Archive for the ‘Gowanus Canal’ Category
loftiest reward
Twirling, ever twirling.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Last week, occasion brought me to Red Hook to work on an assignment, and in accordance with my habit – a hasty retreat to the Smith 9th street station was enacted. One does not wish to find himself in Red Hook after dark, because… y’know, vampires. Just because you think they’re a myth doesn’t mean that your bloodless corpse won’t be found floating in the Gowanus early the next morning, nor that you won’t awaken as a starving lich on some coroners table in downtown Brooklyn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Wonders can be observed here, in Red Hook, as it’s not all Lovecraftian horror around these parts. Well… allow me to rephrase that, as the area surrounding the Gowanus Expressway is fairly antithetical to human existence – but that’s why it makes such a great home for that colony of south Brooklyn vampires which have plagued the area for better than a century. It is said that the vampires arrived with a grain shipment from Germany in the early 1900’s, quickly established themselves in the neighborhood, and never left. Don’t be prejudiced against them, though, Vampires have to pay their tax just like everyone else. Dead or alive, no one beats the IRS.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Legend has it that the Quadrozzi company has finally evicted the squatting Nosferatu from their nearby grain terminal building, where these vampires had been firmly ensconced for better than half a century. Speculation about whether or not these displaced nocturnes have made a new home in the high flying rafters of the Gowanus Expressway (neighborhood legend suggests that they hang upside down like bats in the perennial shadows of the roadway) remains just that, although area residents offer the complaint that the local cops won’t investigate anything that even remotely sounds like an exsanguination nor answer complaints about missing dogs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The living population of Red Hook actually miss the presence of NYC’s Five Families around these parts. Common knowledge states that the reason why the Vatican has so long tolerated the presence of the Italian Mafia is because of their track record when it comes to controlling and eliminating Vampires, which are the natural enemies of clerical and monkish populations. There are no greater Vampire killers than these racketeers, whose ranks have become sadly diminished around their former stronghold at the Gowanus.
Thanks Giuliani, thanks a whole lot.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
fled through
Break time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A single image greets you this morning, as will be the case through the Thanksgiving holiday.
A humble narrator requires a break periodically, to recharge and reinvent. Worry not, however, for pithy commentary and puckish intent returns on the Monday following Thanksgiving – the first of December.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
so dissimilar
Places to go, no one to see.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over at Newtown Creek’s LIC tributary, Dutch Kills, a property owner has been clearing away a stand of poison ivy and feral trees which have been occluding views of the turning basin (47th avenue at 29th street). There’s a bit of controversy about the property owner’s plans to erect a fence line here, as it seems to be NYS property, but this is Queens so who cares? If this was North Brooklyn, there’d be hunger strikers and hipster girls would be chaining themselves to the bulkheads. Here, the primary impact on the community is the loss of a good spot for weed smoking used by students from a nearby college and high school.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Last weekend, Working Harbor Committee did a tour of the Gowanus Bay and Canal which I was onboard for. Conversation with members of the Gowanus Conservancy allowed me to utter aloud one of the “faux pas” for which I am famous. My statement that Newtown Creek is a FAR bigger problem than their troubled waterway was greeted with “oh, here we go.” I explained that its geography, and that Newtown Creek and its tributaries simply occupy more space than the Gowanus. Closest analogy for the Gowanus, in my opinion, is actually Dutch Kills – multitudes of bridges, overflown by a highway, narrow channel, and abandoned bulkheads.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Got me thinking about Luyster Creek and all the other largely abandoned industrial canals in Queens that never get mentioned, of course. Flushing River, Anable Basin, and the rest seldom receive much notice from regulators. They’ve got the Black Mayonnaise and the VOC’s, the CSO’s and PCB’s. Heck, the entire alphabet can found floating around in New York Harbor. Staten Island’s Kill Van Kull is so rich in pesticides that it could likely wipe out every roach in Manhattan.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
open portal
The Third Street Bridge over the Gowanus Canal, and some demolition type action, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unlike the other Gowanus Bridges which have been featured this last week, there’s only one shot of the Third Street span in today’s post. I got these whilst standing in the Whole Foods Supermarket parking lot, one misty day, and unfortunately for the bridge -I was a bit distracted by a whole other show that was being performed on the far bank.
from nyc.gov
The Third Street Bridge is a double-leaf Scherzer rolling lift bascule, supporting Third Street over the Gowanus Canal in the Borough of Brooklyn. It supports two vehicular traffic lanes, each approximately 16 feet wide, and two sidewalks, each six feet wide.
