Archive for 2010
Circumnavigation 4
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After sliding past the Williamsburg Bridge, the Circle Line narrator began to talk about Queensboro (he called it 59th street bridge- grrrr) and didn’t mention the Newtown Creek. Tourists wouldn’t want to hear about that story, I guess. One thing that really annoyed your humble narrator were the constant references to pop culture icons like the Seinfeld sitcom and the Spiderman movies. Realization that that’s what tourists have as touchstones for NYC is obviated, but still… blurring the line between fantasy and reality is a real issue in the modern world.
from wikipedia
George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a “short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man” (by Elaine Benes and Costanza himself), “Lord of the Idiots” (by Costanza himself), and as “the greatest sitcom character of all time”. He is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer, and Elaine Benes. George appears in every episode except for “The Pen” (third season). The character was originally loosely based on Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, but surnamed after Jerry Seinfeld’s real-life New York friend, Mike Costanza.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The power of cinema and television to present a cogent and absorbing telling of historical events is actually a dangerous thing. Again, I realize that the tourists aboard the Circle Line aren’t looking for hardcore history, but there’s a lot to say about the Queensboro bridge that doesn’t involve the Green Goblin or George Costanza. History is made not by accurate or cogent catalogs of events, but by distribution. The reason we know about Aristotle or Voltaire is that MANY copies of their work were made, distributed across a wide area, and were quoted by others. This means that distaff copies of their work survived the fires and floods. This means that to future eyes, the surviving copies of Spiderman and Goodfellas might be all they have.
Which makes me wonder if Pliny the Younger might have been the Dean Koontz of his time.
from wikipedia
As they watch over May in the hospital, Mary Jane tells Peter she has a crush on Spider-Man, and Peter expresses his own feelings for her. Harry catches them holding hands and tells his father about their love for each other. Now knowing that Spider-Man has feelings for Mary Jane, the Goblin lures him to the top of the Queensboro Bridge by taking Mary Jane and a Roosevelt Island Tramway car full of children hostage, then drops both at the same time. Spider-Man saves them all, but the Goblin takes him to an abandoned building for a fight. Spider-man eventually defeats and unmasks the Goblin, and Norman dies after asking Peter not to tell Harry that he (Norman) was the Goblin.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the boat passed Roosevelt Island, the looming hotel construction sites of Queens Plaza rise behind it. Within a few years, tens of thousands of Queens Plaza and Dutch Kills hotel rooms will be serving the self same tourist trade which is satisfied by attractions like these Circle Line cruises. Perhaps this is what we New Yorkers are destined to become, apes in a steel and glass cage put on display for foreigners as we live out our funny lives. Just like on Seinfeld.
from wikipedia
Tourism in New York City includes nearly 47 million foreign and American tourists each year. Major destinations include the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Broadway theatre productions, museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other tourist attractions including Central Park, Washington Square Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Bronx Zoo, South Street Seaport, New York Botanical Garden, luxury shopping along Fifth and Madison Avenues, and events such as the Tribeca Film Festival, and free performances in Central Park at Summerstage and Delacorte Theater. The Statue of Liberty is a major tourist attraction and one of the most recognizable icons of the United States. Many New York City ethnic enclaves, such as Jackson Heights, Flushing, and Brighton Beach are major shopping destinations for first and second generation Americans up and down the East Coast.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of course, the folks whose lives are a little too funny can be found on Ward’s Island at the psychiatric hospitals that serve the City of Greater New York. I’m never quite sure which building is which in this complex, as your humble narrator is convinced that getting too close to a madhouse would be injurious to his freedoms, but this is either the 509 bed Manhattan Psychiatric Center (I lean toward this) or the maximum security Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center. The Circle Line narration didn’t mention either.
from soundportraits.org
There seem to be two constants to life on Ward 2-West. One of these is violence. The state considers the staffers who work on the ward to hold the single most dangerous job in New York, with the highest injury rate of any profession. The other constant on the ward is noise. There is nowhere to escape it, although there is one patient who seems to have adapted to it quite well. His name is Peter, and you can always find him at the front of the dayroom, hunched over a table peacefully drawing with yellow plugs stuffed deep into his ears. He is about 50 years old, has curly brown hair and a graying beard, gentle eyes behind thick glasses. Before committing his crime, Peter was a successful commercial artist. Today he’s working on a still life with pastels.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Amongst the more pleasant realities of the trip was this view of the Hell’s Gate with its two spans- the Triborough Bridge(s) and the Hellgate railroad Bridge. The plane taking off from nearby LaGuardia airport was pure serendipity.
from wikipedia
Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City in the United States. It separates Astoria, Queens from Randall’s Island/Ward’s Island (formerly two separate islands that are now joined by landfill).
