtown Creek is a part of the New York – New Jersey Harbor Estuary that forms the northernmost border between the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. In the mid 1800s, the area adjacent to the 3.8 mile Newtown Creek was one of the busiest hubs of industrial activity in New York City. More than 50 refineries were located along its banks, including oil refineries, petrochemical plants, fertilizer and glue factories, sawmills, and lumber and coal yards. The creek was crowded with commercial vessels, including large boats bringing in raw materials and fuel and taking out oil, chemicals and metals. In addition to the industrial pollution that resulted from all of this activity, the city began dumping raw sewage directly into the water in 1856. During World War II, the creek was one of the busiest ports in the nation. Currently, factories and facilities still operate along the creek. Various contaminated sites along the creek have contributed to the contamination at Newtown Creek. Today, as a result of its industrial history, including countless spills, Newtown Creek is one of the nation’s most polluted waterways.
Various sediment and surface water samples have been taken along the creek. Pesticides, metals, PCBs, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are potentially harmful contaminants that can easily evaporate into the air, have been detected at the creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the other side of the street from this sign is the Queens Midtown Tunnel, with its signage prominently decrying photography or video operation. Loose lips sink ships and all that, and the front line people “in the know” seem to believe this area to be a prominent target for the Terror Warriors, so we’ll just agree that its there and not show it. Despite the fact that its going to be sitting at the very center of a residential neighborhood by 2020 and the fact that you can park a vehicle here.
from mta.info
1020.8 Compliance with posted signs. Every motorist and pedestrian using any facility under the jurisdiction and control of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority shall obey and comply with the provisions of any posted sign on any of its facilities.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The scion of this residential neighborhood is L Haus, a newly completed building whose non facing side is similarly on 50th avenue, roughly one and a half city blocks from where we started on 51st avenue.
from curbed.com
Long Island City’s “Mystery Building,” a condo sitting at the foot of the Pulaski Bridge and sort of functioning as the neighborhoods greeter for people driving over from Brooklyn has been outed. The neighborhood blog LIQCity identifies it today as “The L Haus,” named after its shape and, you know, “house” in German. (It’s the big, green boxy thing in the photo.) Other relevant details/rumors: the offering plan is “about to hit the street” and Elliman will be bringing it to market at prices in the $600-$700 per square foot range.
cry fowl, and let slip…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This threesome was observed recently, hanging around industrial Queens. Two males and a female, it seemed that they were up to no good, and didn’t have a reason for being in the neighborhood. There was nothing specific that drew my suspicions, let’s just call it instinct.
from wikipedia
The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical areas of North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, New Zealand (where it is currently the most common duck species), and Australia. It is strongly migratory in the northern parts of its breeding range, and winters farther south. For example, in North America it winters south to Mexico, but also regularly strays into Central America and the Caribbean between September and May.
The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic ducks, except the few breeds derived from the unrelated Muscovy Duck (Cairinia moschata).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When confronted and questioned, they claimed that coming here during the winter months is a family tradition. The place isn’t what it was in the time of their grandparents or great grandparents, they asserted, but nostalgia compels them to visit the area annually. Additionally, the subjects said that the place was once a paradise.
from birdguides.com
The Mallard is our commonest duck, the one you are most likely to be greeted by if you throw out food at your local park pond. Some Mallards have been domesticated and so you may also see Mallard-like hybrids showing bewildering colours from khaki brown to pure white. The displaying male Mallard shows his colours very clearly as well as the diagnostic curly black uppertail feathers. The female Mallard is the standard dabbling duck against which all the others should be compared. Mallard in flight can be told by their relatively large size, the contrastingly dark-chested appearance of the males and the fact that the white borders on either side of the dark blue speculum are both equally obvious.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
They alleged that just before the civil war, there were oysters, deer, and forests in the area- and their extended family would join them here for feasts and bacchanal.
from wikipedia
Ducks exploit a variety of food sources such as grasses, aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians, worms, and small molluscs.
Diving ducks and sea ducks forage deep underwater. To be able to submerge more easily, the diving ducks are heavier than dabbling ducks, and therefore have more difficulty taking off to fly.
