Archive for 2013
probable escape
Golly gosh gee!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Greenpointers rejoice on August 19th, for the date brings an important anniversary to the ancient community. For most of its history, the old Dutch village relied on vehicular connections to nearby Williamsburg- or on ferries and other water borne craft- when happenstance demanded they leave its borders. Not so after August 19th, 1933.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Today is the anniversary, the 80th in fact, of the day that the G train was opened- specifically the stretch of the line which connected to Queens and headed up Manhattan Avenue toward Williamsburg and beyond (the beyond was staggered out over the course of the following year). Back then it was called the “GG IND Crosstown Line” and it remains an anachronism as the only subway line that doesn’t service Manhattan (along with a couple of shuttles and the Staten Island Railroad, but they don’t really count).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Given the chaotic and contentious situation wrought by damages from Hurricane Sandy and the concurrent schedule of repairs which have shut the line down on the weekends, it might be hard for Greenpointers to greet the line with happy salutation. Nevertheless, an appreciation of the old girl must nevertheless be offered at this- your Newtown Pentacle.
nervous overstrain
Maritime Sunday drifts into port again.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A “Ro-Ro,” car carriers like Courageous Ace allow a fleet of newly manufactured vehicles to be driven on and off the ship and unloaded without the usage of Gantry or Transfer Cranes, hence “Roll on, Roll off” or “Ro-Ro.”
Radio call sign IMO 9252204, Courageous Ace is 198m long with a 32m beam and has a gross tonnage of 439. In Americanese, that means its 649.606 feet long and 104.987 feet tall, or around one and three quarter football fields long and just under one quarter of a football field high off the water. Why football fields, like horsepower, remain a measurement we all can reference I will never understand. Comparisons follow.
Courageous Ace is just shy of what the Citigroup building in LIC turned horizontal and set afloat would look like, and is approximately the same size as the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago (the office building in the Blues Brothers movie). It’s owned and operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
from mol.co.jp
MOL takes a proactive stance in reducing the environmental burden of its vessels as we transport environmental-friendly automobiles that offer improved fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. MOL launched the Courageous Ace in 2003, with a bow that is aerodynamically rounded and beveled along the bow line to help reduce wind resistance. This groundbreaking design results in significant energy savings.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Charles D. McAllister was one of two tugs assisting the colossus into its berth in New Jersey. She seemed to be on watch rather than actively towing, perhaps two tugs were required further out, beyond the Narrows. A large vessel like Courageous Ace actually has to deal with cross currents, and its draft requires that it stay in the deep maritime channels maintained by US Army Corps of Engineers and stick to a route proscribed by the Coast Guard.
from mcallistertowing.com
McALLISTER TOWING is one of the oldest and largest family-owned marine towing and transportation companies in the United States. Founded by Captain James McAllister in 1864 with a single sail lighter, the company has served the maritime community continuously, earning a reputation for unsurpassed excellence. Today, the company operates a balanced and extensive fleet of tugs, barges, and ferries in the major ports on the U.S. East Coast and in Puerto Rico. Captain Brian A. McAllister is the President and a great-grandson of the founder, representing the fourth generation of McAllisters at the helm. Five McAllisters of the fifth generation are also employed by the company.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My guess would be that the Ro-Ro had already finished its journey and slowed down sufficiently that using two tugs to move into the dock would have been overkill.
She (Charles D. McAllister) is powered by two Caterpillar 12-D398 Turbo main engines with Lufkin reduction gears at a ratio of 7.14:1 for a rated 1,800 horsepower. She is a twin screw tug, fitted kort nozzles and flanking rudders.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Ellen McAlllister was doing all the work, noodling the giant into berth. Shortly after docking and whatever business Homeland Security and Customs required of the ship was accomplished, hundreds of brand new automobiles and trucks would be driven off the ship and into a lot. Some of these vehicles will be loaded onto trains for transport all up and down the Northeast, others onto trucks for more localized delivery. The Ellen McAllister was profiled recently in the NY Times, linked to below.
from nytimes.com
For two or three or four weeks at a time, the men — and a few women — of this tugboat business live in constant sight of the flashing red light atop the Empire State Building and 1 World Trade Center’s red-and-white sparkle, but they rarely, if ever, set foot in Manhattan. Most of their exposure to the city occurs during the occasional walk from their Staten Island port to the corner store, where they buy lottery tickets.