It was spanned in 1917 by the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge (now called the Hell Gate Bridge), which connects the Ward’s Island and Queens. The bridge provides a direct rail link between New England and New York City. In 1936 it was spanned by the Triborough Bridge (now called the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge), allowing vehicular traffic to pass between Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Hellgate Bridge has long graded approaches which sprawl out all the way to the Sunnyside Yards on one side and continental North America on the other, providing a freight and rail link between the archipelago of islands which form this City-State of ours. Triborough’s approaches and ramps are almost too numerous for me to count.
from wikipedia
The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, better known as the Triborough or Triboro Bridge, is a complex of three separate bridges in New York City, United States. Spanning the Harlem River, the Bronx Kill, and the Hell Gate (part of the East River), the bridges connect the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and The Bronx via Randall’s Island and Ward’s Island, which are joined by landfill.
Often historically referred to as simply the Triboro, the spans were officially named after Robert F. Kennedy in 2008.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the boat motored past Ward’s Island, where the Canadian theatrical provocateur’s called Cirque du Soleil had set up a circus tent, the Amtrak Acela rumbled over the Hellgate tracks. The last part of this trip that I can claim intimacy with until we returned to the Hudson, the Circle Line continued Northward.
Venturing into the “not part of my beat” areas of the City of Greater New York which your humble narrator is least familiar with- specifically the northeast sections of Manhattan and La Bronx, I actually got see a few things I didn’t even suspect…
from wikipedia
Acela Express (often simply Acela) is Amtrak’s high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeast United States between Washington, D.C., and Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. It uses tilting technology which allows the train to travel at higher speeds on the sharply curved NEC without disturbing passengers, by lowering lateral centrifugal forces, based on the concept of banked turns.
Acela Express trains are the only true high-speed trainsets in the United States; the highest speed they attain is 150 mph (240 km/h), though they average less than half of that. Acela has become popular with business travelers and by some reckoning has captured over half of the market share of air or train travelers between Washington and New York. Between New York and Boston the Acela Express has up to a 37% share of the train and air market.
Circumnavigation 3
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hailing from the Brooklyn neighborhoods of first Flatbush, then Flatlands and Canarsie, my driving into “the City” habits always focused on the red haired step child of the Brooklyn Bridge- the Manhattan Bridge- which was the next great structure that the Circle Line passed.
from wikipedia
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan (at Canal Street) with Brooklyn (at Flatbush Avenue Extension) on Long Island. It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges. The bridge was opened to traffic on December 31, 1909 and was designed by Leon Moisseiff, who later designed the infamous original Tacoma Narrows Bridge that opened and collapsed in 1940. It has four vehicle lanes on the upper level (split between two roadways). The lower level has three lanes, four subway tracks, a walkway and a bikeway. The upper level, originally used for streetcars, has two lanes in each direction, and the lower level is one-way and has three lanes in peak direction. It once carried New York State Route 27 and later was planned to carry Interstate 478. No tolls are charged for motor vehicles to use the Manhattan Bridge.
The original pedestrian walkway on the south side of the bridge was reopened after forty years in June 2001.[3] It was also used by bicycles until late summer 2004, when a dedicated bicycle path was opened on the north side of the bridge, and again in 2007 while the bike lane was used for truck access during repairs to the lower motor roadway.
Main span: 1,470 ft (448 m)
Length of suspension cables: 3224 ft (983 m)
Total length: 6,855 ft (2,089 m)
The neighborhood near the bridge on the Brooklyn side, once known as Fulton Landing has been gentrified and is called DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.
To celebrate the bridge’s centennial anniversary, a series of events and exhibits were organized by the New York City Bridge Centennial Commission in October 2009. These included a ceremonial parade across the Manhattan Bridge on the morning of October 4th and a fireworks display in the evening. In 2009, the bridge was also designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator was honored to serve as a Bridge Parade Marshall for the aforementioned Centennial Parade, and attended the Landmarking ceremony on March 5th.
Here’s the Newtown Pentacle Posts on the Centennial Parade on October 4th-
Manhattan Bridge Centennial Parade 1
Manhattan Bridge Centennial Parade 2
Manhattan Bridge Centennial Parade 3
Here’s the NP post on the Ceremony in March- Exhausted
And for my personal take on the Manhattan Bridge- DUMBO… or missing my Dad
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Beneath the Bridge, small clots of citizenry were cleaning the shoreline of wind blown refuse and whatever washed up out of the East River over the long and severe winter that New York endured in 2010. It was Earth Day eve, after all.
I wish I could point you to a link about this effort, but the Brooklyn Blogosphere is an impenetrable fortress of noise and self importance which defies even the might of Google. If anybody associated with this effort is reading this, please fill the rest of us in on the particulars.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Moving north, ever north, midtown Manhattan’s iconic Chrysler Building rises behind the recently upgraded East River Station cogeneration power plant at 14th street and Ave. D.
The East River Generating Station, one of Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc.’s largest and most significant combined-cycle power stations, will be repowered by Slattery Skanska and its subsidiary Gottlieb Skanska.
