mistily defined
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few weeks ago, three young fellows drove a car into the Dutch Kills tributary of Newtown Creek in Long Island City and died. Somebody has erected a roadside memorial at the spot that they drove into the water.
According to the cops, these three unfortunates were proceeding down Borden Avenue at a prodigious rate of speed. They didn’t make a certain turn and instead headed for this dead end under the Long Island Expressway, and their vehicle went airborne and into the water. The cops and Fire Dept. brought out divers and all sorts of equipment but couldn’t save the trio.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A view of the same spot, from about a block away.
The official narrative is that the speeding car hit skateboard ramps, which caused them to go airborne. Something I haven’t mentioned during the pandemic is the sudden and unofficial creation of a skate park on the Borden Avenue street end at Dutch Kills. I’ve encouraged everyone who either knew about it or was involved with it to apply for “Open Streets” status which would have seen barriers erected but nobody every listens to me until something awful has happened. That’s when they admit I was right.
“Yes Commissioner, this is a great idea but Greenpoint has a history of industrial fires so maybe putting that high pressure gas main in this spot is a bad idea, next week there’s going to be a recycling plant fire directly across the street and next month a semi is going to drive through the sewer plant’s fence and land where the main is meant to go.” “Yes, City Council Member, but building out 35,000 units of residential without creating a single new hospital bed is short sighted… what if a plague sets up in NYC, which according to our history happens every so often…” “Yes, Mayor, but decking the Sunnyside Yards will be fiendishly expensive and you’re running the risk of radicalizing the otherwise stable and predictable political system of Western Queens and destabilizing…”
Call me Ezekiel, for I am a prophet.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As to the narrative revolving around this traffic accident, which cost three young men their lives… I seriously doubt the skateboard ramp theory since – as you can see – the ramp is quite intact and anything a car might touch when it’s moving at 100 mph generally doesn’t remain intact.
Why do I care? Nothing matters, nobody else cares, and we’re all going to hell in a handbasket. Get yours, I’m going to get mine, and then get the ‘eff out of this hellhole. I’m done.
As a note, today’s the anniversary of the General Slocum disaster.
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clamoured forms
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Riding the trains again, that’s me. As stated previously, I never thought I’d come to a juncture in my life where I missed riding the subways but I guess that’s what a fairly unprecedented public health emergency teaches a guy. The shot above, of course, wasn’t captured within the system. Instead I was scuttling down Skillman Avenue on my way to do a thing. I’m also “doing things” again. Had my very first live and in person meeting in the last 16 months just last week. Everybody in the room was vaxxed, naturally.
A humble narrator finds himself in a weird place these days. As I’ve mentioned to several people in the last month or so, I no longer have any tolerance whatsoever for other people’s bullshit. Used to be that I’d make excuses for you, or try to explain the many reasons why you’re justified acting like a walking/talking asshole. No more. No second chances. Piss me off just a little bit these days and it doesn’t matter how long we’ve known each other – you’re done. If you’re somebody I didn’t like all that much to start with… woof.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I find that the angst and anxiety I was experiencing throughout the pandemic has transformed into red hot anger. What the hell is wrong with you people? Are you all really this stupid and selfish? Those are questions which have been soundly answered, and the answer is “yes.”
Accordingly, my inclination is to say “Ok, no more Mr. Nice Guy,” and to stop pretending that I’m a better person than I actually am. Patience is no longer a virtue I exhibit. If there isn’t a payoff for being decent, I’ll just go the other way and get mine. Fuck y’all. This is an inclination which I’m currently struggling with.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While I’m trying to figure out how to quell all of the anger and disappointment I’m carrying around with me, I’m also trying to find a way forward which doesn’t involve me screaming at people at the top of my lungs about minor sleights and annoyances. Just this morning, I had to instruct my bagel guy to stop talking and just listen to my bagel shepherding instructions with an “I’M TALKING NOW, JUST LISTEN.” I apologized afterwards, and tipped him well for the affront, but holy smokes am I currently a lit fuse waiting to go off. Sorry Jose, wasn’t your fault.
