Archive for February 2025
Archives #052
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On February 21 of 2013, Newtown Pentacle subscribers saw ‘somehow impelled’ arrive in their inboxes, which described part of a walk down Northern Boulevard, and explored my fascination with photographing car washes. Before I left Queens, the gas station which this car wash was a part of had been shuttered, the buildings were awaiting demolition and environmental remediation for the tanks, and is likely ‘affordable housing’ by now. Corner of 39th and Northern… can it still be there?
These archive posts are reaching into Newtown Pentacle’s backups, and are pulling posts that went public on this date, in their respective years, going back to 2009. For anyone who hasn’t heard the news, I broke my left ankle at the end of September, and I’m not screwing around with ice and snow if I don’t absolutely have to. Pittsburgh has been regularly coated with the white stuff for the last few weeks, which has really crimped into my ability to be out and about. #1 priority is the ankle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This 2019 post, dubbed ‘radical profundity’ visited Flashing Creek. I used to really get around, huh?
‘What does it have to do with Newtown Creek’ is a question I often asked myself, in pursuit of avoiding ‘mission drift’ and not getting sucked into the hot passions and political seasons of the day. Focus is difficult in a feature rich environment, and especially so when negotiating the endless sea of political frenzy. It often annoyed people, me refusing to pick up their flag and run with whatever madness they happened to be pushing that day, week, or month. Everybody forgets their movement a year later, as they’ve usually moved on to new ecstasies, scandals, and outrages.
People who identify as ‘leftists’ have a real hard time staying on one topic for long, in my experience.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In 2022, ‘rumour ran’ brought y’all to the Sunnyside Yards at night. That is the Harold Interlocking pictured above, which is one of the most important bits of infrastructure in the entire country. There are surveyors holes in the fences of the yards, and I had all of them inventoried. My walks to Newtown Creek from Astoria always crossed some section of the Sunnyside Yards, and I never missed an opportunity to get in a few shots of the place.
Back next week, hopefully with fresh photos and views of the Paris of Appalachia, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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Archives post #051
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As threatened, today brings you an ‘archives’ post, as a continuing spate of winter weather has absolutely grounded all of my ambitions and I’ve got nothing new to present today.
On February 20th in 2014, a similar climatological situation saw me offering a post on a few of my favorite NYC bridges. Check out ‘approaching triumph’ if you’re interested in such matters.
As established during the hermitage which saw me recovering from the busted ankle, the conceit underlying exactly which posts I’m pulling out of backup for a second look is entirely calendrical in nature. Everything presented as a part of these archives posts were published on this date, in their respective years, sometime between 2009 and 2025.
Yes, I’ve been doing this blog for a pretty long time now.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On this date in 2018, ‘scarcely be’ described the scene, as observed in the dead of night, at the fabulous Newtown Creek’s Grand Street Bridge where the currently undefended border of Brooklyn and Queens can be both experienced and surmounted. Miss those nights, wandering around the concrete devastations all by myself. This was when I still was using headphones when scuttling about, a habit I had to drop during COVID when things starting getting weird out there.
There were just a few times that I thought I was in trouble during that interval, and I either got lucky or the other guy decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble to jump me. There was one interaction with a creature of the streets that was extremely disturbing, one I’ve mentioned only to a few close friends and my old bartender in Astoria. Weird shit, yo.
Don’t ask, won’t talk about it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In 2020, ‘those miniscules’ was published here, which confessed to a bout of trespassing around Newtown Creek’s Dutch Kills tributary. The focus for these shots was the DB Cabin rail bridge. What you don’t see in these shots is who I was trespassing with, an elected official who represented this section of LIC whom I was attempting to ‘sell’ the concept of converting the Montauk Cutoff into public space. Didn’t happen, and now the cutoff is basically a homeless camp. Good show, NYC.
Back tomorrow, likely with another archives post. Good news is that the weather is meant to cure up around Pittsburgh over the next week, meaning I get to resume my happiness.
“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.
Cold and dead
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator is absolutely embarrassed that there’s one shot on display for you today, but as you can see – weather has been a real obstacle for the last couple of weeks. Never fear, I’ll be doing my thing once it warms up a bit – but fair warning – you might see a couple of archives posts at the end of this week.
Back tomorrow.
“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.
It’s like Ragnarok
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Even Moe the Dog is sick of all this winter weather we keep getting plastered by, out here in Pittsburgh. As I’m writing this, it’s currently 8 degrees Fahrenheit and frozen snow pack is everywhere you look. Quite obviously, your humble narrator has been sheltering in place, a task made easy by the fact that we had baked a Lasagna on Friday and thereby didn’t have to worry about ‘what’s for dinner’ for a couple of days.
Really put a crimp in my plans for the weekend, this snow, unfortunately. Bad weather has become a personal affront to me, as I’m positively antsy to get out of the house and be outside with the camera. Instead, I’m stuck.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s pretty, the snow, I’ll give you that. It’s also difficult to walk around on, even without having to worry about your ankle. The current batch is a crunchy white powder which is floating on top of a layer of ice formed from wet slush. This snow event started as a rain storm before the temperatures dropped, so there’s hard pack ice under the powder. No bueno.
By the way, apologies for a mistake that was published yesterday and quickly corrected – I identified yesterday’s holiday as Martin Luther King Day rather than President’s day. Oops. There was some conversation in the comments about this particular holiday, which seems to be suddenly controversial. When did that become a thing?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My splendid isolation period is coming to an end, I’m afraid. It’s time for me to reactivate and get back to my various pursuits. A lecture on the Monongahela Incline will be attended this very evening, for instance.
Moe is not at all happy about this, as it will interrupt the flow of treats into his shovel face if Daddy’s not there to buy his affections.
Back tomorrow.
“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.
Placeholding funicular
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Due to another band of winter weather, your humble narrator greets you on this President’s Day holiday with an archived shot from a couple of weeks back, when the Three Rivers of Pittsburgh were frozen solid. That’s the Duquesne Incline, one of two funicular railways here in Pittsburgh, which I refer to as ‘the red one.’ The other is the yellow one.
Back tomorrow with something a bit more substantial. I hope.
“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 