Located on the east side of Lower Manhattan, the 43,000-sq.-ft. facility produces electricity and steam for homes and businesses throughout New York City. The project was completed May 2004.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I still owe you, lords and ladies, a proper workup of the Williamsburg bridge. I’m still collecting material research and photography for this posting, so don’t expect it anytime soon. One of my summer projects is “The Grand Walk”, which will start in Manhattan and follow Grand Ave. through Williamsburg and Greenpoint, across the Grand Ave. Bridge into Queens and onto (former Grand Avenue) 30th avenue through Astoria to Hallet’s Cove. An open call for experts on the various phases of the route is being made, by the way, and hopefully I can get a few of you to come along for the first Newtown Pentacle meetup and photowalk at the end of the summer. Bring ID, and a camera.
from wikipedia
Construction on the bridge, the second to cross this river, began in 1896, with Leffert L. Buck as chief engineer, Henry Hornbostel as architect and Holton D. Robinson as assistant engineer, and the bridge opened on December 19, 1903 at a cost of $24,200,000. At the time it was constructed, the Williamsburg Bridge set the record for the longest suspension bridge span on Earth. The record fell in 1924, when the Bear Mountain Bridge was completed.
Circumnavigation 2
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Onboard the Circle Line, as it passed the Lower Manhattan Financial District, I spotted a couple of interesting things. The Meagan Ann tugboat was pulling a barge of shredded autos, which were reduced to their basic components at an industrial location found along that canalized exemplar of municipal neglect called the Newtown Creek, just up the river.
Here’s a shot of that Newtown Creek auto shredding operation which I took last year:
– photo by Mitch Waxman
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Meagan Ann is a twin-engine, 2,250 HP coastal towing tug, built in 1975 and rebuilt in 1988, approximately 81 feet long and formerly known as the Scorpius. It is owned and operated by Donjon Marine towing, Inc.
from donjon.com
Since its incorporation in 1966, Donjon Marine has established and continues to seek long-term client relationships in a world where limited business resources demand a constant balancing of expenditures. Beginning with its foundation in the New York area as a pioneer in marine salvages services, Donjon has grown to become a leader in both conventional and environmental dredging. Our areas of expertise also include recycling, land and marine demolition, pollution control and remediation, heavy lift transport, marine transportation and landfill remediation/site management. Donjon and its affiliates maintain offices, assets and personnel throughout the Northeast, with operations spanning the globe.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Also witnessed by your humble narrator were regular comings and goings of Helicopter flights from the East River Piers found alongside the Financial District. It’s a Eurocopter AS-350B-2 Ecureuil, based at the West 30th street Heliport and operated by Liberty Helicoptors.
The largest helicopter sightseeing and charter service in the Northeast. Liberty Helicopters is currently the only authorized helicopter sightseeing company in New York City. We began in the charter business on April 22, 1986 and added sightseeing tours of New York City originating from the VIP heliport on September 6th, 1990. At that time, Liberty had begun an aggressive plan selling in both the domestic and international markets. Using our strong customer base afforded us the opportunity to open a second location at the downtown Manhattan heliport in 1995. Liberty Helicopters was not only the first company to operate sightseeing tours from this multi-million dollar facility, but also the first to offer our customers the convenience of two Manhattan locations. On May 1, 2004, we opened a third heliport at the Paulus Hook Pier located in the newly developed area of the Colgate section of Jersey City, N.J. In addition to our “once in a lifetime” helicopter tours, this facility operates both commuter and sightseeing ferry services, making it a very accessible facility to Manhattan.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of course, once we reached the grandest structure in the entire megalopolis (if you consider New York City to be composed of individual parts as opposed to being one gigantic system of transit, power, and satellite cities that stretches for hundreds of miles in every direction) your humble narrator forgot all about Sludge boats, Tugs, and aircraft. I’m always amazed at the scale and classical proportions of the Brooklyn Bridge.
from wikipedia
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. At 5,989 feet (1825 m), it was the longest suspension bridge in the world from its opening until 1903, and the first steel-wire suspension bridge.
Originally referred to as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, it was dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge in an 1867 letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and formally so named by the city government in 1915. Since its opening, it has become an iconic part of the New York skyline. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
If it hasn’t been recommended to you yet, by me or others, I have to sing the praises of “The Great Bridge by David McCullough” which details the design and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge as well as providing a real “slice of life” about 19th century New York City. My preference for audiobooks is satisfied by the version available at apple’s iTunes store, and you could do worse things with your hard earned money than pick up the print edition at amazon.
from wikipedia
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, McCullough attended Yale University, earning a degree in English literature. His first book, The Johnstown Flood, was published in 1968; he has since written seven more on topics such as Harry S. Truman, John Adams, and the Brooklyn Bridge. McCullough has also narrated multiple documentaries, as well as the 2003 film Seabiscuit; he also hosted American Experience for twelve years. Two of McCullough’s books, Truman and John Adams, have been adapted into a TV film and mini-series, respectively, by HBO. McCullough’s next work, about Americans in Paris between the 1830s to the 1930s, is due out in 2010.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I don’t remember who the quote is attributed to, but the Ken Burns PBS documentary “Brooklyn Bridge” embedded a notion into me a while back that “all of modern heroic New York began with the building of the Brooklyn Bridge”. I tend to agree with this maxim.
from endex.com
After sixty years of political, financial and technical discussions (including a 6 lane tunnel proposal in the 1830’s), John Roebling’s plan was approved, the New York Bridge Company was formed and, in 1869, construction of the bridge finally began.
