Archive for May 8th, 2018
mephitic flood
Enduring mystery, thy name is Newtown.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, one attended several shoreline cleanup gatherings along the infamous Newtown Creek on Saturday, and the last one found me at the Meeker Avenue Street End in Greenpoint at the site of the former Penny Bridge crossing. There was lots of shoveling and digging going on as there’s about 80-90 years of illegal dumping and junk to be explored and excavated thereabouts.
Something curious was found in one of the middens of garbage.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A fragment of an animal skull came out on the end of some fellow’s shovel. Unfamiliar to me, as I’m a city boy, the general consensus at the site was that this very well might be the upper jaw of a goat. It was definitely an herbivore, whatever this critter was, as evinced by the molar dentition’s setup for grinding.
The problem with the goat thing is that goats are only supposed to have six molars, and this one has seven. Also, North Brooklyn ain’t exactly lousy with feral goats.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Additionally, there were sockets for front teeth in the fragment, which goats aren’t meant to have either. Anybody reading this who might be of the Veterinarian bent who might want to jump in and identify this critter?
If so, use the comments panel below to share your smarts with the rest of us. If not, I’ll add it to the list of anomalous Newtown Creek factoids maintained back here at HQ.
Upcoming Tours and Events
May 12th – Exploring Long Island City – with NY Adventure Club.
Long Island City is a tale of two cities; one filled with glittering water-front skyscrapers and manicured parks, and the other, a highly active ground transportation & distribution zone vital to the New York economy — which will prevail?
Tickets and more details here.
May 17th – Port Newark Boat Tour – with Working Harbor Committee.
For an exciting adventure, go behind the scenes of the bustling Port of NY & NJ on our Hidden Harbor Tour® of Port Newark! Get an insider’s view of the 3rd largest port in the nation, where container ships dock and unload their goods from around the world. See how the working harbor really works and learn about what all those ships and tugs do. See giant container terminals, oil docks, dry dock repair, and more! Tickets and more details here.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
The Newtown Pentacle 