Dabbling ducks feed on the surface of water or on land, or as deep as they can reach by up-ending without completely submerging. Along the edge of the beak there is a comb-like structure called a pecten. This strains the water squirting from the side of the beak and traps any food. The pecten is also used to preen feathers.
A few specialized species such as the smew, goosander, and the mergansers are adapted to catch and swallow large fish.
The others have the characteristic wide flat beak designed for dredging-type jobs such as pulling up waterweed, pulling worms and small molluscs out of mud, searching for insect larvae, and bulk jobs such as holding and turning headfirst and swallowing a squirming frog. To avoid injury when digging into sediment it has no cere. but the nostrils come out through hard horn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
But, their story doesn’t feel right, they were up to something. Call it a hunch, but I don’t trust those ducks at Dutch Kills. Not the first time that a duck has been involved with trouble around these parts.
from the annals of Newtown
The barn of Thomas Woodward, a worthy inhabitant, who lived where Mr. Victor now does, in Newtown village, was used by the enemy as a hospital for the sick soldiery. On a winter’s night Mr. Woodward was aroused by a noise among his ducks, at the rear of the house. Opening the back door, he could see no one, for the night was foggy. He however discharged his gun at a venture, expecting only to frighten the intruder, but the next morning a soldier was found dead a short distance from the house, with a duck under his coat. The soldiers were so exasperated at Woodward, that he continued to be in great fear for his life. It has been said that he was not called to account for this deed, but from the nature of the act, and the wrath excited, such an omission would have been extraordinary. Besides, I find him arraigned “a prisoner” before a court-martial, April 26th, 1782, though unfortunately the offence is not stated. He was favored in this case by the intercession of Serj. Major B. Rathbone, of the grenadiers, who had quartered at his house.
Linkapalooza
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Conspiring against the timely posting of these missives, confluences of external forces have rendered me somewhat inert for the last couple of days. Time Warner Cable, whose reliability is best compared to some third world provider of rolling blackouts and occasional electrification, knocked out my service wednesday night during my usual “blog time”. Frustrated, as it was network not node that had malfunctioned, I scuttled off to bed. Assuring myself that I’d finish up the post thursday, I discovered that WordPress had gone dark. Wordpress is, of course, the blogging service and software suite that delivers Newtown Pentacle and 9.2 million other blogs to the interwebs on a daily basis.
The vehicle in the image above is an “Astoria Express” school bus, a Bluebird TC/2000, incidentally. It’s one of the many heavy vehicles whizzing around us, half noticed, all the time.
from wikipedia
In 1948, the Blue Bird All American was the first transit-style school bus to be popularized by an East Coast manufacturer. California-based manufacturers Crown, Gillig and Seattle-based Kenworth-Pacific had introduced transit-style school buses long before Blue Bird; while these were marketed outside the West Coast, they did not achieve a national following. With the All American’s design, Blue Bird had chosen a path of slow evolution.
By 1987, the version of the All American on the market was almost 40 years old and Blue Bird was looking for an updated design to sell for a lower price (to attract large fleet orders) without cutting too many corners on quality. The TC/2000 was introduced for 1988 using essentially the same exterior design as the All American with minor changes to lower production costs. Most of these design changes were visible on the front. The All American’s massive amount of chrome trim was pared down to a bare minimum, and four headlights were replaced with two. Inside, the All American’s side control panel was retained, but the wood-panel dashboard was replaced with a simpler black fiberboard design clustered closer to the driver (who was greeted with a smaller steering wheel). As the TC/2000 was focused on being a no-frills design, hydraulic brakes and a gasoline engine were standard specifications, but most were ordered with diesel engines and some were ordered with air brakes. Seating capacity ranged from 54 to 90 students in the FE and 66 to 84 in the RE (introduced in 1991).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve been noticing a lot of traffic accidents lately, minor impacts and benders of fenders. This one in Dutch Kills is fairly typical, a gypsy cab hits a non union contractors van, no one is hurt and damage is cosmetic. Nothing will get reported, a couple of bucks will change hands, and its done. One lane and local in nature, one wonders how this scene will play out in 10 years when Dutch Kills has been reborn as a little Manhattan. Clicking through to the link below will open a FEIS pdf from nyc.gov discussing the anticipated environmental effects of adding 35,000 apartments, 9 hotels (6-12 stories), and adding another major transportation hub (at Queens Blvd. and Skillman Avenue) to the Great Machine.
from nyc.gov
SUBAREA C, ADJACENT TO 36th AVENUE
As shown in Figure 9-8, the streetscape in Subarea C is marked by trees and street furniture that enhance the pedestrian experience of the streets surrounding the subway stop at 31st Street and 36th Avenue. Further, mixed-use buildings that feature restaurants and neighborhood business establishments at ground floor, line 37th Avenue, and reinforce the pedestrian friendly character of this Subarea.
