serial distractions
An extremely minimalist Wednesday.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The broken/bruised/severely injured toe drama continues around these parts. Despite the farked up phalange, I still managed to conduct a walking tour last night for Atlas Obscura, in the dark while it was raining, and I only fell down once. Pictured above is one of the “dolphins” protecting the piers of the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge spanning my beloved Newtown Creek.
I am obviously out of action this week, and had to cancel visiting a couple of cool spots which would otherwise be populating posts here at Newtown Pentacle this week and next. Hopefully I’ll be mobile again soon.
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 
Hi! I’m curious if you know or have heard anything related to a “Maurice’s Island” in Newtown Creek. It’s possible it may have been a building on the creek with the name Maurice. My grandmother spoke of living on Newtown Creek in a big house owned by a Frenchman named Maurice. This would have been around 1900-1915. She was a child at the time and likely lived there a year or less. She spoke of selling eggs to the workers on the barges, along with getting Malaria at some point. My recollection is that she talked about living on an island in the Creek. I’ve been looking for info on this for years – which is how I found your site. All I have seen is Mussel Island on old maps and, of course, Maurice Ave. But I would so much love to find reference to people living on the Creek, or on Mussel Is, or even pictures around that time. The only address of theirs I can find from that period is on Maspeth Ave, but I know they moved around quite a lot.
I’d love to hear any thoughts you might have on this or ideas on places I should look.
Thank you!!!!
lucia rivieccio
November 27, 2019 at 1:48 am
new one on me, but let me poke around a bit and see if I can find anything.
Mitch Waxman
November 27, 2019 at 3:08 am
Thank you! I’ll keep you posted as well.
lucia rivieccio
November 27, 2019 at 10:37 am