Archive for the ‘sunnyside’ Category
subsequently professed
A week of madness, doubt, and insecurity ends.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Roman Emperor Caligula set the standard of sanity for his culture. Luckily for the rest of you, I’m the emperor of nothing other than what exists between my ears. Unfortunately for me, there’s a couple of rebel groups here in Cortex city, and a bizarre religious cult which is steadily growing in population and making itself known out in the Oblongata Desert. At the border, in Medulla town, a team of terrorists seems to be forming up as well. One hopes that a War on Terror won’t spring up in my neck.
I’m all ‘effed up.
from wikipedia
Deviance, in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that violate social norms, including formally-enacted rules (e.g., crime), as well as informal violations of social norms (e.g., rejecting folkways and mores). It is the purview of sociologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and criminologists to study how these norms are created, how they change over time and how they are enforced.
Norms are rules and expectations by which members of society are conventionally guided. Deviance is a failure to conform to these norms.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
How one wishes that satisfaction and desire had led to a more wholesome life, rather than the bizarre simulacrum- a series of dull events- which was the path I ended up on. It isn’t fair to those who, against all logic and reason, care for my well being. Would that I had chosen homogeneity, embraced the traditional desires of this culture, and was able to pretend or even feign. Unfortunately, this is my lot, to remain apart.
Barren, disappointed, abused, shunned… always must I remain an outsider…
from wikipedia
Normality (also known as normalcy) is the state of being normal. Behaviour can be normal for an individual (intrapersonal normality) when it is consistent with the most common behaviour for that person. Normal is also used to describe when someone’s behaviour conforms to the most common behaviour in society (known as conforming to the norm). Definitions of normality vary by person, time, place, and situation – it changes along with changing societal standards and norms. Normal behaviour is often only recognized in contrast to abnormality. In its simplest form, normality is seen as good while abnormality is seen as bad. Someone being seen as “normal” or “not normal” can have social ramifications, including being included, excluded or stigmatized by larger society.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For one such as myself, the middle weeks of August are always a time of lament, recrimination, and doubt. Marching- ever marching- across the Newtown Pentacle as the burning gaze of the thermonuclear eye of god itself glares down upon me, an unending soliloquy of uncertainty and madness is held imprisoned just a few inches behind my eyes.
Whether it be Mōnandæg or Frīġedæġ, you can count on a humble narrator to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
from wikipedia
The name Friday comes from the Old English Frīġedæġ, meaning the “day of Frigg”, a result of an old convention associating the Old English goddess Frige with the Roman goddess Venus, with whom the day is associated in many different cultures. The same holds for Frīatag in Old High German, Freitag in Modern German and vrijdag in Dutch.
The expected cognate name in Old Norse would be *friggjar-dagr. However, the name of Friday in Old Norse is frjá-dagr instead, indicating a loan of the weekday names from Low German. The modern Scandinavian form is Fredag in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, meaning Freja’s day. The distinction between Freja and Frigg in some Germanic mythologies is problematic.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? Summer 2013 Walking Tours-
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, August 10, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, August 17, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
Project Firebox 82
An ongoing catalog of New York’s endangered Fireboxes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
If a job description involved the term “Boulevard of Death,” the reticence of prospective employees toward accepting the position would be normal and natural. Such fears are no consideration for the Fireboxes, émigrés from a foreign and quite scarlet shore. They came here to raise their alarms, not to complain about their post. This guardian of the vibrant and diverse is found stationed along the aforementioned “Boulevard of Death,” better known as Sunnyside’s stretch of Queens Boulevard.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? Summer 2013 Walking Tours-
Glittering Realms– Saturday, August 3rd, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, August 10, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, August 17, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
tower chamber
Getting high in Western Queens.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As some of you may have discovered, your humble narrator is bringing his personal brand of wide eyed paranoia to Brownstoner Queens in a bi weekly column exploring some the lesser known and esoteric corners of Western Queens for a couple of months now. Recent endeavor found one at the summit of the Standard Motor Products Building at the corner of Northern Blvd. and Steinway/39th st./Harold Avenue visiting the startlingly cool Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm. Check out what I saw up there by clicking here.
For a full inventory of what I’ve been doing over at Brownstoner, click here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A second posting spawned by the visit looked over the walls and witnessed the majestic Sunnyside Yard from on high, which can accessed by clicking here. Just yesterday, an interviewer working on an unrelated project asked me what my reaction to “demolishing the Javitz Center in Manhattan, then decking over the Sunnyside Yard and building a convention center and hotel complex on the deck” would be.
Roughly an hour later, after a far ranging diatribe about storm water, CSO’s, and endemic PCB contamination- the question I asked the interviewer was “How, in any way, would this benefit Queens other than the creation of low wage service industry jobs?” (and a short interval of construction industry jobs, of course). I suggested we deck over the yards and install 192 acres of farmland or just a plain old park. Didn’t Central Park spur development of underutilized land surrounding it in Manhattan 150 years ago, creating what are today the most valuable residential properties in the entire city if not the world? Why not add something green to spur growth, whatever the hell that is?
