Archive for August 2016
prodigious grasp
From high atop Greenpoint.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The eight anaerobic digester eggs of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment plant in Greenpoint gather a lot of attention. At the very top of these stainless steel vessels are catwalks which connect them together into two groups of four. You’re something like 140 feet up, and the entire assembly is wrapped in blue green glass.
The shot above looks southwest, across Brooklyn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On top of each of the individual eggs, you’ll find all sorts of plumbing and control mechanisms. There’s also a view port through which you can observe the bubbling sludge as its “cooked” by the biological processes within.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just for perspective, here’s a look at the things from outside the plant. The shots in today’s post were captured from the catwalk closest to the camera.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s actually fairly challenging to shoot from the catwalks, as that green glass screws around with the camera’s light meter and sensors. There’s also reflections to deal with, which you’ll see a few of in these shots, and needless to say – the glass ain’t exactly super clean.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking down at Kingsland Avenue and Allocco Recyling, over the methane jets which burn off the mephitic gas produced by the digester eggs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking towards the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, towards Blissville in Queens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking west, over the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant’s grounds, towards Manhattan.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another perspective on the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, this time with Blissville’s former Van Iderstine property, Calvary Cemetery, and the Kosciuszcko Bridge at the Maspeth border in frame.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Kosciuszcko Bridge replacement project is in the background, with a “green asphalt” plant and a Waste Management transfer station in the fore. That’s Newtown Creek flowing on the right side of the shot.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A wider view of the scene, this time you’ve got the ExxonMobil 400 Kingsland Avenue property in view as well.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Tomorrow – Creek Week continues, but from an entirely different perspective.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Wednesday, August 3rd, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. –
Glittering Realms Walking Tour,
with NYC H2O. Click here for more details.
Saturday, August 6th, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. –
Insalubrious Valley Walking Tour,
with NY Adventure Club. Click here for more details.
Sunday, August 14th, 11:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. –
Calvary Cemetery Walking Tour,
with Atlas Obscura. Click here for more details.
Sunday, August 21, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. –
Poison Cauldron Walking Tour,
with Atlas Obscura. Click here for more details.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
thicker fungi
Deep within the bowels of New York City.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, I was asked to speak at a Waterfront Alliance meeting which was scheduled to occur last week in Greenpoint at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the DEP folks who manage the plant offered to bring the WA group through the facility for a tour. Of course, I’ve been through here several times, and due to my various committees and general obsession with Newtown Creek, the sewer plant is kind of a familiar place to me – but you never say no when City employees open a locked door and invite you in somewhere to take a look around.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We actually got to go to a section of the plant which I’ve seldom seen, which is the generator and electrical room. Normally the plant consumes power from off the CON ED electrical grid, but during power outages and high usage periods the DEP can flip the switches that power up the plants own power turbines and fend for themselves.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The DEP engineer conducting the tour explained that these turbines are functionally jet engines whose thrust drives the generators. There was some routine maintenance going on and we got to see what the equipment actually looks like, which was a first for me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of particular interest are the pumps and enormous pipes through which the waste water enters into the plant, pictured above. On a dry weather day, these pipes carry around 310 million gallons of the stuff. The day we were visiting with the DEP followed a terrific thunderstorm that had just rolled through the night before, and the DEP folks said that they had processed an astounding 800 million gallons of water at the plant.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shot above looks down around two to three stories from a catwalk, and the gizmo framed by the yellow steel is one of the actual sewage pumps. DEP has had some issues with these pumps, supposedly a factory defect, and they are being repaired/replaced by the manufacturer. A misplaced sensor inside the pipe was forming a turbulence in the flow to form which caused the pumps to cavitate.
The cavitation, which is the sort of motion that a washing machine on spin cycle creates, was causing fastenings to work themselves loose and creating general mechanical havoc for the engineers.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the screen room, where mechanical claws pull solid materials out of the wastewater flow. The smell in this area of the plant is unique – distinct from the smell of sewage, I would mention. Sewer solids smell like… the best analogy I can offer for the smell is to suggest what it tastes like when you lick the terminals of a 9 volt battery – metallic, bitter, and shocking.
More tomorrow.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Wednesday, August 3rd, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. –
Glittering Realms Walking Tour,
with NYC H2O. Click here for more details.
Saturday, August 6th, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. –
Insalubrious Valley Walking Tour,
with NY Adventure Club. Click here for more details.
Sunday, August 14th, 11:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. –
Calvary Cemetery Walking Tour,
with Atlas Obscura. Click here for more details.
Sunday, August 21, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. –
Poison Cauldron Walking Tour,
with Atlas Obscura. Click here for more details.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
frantic note
By gum, it’s Creek Week.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Last week, one found himself at a relatively early hour over in Greenpoint at the Newtown Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant’s Nature Walk. I was there to meet the Waterfront Alliance board people, and speak about both the history of Newtown Creek and the things which the Newtown Creek Alliance is working on in pursuance of our goal to “reveal, restore, and revitalize” Newtown Creek.
All that notwithstanding, as is my habit, I was early and luckily enough the Vane Towing Tug Hunting Creek was transiting under the Pulaski Bridge. That gave me something to do while I was waiting.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One has always been a bit fidgety, a childhood habit which has never been abandoned. It’s difficult for me to “sit still” which sort of precludes me from photographing birds – which requires you to emulate stalking and hunting. Fifteen minutes with nothing to do is an interminable interval. It drives everybody who knows me crazy.
Hunting Creek was towing a fuel barge, which I later discovered, to the bulkheads of Metro Fuel in Greenpoint.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Vane Bros.’s Hunting Creek tug is a common sight for me. I first mentioned her back in 2013, and a few different views of it making the same transit on Newtown Creek were offered in 2014.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I say it all the time – 60% of everything in life is about “showing up,” and getting there a bit early. The good news is that shortly after the Hunting Creek disappeared out of view, one entered into the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment plant and before the meeting started – the NYC DEP folks invited the Waterfront Alliance group on tour of the facility. That’s where the other 40% of everything happens – lucky circumstance.
More on that tomorrow – at this, your Newtown Pentacle.
Upcoming Events and Tours
Wednesday, August 3rd, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. –
Glittering Realms Walking Tour,
with NYC H2O. Click here for more details.
Saturday, August 6th, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. –
Insalubrious Valley Walking Tour,
with NY Adventure Club. Click here for more details.
Sunday, August 14th, 11:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. –
Calvary Cemetery Walking Tour,
with Atlas Obscura. Click here for more details.
Sunday, August 21, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. –
Poison Cauldron Walking Tour,
with Atlas Obscura. Click here for more details.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
The Newtown Pentacle 