The bridge was built over 14 years in the face of enormous difficulties. Roebling died as a result of an accident at the outset; a fire in the Brooklyn Caisson smoldered for weeks; Roebling’s son, Washington, who took over as chief engineer, suffered a crippling attack of the bends during the construction of the Manhattan Caisson, and continued to direct operations, sending messages to the site by his wife, Emily. After the towers were built, a cable parted from its anchorage killing two people; there was fraud perpetrated by the cable contractor.
In the end, John Roebling’s prediction that the promenade above the deck will be “of incalculable value in a crowded commercial city” was justified, together with his perhaps most noted statement, claiming that “the great towers…will be ranked as national monuments. …As a work of art, and a successful specimen of advanced bridge engineering, this structure will forever testify to the energy, enterprise, and wealth of that community which shall secure its erection.”
On May 24, 1883, with schools and businesses closed, the Brooklyn Bridge, also referred to as the “Great East River Bridge”, was opened. Scores of people attended this spectacular ribbon cutting event. Over 100 years later, its renowned beauty & stature is still admired by many New Yorkers & tourists alike.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shot above is actually from last year (2009), but gives a good sense of the intricate series of roads and onramps that allow Manhattan traffic egress to the bridge.
from pbs.org
- Although he was physically able to leave his apartment, Washington Roebling refused to attend the opening celebration honoring his remarkable achievement.
- The bridge opened to the public on May 24, 1883, at 2:00 p.m. A total of 150,300 people crossed the bridge on opening day. Each person was charged one cent to cross.
- The bridge opened to vehicles on May 24, 1883, at 5:00 p.m. A total of 1,800 vehicles crossed on the first day. Vehicles were charged five cents to cross.
- Today, the Brooklyn Bridge is the second busiest bridge in New York City. One hundred forty-four thousand vehicles cross the bridge every day.
Circumnavigation 1
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The reason that I was in Manhattan on Saturday the 24th of April, rather than wandering about the dystopian hillocks of Western Queens (as usual), was that a friend was gathering a group of photographers and urban explorer types together on- of all things- a tourist boat. Coupons for a discount trip, and the offer of fraternal companionship, drew me to the west side of Manhattan to ride along for the three hour circumnavigation of the Shining City. The boat left from Pier 83, lately known as “the Circle Line” pier, on the Hudson River. That’s the John J. Harvey fireboat, incidentally- for more on the Harvey- click here, and here, and here.
from wikipedia
The Circle Line is the collective name given to two sightseeing ferry operations in Manhattan:
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises at 42nd Street which circles Manhattan from its base at Pier 83 in Manhattan
Circle Line Downtown operates out of Pier 16, South Street Seaport. The company name is Circle Line Harbor Cruises, LLC. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Circle Line Statue of Liberty.
- The two companies split in 1981 from the parent Circle Line company and now have different officers and directors.
- Circumnavigation of Manhattan became possible in 1905 with the construction of the Harlem Ship Canal, the first regularly scheduled trip being the Tourist captained by John Roberts in 1908.
- On June 15, 1945 Frank Barry, Joe Moran and other partners merged several sightseeing boats to form the Circle Line operating out of Battery Park.
- In 1955 it began operating at its current Pier 83 location. In 1962 it bought the Hudson River Day Line.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
River traffic was at a minimum, and the relict gems that dot the coastlines were glittering in the morning sunlight. Pictured above is the Erie-Lackawanna ferry terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey.
check out this fascinating post at Hoboken411.com which details the reconstruction of this historic structure’s clock tower in recent years.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the behemoth tourist ship entered into NY Harbor proper from the Hudson, along came the Marie J. Turecamo tugboat- a 2,250 HP twin screw tug operated by Moran Towing. It was originally built as the Traveller in 1968, by Tangier Marine Transport which operated out of the Main Iron Works facility in Houma, LA.
from morantug.com
Moran is a leading provider of marine towing and transportation services, a 150-year-old corporation that was founded as a small towing company in New York Harbor and grew to preeminence in the industry. The cornerstone of our success has been a long-standing reputation for safe, efficient service, achieved through a combination of first-rate people and outstanding vessels and equipment.