The traffic volume and pattern here can best be described as a busy but relatively uncongested two-lanes of traffic found on rectangular grid streets typical of the Dutch Kills neighborhood. Street parking is readily available to the businesses that line 36th Avenue, as well as 31st Street located under the elevated subway structure. Although the prevailing streetwalls in this area are not overbearing, few opportunities for views outside the Subarea are available, largely due to the elevated subway platform along 31st Street as shown in Figure 9-8.
In its entirety, Subarea C serves as a commercial and transportation hub of the larger neighborhood marked by significant pedestrian traffic. A diverse mixed-use sector, this Subarea serves as a highlight of the Dutch Kills neighborhood with an inviting and lively street presence that is aged but well maintained.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Despite the cheery demeanor your humble narrator is distinguished by and reknowned for, the dirge of February darkness continues. This Mack Truck (a Brooklyn born company) pictured above is at the DOT yard found along the Newtown Creek on the Brooklyn side of the Pulaski Bridge. An unremarkable brute, it is nevertheless one of the motive engines that keep New York from collapsing into the seas or bursting into flame. DOT isn’t the “sexiest” service job in the city- that’s Sludge Boat Captain– but they do have some of the coolest gear.
Having no connections to the DOT, however, are recent revelations of extensive concentrations of perchloroethylene in the ground further down the creek near Bushwick- as reported by Andy Campbell in the Brooklyn Paper.
from wikipedia
- 1890: John M. Mack gets a job at Fallesen & Berry, a carriage and wagon company in Brooklyn, New York.
- 1893: Mack and his brother, Augustus F. Mack, buy the company John worked for.
- 1894: A third Mack brother, William C. Mack, joins his brothers in the company’s operations. The Macks try working with steam powered and electric motor cars.
- 1900s: Inspired by Orville and Wilbur Wright, Willis Carrier and Henry Ford’s inventions, John Mack has a vision, dreaming about producing heavy duty trucks and engines.
- 1900: The Macks open their first bus manufacturing plant. The Mack bus, ordered by a sightseeing company, is delivered.
- 1902: The Mack Brothers Company established in New York.
- 1904: The company introduces the name Manhattan on its products.
- 1905: Allentown selected as the home of main manufacturing operations, and headquarters. A fourth Mack brother, Joseph Mack, becomes a stockholder. Mack begins to make rail cars and locomotives.
- 1910: The Manhattan name changed; from now on, the trucks are known as Mack Trucks. Charles Mack, a fifth Mack brother, joins the company.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are so many different kinds of trucks in these parts, have you ever noticed the variety? These particular specimens are craft service trucks, mobile kitchens that serve surprisingly sophisticated food at television and film shoots all over the city. This well appointed set of comestible wagons can be found in their off time along the Dutch Kills extant of the Newtown Creek- which is right behind that concrete barrier that the snow is piled against. One wonders if the Clooneys or Jolies of the world know that these gourmet kitchens spend their off time along Newtown Creek. Welcome to Queens.
Speaking of Newtown and Queens- this Sunday, the Newtown Historical Society (which I am a member of) will be doing a presentation at the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown and providing a sort of craft service- slices of Pippin. Following text with contact info and schedule quoted from newtownhistorical.org
(February 12, 2010) The Newtown Historical Society will be presenting a free lecture and slideshow about the historic Newtown Pippin apple at the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown located at Queens Blvd & 54th Avenue in Elmhurst, on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 12:30pm.
