Squaring up
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another of my constitutional scuttles occurred on one of the rare sunny days which the Pittsburgh Metro area has enjoyed in recent weeks, a scuttle which played out along the Monongahela River. The Mobile Oppression Platform was parked in an adjoining municipal park’s lot, and so off I went.
First steps were when I noticed the Towboat ‘Sierra J’ towing a small fleet of barges, in a westerly direction towards the point where the Monongahela’s transmogrification occurs, after an admixture with the Allegheny, and it becomes the Ohio River.
There’s a lot of flowing water around these parts.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Next up and along my way, CSX #6926 came roaring by, hauling a mixed up bunch of car units behind it. There was coal, and automobiles, and a lot of random cargo boxes trailing behind it.
This walk was from the 31st street bridge to the Fort Pitt Bridge, which is somewhere in the area of about 3-4 miles. There and back again, I guess my walk was about 7.5 – 8 miles, thereby, which I kicked out in a little over two and change hours.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This particular path has become fairly familiar to me, and by now I’m sure to you. Its range is along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, which follows the Monongahela River and is entirely separated from the travel lanes of vehicle traffic. Only foot and bike traffic are allowed. There’s a couple of fairly noisome gaps on the trail, but it’s nothing terribly over the top or dangerous.
There is an opportunity to gain some altitude along the route, which I did to capture the shot above, depicting the T light Rail crossing the Panhandle Bridge and is framed up by the Liberty Bridge and a concrete factory.
Back tomorrow.
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MonongaScuttling
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After returning from NYC to Western Pennsylvania, a humble narrator really felt the toll of that exertion. Honestly, it’s the seven hour drive that does you in. It’s not a terribly challenging automotive course – I-80 to I-99, which then lead into the web of highways and bridges found in the Pittsburgh metro – instead it’s the required all-day mental focus that gets to you. These roads move at 75 mph speed limits, a speed which many regard as being a mere suggestion or a starting point rather than a delimiter. One little screw up and you’re hurtling into the woods at highway speed, a cautious narrator offers.
After a couple of days of rest and recuperation, which included raiding the supply of NYC bagels that I’d returned to Pittsburgh with, before they went into the freezer, it was time for a short walk. I didn’t want to make a big production of this one, and just wanted to stretch my legs for a while and maybe catch a shot or two along the way. There’s a particular section of this trail which I hadn’t laid eyes on yet, so…
A quick hop back into the Mobile Oppression Platform (MOP) soon saw me parking it along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail paralleling the Monongahela River, heading in a generally southeasterly direction.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Across the river, on the site of an old steel mill’s campus, there’s some sort of technology incubator outfit. I have no idea what they’re incubating, other than a vague notion that it has something to do with self driving vehicles. People shudder when that term comes up.
The MOP has a driving assist feature that clicks on when I activate its ‘radar cruise control.’ Sensors on the front end of the car ‘see’ the road’s lane markers and make steering adjustments to keep you in the lane (you have to have your hands on the wheel and provide feedback or alert chimes begin ringing out), and another sensor in the car’s grill regulates speed and following distance with other vehicles, which its sees using a variation of radar technology. Most of my friends shake their heads and say ‘uh uh’ when I mention this capability to them, but it’s actually quite useful on long drives like the one from NYC to Pittsburgh.
That’s an Allegheny Valley RR locomotive on the other shore.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s tie off points for tugs all around this part of the river, which got left behind when the steel mill they serviced was torn down. Unfortunately, they were stoutly locked and fenced off from the trail I was walking on so I couldn’t explore. The only other people on the trail, this time around, were a bunch of college age athletes from Pitt that were doing timed sprints and other track and field exercises.
On the ‘you want to know when you feel old’ subject, it’s when you’re limping along and stretching the ligaments back out, just a couple of days after a 7 hour car trip, and there’s 18 year old kids bounding past you like god damned antelopes. Ute’s.
Four miles or so, and back to the car, so about eight miles all told. Not the most photogenic section of the trail, but easy walking. That’s my yelp review.
Back tomorrow.
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Buy a book!
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Parting shots
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few parting shots from a recent visit back to NYC greet you today, as captured by an expatriate but still humble narrator. This one is from the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, looking westwards along Newtown Creek.
I was still on foot for this one. My next move was to call a cab and head to my old ‘local’ in Astoria – Doyle’s Corner – to meet up with friends, and drink pints of beer over a bar menu dinner. I was told there that the owner had decided to retire, and Doyle’s had been sold. It’s meant to reopen with a new name and set of renovations, and although I’m sure that the same set of barflies will be found along the rail when it does, it was sad to hear. Nothing lasts, everything is change.
As a note, although I spend a LOT of time in bars, I don’t actually drink all that much. I’m known for nursing a pint for an hour or so, which annoys my friends who drink quickly. I can spend all night in a bar and only have two or three drinks over several hours. I often refuse the ‘buy back’ – which is a colloquial NYC tradition, I’d mention – one that doesn’t exist here in Pittsburgh. It’s not even the alcohol, it’s the volume – I couldn’t sit down and just drink a quart and a half of seltzer in two hours, let alone an adult beverage.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I spent some time with my pal Val the day before leaving for the west, and we found ourselves back at the Maspeth Plank Road after inhaling an enormous breakfast at a diner on Grand Avenue. That’s another thing I don’t do anymore – eating breakfast at a restaurant – since moving away.
Lifestyle, these days, involves a new motto: the only thing you eat at a restaurant is something you can’t make at home. Both Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself have sharpened up our cooking skills since moving away, and we have a proper full sized kitchen at our new HQ in Pittsburgh, so few things are out of reach. We have a plug in Belgian Waffle press, for instance, so…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was my ‘last look’ at the fabulous Newtown Creek. After taking care of the stuff I had returned for, my buddy in Middle Village who was putting me up for the week prepared a huge and fabulous dinner at his place. My old friend Armstrong came by too, and stayed the night there as well. I had to make it an early night, however.
