babbling over
National Feasting week is upon us, eat long and hard, lords and ladies.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured above is the magical Chrysler Building, surrounding by the dross modernity of Manhattan. One of the few shots captured in the City after a recent crossing the Queensboro Bridge, which was detailed in recent posts. Odds are that few, or any, of you reading this post will actually be in New York for the holiday weekend – so Newtown Pentacle will be going into its traditional holding pattern for the next few days.
Don’t worry, I’ll still be publishing, but it’s just going to some pretty pictures for a few days, without much meat on the bone.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Personally, your humble narrator will be in town.
Holiday weekends such as Thanksgiving are a fantastic time to avoid family and friends for me, and to wander aimlessly about in the concrete devastations of the nearly deserted industrial quarters of the Newtown Creek. There’s quite a few irons in the fire, however, and one fairly earth shattering project in LIC which I’m extremely excited about which I’ll fill y’all in on when you settle back into your desk chairs on Monday next.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Suffice to say that it involves a defunct railroad trackway, LIC, and the MTA itself. I’d tell you more, but that would technically be “spoilers.”
Have a happy and a healthy one, lords and ladies.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
leftward fork
Down Under the Kosciuszko Bridges Onramps – DUKBO, part 2 – in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described in my last post, a visit to the NYS DOT’s Kosciuszko Bridge project site was arranged for members of the “Stakeholders Advisory Group” that is connected to the project. Community members, business owners, representatives of municipal agencies and elected officialdom, the SAG’s job is to bring concerns to the attention of the project managers of the K Bridge project. Anyone interested in finding out more about the project straight from the source, or who feel that they should be involved, can contact the Community Liason’s office.
There’s all sorts of job opportunities available on the project as well, for those of you involved with the trades, but quite obviously that’s not something a humble narrator can help you out with.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the left side of the shot above is the Robert Moses 1939 era “New Meeker Avenue” Bridge, which was rechristened in 1940 as the Kosciuszko Bridge. Its original purpose, as far as Mayor LaGuardia was concerned, was to allow egress for the multitudes of Brooklyn to the 1939 Worlds Fair over in what we refer to as “Flushing Meadow Corona Park.” For Moses, it was the first link in a chain which he originally called the “Brooklyn Queens Connecting Highway” which modernity knows as the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.
Technical note – the Gowanus Expressway actually was the first part of the modern BQE to be built, but my understanding is that Moses didn’t intend for it to be part of the BQE – it was incorporated into the larger expressway when the Verazzano was being built.
That’s my understanding, I might be incorrect, so “grain of salt.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Brooklyn side of the Newtown Creek enjoys a rather shallow firmament, as a craton which underlies this section of western Long Island – essentially an enormous glacial erratic or boulder – is only about sixty to seventy feet below the surface and sits at a fairly oblique angle relative to the land.
The Queens side is basically a giant pile of mud more than a hundred feet deep, and the bedrock craton on the northern or Queens side of the Creek is more difficult to access. The original or 1939 Kosciuszko Bridge piers on the Queens side are essentially founded on concrete blocks floating in this mud. The new bridge will be anchored in the bedrock instead. (This, incidentally, isn’t something I know from the SAG, rather its “history” stuff).
The piles seen above are in various stages of being driven down to the craton – or bedrock.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As we neared the shoreline of Newtown Creek, I mentioned to several people that this was one of the spots which I had never actually set foot upon. There used to be a carting company here which was… let’s just say that they didn’t like people with cameras wandering around, and that the few times which I did approach their fencelines over the years resulted in my being literally threatened by several mustachioed people with a distinctly Italian variant of the North Brooklyn accent. As I often say, I only run when someone or something is chasing me, and after meeting these fellows I was running.
The metallic box pictured above was a pretty cool thing, however.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The new Kosciuszko Bridge is going to be a “cable stay” bridge, the first of its kind in NYC. The device pictured above is what the cables will be running through. The cables will leave their anchorage and climb up and over the towers, feeding down to and supporting the roadway over the water. This is a pretty important bit of kit, obviously, as the BQE carries a couple of hundred thousand vehicles a day over Newtown Creek.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking towards West Maspeth’s border with Blissville near Calvary Cemetery, across the lugubrious Newtown Creek. The Queens side of the job is on schedule, but the process isn’t quite as far along on the north shore. You can see the piers which will carry the road, but the towers which will support the cables haven’t been erected yet.
