Archive for June 2022
rest without
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
April 24th saw me taking a very long walk indeed. Truth be told, I ended up having to stamp out a small fire in the afternoon, and decided to get the time back by taking a cab to an opportune jumping off point in Industrial Maspeth – or as I call it “The Happy Place.”
I just couldn’t stand the thought of spending an interminable hour and change walking through residential neighborhoods and losing the light accordingly. It was worth the $20.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
MTA has a maintenance facility hereabouts, and they were in the process of decommissioning several Long Island Railroad passenger cars. One scuttled on and on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At Maspeth Creek, I noticed a Canada Goose on a nest. She said “NAAAG” and stuck her tongue out at me, which I’ve since learned is goose for “go away.” I’ve since said “NAAAG” to other Canada Geese, and they seemed shocked that I’ve learned some of their language.
NAAAG. I speak a little goose now.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few blocks away, a Momma and a Poppa Canada Gooses were guarding their progeny, pictured above.
They’re so cute when young, and such assholes when mature, the Canada Gooses. Just like people. NAAAG.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What they were guarding the chicks against is pictured above, a nearly spherical floop of a cat. The kitty seemed surprised that I noticed it, and had probably convinced itself that it was a stealthy predator rather than an adorable fur balloon.
Floop.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A broken water main in front of a NYC DEP building flows freely in Industrial Maspeth, which is… just…
Anyway, the broken water main is accomplishing the goal of hydraulically removing litter and garbage from the streets of Industrial Maspeth. Unfortunately, that sewer grate above doesn’t lead to a sewer plant, rather it empties directly into Newtown Creek.
“DEP” stands for “Department of Environmental Protection.”
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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.
were frowns
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
April 22nd’s walk first visited Dutch Kills, and I had decided before leaving HQ that I’d be taking a train back “to the zone” so one headed over to the Hunters Point Avenue stop on the IRT Flushing or 7 line subway. This station is found alongside the Sunnyside Yards’ southern border in Ling Island City, and there’s a couple of very convenient fence holes there I never fail to take advantage of.
Pictured is a Manhattan bound 7 line train entering the station from its last stop at 23/Ely Court Square.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While I was hanging around and shooting, an Amtrak train set emerged from the tunnel I was standing over, heading eastwards.
After fishing around in my camera bag for a Covid mask, I headed over to the stairs leading down to the fare control area of the 7 line station, paid my due, and continued down to the platforms.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The headway frequency on the 7 has been vastly improved since the completion of the CBTC signaling system installation, and the train really is a lot more frequent than it used to be as they can now run the individual train sets a lot closer together than they used to.
As you can see, this one was an express, and I needed a local but that’s not too big a deal.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One stop brought me to Court Square Station, and after about a five minute wait, the local 7 line arrived.
In my opinion, the 7 is the most photogenic of all of NYC’s subways.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The local carried me to 40th Lowery, high over Queens Boulevard. If I had been feeling truly lazy, I would have ridden the thing out to Jackson Heights and transferred to a local IND R or M line back to Astoria’s Broadway and the station that’s two blocks from my house, but…
Hey, it’s all downhill from here…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A quick scuttle down 39th street, and an encounter with yet another Amtrak train set. This one had just executed a turn around on the horseshoe tracks found along 43rd street and was heading into the Amtrak service yard nearby the Honeywell Street Bridge/36th street.
Wonders, I tell you, wonders.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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.
crystal coldness
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
April 22nd was yet another moment in my life where an absolute hatred of the incompetence and “ass covering” which describes the governance and agencies of the City and State of New York blossomed within my chest. A red hot flower of rage.
Fill in the blanks, again, for your weekly “29th street in LIC is collapsing into Newtown Creek” post – Nothing XXXXXXX matters, and XXXXXX cares.
Want to know how Newtown Creek, and in fact all of NY Harbor, have ended up in the state they’re in, this is how.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As it turned out, I had arrived here when a particularly low tide was in effect, and you can really see what’s going on with this bulkhead.