The next morning, I staggered out of bed at 4:30 a.m. and filled my thermos with coffee. I was behind the wheel and driving over the Triborough by 4:55 a.m. and then passing through the Delaware Water Gap choke point on I-80 by 6:15 a.m. Having successfully avoided the crunch of morning traffic in NYC, it was smooth sailing for the next 6 or so hours back to Pittsburgh and the loving arms of Our Lady and the snapping jaws of our insane puppy/adolescent dog Moe.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
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Let’s review
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
During a brief visit back home a couple of weeks ago, which I’ve been describing all week, one made it a point of visiting all of the old familiar places. After walking up on the Kosciuszcko Bridge, I scuttled back down to the cursed earth of Queens and headed down onto Review Avenue and into Blissville. Along the way, my eye kept getting caught by a plethora of heavy vehicles.
This is another one of the street corridors which I’ve spent a LOT of time along, and I’ll never forget the sights and sounds I’ve experienced here. For instance – during COVID’s mid lockdown period, I saw people using the high walls of First Calvary to practice rock climbing. Also during that interval, I saw the cemetery people digging up roads on their property to make room for an abundance of new graves, which was space that observationally filled up pretty quickly.
Scuttle, scuttle, scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was odd, I’ll admit. Being home again. I’ve said it a million times at this point, but whereas I now live in Pittsburgh and I’m building a new life there, NYC will always be what I refer to as ‘home.’ Especially so this section of poisoned terrain found amongst the concrete devastations which are line the banks of a ribbon of municipal indifference which the kids call the Newtown Creek.
Historic, it is, especially so for me.
I was dressed for Pittsburgh winter, unfortunately, wearing a heavy winter coat which I’ve adopted in place of the filthy black raincoat that was always my go to for outer garb here in NYC. It was an unusually warm afternoon for mid February, and one was perspiring freely. I took the opportunity for a quick sit down on an industrial building’s concrete siding, pulled off my coat and allowed my body temperature to drop.
Back in Pittsburgh, I’ve started a new habit of carrying a thermos bottle of water with me, but I didn’t bring it with me on the road trip – which I was cursing myself for at this particular moment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Before y’all ask – no, I didn’t visit my favorite tree on Dutch Kills during this trip. There were a variety of reasons for that, which I won’t bore you with. I wasn’t back home for photographic pursuits I’d remind, instead I had some personal and familial business to take care of, and my behind the camera time was fairly limited. Also… is there a photo opportunity at Newtown Creek which I haven’t taken advantage of?
Back next week with just a few more shots, from my beloved Creek.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Up high
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A brief visit to the nest back in NYC occurred, and one of the few photographs I was desirous of capturing was from up high on the Kosciuszcko Bridge.
The K-bridge replacement project was something which I had the pleasure of being quite close to, and one enjoyed an amazing amount of access during the demolition of the old bridge, and design/construction process of the new one. I was ‘on the bridge committee’ and the reason you can stick a lens through the fence on the new bridge is because of me.
They originally wanted to do chain link up here, but I connived the NYS DOT people out of that idea, and instead they installed fencing with vertical slats that offer 90mm apertures between them. Coincidentally that’s just big enough to fit my favorite lens through, but that’s not the point.
Particularly during the pandemic months, this point of view was a regular ‘go-to’ on my ‘every other night’ walks.
Unfortunately, the Manhattan skyline has been absolutely ruined by the rapacious real estate jackals, who have privatized the clean views of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings from here with soulless condo buildings in the fore, or the abominate Hudson Yards development that’s behind it to the west. Bah!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The pedestrian and bike path on the bridge has become quite well used by communities on both sides, although you wouldn’t know it from the shot above. I didn’t walk over to Brooklyn, instead it was the middle of the span which I was interested in visiting. One of the most unique views in the entire City, if you ask me, and a creek runs through the middle of it.
I’ve been up here during Thunderstorms, Blizzards, heat waves, sunrise, sunset… it’s one of my faves, and I would have suffered some regret had I not paid this spot a visit while I was back in town.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For years and years, I’ve joked about this area being called DUKBO – Down Under the Kosciuszcko Bridge Onramp. Always got a laugh from the crowd on tours.
Coincidentally, my little joke also created a designation for a section of the Newtown Creek watershed which is otherwise quite anonymous. NYC historical and rail people will respond to ‘Haberman,’ others in the maritime world will say ‘yup’ when they hear ‘Turning Basin,’ but these are ‘cultic’ designations for the section of Newtown Creek’s upland IBZ (Industrial Business Zone) which is found between Greenpoint Avenue on the west and Grand Avenue on the east, not a colloquial one.
Apparently, some of the mouth breathers back in Maspeth take issue with my ‘DUKBO’ conceit, as I discovered when my pal Kevin from Forgotten-NY recently shared one of my shots from up here on Facebook. This really ticked me off from afar. Freaking keyboard warriors… say it to my face, cowards.
I’d be less pissed off about that particular burn, if any single one of those dullards had ever made the time to get involved with the Newtown Creek Superfund process, attended a few meetings with the powers that be, or spoke up for Queens. The only way you could ever activate the Maspeth people was by telling them that the hipsters in Brooklyn were going to get all the superfund money and they’d be left out.
Me? I went to and voiced up during the meetings, advocated for Queens, and at the very least got a fence installed on the new bridge which accommodates the view. What did you do to make things better, or did things just happen around you which you blamed on ‘the hipsters’ or ‘the libtards’? Democracy is a contact sport.
Eat my shorts, say I, and go ‘eff yourselves.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 