Archive for the ‘Queens Plaza’ Category
Queens Plaza to Sunnyside Yards & LGA
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was zero chance that I’d be waiting for an eastbound 7 train at Queensboro Plaza and not get the shot above. It’s a classic.
I was on my way to Sunnyside for one last visit before heading back to Pittsburgh via LaGuardia. 40th/Lowery stop was my destination.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was also very little chance that I wouldn’t click the shutter for that view above, either. It was positively sultry out, but there you go.
Momentary or even days long discomfort is just something you have to deal with when traveling. Toughen up, I always say. Then I’m told that ‘you’re a monster’ by some Millennial worm, and that one should embrace personal failings and or weaknesses and incorporate them as the core of my identity.
I offer the band Black Flag’s ‘Rise Above’ for an alternative philosophy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After my convivial coffee with an old friend in Sunnsyide, it was back to scuttling for me. I decided to head towards Astoria, and along the way stopped off at ‘Hole Reliable’ at Sunnyside Yards. This is an aperture in the plate steel fencing of the rail yard which I exploited for years and years.
It’s likely a surveyor’s hole, but it’s big enough to fit a camera lens through, and overlooks the Harold Interlocking – which are the busiest rail tracks in the United States… so…
Mainly LIRR and Amtrak, but New Jersey Transit is spotted here every now and then as well.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
MTA finally finished one of their projects here, a holding yard and new siding for the Long Island Railroad. They were working on this for decades, it feels like. Part of the East Side access project, I think.
I headed over to Astoria, and despite swearing up and down I wasn’t going to go to my old bar on Broadway and 42nd, there I was drinking a Guinness and talking shit with random guys at the bar. I only knew a couple of the guys there, but it was early and I had a plane to catch.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A cab carried my carcass over to LaGuardia, and by this point – the ankle was pissed off. A slight limp had crawled back in.
I got through security, and that’s when I found out about the delayed flight. At least it was air conditioned, though. I plugged in my phone, kicked off my shoes, and settled into ‘waiting’ mode.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shot was captured using my phone, which is why it looks a bit different than the others. My flight eventually boarded, about four hours late, and I was back in Pittsburgh around one in the morning. Had to wait a good amount of time before a cab was available, and walked in the door at HQ in Dormont around 2:30 in the morning.
Back next week.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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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.
Queensboro Pedestrian Path
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the many things that your gumbo narrator was desirous of doing, during his recent return to NYC for a four day trip, was walking the newly opened pedestrian only pathway on the Queensboro Bridge. I met up with an old friend at Queens Plaza, whom I used to wander about South east Brooklyn with back in Junior High and High School, and we leaned into it.
Kind of wish that it hadn’t been ninety degrees at ten in the morning, or that the humidity dew point wasn’t in the 70’s, but there you are.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was hot, I tell you, on the southern side of Queensboro – HOT.
One needed to take a few rest-break sit downs whenever a shadow appeared, cast by part of the structure. It had been hot all week, since I arrived in NYC, but this one was the ‘whopper’ that would lead to a thunderstorm front blowing into NYC and clearing out all the ozone and bad air. It’s that same front which delayed my flight, so I received no benefit whatsoever.
Due to all of the tumult and weather, I woke up tired on this fourth day.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My friend lives in Manhattan, and I was going to head back into Queens, since walking over the Queensboro once on a ninety degree and high humidity day in direct sunlight just isn’t enough for me. He went his way, I went mine.
The first person I met up with here in NYC on this trip was My Pal Val, whom I rode the ferries with. She would not have enjoyed this walk one little bit, I thought to myself.
Come to think of it, I wasn’t enjoying it very much either, but that’s from a purely physical POV. I was lost in a sea of reminiscing.
Gridlock Sam and the Bridge Centennial Committee, the 2009 centennial event… the last time I spoke to my now deceased friend Bernie was also while walking over this bridge (on the ‘then’ shared bike and pedestrian lane found on the north side of the bridge.)
This trip dredged up a lot of memories, which I guess makes it a journey?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I did a lot during my years in Western Queens, beyond the creek and the community board stuff.
The Queens Plaza Mill Stones survive in Dutch Kills Green Park. I rode on Queens Plaza elevators that I advocated for with MTA when I was the Chair of Astoria’s Community Board Transportation Committee. There is no deck over the Sunnyside Yards. I never demanded that my name be attached to anything, instead I always preferred to do things the ‘Queens way,’ in quiet and logical conversation within the offices of Elected Officialdom.
I’m not taking solo credit for any or all of those things, btw, I was never alone in my advocacy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A third friend was on the list for the afternoon, and I would soon be heading over to Sunnyside to have a coffee and catch up with her.
As I neared Queens Plaza, thereby, I shifted my attention to the most visually impressive of all of NYC’s subway lines – the Flushing Line, aka lucky number 7. That’s another caper I worked on, with Access Queens, when we produced an event with the NY Transit Museum to celebrate the expansion of the Flushing Line to its current terminus in 1917.
Seriously, everywhere I went, and it wasn’t entirely on purpose either.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was a genuine relief to be swallowed up by the shadows of Queens Plaza after walking back and forth in that blistering sun. On the path, tar was actually bubbling up out of the sidewalk.
