Archive for the ‘Blissville’ Category
revenant mother
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
November 15th found Alternate Side Parking regulations working against a humble narrator’s happiness again, and the Mobile Oppression Platform – as I’ve nicknamed my car – needed to be somewhere other than where it was. Thereby, one planned out yet another trash run, heading full bore at both the paper recycling guy, and the metals and electronics guy. One deleted roughly a third of all his material possessions during the ramp up to moving.
Since I was already out and about and at Newtown Creek… why not?Every time might be the last time, after all.
First up was DUPBO. Down Under the Pulaski Bridge Onramp. That’s the Vernon Avenue street end. Not Boulevard, mind you. This street end is a one block avenue.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One navigated the ‘MOP’ or “Mobile Oppression Platform” about, shooting out the window of the vehicle with my zoom lens like some common paparazzi. Free time like the interval experienced on this particular day became increasingly rare for a humble narrator right around this part of November.
The big move to Pittsburgh loomed. Suddenly, an avalanche of “have to’s” erupted and all my attentions were drawn to the exigent circumstances thereby presented.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Every time might be the last time, as I’ve been saying, and you know what? As it turns out, this was pretty much the last time for DUPBO, and for visiting First Calvary Cemetery in Queens’ Blissville section.
I’m totally faklempt about this fact. More 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.
severed aspiration
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
November 12th, and I was hanging out with none other than the webmaster of Forgotten-NY himself – Kevin Walsh. If you don’t follow the fellow, you’re missing out. Kevin practically invented the genre of urban history blogging here in NYC back in the dial up days, and I’m honored to consider him as being my friend.
One of the people whom I had to spend some of my last time in NYC with was Kevin Walsh. Thereby, I drove out to the Forgotten Cave’s secret entrance nearby the Forgotten mansion, and offered to take him wherever he wanted to go.
Kevin wrote about the day we spent at his Forgotten-NY site, which you can check out here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I should mention that the car I got, and I had virtually zero choice in color or trim – it’s what the factory sent us, take it or leave it, due to the whole supply chain thing – looks a great deal like the sort of thing you’d expect Star Wars Stormtroopers to drive around in. It’s white with black trim. It looks like Empire or First Order technology, so I decided to fashion a nickname for the vehicle as being the ‘MOP’ or “Mobile Oppression Platform.” Someday, I’ll mount a laser cannon on the roof bars… someday… right now, I’m debating whether the “MOP’s” all season radials will get me through the winter or if I’ve got to drop a bunch of money for snow tires.
Decisions, decisions. Despite what literally every New Yorker thinks, Pittsburgh actually get’s less snow than NYC does. It’s because of where they are in relationship to the Appalachias, and the fact that NYC sits next to… Y’know… the ocean. It does get colder for longer periods, apparently, with deep freezes persisting a bit longer than they do in the coastal areas of NY and NJ.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Kevin Walsh hungers occasionally, which is a dark and terrible moment for any nearby. Thunderously, He demanded entry to the Bantry Bay Inn on Greenpoint Avenue, and so did the trees of Calvary tremble as he passed. Within the establishment, Innkeeper Clooney answered his demands for sustenance and grool. Soon sated, the webmaster of Forgotten-NY returned to his normal state of geniality. We returned to the Mobile Oppression Platform, and a humble narrator did convert the webmaster back to the Forgotten Cave in Eastern Queens.
The Forgotten Cave isn’t in Little Neck, which Kevin’s propaganda would have you believe. It’s location is secret. It’s where the Forgotten Computer, the Forgot Alert, and the Forgotten Cycle are stored. Several of the specialized Forgotten costumes may be observed – the underwater one, the space one, and the Iron Forgettatron are – in particular – deserving of the attentions of his few visitors.
“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.
slate tombstone
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
October 8th was one of the days in Long Island City that passerby might have noticed a pile of black sackcloth being carried along by the wind. Closer inspection would have revealed a humble narrator clothed in his street cassock, a filthy black raincoat flapping about in the poison breeze. One was enjoying an afternoon constitutional, and occasionally startling the elderly and their dogs if they gazed upon my countenance while passing by. A face for radio, that’s me.
One was feeling particularly invigorated, and it was a beautiful day for a stroll over to a hopelessly polluted industrial zone.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Somebody left their shop door open, and I cracked out an exposure or two of the scene within while shambling past. Neat!
In accordance with recent policy shifts here at HQ in Astoria, one had timed the walk for the late afternoon. This was around 5 p.m., give or take. In October, the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself lobs about in the sky at fortuitous angularities relative to the street grid of New York City. Not so much in January, so take advantage when you can.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the torments which my friends endure revolves around me having led them through over hill and dale and onto hell’s favorite streets, baking in the sun the whole way, whereupon I present them with a description of our destination as being “only 2-3 miles more to go” followed by “but, it’s all down hill from here.” To wit: the shot above. Several of you reading this just groaned.