Best thing, I think, is to solitarily hit the streets with the camera and lose myself in a few audiobooks. It’s been a while since I listened to “The Dunwich Horror” so I’m going to start trying to calm myself with a bit of my old pal Howie Lovecraft.
“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.
earthly year
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Recent endeavor found a humble narrator walking a friend back to their Jackson Heights digs, followed by a night time stroll back to Astoria via Woodside. One is generally not enthralled with taking photographs of residential structures, or shops. My preferential subjects are usually heavy and maritime industrial, transportation and related infrastructure, cool cars and trucks, and the occasional angry bird.
Woodside, of course, is heavily residential but it does have its charms.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I don’t know what the scoop is with this apparently abandoned church building, but I’m sure there’s at least one neighborhood ghost story told about it. That’s just the nature of things, or it should be.
C’mon, zoom in on the the windows. Is there a demon staring out at you from behind the glass? Must be. Tell me what you see in there? Spooky!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m always fascinated by the polychromatic lighting offered by the various forms of street furniture in Queens. That’s what the professionals call traffic signals and street lamps and all the other gear they install – fire boxes, bike racks, benches, hydrants. Street furniture is kind of a catch all phrase for the stuff which allows us to do our thing. If it’s well deployed, you don’t even notice its presence.
Back next week with more 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.
boughed orchard
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another evening walk in Long Island City. Pictured above is a 1915 built structure which has been dubbed as “The Point LIC” by its current owner. For much of the 20th century it was called the “Paragon Oil” building, but when it was built and opened it was called “The Subway Building” and the uppermost floor was – in fact – Queens Borough Hall during the tenure of BP Maurice Connolly.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Given that I’m able to take the trains again, I’ve been doing so.
One of the things I missed during the pandemic was the ease and low cost of getting around using mass transit. I found myself forced into paying through the nose for ride share services whenever I wasn’t able to simply walk somewhere. I was able to justify the risk of coming into contact with one stranger, but couldn’t rectify the possibility of sharing an atmosphere with dozens of strangers at Covid’s high water marks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yup, still working on this shot.
Getting close. I’m only going to be satisfied when I hit a crimson and orange sky behind the train, but that’s just a matter of right place/right time. If you’re moving through Queens Plaza at anytime between 8:15 and 8:45 and you notice a deconstructed pile of old man waving a camera about in the direction of the Silvercup sign, that’s probably going to be me. Don’t say hello, I’ll only disappoint you in person, and you might be horrified.
I have that effect on people.
“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.
rocky slope
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An afternoon shot from up on the Kosciuszcko Bridge, looking downwards at the always fabulous Newtown Creek. As mentioned, one is making it a point of getting out and into the direct radiates of the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself. On this particular day, I was meeting and then taking a walk with a friend from Brooklyn and catching up on the latest nuances of political struggle and activist community innuendo in Greenpoint. It’s a pressure cooker over there.
Why not crack out a few shots along the way?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Since I wasn’t “considering and composing” these shots should be considered to be “snap shots” rather than photographs. Since 99% of the people reading this wouldn’t care about the artsy fartsy distinction between the two, I shouldn’t even mention it.
There’s a lot of nuance which goes into even a “snap shot” for me, but there’s a real difference in how you approach the capture. If that was a “photograph” I would have used a neutral density filter (and tripod) to slow down the exposure speed, which would have rendered the water as looking like a mirror rather than allowing all of those water ripples to form a distracting “busy” area. As mentioned, however, I was there to chat and any photos that fell out of the encounter were just a bonus.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On my way back home, one scuttled through LIC and past Dutch Kills where possible evidences of “it” were observed. “It” is something that was described to me last year by some of the street people whom I converse with. In fact, I’ve got a small legion of people who irregularly report things about Newtown Creek to me. This particular methodology is something I picked up from Sherlock Holmes and the Batman comics.
You’d be surprised at what someone will tell you for the price of a bottle of cold beer and a bag of Fritos. Hidden knowledge is cheap these days.
“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 