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.
Archives #032
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This week’s archives were somewhat difficult to gather together, as this is the part of the year where I’d normally be taking a break and offering single image shots. Under what were my normal conditions, Newtown Creek tour season would have just wrapped up and I’d be taking a minute to collect myself after a spring and summer’s worth of talking. I’m a chatterbox, admittedly, but after guiding dozens of groups composed of hundreds if not thousands around the creek, a break was always required.
These archive posts are reaching into Newtown Pentacle’s backups, and are randomly pulling posts that went public on this date, in their respective years, going back to 2009. This practice will continue until I’m back on both feet full time, and new photos and stories can be gathered. For anyone who hasn’t heard the news, I broke my left ankle at the end of September.
2015’s ‘distant whine’ discussed and bitched about the inequalities betwixt the two sides of the Queensboro Bridge, as far as how the municipal pie gets divided up in City Hall. Everything is Manhattancentric.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Some years, this calendar date fell on a weekend, or one of those single shots was occupying the slot. In a couple of cases, the post that published on this date kind of sucked, or was ‘filler’ as in when I’ve got nothing to say about what’s in the photos so I riff on an unrelated topic.
In 2018, it seems I was seeking nocturnal altitude, as described in ‘disclosures which.’ A few friends ended up opening their doors to me, with one pair of friends in particular allowing me hours of time up on the roof deck of the condo building that used to be the LIRR powerhouse.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, the physical therapy component of the broken ankle story is yielding a great result. My foot looks like somewhat like its mate on the other leg again, instead of a swollen out and magenta colored version of one of those 1970’s ‘hang 10’ stickers.
In 2019, I had a smashed big toe but I also had a gig doing a slide show/lecture at the library on Roosevelt Island, about Newtown Creek, so I had to suck it up – pain wise – and do my thing. Mission!
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.
favouring sign
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On October 3rd, it had been raining for days and would continue to do so for a couple more. One was climbing the walls at HQ, so an umbrella was deployed and to augment its function – I thought out a route wherein the built environment would aid me in my quest to not get soaked. 31st street in Astoria has an elevated subway track, and large warehouse and residential buildings which provide rain shadows.
Rain shadows, you ask?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I spend a lot of my time out of doors, wandering through inclement weather. The build environment has specific effects upon meteorological phenomena, at ground level. The rain shadow of a building is often visible, in that yard or two of sidewalk where the wall meets the pavement which will be drier than the rest. You still get rained on, but not as much as in the middle of the sidewalk.
I’ve got all kinds of NYC tips. My best one is “just keep moving.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are still a few spots where you can see the sky in LIC, but those are mainly because the undeveloped property where the lapse occurs is owned by the Government and either the politicians haven’t decided which one of their sponsors to sell it to for $1, or there’s some horrible need that one agency or another has for the parcel.
Hey, we need a place to burn truck tires in your neighborhood. Do it for the City, Queens. Same thing with homeless shelters and waste transfer stations and power plants and sewer plants and railroads and bridges and highways and airports and…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The new Queens Plaza is a dystopia.
Mirror box rhombuses thrust rudely at the stolen sky.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The noise levels in this part of Queens, which is now zoned for the densest form of residential, would be considered an environmental crime in Europe. Multiple subway lines, above and below, scream through the liminal spaces of the elevated tracks.
On the street, traffic of every sort and description.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Thanks to the residential conversion of this former industrial zone, pedestrian traffic volume here is now considerable. Said pedestrians, like a humble narrator did, must weave their steps between traffic islands set into the flow of automotive and bicycle traffic pulsing from the Queensboro Bridge.
More next week, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“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.
distant baying
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
May 8th found one in need of a short walk, and in tune with my recent habits, one left HQ shortly before sunset. Here I am at “hole reliable” over the Harold Interlocking again, shooting yet another west bound Long Island Railroad train.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My goal for the evening was to definitively stay away from Newtown Creek and its tributaries, and just stick to the mean streets of along Island City. The sky lit up, and as seems to be the case these days, while shooting somebody walked up to me and wanted to discuss cameras he has owned, plans to buy, and also ones used by his dad.
I excused myself after a few excruciating minutes, professing that I was losing the light. Grrrr…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Skillman Avenue led me to Thomson Avenue, where I got this shot. It’s actually a damned difficult proposition getting this shot with zero automobiles in the frame, as a note.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Thomson Avenue led me back down to Jackson Avenue, where I experienced another one of those moments of sudden existential horror you tend to feel in LIC these days. Ten years ago, the Citigroup Megalith was the only large scale building here. Today, it’s actually somewhat middling in size as compared to what’s been built around it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Swinging through Queens Plaza, I noticed the 7 train perched above several of those automobiles in the travel lanes below it. I didn’t see any of the vampires though.
One continued his lonely scuttle towards Astoria, using Jackson Avenue to eventually get to Northern Blvd.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One headed back towards home, walked past a bar which I don’t seem to hang out at anymore that’s filled with people whom I’m increasingly disenchanted with. Ribald invitations to join their nightly bacchanal were rejected, and a humble narrator retreated to the nearby cloister of HQ.
Pfah.
“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 