Archive for the ‘Maspeth Plank Road’ Category
Aces
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One found himself within the confines of the City of Greater New York a couple of weeks ago, tending to some personal business.
A point was made of visiting some of the old familiar places, which obviously included the fabulous Newtown Creek, and Astoria. I had the car with me, which ended up being a bit of a curse, but I don’t like to fly and there was a not inconsiderable amount of cargo which I’d need to transport back to Pittsburgh, at the end of the trip.
Seven dozen bagels. Some of them were for my personal cache, and immediately bagged up and frozen for later deployment upon my return to Pittsburgh. Others were requested, from friends in Pittsburgh. Two weeks later, the Mobile Oppression Platform still smells of ‘everything bagel.’
Check me out, I’m an interstate bagel trafficker now.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A friend put me up at his crib in Middle Village, so that was my home base for the interval. Beer was quaffed at my old ‘local’ in Astoria in the evening, and I ran into a bunch of the old neighborhood types and got caught up. I kept it a bit quiet that I’d be back, but saw a few of the people whom I’ve made it a point of staying in touch with.
Nothing but trouble greeted me when trying to use the car to get around, and at one point I just drove back to Middle Village and parked the thing. I called a ride share taxi to get me out of that transportation desert and took a walk around my beloved creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I stopped off at Newtown Creek Alliance HQ in Greenpoint and caught up with my old crew. NCA HQ is across the street from the sewer plant in Greenpoint, and one couldn’t resist cracking out a shot or two for old times sake. I felt disconnected from it all, which was an extremely odd sensation for one such as myself.
It’s a 7 hour drive, back to Pittsburgh. One had lots of time to ruminate about the experience of returning to NYC for a few days, something I couldn’t help but do, since I was awash in bagel aroma for some 400 miles.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Everything back home seemed to have been magnified a bit, and definitely it’s gotten a lot more intense. This is the third version of this post you’re reading, with the other two having been essentially rants about how horrible everything there seemed to me, compared with what’s become ‘normal’ to me after a year.
I’ll happily fill your ear with invective about this subject during a conversation, but the text version of it was just boring. Everybody knows what’s wrong back in NYC, but ultimately it’s not my problem anymore. I’m rooting for y’all from afar, but NYC is a city of the young and wealthy and I’m neither. Armchair Quarterbacking really isn’t my style.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I got lucky, weather wise, on this trip. Bright skies and a lack of precipitants. Despite being fully ‘kitted out,’ I ended up only using one lens the whole time I was there. As mentioned yesterday, there’s very little on Newtown Creek in particular that I haven’t fully explored and photographed at every time of day and in all seasons.
Also, to be honest, I was more interested in human interaction with the people I left behind than I was in expanding my catalog of creek shots.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m digging the anonymity I experience in Pittsburgh, I should mention. It became pretty common for me to be standing on the Kosciuszcko Bridge, behind the tripod, and hear ‘get that shot, Mitch’ from a passing vehicle, or to have a business owner walk up to me on Review or Kingsland Avenue and ask ‘are you Mitch Waxman.’ This happened a surprising number of times, believe it or not.
Back tomorrow with more from a visit to the greatest City in the history of mankind, a hive of villainy and perdition called New York.
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“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.
Fourteen Months later…
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator stumbled out of HQ in Pittsburgh’s Borough of Dormont at about five in the morning, fired up the Mobile Oppression Platform, and then drove through the entire state of Pennsylvania into New Jersey, and then across the George Washington and Triborough Bridges into NYC. I timed it right, and was traveling at 50 mph on the Harlem River Drive by mid afternoon.
All told, the drive is about 400 miles – and with bathroom and lunch breaks, costs about 7 hours of my life and a full tank of gasoline to execute. One wasn’t planning on returning to the corruption of the nest until the end of this year, but exigency is what it is.
Pictured above is the Maspeth Avenue Plank Road site, along the fabulous Newtown Creek. In my absence, decking and seating has been installed.
I had some family business to attend to, back in the old neighborhood, if you’re wondering.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was staying at a friend’s place in Middle Village, but he wasn’t going to get home from work until well after 5 p.m., so I had a bit of time to kill.
The Maspeth Avenue Plank Road site has been discussed endlessly here at Newtown Pentacle.
When I first started offering walking tours of Newtown Creek’s uplands, this often flooded spot was hidden by invasive weeds and thorny brush. A buddy of mine, who works nearby, had a stack of wooden palettes he couldn’t get rid of, so we loaded them into the bed of his pickup and set them into the soil here to create a pathway. Literally recreating a plank road at Plank Road.
My pals at Newtown Creek Alliance have been working here since, executing no small amount of time and treasure to ensure that an intentional point of public access to Newtown Creek exists in Queens. In the intervening years, the place has become quite well used by workers and Maspeth residents for a variety of purposes. If you build it, they will come.
As you’d imagine, returning here was a bit of a ‘head trip’ for me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“Why bother, it’s a dump,” “they should just fill it in and pave it over”… I’ve heard it all from the people of Maspeth. The only way I ever found to motivate that part of the Newtown Creek world was to intone that Superfund money was going to go to the Hipsters in Brooklyn and Ridgewood (whom they generally hate), and Queens would get left out of the equation unless they got involved with the process. That side of the community, however, never really bothered to get involved with things here so my colleagues and I ‘took the bull by the horns’ for them instead.