The venue was the site of a planting in 2002 which brought the apple back to its area of origin for the first time since the early 19th century. The presentation will explain the history of the apple in Queens and the new replanting project that has been underway for the past year. Speakers will include Bob Singleton, Vice President of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, Erik Baard, Co-founder of the Newtown Pippin Project, and Marjorie Melikian, Historian for the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown. Council Member James Gennaro’s 2009 resolution calling for recognition of the Newtown Pippin as the official apple of the City of New York will also be discussed and samples of the apples will be available for tasting. For more information, please call the Newtown Historical Society at 718-366-3715 or e-mail newtownhistory@gmail.com.
from wikipedia
In the mid-1960’s, Crafts Service Employees still operated as general laborers. They had also became in charge of answering the telephone and making coffee. At Universal Studios, they had huge roll-around carts where they would brew coffee. These carts could be shut during takes so that the bubbling machines wouldn’t spoil a sound take. There was a dish where you could throw a quarter for your coffee at Universal, not at other studios. Eventually, the laborers added doughnuts as a revenue stream, but often had to interrupt the display to dig a trench for dolly tracks or clean up after animals.
In European union film studios, buffets would be set out in lieu of a lunch break, so as not to disrupt the momentum of the day. At four-thirty in the afternoon, the crew would vote on whether they should continue working on overtime, or wrap for the day. As low-budget and non-union filmmaking took hold in the USA, production companies would provide day-long buffet spreads to make up for long hours and lower wages.
As crews migrated to union films and studios, they came to expect these “spreads,” so laborers got a budget and laid out tables overflowing with Ritz Crackers, spray-on cheese, tanks of Dinty Moore Chili, peanut butter, Slim Jims, Ding Dongs and bottles of YooHoo. Much of this was disastrous to expensive wardrobe, and as the day wore on and on, the pickin’s became slim, and the “cut it yourself” salami quite slimey.
Stars, checking out these layouts were appalled at the quality and demanded better stuff. It also became a tradition for Crafts Service to set out a special treat in the afternoon, rumaki, cheese and turkey wraps, sliced cold cuts with your choice of breads.
Occasionally there are two craft service stations, with one being for cast and crew and another for non-union background actors. The food provided can vary widely with pilots often offering very limited food, while big budget shows often offer generous food and drinks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another event to put on your calendars is the DOT presentation of potential replacements for the Kosciuszko Bridge. I missed the meeting last night in Middle Village, but will be attending the meeting at St. Cecilia’s in Greenpoint on February 24th. The timesnewsweekly.com site offers a description and CGI renderings of the massive process that’s about to begin, with reportage by Robert Pozarycki. This is going to affect the entire Newtown Pentacle, and its time to get involved, lords and ladies. Change is arriving at the Newtown Creek.
Pictured above are the refrigerated trucks of an online grocer, well known in the community, coming and going from their loading docks on the occluded and vestigial 53rd avenue along the Newtown Creek here in Queens.
from wikipedia
FreshDirect uses SAP AG software to process thousands of orders placed on its website every night. Orders are dispatched to the kitchen, bakery, deli as well as fresh storage rooms, produce ripening rooms and production areas within the company’s refrigerated facility. All order components are custom-cut, packaged, weighed and priced. In the case of dry goods or frozen foods, items are picked from storage before being placed inside bins that travel along conveyors to the sorting area. There, products in a customer’s order are scanned and gathered in corrugated fiberboard boxes. The boxes are labeled, recorded and loaded into refrigerated delivery trucks.
FreshDirect is based in a 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m2) building in Long Island City and is one of the largest employers in the area. Though the website and plant processes were in development for several years before its public launch, the company made its first deliveries to Roosevelt Island on July 11, 2002. FreshDirect has since expanded service to Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the The Bronx and parts of Nassau County, Westchester County and New Jersey. The company now has almost 2,000 employees, 250,000 customers, and has delivered more than 6,000,000 orders.
