Archive for the ‘Long Island City’ Category
hath forgotten
It’s 99 for the 7’s original 11.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On April 21st, 1917 – the original 11 stops of the IRT Subway line in Queens opened for business. We call the IRT Flushing line the 7, of course. The first stops on the line in Queens – Vernon/Jackson, Hunters Point Avenue, Court Square, and Queensboro were completed a couple of years earlier – but the stretch along Queens Blvd. and Roosevelt Avenue from 33rd Rawson to 103rd Corona Plaza is 99 years old today.
The NY Times was along for that first ride – leaving Grand Central at 3 p.m. and visiting the first 11 stations of the so called Corona Extension. Check out their reportage here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The original names for these IRT Flushing line stops were Rawson street (33rd), Lowery street (40th), Bliss street (46th), Lincoln street (52nd), Flake street (61st), Fiske Avenue (69th), Broadway (74th), 25th avenue (82nd), Elmhurst avenue, Junction Blvd., and Alburtis avenue (103 Corona Plaza). Willets Point came online in May of 1917, and Main Street in Flushing would open in February of 1928.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I actually spent my afternoon yesterday visiting and photographing all of these locations, but was unable to deliver the finished product in time for the anniversary this year, so archive shots of the 7 – some of which have been presented before – are here in their stead.
The historical development of western Queens from a community of farmers and dairymen to the bustling and crowded community of modernity is tied back to several watershed moments in the early 20th century. The opening of Queensboro in 1909, Sunnyside Yards in 1910, and the Steinway subway tunnels opening for business in 1907.
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Walking Tour – Saturday, April 23rd, 2016 –
First Calvary Cemetery Walk.
Join Newtown Creek Alliance historian Mitch Waxman at First Calvary Cemetery, found in LIC’s Blissville neighborhood along Newtown Creek. Attendance limited to 15 people.
Click here for more info and ticketing.
well realized
The native art form of Queens, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Venturi. That’s technically the name of the flame structure which a stove top burner is meant to form when gas is pumped through it and ignited by a pilot light. This burner was noticed on the corner of Queens Blvd. at 39th street, and won’t be heating up a can of Campbell’s Tomato soup anytime soon.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shattered sink basin was found way over on the northern side of Astoria, and artfully arranged in a tree pit.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Astoria Blvd. offered one this lovely bit of craft, and don’t think I didn’t notice the amount of effort which went into creating the floral motif. Illegal dumping, as I’ve often asserted, is the native art form of Western Queens. It’s done with a panache and attention to both detail and installed composition that you just don’t find elsewhere.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On Skillman Avenue, alongside the Sunnyside Yards, a bit of furniture was posed provocatively for the pleasure of perambulating pedestrians to both peruse and ponder.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Also on Skillman Avenue, a somewhat abstract expressionist amalgam of broken furniture boards was offset by a carefully placed mirror box by some unknown auteur.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Northern Blvd. displayed this graphic composition to me one morning, and I wondered if it was the same artisan responsible for the Astoria Blvd. radial flower that created this piece.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Purely modern – an installation, if you will – this composition was observed along Jackson Avenue in the Court Square area, across the street from the Citigroup Megalith.
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Upcoming Tours –
September 3rd, 2015
Newtown Creek Boat Tour
with Open House NY, click here for details and tickets.
September 20th, 2015
Glittering Realms Walking Tour
with Brooklyn Brainery, click here for details and tickets
strange oceans
Over on Davis Street in LIC.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Early for an appointment, one recently had some time to kill around the Court Square section of LIC, and I decided to visit “used to be 5Ptz” to see what was doing there. Funnily enough, the site is now referred to as the Brownfield Cleanup Program’s “Former Neptune Meter (NYS DEC # C25=41138)” site now, which hearkens one back to the industrial days of yesteryear.
“Transform the Past… Build for the Future.” It says that on the sign.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As you’ll recall, for many years this site was the home of 5ptz, NYC’s premier gallery for street art. The owners of the structure decided not too long ago that it was time to evict the institution and replace it with luxury apartments. Not to worry though, there will be an “affordable” component to the builds, so if you want to live alongside the 7 train’s elevated track and the Sunnyside Yard – it’ll be in reach starting at $2,200 – 2,500 a month for a one bedroom before too long.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As I’ve stated in the past, one does not condemn the owners of the land for seeking the greatest value out of it. It’s their property, and in many ways they should be lauded for maintaining the Neptune Meter building for as long as they did and allowing 5Ptz its long residency. The thing that just smacks one in the face, however, is the fact that their residential development is going to be called 5Pointz Towers.
That just stinks, its bad branding, and rubs the community’s face in the mud for no reason.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Not sure what’s going on in this shot. My first instinct is that there is some sort of prehistoric beast that has been trapped beneath the Neptune Building all of these years, and that a substantial weight must be used in the name of keeping it imprisoned until the new towers rise and permanently cage it once again. I am, of course, an idiot.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unfortunately, my upstairs neighbor who works in the construction field and would be able to instantly recognize this technique and tell me all about it isn’t at home as this post is being prepared. He’s taking his niece to see Cinderella, I’m told.
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Project Firebox 54
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Cruelly grafiti’d, the sentinel stands on the corner of Van Dam and Hunters Point in Queens. It witnesses thousands passing by daily in motor vehicular transit. How many in turn acknowledge it?
The Newtown Pentacle 