Contemplative after my long drive, I took just a few photos. There’s very little on Newtown Creek which I haven’t exhaustively photographed – and especially so the Plank Road – which I’ve shot at every interval of the day, including the dead of night. This is where I photographed the implosion of the old Kosciuszcko Bridge from, as an example, and I’ve brought hundreds of curious lookie loos here on tours over the years.
It was weird, being here again. It almost felt like I was visiting my own grave. I always referred to this area as ‘the happy place,’ but instead I was filled with a deep melancholy, and possessed by reminisces of times past and absent friends.
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.
falling on
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On September 10th, one found himself at the Maspeth Avenue Plank Road, here in NYC’s borough of Queens. The Tribute in Lights at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan, and this section of Newtown Creek has pretty good views, so there you are.
This shot was gravy, I was there for a musical performance.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My pals at Newtown Creek Alliance helped out with this event, called the Newtown Odyssey. Kind of ethereal music, the high concept kind, was being performed. As part of the ensemble, they had rigged up these floating doohickeys with ukulele’s. A bow attached to a connected but separate float that rose and fell with the water differently the ukulele one did would play the ukuleles like violins.
There you go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Back in Astoria, on September 13th, and I was at a bar drinking a beer when this “Smash My Trash” truck came by. Do yourself a favor and check out the site link for this outfit.
At last, lords and ladies, real anti-zombie equipment is in the field. Mobile, fuel efficient, smashing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the 14th, a humble narrator waited until about a half hour before sunset to sally forth for an evening constitutional. This was a relatively short walk, all in all. One of the type where I walk somewhere sort of far away from HQ and then take the train back to Astoria. On this particular night, my penultimate destination was the Hunters Point Avenue 7 train stop in Long Island City.
I stopped by “hole reliable” at Sunnyside Yards, and photographed trains for a little while.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was a relatively busy interval at hole reliable, and commuter trains were zipping around down at the track level of the Sunnyside Yards. The one, on the left coming at you, is an Amtrak heading for the Hell Gate Bridge via the NY Connecting Railway, and the one on the right is a Long Island Railroad heading into the City.
I’ve literally taken this sort of shot, from this vantage point, thousands of times. Can’t get enough of it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One decided that since I hadn’t been to Dutch Kills in a couple of weeks, and inspected its collapsing bulkhead on 29th street, that it would be a good idea to do so.
South, headed a humble narrator. 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.
impious amulets
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
June 15th found me taking a walk with an artist from Brooklyn, a fellow named Monte Antrim, who has been bitten by the Newtown Creek bug in recent years. I offered to take him on a “seeing tour” and introduce a few of the less obvious points of view for his consideration.
We started off in Long Island City, and ended our excursion at a bar in Bushwick – long after sunset.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Personally, it was kind of a “snap shot” day for me. I didn’t want to get busy with the camera in the normal sense, and was mainly in tour guide mode for most of the walk.
From LIC, we headed eastwards along the Queens side, through Blissville and then into Maspeth.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When we got to Maspeth, the sound of FDNY sirens were echoing down from the Kosciuszcko Bridge, and there was a plume of smoke rising out of Greenpoint.
I speculated at the time that it was probably a truck or car fire, but as it turns out a furniture manufacturer on Van Dam had suffered a two alarm fire.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over at Maspeth Creek, these feathered dicks were loitering on the sidewalk. Newtown Creek and its tributaries are overrun these days by Canada Geese. So much so that I’ve learned to speak a little goose.
NAAAAAG.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the Maspeth Avenue Plank Road, even more of these dicks were encountered, including a bunch of youngsters.
NAAAAAAG.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We crossed Newtown Creek into Brooklyn at the Grand Street Bridge, just as the burning thermonuclear eye of God itself descended behind New Jersey.
My trick left foot was singing opera for the second half of this walk, I must say. Ow.
“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.
rest without
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
April 24th saw me taking a very long walk indeed. Truth be told, I ended up having to stamp out a small fire in the afternoon, and decided to get the time back by taking a cab to an opportune jumping off point in Industrial Maspeth – or as I call it “The Happy Place.”
I just couldn’t stand the thought of spending an interminable hour and change walking through residential neighborhoods and losing the light accordingly. It was worth the $20.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
MTA has a maintenance facility hereabouts, and they were in the process of decommissioning several Long Island Railroad passenger cars. One scuttled on and on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At Maspeth Creek, I noticed a Canada Goose on a nest. She said “NAAAG” and stuck her tongue out at me, which I’ve since learned is goose for “go away.” I’ve since said “NAAAG” to other Canada Geese, and they seemed shocked that I’ve learned some of their language.
NAAAG. I speak a little goose now.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few blocks away, a Momma and a Poppa Canada Gooses were guarding their progeny, pictured above.
They’re so cute when young, and such assholes when mature, the Canada Gooses. Just like people. NAAAG.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What they were guarding the chicks against is pictured above, a nearly spherical floop of a cat. The kitty seemed surprised that I noticed it, and had probably convinced itself that it was a stealthy predator rather than an adorable fur balloon.
Floop.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A broken water main in front of a NYC DEP building flows freely in Industrial Maspeth, which is… just…
Anyway, the broken water main is accomplishing the goal of hydraulically removing litter and garbage from the streets of Industrial Maspeth. Unfortunately, that sewer grate above doesn’t lead to a sewer plant, rather it empties directly into Newtown Creek.
“DEP” stands for “Department of Environmental Protection.”
“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 