Initially constructed around 1905, the bridge was comprehensively rehabilitated in 1986. This included new mechanical and electrical equipment, and a partial structural rehabilitation.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The former Burns Brothers Coal pockets, an iconic feature for area natives, were in the process of being carelessly demolished. I say careless based on both the amount of material which was splashing into the water and the utter lack of dust mitigation. The latter is curable by setting up a hose and lawn sprinkler, but that might add a few bucks onto the contractors bill, so… “Pardonmeforasking” did a great post which includes shots of the former industrial site, when it was still there, which is linked to below.
from pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com
Barely days after the demolition of the iconic silos at Carroll Street on the shores of the Gowanus Canal, comes news that the Burns Brothers coal pockets are in the process of being torn down. The photo above was taken yesterday by my friend Eymund Diegel. By today, Friday, the concrete silos opposite Whole Foods at 6th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue will be history.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Regardless of the sloppy manner, the work being performed was quite dramatic. Whole Foods customers were actually dismounting their bicycles, if you can believe such a thing. They stopped, used their phones to record the process, shook their heads and remounted their bikes. Most rode away in the direction of Park Slope, on the sidewalk, eschewing the use of the bike lanes. The impression I gathered was that the majority had to attempt to complete other high minded and or self satisfying chores, after accomplishing their grocery shopping.
from 6tocelebrate.org
Coal pockets were used to move and store the coal from barges on the canal to wagons and, later, trucks for delivery. The eight pockets closest to the water were built be- tween 1915 and 1924, and by 1938 there were 10 more. These 40- and 50-foot tall structures are no longer used today but remain as relics of the canal’s crucial transportation role.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
There’s a Newtown Creek walking tour, and a Magic Lantern show, coming up.
Saturday, June 7th, 13 Steps around Dutch Kills with Atlas Obscura.
Click here for tickets and more info.
Wednesday, June 11th, Newtown Creek Magic Lantern Show with Brooklyn Brainery.
Click here for tickets and more info.
out into
The Ninth Street Bridge, over the Gowanus Canal, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yesterday, the Hamilton Avenue drawbridge which provides entry to and from the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn was described. Last Sunday, a humble narrator found his way on to an Open House NY boat trip to the troubled waterway, which penetrated as far back as the Fifth Street Basin.
from nyc.gov
This lift bridge replaced a bascule span that was in an advanced state of deterioration. The current structure provides an improved wider channel in the canal for unobstructed vessel passage. The bridge has state-of-the-art, electronically-controlled lifting machinery that should provide 50 years of reliable service. The bridge carries 3 lanes of traffic; 2 lanes westbound and 1 eastbound.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Special attention was paid to the opening and closing of the two drawbridges encountered. There are five movable bridges over the Gowanus, as well as two static ones.
There’s actually two bridges in these shots, as the Ninth Street Bridge is overflown by the Smith 9th Street Subway station viaduct.
from wikipedia
The opaqueness of the Gowanus water obstructs sunlight to one third of the six feet needed for aquatic plant growth. Rising gas bubbles betray the decomposition of sewage sludge that on a warm, sultry day produces the canal’s notable ripe stench. The murky depths of the canal conceal the remnants of its industrial past: cement, oil, mercury, lead, multiple volatile organic compounds,[10] PCBs, coal tar, and other contaminants. A 2007 Science Line report found gonorrhea and unidentified organisms in the canal. In 1951, with the opening of the elevated Gowanus Expressway over the waterway, easy access for trucks and cars catalyzed industry slightly, but with 150,000 vehicles passing overhead each day, the expressway also deposits tons of toxic emissions into the air and water beneath.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Ninth Street span is a lift bridge, which replaced a failing drawbridge that occupied this spot for decades. The construction of all this gear was pretty recent.
from schiavoneconstruction.com
Reconstruction included demolition, removal and disposal of existing rolling leaf bascule bridge superstructure, machinery and controls, piers and abutments. Construction of new lift bridge included superstructure, machinery, control house, fender system, piers and abutments. Twenty stepped diameter caissons were installed to rock depths of up to 180 feet. All work had to be performed beneath existing NYCT elevated structure requiring temporary support of existing columns.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was pretty exciting seeing the roadway just take off and start rising. The operation was nowhere near as noisy as I would have thought, but then again, I was on an idling ferry boat and the sounds of the nearby Gowanus Expressway really travel across this former floodplain.
from epa.gov
There are five east–west bridge crossings over the canal, at Union Street, Carroll Street, Third Street, Ninth Street, and Hamilton Avenue. The Gowanus Expressway and the Culver Line of the New York City Subway pass overhead. The canal is located in a mixed residential-commercial-industrial area, and it borders several residential neighborhoods, including Gowanus, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Red Hook. The waterfront properties abutting the canal are primarily commercial and industrial.
Environmental sampling performed before this RI revealed that the sediments throughout the Gowanus Canal are contaminated with a variety of pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and heavy metals (USACE, 2004, 2006; GEI, 2007). No environmental remediation activities have been performed to date.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Self confessed and avowed as an infrastructure freak, seeing the cable mechanisms climbing the towers was actually kind of thrilling. This is the sort of thing you normally observe from the landward side.
from wikipedia
A vertical-lift bridge or lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck.