…like a veritable mendicant
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Facile and easily led, your humble narrator was nevertheless in Sunset Park recently, attempting to pry information on the enigmatic “turn of the last century merchant trader” named Gilman (whose grave I’ve been searching for at Calvary Cemetery here in the heart of our Newtown Pentacle) out of a hysterical levantine who had refused my offer of electronic correspondence. This man, a member of some dire cultic offshoot of the Hasidic movement whose disturbing interpretation of the Kabballist mysteries has rendered them outcasts in their own communities, operates from a dust choked office housed in a former industrial warehouse.
from wikipedia
As compared with other Jewish movements, Hasidic Judaism tends to focus on the role of the Rebbe as an elevated spiritual leader and intercessor, a renewed emphasis on prayer, cameraderie, and deeds of kindness, and the study of tangible mystical texts. This replaced Talmudic legalism as the main traditional activity, and offered the unlearned closeness to God through joy and fervour in daily life. It sought to add to required standards of ritual observance, while relaxing others where inspiration predominated. Its communal gatherings celebrated soulful song and storytelling as forms of mystical devotion. Each dynasty follows its own principles; thus Hasidic Judaism is not one movement, but a collection of separate individual groups with some commonality. There are approximately 30 larger Hasidic groups, and several hundred minor Hasidic groups exist. Though there is no one version of Hasidism, individual Hasidic groups often share with each other fundamental philosophy, worship styles, dress, songs, etc.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
His national inheritance was Dutch. Fleeing the inquisition during the religious wars of the 16th and 17th centuries, his forebears found themselves in Bruges, and after that noble city’s Zwin Channel silted up- Amsterdam. Staunch advocates of the Hebrew religion, this family nevertheless adopted a Dutch name- Suydam- and founded a business that imported Syriac, Greek, and Sufi religious texts to the merchant city. Their trade in Christian and Pagan scrolls and books allowed them access to ancient caches of Hebrew mysticism which had been captured, explored, and expanded upon by the Mohammedans.
from wikipedia
The Sephardim (so-called Spanish Jews) had been expelled from Spain and Portugal years earlier, but many remained in the Iberian peninsula, practising Judaism in secret (see crypto-Jews or Marranos). The newly independent Dutch provinces provided an ideal opportunity for the crypto-Jews to re-establish themselves and practise their religion openly, and they migrated, most notably to Amsterdam. Collectively, they brought trading influence to the city as they established in Amsterdam.
In 1593 these Marranos arrived in Amsterdam after having been refused admission to Middelburg and Haarlem. These Jews were important merchants and persons of great ability. They labored assiduously in the cause of the people and contributed materially to the prosperity of the country. They became strenuous supporters of the house of Orange and were in return protected by the stadholder. At this time the commerce of Holland was increasing; a period of development had arrived, particularly for Amsterdam, to which Jews had carried their goods and from which they maintained their relations with foreign lands. Thus they had connections with the Levant and with Morocco. The Emperor of Morocco had an ambassador at The Hague named Samuel Pallache (1591-1626), through whose mediation, in 1620, a commercial understanding was arrived at with the Barbary States.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A branch of the family moved to New York shortly after the American Civil War, and are mentioned as living on Martense Street in an 1890 census. Near the Borough Hall, on Clinton Street, was where the family business operated from a parlor room. They provided Jewish religious and funerary goods imported from North Africa and the Ottoman empire, and were a shipping address for certain medieval copies of ancient scrolls which had been hidden away from the inquisitors when Moorish Iberia gave way to Catholic Spain. A side line for the Suydams was found in the 19th and 20th century fashion trends that demanded far eastern textiles and faux ceramics in the adornment of domestic rooms.
from wikipedia
The first Jews to come to New York arrived in what became New York City around September in 1654. They arrived on a ship from Recife, a city in what became Brazil. There were 23 Jewish men, woman, and children refugees among the passengers on the boat, whose captain was Jacques de la Motthe.
There was initial hostility and Peter Stuyvesant attempted to evict the Jews from his town. Jewish stockholders in Amsterdam prevailed on the Dutch West India Company to order the governor to let them remain. In 1655, a few Sephardic Jewish families immigrated to the city with a Torah scroll, possibly indicating the start of a private synagogue. Stuyvesant, determined to drive the Jewish settlers out of New Amsterdam, made efforts to restrict their trade, prohibited their owning property, and taxed them to pay for the town watch. In 1655, the Jews applied for a plot of land for a cemetery, but the governor denied the request, pointing out that no one had yet died. The following year the death of one of the Jews compelled him to designate “a little hook of land” beyond the town wall. This site has long since disappeared.
