demoniac dexterity
Thursday, which meant hope for the weekend once.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yup, Montauk Cutoff, Long Island City. This particular area has been referred to many times, here at Newtown Pentacle, as the “Empty Corridor.” Boy, oh boy was it empty on the night I was shooting these images. Weirdly enough, I had multiple encounters with people on the street on this particular evening. There were two young blokes who were likely considering jumping me at one point, and then a few minutes later a super expensive looking sports car with black tinted windows pulled up next to me. The window rolled down a few inches and a deep basso voice from inside began querying me about whether or not a nearby strip club was open or not.
Have I ever mentioned that I hate strip clubs? Not the idea of them, mind you, but I mark some of the most uncomfortable moments of my life as being ones where social obligation carried me into “the club.” Guys go ga gah over strippers, but in my experience they’re the female equivalent of those guys you see in a 711 parking lot with their shirts off at three in the morning in Nassau County. Hey, different strokes for different folks, who am I to judge?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Regardless of perceived vulnerability and paranoid wonderings, I continued doing my thing. The Montauk Cutoff was my particular mission on this particular evening, as it will be tonight. There’s a growing awareness of this set of abandoned railroad tracks in the body politic of Queens, and the opportunity they represent for creating a bit of public space where you can socially distance to your heart’s content.
In fact, if my plans work out, I’ll be up on the tracks tonight.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sorry for the late post today, there’s been a bit of HQ tumult today that I had to deal with. All good, everything positive, but tumult. Back tomorrow.
Also, sorry strippers, not judging on you or what you do to feed the kids. I don’t enjoy watching professional Basketball, or Football, either.
Note: I’m writing this and several of the posts you’re going to see for the next week at the beginning of the week of Monday, November 30th. My plan is to continue doing my solo photo walks around LIC and the Newtown Creek in the dead of night as long as that’s feasible. If you continue to see regular updates here, that means everything is kosher as far as health and well being. If the blog stops updating, it means that things have gone badly for a humble narrator.
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“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 
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