Archive for the ‘NY 11101’ Category
Modern Corridor
Want to see something cool? Bring a camera, and follow me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When I decided to start doing walking tours of the Newtown Creek watershed a few years ago, I found myself presented with a significant organizational issue. There’s a different story to be told about Maspeth than there is about Greenpoint (also, there are arguably two Greenpoints), yet… the two communities are inextricably linked up. Same thing with Bushwick and Ridgewood, or the residential centers at the Creek’s intersection with the East River. 3.8 miles long by around a mile wide, the Creeklands are vast when on foot. There is also SO much information to pass along, not just about the Creek’s past, but about all the stuff that’s going on right now- EPA, Superfund, the cool things my pals in NCA are doing with Green Infrastructure and Citizen Science…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My solution was to simply to connect the stories of these places up along the ancient roads or paths along which they grew, and follow the water from one borough to another. “Poison Cauldron” does the Greenpoint to Bushwick route, “Insalubrious Valley” follows a colonial era turnpike path, “Glittering Realms” moves from residential East River Greenpoint back to the industrial zone along another colonial pathway, and “13 Steps around Dutch Kills” traces the Queens tributary back to the Creek and ends at its smaller counterpart Whale Creek in Brooklyn.
The new one- “Modern Corridor”- is all about Hunters Point, one of the least known sections of New York City, which sits directly opposite the Shining City of midtown Manhattan.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This “Modern Corridor” walking tour starts at the old city center, nearby Jackson Avenue and Court Square, and explores the brave new world rising from the ashes of a 19th century industrial titan- the independent municipality of Long Island City. Writ large, the growing community of the titan real estate development which has reshaped the colonial vintage section of Queens called Hunters Point will be encountered, and one of the finest parks in the entire city visited. This park is built upon a significant piece of rail infrastructure which once allowed train cars to be loaded onto barges for maritime transport to Manhattan and points west.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Then we walk through to the proverbial wrong side of the tracks, and to the industrial machine surrounding the infamous Newtown Creek. Former home to sugar refineries and cargo docks, rail yards and powerhouses, this will be the future home of thousands who will live in the forthcoming Hunters Point South development which has already begun construction. See it as it is, before the towers rise and the land is reshaped to modern wants and desires.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Skirting along the Creek, you’ll see vast infrastructure, visit DUPBO (Down under the Pulaski Bridge Onramp), and walk over railroad tracks as we head back to the modern incarnation of Long Island City. Bring your cameras, as your friends won’t believe you when you try to describe the places you’ve witnessed. Closed toe shoes are also highly recommended, as is a hat or parasol as there will be little to no shelter from the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself. The walk will be approximately 2 hours in length and will cross all sorts of ground. There will be one flight of stairs involved.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We’ll be passing from the 21st century all the way back to the 1600’s with particular emphasis on the late 19th century, when the fellow pictured above- the notorious Patrick “Battle-Ax” Gleason, served as the last Mayor of Long Island City. Gleason was personally responsible for the construction of the exquisite PS1 schoolhouse pictured in the second shot above, which nearly bankrupted LIC- amongst other imbroglios. Dogged by claims and accusations (and at least one conviction) of corruption- Gleason used to sit in a barber chair outside the Miller Hotel- which is today the LIC Crab House- and hold court with constituent and passerby alike. This was his favorite spot, directly across the street from the LIRR train and ferry terminal. He told those he met to avoid addressing him as “Mayor”, instructing them instead to “Just call me Paddy.”
Hope you can come along, this Saturday at 10- meetup at Court Square Station on Jackson Avenue.
walked abroad
Another industrial corridor, just another day in Queens.
-photo by Mitch Waxman
Clinging to queer ideations about the storied past, and to the ceramic bricks of the former Swingline factory on Skillman Avenue one fine and recent morning, your humble narrator began to accept the fact that he’s been working too hard. For the last several weeks, I’ve been up at sunrise, not going to bed until well after midnight, and the intervening hours have been more or less filled with various projects, deadlines, and curtailed wanderings. Additionally, chaos and argumentative situations have colored my perceptions.
-photo by Mitch Waxman
Unlike certain others, my “busy time” of the year is during the summer, with nearly every weekend bringing another walking tour to conduct. The usual schedule of meetings, along with institutional obligations along the Creek and the larger Harbor, have kept me busy in the evenings. Suffice to say that my game is a purely reactive one at the moment, as I stumble from place to place and show up “a day late and a dollar short.” This is a somewhat untenable situation, and an enormous backlog of tasks gets a bit longer every day.
-photo by Mitch Waxman
Accordingly, for the rest of this week, a series of short postings will follow this one. Its the holiday thing, I guess, and strong desires to fire up the BBQ and drink a beer rule the day. One would also enjoy just sitting in a dark room while staring at a blank wall for just a little bit. Time to regroup, regathering, refocus. It’ll be short posts through the holiday weekend, lords and ladies, as I try to take little break and catch up on what I should be doing instead.
trivial impressions
Walking in DUPBO, Down Under the Pulaski Bridge Onramp, in today’s post.
-photo by Mitch Waxman
A dish has two sides, as my dad would remind me whenever my chores included washing dishes, as does my beloved Newtown Creek. The well documented Brooklyn side in Greenpoint teems with eager humans, all of whom wish for a day when a cleaned up Newtown Creek will offer them a playground for kayaking and horticultural pursuits. No critique of such aims is offered or implied by the statement, it just “is.” The Queens side, however, is largely ignored.