Stuyvesant’s recalcitrance and the extreme cold of New Amsterdam’s winters led the Sephardic Jews to depart for Amsterdam, London, or the Caribbean, where relatives were better established. By 1663, the Torah scroll had been returned to Amsterdam. In 1664 a large British fleet forced Stuyvesant to surrender without firing a shot, and all residents who remained in what was now New York were required to sign an oath of allegiance to the English crown.[1] The one Jewish name on the list was Asser Levy’s. He seems to have maintained the only Jewish presence of record in British New York until he was joined in 1680 by relatives from Amsterdam. Levy’s death on February 1, 1681/82 and burial in the old cemetery unquestionably led Sephardi Joseph Bueno de Mesquita to purchase a separate burying ground for his own family and for a growing group of Sephardim in the community.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The European part of the family was exterminated during the genocidal rampage of the last known Antichrist during the 1940’s, and the Suydams faded into Brooklyn obscurity during the 1950’s. The man I contacted, named Ari Suydam, is the last of his line. The old Dutch business records were lost, along with a cache of valuable paintings and other rare collectibles (including the legendary De Vermiis Mysteries, and a fragment of the Pnakotic Manuscripts- supposedly), whose recovery via international law and United Nations treaty is the man’s sole obsession. A significant amount of the documentation about a critical phase in the development of Long Island City was lost in a courthouse fire in 1904, including the critical location of Gilman’s Grave at Calvary.
In 1939 there were some 140,000 Dutch Jews living in the Netherlands, among them some 25,000 German-Jewish refugees who had fled Germany in the 1930s (other sources claim that some 34,000 Jewish refugees entered the Netherlands between 1933 and 1940, mostly from Germany and Austria)…
…In 1945 only about 35,000 of them were still alive. The exact number of “full Jews” who survived the Holocaust is estimated to be 34,379 (of whom 8,500 were part of a mixed marriage and thus spared from deportation and possible death in the Nazi concentration camps); the number of “half Jews” who were present in the Netherlands at the end of the Second World War in 1945 is estimated to be 14,545, the number of “quarter Jews” 5,990
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Suydam, it is rumored, has a unique ledger in his possession that contains the otherwise immolated information sought. Unfortunately, a bizarre and exclusionary form of an other wise wholesome orthodoxy called Hasidism that the man adheres to will not allow him to deal with anyone who is not Jewish. When informed that I was raised Jewish, Bar Mitzvah and all, Suydam scornfully informed me that I wasn’t Jewish enough and ordered me to vacate his premise. He said that there were certain things that only Kohanim should know.
Thwarted, I left and walked out into the sunset.
from wikipedia
The kohanim formed a holy order. For the purpose of protecting them against ritual defilement, the Torah imposed on them the following rules for ritual purity, which are still maintained to a certain degree in Orthodox Judaism.
- Kohanim are forbidden to come in contact with dead bodies, nor are they permitted to perform the customary mourning rites. They are commanded, however, to become defiled for their closest relatives: father, mother, brother, unmarried sister, child or wife.
- A kohen is forbidden to enter any house or enclosure, or approach any spot, in which a dead body, or part of a dead body, may be found.
- Practical examples of these prohibitions include: not entering a cemetery or attending a funeral; not being under the same roof (i.e. in a home or hospital) as a dismembered organ. The exact rules and regulations of defilement are quite complex, but a cursory rule of thumb is that they may not enter a room with a dead person or come within a few feet of the body. Proximity to the corpse of a non-Jew is less serious and may only be an issue if actual contact is established.
- A male kohen may not marry a divorcee, a prostitute, a convert, or a dishonored woman.[14] Any kohen who enters into such a marriage loses the entitlements of his priestly status while in that marriage. The kohen is not allowed to “choose to forego his status” and marry a woman prohibited to him.
- According to the Talmud, if a kohen marries in disregard of the above prohibitions, his marriage is still effective. Any children born of the union are legitimate and not mamzer. However, these children are termed chalal (“disqualified”) and lose their kohen status permanently.
- The Kohen Gadol must marry a virgin.