What you’re actually looking at above is the hydrological reservoir and surrounding sloped basin of the Dutch Kills tributary of Newtown Creek. The flat lowlands around the waterway were wetlands, or “waste meadows” as they called them in the old days. Behind me, and further up the hill from where I was standing, is Greenpoint Avenue. Greenpoint Avenue connects with, and used to incorporate Roosevelt Avenue, which went all the way to Flushing back in the days of the decadent Dutch in the form of a turnpike. Greenpoint Avenue was set up as a high ground ridge road which connected two isolated waterfront colonies separated by bogs, swamps, and grass land.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
1940 is when the monstrosity pictured above, which largely follows Borden Avenue’s far more ancient path, was opened for traffic. Formerly, the horse or oxen drawn traffic followed Borden or Hunters Point Avenue on its path to the East River, where ferry or boat transport would complete the journey of passengers or cargo to Manhattan from Queens. Back then, there were shops and restaurants and inns along the route. Houses too, a few blocks back.
When the City bound traffic disappeared onto the Long Island Expressway and into the similarly aged Queens Midtown Tunnel, it blighted the area, and an already onerous catalog of industries in this area got worse in terms of character and pollution.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When you’re on the south side of the Long Island Expressway, you’ve entered Blissville. That’s the name of the neighborhood. Really.
This neighborhood, and many of its residents, have a special place in my heart. I like having beers at Bantry Bay on Greenpoint Avenue, and I can point you at a very comfortable socialist bench nearby Review Avenue (it was donated to the Blissville Community by the campaign of Jonathan Bailey, who ran as a Democratic Socialist for City Council in the last cycle, so “socialist bench.”)
I am unaware of any public furniture donations to Blissville from the Republican Candidate for the seat, Marvin Jeffcoat.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One such as myself is probably the only person in Brooklyn or Queens happy to see the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge opening at 5:30 p.m. on a weekday, but there you are. I enjoyed the show, and waited patiently, unlike everybody else, for the thing to resume “bridging” after it finished “drawbridging.”
More 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.
local dangers
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First off – Newtown Creek Alliance will be honoring John Lipscomb of Riverkeeper, Christine Holowacz, and… your humble narrator… tonight, (the 20th) at the annual “Tidal Toast” fundraising event. Ticketing information can be found here, and the tax deductible donation of your ticket money will help to fund NCA’s ongoing mission to Reveal, Restore, and Revitalize Newtown Creek. NCA has been at the center of my public life over the last 15 years, and I hope you can make it. This is officially my finale, in terms of public facing events, and the end of this chapter of my life.
On the 23rd of September, a humble narrator set out for what ended up being an extremely long walk. Upon leaving HQ, a black cat with yellow eyes skated past me. Such an occurrence is always indicative of a good photo day coming. You have to learn how to listen to Queens, I always say, and recognize her omens.
The late model pick up truck pictured above was the first cool thing that she showed me. I’m going to miss Queens, but I don’t think she’ll miss me. I don’t think anyone in NYC is actually going to miss “me,” rather they’ll miss the idea of me. I think, on the other hand, that there will be a lot of people happy to see me go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My next stop was at “hole reliable” at Sunnyside Yards, which lived up to the name I’ve assigned it. Hole Reliable is a surveyor’s aperture cut out of the plate steel fencing over the Harold Interlocking.
Wonders, I tell you, wonders.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My pathway continued on, south to Greenpoint Avenue and then into Blissville, which carried me over the Long Island Expressway.
Why do I think no one will miss me, and why some will be happy to see me go? Experience. It’s the way of NYC. When somebody leaves the megalopolis, or dies here, there’s a lot of hugging and handshaking for a little while but then life goes on. As far as the “happy to see me go” people, I’m either in their way right now, or perceived as a wizened scold whose knowledge of past events and the circumstances is inconvenient to the current dialectic on offer.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Down Under the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge Onramp, in Long Island City’s Blissville section, that’s where my next stop was. Railroad Avenue, specifically. I call it DUGABO.
Melancholy actually rules my roost at the moment. On the one hand, ebullient excitement for all of the challenges and opportunities that relocating to a different part of the country offers is undeniable. Conversely, I’m leaving behind everything I know and everything I’ve ever known. It’s manic and depressing – all at the same time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a reason that they named this particular street in Long Island City “Railroad Avenue.” During my travels on Amtrak last year, one of the realizations I enjoyed was the one that stated “Everywhere you go, there’s a Railroad Avenue.” Really. I found one along Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont, of all places.