Over the course of its history Moran has steadily expanded and diversified, and today offers a versatile range of services stemming from its core capabilities in ship docking, contract towing, LNG activities and marine transportation. Our tug fleet serves the most ports of any operator in the eastern United States, and services LNG terminals along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and the West Coast of Mexico. The Moran barge fleet serves the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, the Great Lakes, the inland waters of the U.S. eastern seaboard, and the Gulf of Mexico. We also provide worldwide marine transportation services, including operations in the Caribbean and periodic voyages to South America and overseas waters.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Playing at the serious business of being a tourist is no easy job. The Circle Line narration points out interesting features observed along its route, making frequent mention of “the sights they came to see”. An image of the Statue of Liberty is a popular and desired memory for visitors to the Shining City to acquire, and I couldn’t let it pass without a cursory shot. The events of September 11, 2001 received repeated mention in the script as well.
from wikipedia
The statue is made of a sheathing of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel (originally puddled iron) with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf (originally made of copper and later altered to hold glass panes). It stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. The statue is 151 ft (46 m) tall, but with the pedestal and foundation, it is 305 ft (93 m) tall.
Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States.[11] For many years it was one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants and visitors after ocean voyages from around the world.
The statue is the central part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, administered by the National Park Service. The National Monument also includes Ellis Island.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Speaking of 911, one of the newer Coast Guard patrol boats was busily speeding by. This is a “response boat small” I believe, and it was quick and seemed ready to become deadly at any moment.
from uscg.mil
Response Boat-Small (RB-S) was developed in a direct response to the need for additional Homeland Security assets in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Defender-class boats were procured under an emergency acquisition authority.
With a contract option for up to 700 standard response boats, the Defender-class acquisition is one of the largest boat buys of its type in the world.
The 100 boat Defender A -class (RB-HS) fleet began arriving at units in May 2002 and continued through August 2003. After several configuration changes, most notably a longer cabin and shock mitigating rear seats, the Defender B-class RB-S boats were born.
This fleet was first delivered to the field in October 2003, and there are currently 457 Defender-class boats in operation assigned to the Coast Guard’s Maritime Safety and Security Teams (MSST), Maritime Security Response Team (MSRT), Marine Safety Units (MSU), and Small Boat Stations throughout the Coast Guard.
Mission Capability:
With an overall length of 25 feet, two 225 horsepower outboard engines, unique turning radius, and gun mounts both forward and aft, the Defender-class boats are the ultimate waterborne assets for conducting high speed maneuvering tactics in a small deployable package. This is evidenced by the fact that several Defender-class boats are already in operation at other Homeland Security Department agencies, as well as foreign military services for homeland security missions.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the Circle Line crossed into the East River, nearing the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, however, a ship that’s familiar to long time readers of this Newtown pentacle appeared- the M/V Red Hook.
from wnyc.org
When the city invited a select few reporters aboard the Sludge Boat Red Hook, we figured it would reek, naturally enough. But, despite all that human waste and other organic cargo sloshing about, the boat smells just fine.
This is a nice, clean, next-generation sludge vessel: 350 feet long, cruising speed 10 knots. Inside the cabin, it’s all fancy gadgets, everywhere.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Red Hook is actually one of the newer Sludge Boats in the City’s fleet, built to modern specifications and environmental regulations.
from ny1.com
The $30 million boat, named Red Hook, is the latest addition to the marine fleet.
It will cart tons of sludge every day to waste water treatment plants. The plant on Wards Island processes about 200 million gallons a day of waste water; the sludge is the solid part of that waste.
“They are removing more of the solids from the water, we’re returning cleaner water to the harbor, but producing more sludge, and that’s a good news thing. But it also requires us to increase our capacity,” said acting DEP Commissioner Steven Lawitts. “This one is higher capacity. It has a capacity for 150,000 cubic feet of sludge, so it’s about 50 percent larger than previous boats.”
The Red Hook was built over a period of three years by a manufacturing company in Texas.
hungry ghosts
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On a recent sunlit afternoon, the Hermetic Hungarian ventured forth from the Shining City once again. Recovered from a spell of bad dreams which our recent visit to the Grand Ave. Bridge- with all its loathsome implications- had awakened in him, the studied recluse announced that a new digital camera was in his possession which needed a test drive. Always an atavist and luddite, the Hermetic Hungarian (HH from this point on) had already decided that it was inferior to the chemical emulsion process of image capture- film- which he has spent much time mastering.
This, like the Mac vs. PC debate, is a conversation that your humble narrator does not wish to have anymore.
from wikipedia
Operating system advocacy is the practice of attempting to increase the awareness and improve the perception of a computer operating system. The motivation behind this may be to increase the number of users of a system, to assert the superiority of one choice over another or out of brand loyalty, pride in an operating system’s abilities, or to persuade software vendors to port specific applications or device drivers to the platform.
Operating system advocacy can vary widely in tone and form, from published comparisons to heated debates on mailing lists and other forums. In its most extreme forms it can veer into zealotry. Advocates are often normal users who devote their spare time to advocacy of their operating system of choice; many have a deep and abiding interest in the use, design and construction of operating systems and an emotional investment in their favourite operating system.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Allow me to lift the curtain for this post- and talk shop.