- During the period of the Holy Temple, kohanim were required to abstain from wine and all strong drink while performing their priestly duties.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Third Avenue is dominated by the steel of the Gowanus Expressway where it joins the Belt Parkway. Fourth Avenue and beyond seemed to be a residential angle between neighborhoods, an immigrant clime whose residents displayed neither sin pitted countenances of old world inheritance nor sullen malignancy. Many eating establishments were observed, and a tremendous amount of vehicular traffic. Second Avenue is where you’ll find the remains of the Bush Terminal, which is the second largest interior space I’ve ever experienced. The cyclopean summit is held by the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, so large that it forms its own weather system.
from wikipedia
After the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, I-278 continues into Brooklyn on the Gowanus Expressway. Immediately after the bridge, the freeway comes to an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for the Belt Parkway. After this, a full interchange serves 92nd Street at which point I-278 becomes a single-level six-lane freeway. Along this road, one of the eastbound lanes serves as a high-occupancy vehicle lane.[9] The Gowanus Expressway continues northeast into urban residential neighborhoods and reaches an eastbound interchange at Fort Hamilton Parkway and a westbound interchange at 86th Street. Turning more to the north, I-278 comes to a partial interchange at 65th Avenue, with an exit eastbound and entrance westbound. The road curves northwest at this point and comes to a directional interchange providing access to 3rd Avenue and the Belt Parkway.[3][4] The Gowanus Expressway turns northeast again at this interchange and continues along an elevated alignment through urban residential and commercial areas.[3] Along this viaduct, I-278 has interchanges with 38th Street/39th Street and the western terminus of NY 27 (Prospect Expressway). After the NY 27 interchange, the freeway widens to eight lanes and heads north, coming to an interchange with the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel approach (I-478), with the exit ramps splitting from the median of I-278. Westbound access to the tunnel is provided by the Hamilton Avenue exit.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Gilman… where is Gilman?
…this one’s for the birds
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Washington, whose actual birthday is on February 22, would have avoided shopping on this holiday- I would think.
Have no doubt that the American Augustus had significant material aspirations and enjoyed a lifestyle that could only be maintained by a subjugate army of slaves, but I’d like to believe that he would be resistant to having his birthday celebrated with a crass and consumerist bacchanal.
I like to think he’d be embarrassed, but as I’m a non-slaver, it’s difficult for me to imagine the mindset of the “founding fathers”.
from wikipedia
Titled Washington’s Birthday, the federal holiday was originally implemented by the United States Congress in 1880 for government offices in the District of Columbia (20 Stat. 277) and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices (23 Stat. 516). As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday, February 22. On 1 January 1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This date places it between February 15 and 21, which makes the name “Washington’s Birthday” a misnomer, since it never lands on Washington’s actual birthday, February 22. A draft of the Uniform Holidays Bill of 1968 would have renamed the holiday to Presidents’ Day to honor the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln, but this proposal failed in committee and the bill as voted on and signed into law on 28 June 1968, kept the name Washington’s Birthday.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
February 15th is also Susan B. Anthony‘s birthday, who is at least as important to our republic as its founder. If Washington was indeed Augustus, Anthony was Trajan. Speaking of pagan times, incidentally, today is the third day of Lupercalia – a Roman spring cleaning ritual that is also known as Februa. The particular deity of this ancient rite is Februus– an Etruscan god of malaria- although its the ritual that lends its name to the calendrical month, not the god.
Closer to home, February 15th is also the birthday of a man who sired one of Astoria’s most important families– Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg.
from wikipedia
Because of the unstable political climate in Germany, Steinweg decided to leave the country. He emigrated from Braunschweig to New York City in 1851 with four of his sons, but before leaving he gave the company to his son, Theodor Steinweg. Once in New York, he anglicized his name to Henry E. Steinway, and he and his sons worked for other piano companies until they could establish their own production under the name of Steinway & Sons in 1853.
The overstrung scale in a square piano earned the Steinway Piano first prize at the New York Industrial Fair of 1855.[3] In 1862 they gained the first prize in London in competition with the most eminent makers in Europe; and this victory was followed in 1867 by a similar success at the Universal exposition in Paris. According to Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, and other high authorities, the Steinways have done more to advance the durability, action, and tone-quality of their instruments than any other makers of Europe or America.
He and his wife, Juliane, had seven children: Albert Steinway, Charles H. Steinway, Christian Friedrich Theodor Steinweg, Doretta Steinway, Henry Steinway, Jr., Wilhelmina Steinway and William Steinway.
The Newtown Pentacle 