The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swing-span bridge. Generally speaking they cost less to build for longer moveable spans. The counterweights in a vertical lift are only required to be equal to the weight of the deck, whereas bascule bridge counterweights must weigh several times as much as the span being lifted. As a result, heavier materials can be used in the deck, and so this type of bridge is especially suited for heavy railroad use.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Brooklyn kid that I once was, one has imagined it would be great fun to ride the roadway of one of these lift bridges as it ascended. Turns out that would be foolhardy in the extreme, as the actual tonnages and pressures being levered around are positively cyclopean and could easily squish a man flat.
Last year, in East Boston, one of these lift bridges actually ate somebody.
from nydailynews.com
Police say the woman was crossing the Meridian Street Bridge, which spans East Boston and Chelsea, at about 12:21 p.m. Tuesday. As she started across, the lift operator opened the bridge so a boat could pass beneath the span, the Boston Globe reported.
The movement jolted the unidentified woman off her feet, leaving her hanging from one open end of the bridge, cops say. The woman began screaming for help and the operator, cops say, closed the span in response. Instead of helping, the woman was crushed to death between the massive steel plates.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For some reason, the NYC DOT is rather vague about certain things.
Once upon a time, they’d brag to anybody that would listen about how many thousands of times a drawbridge opened or closed, citing the smooth exchange of maritime and vehicular traffic streams as a proof of public monies being well invested. These days, they proudly proclaim automotive traffic numbers, as in this 2010 report which describes the Ninth Street Lift Bridge as having allowed some 13,362 toll free automotive crossings.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
May of 1910 saw a true conflagration right around here. A 4 alarm fire erupted at the Cranford Company, immolating oil and gasoline tanks, which drew the attentions of both terrestrial and maritime firefighter. Check out the NY Times piece below for all the sordid details. The losses are described as $150,000, which would be around $3,695,387.30 today.
from at nytimes.com
Firemen from engine companies responding to four alarms and the members of three fireboat companies last night fought a blaze which completely destroyed the building of the Cranford Company, contractors in asphalt and tar work, at Ninth Street and the Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As far as I’ve been able to dope out, the spot that this Ninth Street Bridge occupies is in the vicinity of where the colonial era “Cole’s Mill” was located. A mill and mill pond supposedly built by John Rapelye and an army of slaves out of the aboriginal marshlands, it then came into the possession of a fellow named Jordan Cole – hence “Cole’s Mill.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
More recently, roughly a century ago, we’d be enjoying a nice view of the Tartar Chemical Company’s works.
Tartar is something that most modern people would associate with a sauce used on fried fish, but it was one of the wonder chemicals of the 19th century. Essentially, the Tartar Chemical works were an acid factory.
from 1909’s “Contributions From The Sanitary Research Laboratory And Sewage Experiment Station,” courtesy google books
The upper part of the canal is badly polluted by sewage. At the lower end the pollution is largely industrial wastes mixed with more or less sewage.
As a rule the amount of nitrogen present varies directly with the amount of sewage. The other constituents of sewage vary with the nitrogen. Therefore when the nitrogen is greatly increased without a corresponding increase in the other sewage substances it is an indication of industrial wastes. This is exactly what happens in that portion of the canal opposite the Tartar Chemical Company. On talking with one of their employees, we learned that crude argol is digested with sulphuric acid, and that the waste product is an acid sludge running high in sulphates and nitrogen.
In the first series below, Ninth Street the oxygen consumed curve went up rapidly. In the second series the curve had a downward tendency. The starch factory, not running on Sunday, had no waste to discharge at that time. The abnormal values for the oxygen consumed are probably due to gluten in the wastes discharged by the starch factory.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Three out of five down. Guess that we’re heading over to Third Street, on foot this time, in tomorrow’s post.
from wikipedia
Tartaric acid and its derivatives have a plethora of uses in the field of pharmaceuticals. For example, tartaric acid has been used in the production of effervescent salts, in combination with citric acid, in order to improve the taste of oral medications. The potassium antimonyl derivative of the acid known as tartar emetic is included, in small doses, in cough syrup as an expectorant.
Tartaric acid also has several applications for industrial use. The acid has been observed to chelate metal ions such as calcium and magnesium. Therefore, the acid has served in the farming and metal industries as a chelating agent for complexing micronutrients in soil fertilizer and for cleaning metal surfaces consisting of aluminum, copper, iron, and alloys of these metals, respectively.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
There’s a Newtown Creek walking tour, and a Magic Lantern show, coming up.
Saturday, June 7th, 13 Steps around Dutch Kills with Atlas Obscura.
Click here for tickets and more info.
Wednesday, June 11th, Newtown Creek Magic Lantern Show with Brooklyn Brainery.
Click here for tickets and more info.
The Newtown Pentacle 