Archive for 2013
later developments
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just a quick one for Maritime Sunday this week, of the Marjorie B. McAllister tug steaming out of the Kill Van Kull. Iconic backgrounds notwithstanding, this is a pretty cool little boat, and deserving of a hearty “Hi.”
Project Firebox 60
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Perennial shadow is what it has dwelt in, surrounded on three sides by mammoth Astorian apartment blocks on 34th avenue at 45th street, for more than a half century. Regardless of the darkness, it stands eternal vigil, connecting a vulnerable corner to the grid via a tenuous sarabande of copper wire. Shine on, noble firebox, shine on.
treasures offered
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Lots to do next week, meetings and galas, all sorts of situations to feel socially awkward in are coming up. Smart and well positioned opinion will be available for the price of attendance, at Newtown Creek Alliance’s “Spotlight on Citizen Science” on Monday the 25th in Long Island City.
NCA’s February meeting will highlight the wide array of local citizen and student scientists exploring all angles of the creek. The meeting will be structured as a showcase, with quick presentations on each topic, and materials for you to peruse in person. Come mingle with your local citizen scientists.
NCA Spotlight on Citizen Science
February 25, 2013 at 6pm
LaGuardia Community College
E Building, Room E-242
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A different sort of gathering will be happening at The India House Club, when Working Harbor Committee hosts its annual Gala, and this year’s honoree is Lucy Ambrosino. A great party, the Gala gathers the movers and shakers of NY Harbor together, and proceeds from the event help fund the WHC’s education programs and summer boat tours.
That’s Tuesday the 26th.
from workingharbor.com
Lucy Ambrosino is being honored for her ardent commitment to the Port of New York and New Jersey and the working harbor which supports it. An effective and committed consensus builder, Lucy is a strong advocate and enthusiastic participant in all efforts to educate the public about the value of the working harbor.
The award will be presented by Andrew McGovern, President, New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots at 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday Evening – 26 February 2013
India House Club — Marine Room
One Hanover Square, New York City, NY 10004
6 o’clock — 8:30 o’clock – Business Attire
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A town hall meeting, with the NYS DOT and several local elected leaders, will discuss the upcoming Kosciuszko Bridge project. The meeting is being hosted by OUTRAGE, a community group concerned by the enormous footprint of truck based industry in North Brooklyn.
That’s Wednesday the 27th.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Lastly, the unfortunate locale and long neglected and seldom considered municipality called Manhattan will be the setting for a “Long Term Control Plan: Citywide Modeling Workshop.”
Discussions of the recently experienced meteorological phenomena and concurrent flooding is necessitated and accordingly an understanding of the “New Normal” will be offered by the authorities. Ramifications will be explored, existential quandaries expounded upon and considered by representatives of the inestimable NYS DEC and the stalwart NYC DEP.
This one is Thursday the 28th, and I’m sure it will be a civil engineering and urban planning hootenanny.
from nyc.gov
LONG TERM CONTROL PLAN: CITYWIDE MODELING WORKSHOP
Thursday, February 28, 2013 at US Customs House, Auditorium, 1 Bowling Green from 6:00pm – 8:00pm.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is co-hosting a citywide workshop to present and review the modeling processes that will be used to test potential alternatives identified as part of the Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) Program with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). At the workshop, DEP and DEC staff will review the Watershed/Landside and Hydrodynamic/Water Quality models and the proposed baseline assumptions for evaluating the benefits of CSO control alternatives.
somehow impelled
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Perambulating down Northern Boulevard here in Queens, one finds many gas stations and quite a few car washes. The Hess Station on the corner of Steinway offers both. A small, seemingly robotic car washing chamber exists here. Luckily, it possesses windows, which allow for some pretty intense lighting, at the right time of day. Car washes are another one of the things which your humble narrator waxes on about.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“Back in the day,” as it were, it wasn’t customary to ride through the wash. You would leave your vehicle, and “the Brooklyn way” was to follow along with your car, viewing it through plexiglass windows as it made its way through the detention, wash, and optional Carnuba wax. At the end of the process, in a wood paneled room, would be a cashier. Loss leaders on sale at this station included key chains, porn magazines, “gas, grass, or ass- nobody rides for free” bumper stickers, and all sorts of fingerless gloves.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Whereas I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords… the long counter of air freshener products screen printed with Farrah Fawcett pin ups is missing from this automata, as is a complicated display with key chains extolling the logo of several auto brands. It does make for pretty pictures, of course, but still… Where does someone go these days for mirrored aviator sunglasses that fold, or a bumper sticker adjuring the Ayatollah Khomeni to go to hell?
perfect service
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A recent malfunction in one of the many Con Ed street pits here in blessed Astoria drew the somewhat swift response of service crews. It was only three days before they arrived at the spot where vaporous exhalations from the street had spewed, and they quickly set up for their task. Before long, a series of intense blue white flashes and a sound best described as “popping” sent them back into their service vehicle. They were summoning additional help.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A truck arrived, which had some sort of suction hose on it. The truck was very noisy, reminding one of the sound which might be made by a congress of baboons all vacuuming at the same time. The Con Ed employee was not actually a speedster whose movements were reminiscent of the Flash character of DC Comics fame, instead these are timed exposures which allowed the shutter to stay open for some 15 seconds. I know its difficult to accept that these guys actually move this much in 15 seconds, given the reputation of Union Labor in quasi municipal employ, but there you go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One prefers instead to believe that the Flash, and other meta human beings, would find easy employment in the municipal services which keep New York City’s fuse from burning away. In my estimate, the City at any given moment in only half an hour from total collapse. We live amongst a series of highly volatile dominoes kept from detonation only by the constant maintenance and tinkering of an army of labor. Somewhere in the Bronx just now, a Union guy casually tightened a screw whose failure would have otherwise unleashed the beast of Armageddon, while in Staten Island- a frayed strand of wire threatens the entire municipality with unthinkably dire and entirely existential implications.
The Newtown Pentacle 