There’s a whole lot of environmental “ugly” in the shot above, the ground to the right is part of the Phelps Dodge State Superfund site. The sediments in this section of the Newtown Creek are rife with organocoppers and all sorts of bad stuff, which is why the water and what lies below is part of the Federal Superfund site, and not too long ago it was determined that the chemical condition of the land at Phelps Dodge was too extreme for it to serve as a parking lot for USPS trucks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking up the dizzying heights of the two concrete towers of the Brooklyn side, which are still rising. There were gangs of laborers working up there, who are clearly made of sterner stuff than I. I’d need the Fire Department to come rescue me, as paralysis would set in due to the height.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking back towards the south/south west, along the ramps of the Kosciuszko Bridges. You can really see the difference in the two spans’ deck heights in the shot above. The DOT folks tell me that this is to ensure a smoother experience for drivers, as they won’t have to crest quite as high an incline. Additionally, the BQE will no longer compress to three lanes from four and then back to four again on the new bridge. There is also meant to be an entirely dedicated approach to the Long Island Expressway when the job is finished.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our visit over, the Stakeholders Advisory Group was escorted back to Meeker Avenue, where we turned in our hard hats and other safety gear.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
brought up
Down Under the Kosciuszko Bridges Onramps – DUKBO – in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The other day, Tuesday the 17th to be exact, one found himself wearing an orange vest and a hard hat with a Skanska logo on it in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
I’m a member of the Stakeholders Advisory Group for the Kosciuszko Bridge project, and we had been invited out by the NYS DOT for an inspection of the massive construction site. These are fairly exclusive shots, incidentally, and this post will be the first of two describing what I saw.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Kosciuszko project involves not just the construction of a new K bridge, and the demolition of the 1939 original, but the rerouting and redesign of the 2.1 miles of approach roads.
These roads include the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and the notoriously problematic cloverleaf exchange the BQE has with the Long Island Expressway. The project is being run by the NYS Department of Transportation, and executed by a partnership between Skanska, AECOM, and Kiewit. Skanska is the managing partner for the two phase project, the first part of which (half the new bridge, roadwork, and demolition of the original) is budgeted at $550 million.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s a massive Union Labor kind of job, and it seemed that every trade organization was present on site. These fellows were iron workers, installing the rebar which would provide structural support for the concrete deck of the BQE. The concrete guys were getting busy about a quarter of a mile back, incidentally, filling in the steel webbing that these guys were building.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another team of laborers were observed lowering structural steel into place on one of the overpasses for the highway. The sections of the new bridge currently under construction are slightly to the east of the current roadway and bridge. When this phase of the project is complete, traffic will be shifted over to it, and the 1939 Kosciuszko and BQE will be demolished.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Once demolition is complete, phase two will see the westerly half of the new Kosciuszko and BQE built. According to the officials from DOT we were with, the project is slightly ahead of schedule and they are confident they’ll meet the 2017 goal date for the opening of the new bridge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The ramp leading to the bridge is nearing Newtown Creek, but isn’t quite there yet. The ramps sit on a series of concrete piers supported by columns which rise hundreds of feet from a section of DUKBO which I’ve often referred to as the “Poison Cauldron.” Down below, there’s a series of realigned local streets which are currently off limits due to the construction.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking back to the south, the construction guys were hard at work. This is a massive undertaking, the sort of thing you don’t see that often in New York City, or at least not since Robert Moses was kicked out of power.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Down on “used to be Cherry Street” we headed north towards Newtown Creek, pausing periodically for the laborers to finish up a task. Above, a crew was moving soil around, and grading the surface.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The ramp for the BQE comes into view as you approach “used to be Anthony Street.” The new bridge will be considerably closer to the ground than the original. The 1939 bridge was built with maritime shipping in mind, and it’s altitude accommodated the height of smoke stacks typical of ocean going military and cargo ships.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Under the ramp, you can see the progress that the triple partnership and DOT have made. The structure on the right is part of the new approaches. The actual new Kosciuszko that over flies the water will be a cable stay bridge, which will make it unique in NYC. The good news, for me at least, is that the westerly section erected in stage 2 will include a pedestrian and bicycle lane that looks west along Newtown Creek towards Manhattan.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Newtown Creek is found just beyond the horizon in the shot above. That’s the old Kosciuszko Bridge on the left, with the new one being built up on the right. Traffic flows overhead, uninterrupted, during all of this activity. Beyond the Creek, it’s West Maspeth and Blissville on the other side, in Queens.