I’ve been forced to craft a little speech in order to save time. It starts off with “Not to get all Doctor Who here, but we’re all different people at different times of our lives…” Deep thoughts have accompanied the underway diving expedition of ridding myself of the material detritus of a lifetime in preparation for this move. Over all, I like to think that I’ve done some good, in this most recent version of myself.
The trash bags in front of HQ have included yearbooks from schools that some early variant of me attended, the toys and tools acquired over a half century by several of the “me’s”, and clothing worn by a younger man which no longer fits.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saying all that, a humble narrator is currently exhausted. A thousand thousand small but important details are being maintained in active thought, and a never ending landslide of physical task work, that I’ve scheduled around garbage pickup days, is underway at HQ.
There’s no way that NYC is going to let me go without an attempt at slamming some kind of whammy at me on the way out – that’s my governing terror. One of the reasons I’m so exhausted is that I have my radar on at full power every time I leave HQ just to buy a bagel.
More 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.
blazed effulgently
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Shlepping along the increasingly mean streets of Queens, one found himself opposite St. Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church on Greenpoint Avenue, at a spot where a concrete retaining wall of about 36 inches in height can be found. Given that there is a dearth of actual street seating – no benches, for instance – hereabouts, one decided to take a load off for a few minutes and watch the Fords go by. There’s a lot of Fords, and Chevy’s, and everything else since the Long Island Expressway entrance and exit ramps are on this corner.
St. Raphael’s and its congregants provided me with one of the best “just stumbled upon it” photo days I’ve ever experienced here in Western Queens. Check out this Flickr album from 2010.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
90% of the time, I’m literally just wandering around. The other 10% is “I’m going to go to” with a plan, but you can’t force light and atmosphere to do your bidding. Over the last decade, one has learned that there are certain parts of “the study area” which are highly dynamic and regularly offer a cornucopia of random photographic subjects.
Nearby an FDNY facility in the LIC IBZ (industrial business zone) this ambulance/truck was encountered. Its insignia identifies it as belonging to New Jersey’s Ringwood Underwater Search and Recovery – which seems to be a non profit team of divers. What it was doing in Queens? Who knows? A lot of Jersey people will drive into Queens to find a place to park their vehicle, then take the 7 into Manhattan.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In terms of fertile areas for photographic exploitation, especially ones which are a short walk from HQ, Sunnyside Yards almost never fails me. There’s a shot just waiting for you at almost anyone of the many fence holes that I catalog.
Given that heading south out of Astoria towards Newtown Creek or Brooklyn’s Greenpoint means an inevitable crossing of the gargantua rail yard… I get a lot of shots of trains.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The construction projects related to “East Side Access” have been going on for a generation at this point. It’s fairly routine for a road and or sidewalk around the yards to be blocked and or fenced off for some sort of construction project.
Luckily for me, on the particular night this shot was captured (which was the 18th of February, by the way) the construction guys left the fence open and I was able to crack out a couple of shots of their gear.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sunnyside Yards allows few junctures that you can make north/south crossings via. Queens Plaza, Honeywell Street, 39th/Harold, 43rd street, and 48th street. The latter is where an employee’s entrance to the yards can be found. Recent construction efforts at that location have seen the local street drains become clogged.
The flooding at this spot has allowed big piles of slippery mud to accrete. It’s been reported and the local authorities notified, but nobody cares and nothing matters.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sigh… keeping an eye on it.
When the Governor is trying to sell you on giving $850 million of tax money to an NFL team in her home district for a new stadium, remember this picture. Also – the collapsing bulkhead along Newtown Creek, and the general shit level of infrastructure maintenance you see everywhere in NYC.
The Newtown Creekathon returns!
On April 10th, the all day death march around Newtown Creek awakens from its pandemic slumber.
DOOM! DOOM! Fully narrated by Mitch Waxman and Will Elkins of Newtown Creek Alliance, this one starts in LIC at the East River, heads through Blissville, the happy place of Industrial Maspeth, dips a toe in Ridgewood and then plunges desperately into Brooklyn. East Williamsburgh and then Greenpoint are visited and a desperate trek to the East River in Brooklyn commences. DOOM! Click here for more information and to reserve a spot – but seriously – what’s wrong with you that you’re actually considering doing this? DOOM!
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
The Newtown Creekathon returns!
On April 10th, the all day death march around Newtown Creek awakens from its pandemic slumber.
DOOM! DOOM! Fully narrated by Mitch Waxman and Will Elkins of Newtown Creek Alliance, this one starts in LIC at the East River, heads through Blissville, the happy place of Industrial Maspeth, dips a toe in Ridgewood and then plunges desperately into Brooklyn. East Williamsburgh and then Greenpoint are visited and a desperate trek to the East River in Brooklyn commences. DOOM! Click here for more information and to reserve a spot – but seriously – what’s wrong with you that you’re actually considering doing this? DOOM!
“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 