-photo by Mitch Waxman
To be fair, folks in Greenpoint can find digs that are less than a block away from the waterway, while over in Queens the population centers are a good distance back from the bulkheads. Most of the waterfront property is cordoned off by corporate fence lines, rail tracks, and highways. The neighborhoods of the northern bank also tend to be clustered around transit arteries like Northern or Queens Boulevards. Additionally, the human infestation here in Queens seems to prefer not to think about Newtown Creek, considering it Brooklyn’s problem.
-photo by Mitch Waxman
This drives a humble narrator near to insanity, of course, as the Newtown Creek derives its name from the Queens side and it is one of the three primary reasons that Long Island City became the “workshop of America” by the “WW1” phase of the second Thirty Years War during the 20th century (1- LIRR, 2- East River, 3- Newtown Creek). The scene pictured in today’s post, incidentally, is part of the FreshDirect truck fleet in DUPBO. FreshDirect, like most of the companies based along the Creek these days, ignores the three advantageous reasons for basing themselves here- rather they’re here simply for proximity to the Midtown Tunnel and access to Midtown Manhattan.
bewildering jarring
Today’s post is of an entirely pedestrian manner.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For about a year, I’ve been noticing this odd pattern all around the Newtown Pentacle, wherein a seemingly discarded single shoe is left conspicuously placed. As mentioned often, my particular curse is to notice everything, and these castaway garments have captured no small amount of my attentions. What’s odd about this is not that someone is discarding an item in the street, a common enough occurrence, its that shoes come in pairs and you seldom discharge one from service but keep its antipode. The boot in the shot above was in Astoria, at the corner of 43rd street and 34th avenue.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Down Under the Pulaski Bridge Onramp, or DUPBO as I refer to it, is a spot beloved by those that engage in the native art form of Queens- illegal dumping- and it is unsurprising to see entire wardrobes of clothing abandoned here. I once saw an entire dining room set down here, posed as if it was awaiting the gathering of a family to dinner.
Yet, once again, you find a single shoe.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just as the weather began to warm up in 2013, a change in the pattern was observed.
Suddenly shoes began to appear in matched pairs.
This shot is from Northern Blvd. nearby Steinway Street in Queens. At first, it seems almost normal, just a pair of abandoned shoes. Unfortunately, that’s what triggers another of my curses- which is to ask “Why?” Why would somebody remove their shoes on a busy glass strewn road, and in front of a gas station? What is the logical chain of dominoes which fell into place that brought this footwear to this particular spot? Was it the Rapture?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Presumptively, the fellow who carefully placed this abandoned set of kicks on 30th avenue and 45th street had another pair ready to go, but why not change them out at home? My habits, at least, include the sustained usage of footwear when out of the house. It is one of my deeply held beliefs that unless you’re arriving at the beach, park, or a pool and find yourself removing your shoes when out of the house- you’re either in need of medical attention or being arrested and searched (or visiting someone who made the calamitous decision to buy light colored carpets). I stay laced, but that’s me.
I grew up in a version of New York which considered smashing beer bottles on the sidewalk as being huge fun, and a City in which wearing heavy boots was an absolute necessity which had nothing to do with fashion.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The pair above were encountered in on Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside, and for once I had a witness along (Hi Tim) who can attest that they were neatly set out upon a stoop. Probably some generous soul, we surmised, setting out used shoes for the needy. Still, I wonder, and need to invoke my secondary curse. “Why”?
Personally, I have never set a pair of shoes on the curb with such a motive, and am puzzled by the offer of such back handed charity. Also, having personally known “the needy”, I can report that I’ve never seen one of them grab a pair of curbside shoes and say “huzzah.”
What is the worst part of going bowling, and if you need to wear someone else’s shoes, would it be any of these?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just the other day, on Kingsland Avenue in Brooklyn- nearby Greenpoint Avenue and the Newtown Creek- a single shoe awaited me as I shambled past. It was sporty model, meant for a right foot. Back to my first curse, the one which compels me to carry a camera around and obsessively record everything encountered, and an odd detail about each and every shoe displayed in these shots- which is that they all have their laces arranged neatly.
Just to reiterate my belief that there’s something odd going on here, and demonstrate that this is “a thing” – check out the great Cecil Adams over at “The Straight Dope” struggle with the phenomena.
Want to see something cool? Summer 2013 Walking Tours-
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, June 29, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
Modern Corridor- Saturday, July 13, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets on sale soon.
rather discouraging
Today’s post points out that you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You may have noticed that I’ve not been posting too much about my beloved Newtown Creek of late, which is of course, the titular focus of this blog. Haven’t been ignoring the old girl at all, she’s still very much in the cross hairs, instead I’ve been attempting to cut down a bit on my exposure to it and explore the railed tendrils and vehicular paths which snake out and around the waterway on their way eastwards into Brooklyn and Queens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is a difficult thing to do, of course- but as I don’t live next door to Newtown Creek, I enjoy the luxury of allowing its hazards to eke out of my system periodically. Personally, I thrive in its post apocalyptic miasma, but prudence demands that one take a break every now and then. This is a luxury, as mentioned, one not enjoyed by entire communities in North Brooklyn.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Meetings of Newtown Creek Alliance, Newtown Creek Monitoring Committee and other groups regularly draw me into the insalubrious valley, an industrial and remote spot known for mephitic vapors and unwholesome sights, and whenever I get the chance to just hang around the slightly less toxic neighborhood I live in- I grasp, and gasp, at it.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? June 2013 Walking Tours-
The Poison Cauldron– Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, June 29, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
The Newtown Pentacle 