The roadway is being undermined by all of this. That chain link fence used to be about fifteen feet from the edge, about a year ago.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The abandoned oil barges have been here a lot longer, of course. When I first showed up on the Creek about fifteen years ago, I was told that these barges had been here since for twenty plus years. That makes 35 years, by the way, during which…
35 years ago, Ronald Reagan was President of the United States. There was a Soviet Union. Ed Koch was the Mayor.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This crap might qualify as a historic ruin at this point.
As I’ve said many times in posts about this subject – Bah!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Regardless of the comforting blanket of outrage, and disappointment at the government’s absolute inability to do anything at all without there being a luxury condominium involved, one continued on his scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The tree. It’s all and only about the tree.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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.
whisper leeringly
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On April 13th, I found myself at a rooftop bar on the east side of Manhattan, one which offered somewhat sweeping views of the East River. Queensboro Bridge was large and in charge, of course. In the lower right foreground, that’s “Four Freedoms Park” on Roosevelt Island. You’re looking in the general direction of Astoria, diagonally towards LaGuardia airport.
There you go, that’s what that looks like, and you didn’t have to pay $20 for an “old fashioned” to see it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On April 17th, a humble narrator felt like doing some shooting but didn’t want to return to Newtown Creek again, so Shore Blvd. alongside Astoria Park and the Hells Gate section of the East River was decided upon as a destination for the evening’s effort.
I’ve actually been trying to make it a point of being present during sunsets of late, as you may have noticed.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hell Gate Bridge is to the north, Mighty Triborough to the south. These waters are still pretty complicated from a maritime point of view – strong currents and eddies. The United States Army Corps of Engineers blew this part of the river up “back in the day” to cure up the navigation issues, but it’s still a part of the harbor that requires a bit of skill on the part of whomsoever is driving the boat.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I set myself up for “landscape mode” with the tripod and an ND filter and started capturing a series of longish exposures. It was so bright out, in fact, that even with the filter on I was getting no more than ten seconds worth of exposure time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As I’ve mentioned several times, high flying clouds turn colorful during sunsets. No guarantee you’re going to get scarlets and crimsons, but when you do…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I hung around until it got dark, then got scared by the presence of teenagers in Astoria Park so I rapid scuttled away from the area in a paroxysm of terror. One flew through the streets, his brain awash in the steroids of panic. Teenagers… brrr… no impulse control.
At HQ, I barred the doors behind me, and commanded Our Lady of the Pentacle to descend into the storm bunker with me and hunker down in case the adolescents had followed me home.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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.
smiling dromedary
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My long walk around a short creek continued, and the Newtown Creek Nature walk allowed me an easy path through Brooklyn’s Greenpoint section. Pictured above is one of the lesser known tributaries of Newtown Creek – Whale Creek – and that’s a NYC DEP “Sludge Boat” docked along it.
Sludge Boats transport the processed/treatment sewer solids from the 12 sewer plants to the 13th one on Randall’s/Wards Island where it’s dewatered in centrifuges.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Kingsland Avenue hugs the fences of the sewer plants, and it’s also where Newtown Creek Alliance HQ is found (520 Kingsland).
It’s a pretty crappy experience on foot, have to say.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Those cylinders are exhaust pipes for the sewer plant, which burn off the methane produced by the treatment process, directly into the atmosphere. That makes the Department of Environmental Protection the single largest and most constant source of greenhouse gases in the entire Borough of Brooklyn.
Remember that when Eric Adams mandates that you need to spend $100,000 to convert your house over to electric from whatever you use to heat and cook in it right now.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Kingsland Avenue carried my carcass to Greenpoint Avenue and it’s eponymous bridge. This shot is looking east along Newtown Creek. Brooklyn is on the right, Queens on the left.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Things were getting pretty surreal, sky wise. Everything was painted in saturated radiates as the burning thermonuclear eye of God itself descended into whatever the hell might be on the other side of New Jersey.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My very productive day wasn’t over yet, I’d mention.
Cannot tell you how many times this exact same route has disappointed. Part of the reason I walk it so often are days like the 12th of April.
Back next week with more wonders, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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 