Once upon a time, in the brash days of youth, I too shot film. I carried a Yashica FX3 fully manual, 1984 vintage camera, which I still have. Unfortunately, the cost of the film itself and the consequent expense of development and printing cramped my urge to shoot and shoot. For years, I had a goofy point and shoot 35mm camera, which has long disappeared into gadget heaven. When the Canon Elph’s first came out, I was hooked on digital and haven’t looked back since. Yes, the recording medium of film is capable of capturing and storing FAR more information than a digital shot can- even today. But- as I’ve mentioned in the past- I work in the advertising industry.
from nycgovparks.org
Astoria Park, on the west shore of Queens, extends from south of the Triborough Bridge to north of the Hell Gate Bridge. With a panoramic view of the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan in the south to the Hell Gate channel in the north, the scenery presents the diverse landscape of New York City. The Hell Gate channel, formed by faults deep underground, contains some of the deepest water in New York Harbor. Its treacherous reefs bear picturesque names such as “Hen and Chickens,” “Pot Rock,” “Bread & Cheese,” and “Bald Headed Billy.”
Throughout the centuries the stunning natural beauty of this location has attracted visitors and settlers. Before the arrival of European colonists, a trail passed by the site, and an Indian village flourished at Pot Cove. Local inhabitants grew maize on the shores, fished in Hell Gate, and drew water from Linden Brook, a small stream that still flows under Astoria Park South. In the mid-1600s the Dutch parceled out this land to various owners, including William Hallet whose grant embraced hundreds of acres. During the American Revolution, several British and Hessian regiments were stationed in the area. On November 25, 1780 the frigate Hussar and its five-million-dollar cargo sank to the bottom of Hell Gate, where despite some removal of cannons, the treasure still remains.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What used to happen when a photo entered the agency was that a medium or large format “chrome”- which is a sort of giant slide- would be handed off from photographer to agency (and still does, sometimes). This chrome would then be photostat reproduced (in the very old days) and it’s “for position only or F.P.O.” representation would be worked into a mechanical board so that the printer would understand where to place it or “strip it in”. When the Macintosh came along, the chrome would instead be scanned, at first by highly specialized devices called drum scanners and later by advanced versions of tabletop scanners.
The digital scan actually matters more than the original at this moment, and the tipping point from film to digital was reached when the ad agencies began requesting digital files from their photographers.
from omh.state.ny.us
Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center, a maximum security hospital of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), opened in 1985 and provides secure treatment and evaluation for the forensic patients and courts of New York City and Long Island. Most patients are received through the courts under Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) or through the OMH Commissioner’s office via the New York State Code of Rules and Regulations (NYSCRR) regarding hospitalization of the mentally ill.
Treatment is provided in accordance with the current standards of professional care outlined by the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Health Organizations (JCAHO) and is carried out with respect for each patient’s privacy and rights, in agreement with his/her level of functioning and need for security. KFPC has an active staff education program as well as academic affiliations with several metropolitan area colleges and universities, to help assure quality treatment and state of the art care.
and from wikipedia
The Manhattan Psychiatric Center is a New York-state run psychiatric hospital on 125th Street on Ward’s Island in New York City. As of 2009 it had 509 beds. The current building is 14-stories tall.
The hospital’s roots date to 1848 when Ward’s Island was designated the reception area for immigrants. Some additional structures were originally part of Blackwell’s Island Lunatic Asylum, which opened around 1863.
The building was significantly enlarged in 1871, and a Kirkbride Plan style building was built. After the immigration entry shifted to Ellis Island in 1892 the state took it over from Manhattan in 1899 and expanded it even further. At the time, it had 4,400 beds and was the largest psychiatric hospital in the world.
At the time it was one of two psychiatric hospitals for residents of Manhattan that had been take over by the state. The other psychiatric hospital would become the Central Islip Psychiatric Center in Central Islip, New York. Both hospitals were referred to as Manhattan State Hospital.
It later became the Manhattan Psychiatric Center. The facility is currently run by the New York State Office of Mental Health.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Its taken the camera companies a while to catch up with the desktops, but they’re getting close- the high end Canons, for instance, do 25.3 megapixel shots (which I’ve retouched and let me say that these are well wrought images).
