Archive for the ‘Things to do’ Category
things to do!
for an expanded description of the October 13th Kill Van Kull tour, please click here
for an expanded description of the October 20th Newtown Creek tour, please click here
coloured hills
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are lots of things to do this weekend, lords and ladies. To begin, or end with- depending on ones perspective- this is the closing weekend of the Newtown Creek Armada. A fun and public art project by Laura Chipley, Nate Kensinger, and Sarah Nelson Wright- the show is found at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant’s Nature Walk.
check out details and hours at the armada site.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On Sunday, and this comes verbatim from newtowncreekalliance.org-
“Sept 30 – Water Quality event with North Brooklyn Coat Club and Friends
The Capitol to Capitol by Canoe expedition lands at NBBC, and a water quality discussion ensues! The event will feature presentations from a number of local organizations including the Newtown Creek Alliance, Riverkeeper, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance and New York City Water Trails Association. We will also be celebrating the arrival of the Capital to Capitol by Canoe expedition in NYC. A project of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, this 1800 kilometer paddle will travel on rivers, lakes, canals, harbours and bays from Ottawa to Washington D.C. in a 34 foot voyageur canoe.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Also going on this weekend- Saturday is “Field Trip Day” in Greenpoint, a free event.
Calling all urban explorers, history buffs, and lovers of Greenpoint. Drift with us through the culture and history of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a tucked away neighborhood sculpted by its maritime and industrial past.
Field Trip day is dedicated to the art of the wander, and discovery through exploration. Come and see Greenpoint for the first time or with new eyes: for on this one day she will reveal herself through the Field Trip app, on-site installations, challenges, and quests.
Discover where colored pencils came from, get up close and personal with one of the most polluted waterways in the US, and take down your opponents in a dramatic restaging of a Civil War ironclad battle! Together we’ll find hidden places, discover secret histories, and learn skills long forgotten.
There are no right choices, no wrong turns – but there are treasures to be uncovered just out of sight.
Click here for more info and registration
something luminous
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Whittling away the remaining days allowed me to scuttle across the mortal coil, recent adventures have taken me to odd places. Last weekend, a humble narrator found himself in a canoe upon the fabled Newtown Creek, participating in a Newtown Creek Alliance survey of avian inhabitants of the waterway. This trip was facilitated via the equipment and skill of the mariners found at the North Brooklyn Boat Club. Discussion of this trip, and those things which we observed, will be explored in future postings as this- your Newtown Pentacle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Additionally, revelations of upcoming walking tours and other excursions I will be leading in October and beyond are coming in the next week. A flurry of such endeavors in prior months had laid one low, as to be seen by so many diminishes me. A vow offered to you, lords and ladies, is to return to historical exploration and description in the coming weeks. I’ve tales to tell, which have been sitting on the back burner for months, due to a lack of time to cogently describe and detail.
Suffice to say that we have only scratched the lipid coated surface of the Creek to this point, and we shall be diving deeper into its languid depths in the near future.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are several opportunities for enjoyment and exploration at hand, including the Field Trip day in Greenpoint on September 29th.
Queens Borough Historian Jack Eichenbaum will be conducting a Newtown Creek walking tour next week which I am looking forward to attending, also on September 29th.
Additionally, Newtown Creek Alliance has several events (not necessarily “Mitchcentric) and a meeting- at the Onderdonk House on September 27 in Ridgewood- upcoming, which have just been announced. These events include an October 7th boat tour which will be part of the Open House NY Weekend.
This is the end of the summer, officially, as tomorrow we enter into the equinox and the autumn season officially begins. Grateful thanks are offered to all the better than 600 people who have shared my summer- attending the multitudinous walking, bus, and boat tours which I’ve been involved with.
Also, a shout out on the efforts and exertions of the vernal period goes out to the long suffering “Our Lady of the Pentacle” and her infinite patience, and to my “aide de camp” and first officer Mai Armstrong.
Things to do…
– graphic from newtowncreekarmada.org
What are you kidding, as if I wouldn’t be drawn to this like a lemming?
Can’t tell you how many emails I received this week asking if I’d be attending this event. Nate Kensinger and Sarah Nelson Wright are friends, and I think I’ve met Laura Chipley a couple of times as well. This is such a neat idea, and it will be playing out at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Nature Walk on Paidge Avenue in Greenpoint.
“The Newtown Creek Armada will be open 1-4pm on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, weather permitting.”
They’ve even posted a sample video from their testing period here.
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The Newtown Creek Armada is an art installation that invites the public to explore the past, present and future of a contaminated New York City waterway. The Newtown Creek, a Superfund site bordering Brooklyn and Queens, is one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States. Visitors to The Armada will pilot a fleet of artist-made, miniature, remote-controlled boats along the surface of the Newtown Creek while documenting the hidden world of its waters using waterproof cameras and microphones.
– graphic from forgotten-ny.com
Your humble narrator will not be able to attend this week’s Forgotten NY tour, unfortunately, as I’ll be conducting a Newtown Creek Tour for a group of students from Cornell. Why not spend some time with the intrepid duo of Kevin Walsh and Richard Melnick, who will be marching through DUMBO?
“Meet outside York Street IND station on Jay Street near York, DUMBO, 12 noon, Sunday, September 9th.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the dark, Belgian-blocked streets between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, commonly known asDUMBO, or “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass” were transformed into a vibrant neighborhood with pricey condominiums, delis, hardware stores, pizzerias, and even gourmet chocolatiers.”
Check back on www.astorialic.org or www.forgotten-ny.com for developing tour details.
Fee: $15.00 to GAHS members, $20.00 non-members (rain date Sept 16
RSVP to info@astorialic.org or fny@astorialic.org.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, the Working Harbor Committee is conducting a fundraiser at Pier 66 Maritime, West 26th Street & Hudson River, New York City on Wednesday the 12th of September (6 pm to 8:30 pm). All proceeds from the event will assist the Working Harbor Committee in fulfilling its mission to educate residents, visitors and youth on the vitality and importance of our working harbor and help fund its educational programs to introduce youth to opportunities in the maritime world.
The Special Honoree of the party will be Andrew Genn- Sr. Vice President, Ports & Transportation, New York City Economic Development Corporation. The award will be presented by Helena Durst, President of New York Water Taxi and Circle Line Downtown.
This will be a party, not a boat ride, it should be mentioned. A great opportunity to meet some of the movers and shakers on New York Harbor, let your hair down and have a drink or two, and it benefits a great non profit operation. Click here for tickets.
The Newtown Pentacle 