I also asked the interviewer what the hell “vibrant and diverse” is supposed to indicate or mean.
Please, planners, leave your air conditioned Manhattan offices and actually come to Queens. Leave the cars and bicycles behind and actually walk around. We don’t need any more of Manhattan’s problems exported to us, as Queens’ biggest problem is the City shitting on us every chance it gets.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sorry for the late update today, had a few connectivity problems this morning. I’ll be out and about all weekend, if anyone has anything going on they’d like me to record or write about- please contact me here.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? Summer 2013 Walking Tours-
Glittering Realms– Saturday, August 3rd, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, August 10, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, August 17, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
freely generating
If you see something, photograph it and say something.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Despite the overt messaging offered by security professionals and municipal Police officials concerning the presence of literally millions of desert born sappers hidden alongside the heaving shorelines of a lake called Freedom, there do seem to be quite a few holes in the fence lines of our rail yards. Probably, this is because the security apparatus of these institutions need to strike different nerves to acquire their sources of funds, rather than to rankle the ire of the common proletarians and politicians alike.
Luckily, this homeland insecurity allows one such as myself opportunity to observe some often esoteric kit which the railroad people employ for “maintenance of way.”
from wikipedia
A railroad crane, (US: crane car or wrecker; UK: breakdown crane) is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary uses: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way (PW) maintenance, and accident recovery work. Although the design differs according to the type of work, the basic configuration is similar in all cases: a rotating crane body is mounted on a sturdy chassis fitted with flanged wheels. The body supports the jib (UK; US: boom) and provides all the lifting and operating mechanisms; on larger cranes, an operator’s cabin is usually provided. The chassis is fitted with buffing and coupling gear to allow the crane to be moved by a locomotive, although many are also self-propelled to allow limited movement about a work site.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s a flat bed car coupled to a self propelled rail crane, called a Burro, you’re looking at there. What your humble narrator doesn’t know about the rails is enormous and the scope of my ignorance on the subject is actually breathtaking, so if i misname something or am just wrong on this subject- please instruct and correct via the comments section.
Corrections and additions are always welcome at this, your Newtown Pentacle.
Burro cranes (some were outfitted with shovels, as the one at Roots) were designed to be self-sufficient maintenance-of-way tools. As such, they were self-powered, and could propel not only themselves, but could take along with them a flat car, gondola, dump car or other equipment needed for their work. Therefore, they could take with them rail, ballast, timbers or any other materials needed for track repair or construction.
These utilitarian rail vehicles have been built by several manufacturers, including Cullen-Friestedt, Federal Sign & Signal, and now by the Badger Equipment Company. But they have always retained the name Burro, and if you say Burro to a railroader, he knows that you’re not referring to the four-legged animal.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Extensive construction and demolition work has been underway at Sunnyside Yards in anticipation of the East Side Access project for several years now, but these fellows with their Burro were MOW workers.
from maintenanceofway.com
Railroad Maintenance-of-Way (MOW) machinery and its design and utilization, is the equipment used by railroads to lay, clear, and maintain railroad track infrastructure and is of paramount importance in keeping the world’s railroads running dependably, safely and profitably. Railroads are a key component of the world economy. Corn, beans and other foods and feeds, coal, oil, manufactured goods, building materials, and virtually everything else that one can name, moves by rail. The volume of goods transported by the railroads is increasing dramatically. Existing railroad track must carry more and heavier traffic. Railroad bridges must be repaired and maintained. Fences, walls, gates, area lighting and other security structures are of increasing importance. Increased traffic and speeds adds to demand on signals. Railroad and railway Maintenance-of-Way equipment and utilization strategies play a key role in keeping all rail traffic running safely and on time. Railroad Maintenance-of-Way equipment and utilization efficiency planning make it possible for railroads to upgrade and maintain track and rights of way.
Want to see something cool? Upcoming Walking Tours
Modern Corridor– Saturday, July 13, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, August 10, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, August 17, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
forced economies
Today, we pass through a crossroad.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the things I find endlessly fascinating about Western Queens is the juxtapose between at least three different urban planning schemes and where they overlie each other. Of course, the term Urban Planning is seldom found prior to the 20th century, so modern bias interferes with understanding the why’s of where. Also, everything has been so extensively built and rebuilt over the years…
The oldest one wasn’t really planned, rather its where the colonials and farmers of Newtown laid down roads like Greenpoint Avenue or Thomson Avenue, which were literally means to an end- a way to move from point a to point b which took into account and diverted around natural features like hills and streams.
Overlaid on these atavist lanes is an industrial era grid, Skillman and Borden Avenues comes to mind. Hold overs from the locomotive city of the late 19th century- which favored long arcs and subtly graded streets wide enough to carry a street car or in some cases a full on steam locomotive.
Dross 20th century engineering was applied to the most modern layer, such as where Queens Blvd. originates at Thomson Avenue or where Greenpoint Avenue transmogrifies into Roosevelt Avenue at its intersection with Queens Blvd. The modern layer was designed to carry the automotive and mass transit city forward and which is pictured in the shot above. The latter two are definitively hostile to pedestrian activity, but the way.
The Newtown Pentacle 