My current cameras- the Canon G10 and Canon T1i both hit 15 megapixels, giving me ample detail and clarity. I’ve got fairly quick SDHC cards in them, which allows burst shooting, and at any given time I’m ready to pop off a couple of thousand exposures. The batteries in both are rechargeable, and once the photos are copied to my desktop- the cards are formatted and used over and over. Film never offered me this kind of freedom to just shoot and shoot.
from wirednewyork.com
The massive beauty and advanced technology of the Hell Gate Bridge (more properly the New York Connecting Railroad Bridge) contrast sharply with nineteenth-century descriptions of the channel that it spans. Named for the dangerous rocks and perilous waters at the confluence of the East and the Harlem Rivers, Hell Gate is surrounded by Manhattan, Queens, and three islands: Wards, Randalls, and Roosevelt (formerly called Blackwell’s, then Welfare). Philip Hone (1780 -1851), writing of an 1844 visit there, described “the delightful scene: the clumps of fine old trees clothed in the gorgeous foliage of autumn, the lawn still bright and green, the mild, refreshing breeze, the rapid waters of Hell Gate covered with sailing vessels and steamboats -all combined to present a picture of consummate beauty.“
– photo by Mitch Waxman
HH, however, feels limited by digital- as do other “old school” photographers encountered during my long walks through and around the Newtown Pentacle. He lugs around a gigantic medium format film camera, which is a best of breed sort of machine. Coney Island Mike, another friend of the Pentacle, also decries the prevailing winds of technological advancement and pines for some 1970’s golden age of film availability and creative darkroom techniques.
I really do see the point, as mentioned above, film does capture and contain more information than any digital image can- so far.
from wikipedia
Construction was overseen by Gustav Lindenthal, whose original design left a gap of 15 feet (4.6 m) between the steel arch and the masonry towers. Fearing that the public assumed that the towers were structurally integral to the bridge, Lindenthal added aesthetic girders between the upper chord of the arch and the towers to make the structure appear more robust. The original plans for the piers on the long approach ramps called for a steel lattice structure. The design was changed to smooth concrete to soothe concerns that asylum inmates on Ward’s and Randall’s islands would climb the piers to escape.
The engineering was so precise that when the last section of the main span was lifted into place, the final adjustment needed to join everything together was 1⁄2 inches (12.7 mm). The bridge was completed on September 30, 1916.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Back at my day job as photo retoucher and advertising industry print production specialist, however, I can tell you that its the digital file that’s going to the printer- not a piece of film. That makes anything shot in film second generation at best. Of course, many of the images I present here are highly processed- shot in raw format, sharpened or color corrected in photoshop, or produced by esoteric digital sleight of hand like “tilt shifting” or HDR.
(all the shots in this post are “straight” shots, raw files which were fed through my normal workflow)
from nycroads.com
PROVIDING A MUCH-NEEDED RAILROAD CONNECTION: In 1892, Oliver W. Barnes, an engineer associated with Pennsylvania Railroad president Alexander J. Cassatt and bridge designer Gustav Lindenthal, conceived plans for the Hell Gate Bridge. Cassatt saw the Hell Gate project – originally called the “East River Arch Bridge” – as an opportunity to bring rail traffic from Pennsylvania Railroad routes in New Jersey and points west through New York City to New England. The project was to also tie into the Long Island Rail Road routes, in which the Pennsylvania Railroad had a controlling interest. Meanwhile, Lindenthal saw the Hell Gate project as his chance to construct his Hudson River Bridge, a suspension bridge with a 2,800-foot-long main span that would have been the longest in the world. That same year, the New York Connecting Railroad was incorporated to help realize this plan.
In 1904, Lindenthal, who oversaw the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge and the construction of the ongoing Manhattan Bridge and Queensboro Bridge projects, was chosen as consulting engineer and bridge architect by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had just acquired the New York Connecting Railroad. Under these auspices, Lindenthal was engaged in a project to connect the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad in New Jersey, the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in the Bronx. Although the project allowed Lindenthal to design the Hell Gate span, it would not include his long-sought goal: a great suspension bridge across the Hudson River. Instead, the Pennsylvania Railroad decided to use exclusive tunnels for rail traffic across the Hudson and East rivers.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the mantras that I’ve followed since my heady days at art school (School of Visual Arts) where I studied Illustration and Comic Book art is that you don’t need to use expensive mediums to make a good image. In accordance, my friends and I used to draw comics on brown paper bags or whatever other commonplace material we could procure. Later on in life, I will admit to the occasional red sable brush purchase, but by and large most of my “kit” came from staples and I’ve done comic cover art that was colored with Crayola Markers in the past.
I try to follow this philosophy with photography, which is the greatest way to spend money- short of crack addiction- that America has ever found.
from wikipedia
On June 15, 1904, the General Slocum caught fire and burned to the waterline in New York’s East River. At the time of the accident she was on a chartered run carrying members of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (German Americans from Little Germany, Manhattan) to a church picnic. An estimated 1,021 of the 1,342 people on board were killed. The General Slocum disaster was the New York area’s worst disaster in terms of loss of life until the September 11, 2001 attacks.[2] The events surrounding the General Slocum fire have appeared in a number of books, plays and movies through the years.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Fantasies about radio triggers and tripods that cost more than my first car bounce in my head, and I fiend for trick and ultra wide angle lenses. I pore over the BH Photo catalog in the manner of a fetishist, but it’s just camera pornography to me. I can barely afford to feed my little dog Zuzu these days, and Our Lady of the Pentacle has suggested homespun garments for next winter. HH however, insists that no digital camera he’s yet found suits him. I suggested either a Canon G10 or G11 to him, or if portability was a consideration- the very attractive Canon S90.