Project Firebox 84
An ongoing catalog of New York’s endangered Fireboxes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Up on the hill which is Old Astoria, an expanse of manses and luxurious homes, one is normally blown down by the sheer Victorian glory of a manifest architectural record. It is easy to miss the tireless firebox, ignominiously serving its purpose. This scarlet gendarme wears its corroded complexion proudly, and it is always watchful.
lost struggle
A walk alongside the park.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Astoria Park is bordered on its western side by a quite busy road called Shore Blvd. Under normal circumstance, you’ll see families enjoying a riverfront promenade along Hells Gate, spanned by the Triborough and Hell Gate Bridges. There will also be codgers with deck chairs taking the sun, an occasional fisherman, and lots of people with cameras wandering about. Walking in the middle of Shore Blvd. on a normal day would result in quick death, as you would be accidentally ground into the pavement beneath the wheels of a Greek teenagers SUV in short order.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, this year the Green Shores NYC people are conducting the “5th annual Astoria Park Shore Fest target” in conjunction with the Astoria Park Alliance. Our Lady of the Pentacle had other plans, and a humble narrator had a rare weekend day off from my schedule of Newtown Creek tours, so I opted to shamble over and take a look at what was going on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The big deal for me, of course, was the ability to shoot the two bridges from a normally unavailable vantage without having to worry about the aforementioned Greek teenager obliterating me, but a lot of people turned out for this event. There were kids and dogs and all sorts of stuff happening, I even ran into my pal Richard Melnick from Greater Astoria Historic Society whom I seldom get to see due to our mutual tour obligations that play out over the weekends.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Shore Fest had all sorts of attractions- there was a blues band, all sorts of Eco friendly and green vendors selling or promoting their products, and almost all the kids I saw had painted faces. There was food as well, and as you see in the shot above- Ukelele lessons. The event is happening again this Sunday, and if you are lucky enough to be in Astoria- why not go check it out?
Want to see something cool? Summer 2013 Walking Tours-
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, August 17, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek – Saturday, August 24, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
naturally prompted
The trains coming, hurry up.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Perambulating across the blessed hills of almond eyed Astoria the other day, testing out my new lens (the Sigma 18-35 F 1.8 DS), a humble narrator suddenly perceived an ear splitting howl coming from on high. The elevated tracks on 31st street carry the N and Q service to and from Manhattan, offering Astoria’s huddled masses egress into the Shining City of Manhattan. One thing these tracks are not is quiet.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself, along with our little dog Zuzu, live along the R line which is fairly cradled by the earth. Occasionally, happenstance or track work or just the urge to mix up my commute, I find myself on the elevated tracks. The views from up there can be stellar, but unfortunately the MTA has had to install sound blocking fences at the stations to calm the frayed nerves of those who live along 31st street. A busy commercial corridor, 31st street is also a primary approach to the Triborough Bridge and the Grand Central Parkway for traffic leaving Queens Plaza from the Queensboro Bridge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Its a funny thing, as Astoria is one of the few places in the central core of NYC that still looks like New York. Greenpoint has this quality as well, but the prime directive these days seems to be to obliterate any of the uniquely “New Yawk” elements of the cityscape in favor of a bland homogeneity and a mirror glass frontage which is built to the edge of the property line. Often have I wondered if this is caused by having a Boston transplant serving as the Mayor, who has hired a staff of Midwesterners and Southerners to serve as planning executives.
Want to see something cool? Summer 2013 Walking Tours-
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, August 17, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek – Saturday, August 24, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
The Newtown Pentacle 