from wikipedia
Amtrak is no longer required by law, but is encouraged, to operate a national route system.[ Amtrak has some presence in all of the 48 contiguous states except Wyoming and South Dakota. Service on the Northeast Corridor, between Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., as well as between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is powered by overhead wires; for the rest of the system, diesel locomotives are used. Routes vary widely in frequency of service, from three trips weekly on the Sunset Limited (Los Angeles, California, to New Orleans, Louisiana), to weekday service several times per hour on the Northeast Corridor, (New York City to Washington, D.C.) Amtrak also operates a captive bus service, Thruway Motorcoach, which provides connections to train routes.
The most popular and heavily used services are those running on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), which include the Acela Express, and Northeast Regional. The NEC serves Boston, Massachusetts; New York City; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; and many communities between. The NEC services accounted for 10.0 million of Amtrak’s 25.7 million passengers in fiscal year 2007. Regional services in California, subsidized by the California Department of Transportation are the most popular services outside of the NEC and the only other services boasting over one million passengers per annum. The Pacific Surfliner, Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin services accounted for a combined 5.0 million passengers in fiscal year 2007.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These shots, of course, were accomplished with my increasingly trusty DSLR- the Canon T1i, but the vast majority of photos you’ve endured at this blog have emanated from the Canon G10. The S90 is functionally a G10 with a smaller lens and form factor, will be dramatically discounted around Christmas, and HH ordered one to try out. That’s how we ended up in Astoria Park. Originally, we planned on walking the Triborough Bridge, but last minute information reached me that the Bridge has a series of “Photography Prohibited” signs posted and we decided that it just wasn’t worth the potential hassles with the law.
That’s what the eggheads call a “chilling effect on civil liberties” in action, by the way.
from railroad.net
As a retired TBTA sgt, I can definetly state that photography IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN on all bridges & tunnels operated by that agency. This edict has been in effect for many years, but it was not strictly enforced before 9/11/01. It is now. Signs prohibiting “filming” are, (and have been all along) posted at all facilities. Summonses can, & usually will be issued (criminal court “C’ summonses) to filmers/videotapers who are seen “filming” on TBTA property (mainly bridges, tunnels and toll plazas, but also in other areas under control of the TBTA).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over the course of an hour or so, your humble narrator cracked out a couple of hundred exposures, a few of which were good enough to “show”. HH shot 22. I had mine “developed” and online within 48 hours (I was busy) and HH waited a full week for his transparencies to be shipped to him. Are HH’s shots superior to mine? I still don’t know, because he hasn’t managed to scan them yet. I’m not mocking him, nor deriding film, just stating that immediacy is a selling point for me as well.
As a good American, I crave and demand instant satisfaction, sometimes for urges I don’t know I have yet.
from wikipedia
Ward’s Island is situated in the East River in New York City. Administratively it is part of the borough of Manhattan. It is bridged by rail to the borough of Queens by the Hell Gate Bridge and it is joined to Randall’s Island to the north by landfill. The two Islands together are run by the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation under a partnership agreement with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Together, the two islands form New York County’s Census Tract 240, which had a total population of 1,386 living on 2.2 km² of land area, according to the United States Census, 2000.
Viaducts leading to the Robert F. Kennedy Triborough Bridge and Hell Gate bridges pass overhead. Vehicular access is by the Little Hell Gate bridge from Randall’s Island, while a narrow pedestrian and bicycling bridge, Ward’s Island Bridge, links the island to the east side of Manhattan in Harlem.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Hermetic Hungarian of course, feels the least melancholy when surrounded by relict technologies. The upper west side rooms he occupies enjoy shelves of watch making equipment and rare mechanisms which originate in the darkest corners of Europe. His current project is to end time mechanically, freezing the world’s motion by the actions of a vast clockwork which he is assembling in accordance with instructions found on a scroll that might be written in Sanskrit that HH claims were scribed by some mad monk.
At my insistence, he has not installed a battery or self winding mechanism on the device, so sleep easily, my Lords and Ladies of Newtown.
from wikipedia
The Bhavacakra is represented as being held by the jaws, hands, and feet of a fearsome figure who turns the wheel. The exact identity of the figure varies. A common choice for the figure is Yama, the god of death or Kala the lord of time. This figure is also known as the “Face of Glory” or Kirtimukha.
There is always a figure or symbol in the upper left and the upper right. The exact figure or symbol varies; common examples include the moon, a buddha, or a bodhisattva. In the picture of the Tibetan Bhavacakra in Sera, Lhasa the clouds take the shapes of certain Buddhist symbols, eg. svastika.
The Newtown Pentacle 