Monday, I’ll show you what we saw down at the waters edge, here in DUKBO – Down under the Kosciuszko Bridges Onramps.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
distant whine
The ugly half of walking over any East River Bridge – the Manhattan side.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking back over my shoulder, in the direction of Queens, on the pedestrian and bicycle lane of mighty Queensboro. As stated in the past, Queensboro was ceremoniously renamed for a former Mayor a few years back, and anytime someone is observed calling this span the Ed Koch bridge it just pisses me off. Accordingly, I’ve proposed renaming the Brooklyn Bridge as the “Michael Bloomberg Bridge.” Sounds outrageous and insulting to history, Brooklyn, and the Roeblings, and indicative of a somewhat crass bit of political excess? Exactly.
You couldn’t get away with it in Brooklyn, but you can in Queens where the borough motto seems to be “Welcome to Queens, now go fuck yourself.”
A long walk from Astoria to Manhattan’s east side – specifically the 20’s along Third – via the Queensboro, was the subject of yesterday’s and indeed today’s post. Today we land in a cautionary tale called Manhattan.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The bridge’s pedestrian lane makes landfall at 2nd avenue and 60th street. For some reason, the DOT has barriers set up at the bottom of the ramp which cause bicyclists to execute a sharp 180 degree turn and carry pedestrians a full block eastwards. One would imagine that most of the human powered traffic is headed west, mind you, and normally I just climb over the barriers but since there was an interval of time before my evening assignation it was decided to just play ball and “go with the flow.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, the path intended is occluded by steel supports for the Roosevelt Island Tram, which forces the itinerant pedestrian to cross over into the bike lane. This is the southern edge of the Upper East Side, incidentally, the so called “silk stocking district” where the masters live. Arguably one of the most monied neighborhoods on the planet, I’ve always found the Upper East Side particularly uninteresting. There’s a lot of interesting buildings found hereabouts, the homes of Roosevelts and Astors and so on, as well as survivor town houses from the late 19th century.
Undoubtedly, when the Second Avenue Subway finally opens in coming decades – the furnaces of the Real Estate Industrial Complex will blaze hereabouts and even the upper classes will begin to experience “gentrification” and be told that “density is good.” That’s when the four and five story townhouses will be torn down, and replaced with glass boxes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Swinging south at the corner of first avenue, you’ll find a vaulted arch lined with Guastavino tiles. They really knew how to sell a project and “gild the lily” back in 1909, I tell you. I can also tell you that on this walk over Queensboro to the 20’s along Third, the camera was quite busy and well employed until this point.
When examining the range of photos taken along the way, two thirds of the “keepers” were captured in Queens and on the bridge itself. Manhattan has become so visually homogenous and boring in recent years that it is staggeringly difficult to find something interesting to shoot.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, illegal dumping is everywhere. This bit of “feral furniture” (a term coined by my pal Ms. Heather over at NY Shitty) was a distinct step up from what you find in the concrete devastations of LIC and Greenpoint.
Tomorrow – an exploration of a completely different bridge, and an exclusive set of photos you will not see anywhere else but here – at your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
peered diligently
Visiting with an old friend, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“Back in the day,” as it were, a humble narrator used to spend an awful lot of time on the Queensboro Bridge. When the 2009 Centennial Celebrations occurred, I was actually a deputy parade marshall, which the City rewarded me for with a medal. We got to close the bridge’s lower level for a few hours, and there were marching bands and a bevy of elected officials were present – including Michael Bloomberg himself. The very first posts at this – your Newtown Pentacle – discussed the event in some detail.
In recent years, as I’ve become more and more focused on Newtown Creek and its upland properties, my walks across mighty Queensboro have decreased in frequency and a recent realization that I hadn’t actually walked the span in more than a year prompted me to start kicking my feet forward and lurch roughly forward towards Manhattan. Unfortunately, this meant I was heading onto that loathsome island and leaving the intricate geometries of Queens behind for a spell.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For those of you who haven’t taken one of NYC’s best walks, the pedestrian and bicycle lane of the Queensboro is accessed at Queens Plaza near Crescent Street. It’s not a hard walk in the least, but it does offer some fairly decent “cardio” for half of it. The long sloping ascent from Queens Plaza to the tower set into Roosevelt Island carries you hundreds of feet from the ground, and despite the gradual nature of it – you will find your heart rate increasing steadily.
Bicycles will be whizzing by at fairly high rates of speed, so be mindful of your surroundings if you decide to undertake the stroll. If you bring your camera, you will be glad you did, as the views from up on high are spectacular.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Apparently, the incline is severely felt by bicyclists, as I’ve observed them standing on the pedals and struggling against it several times. Many will dismount and walk their bikes. The “whizzing by” mentioned above occurs once they surmount the paramount of the bridge and the descending incline allows them to gain velocity quickly.
My favorite time of day for Queensboro, visually speaking, is the middle to late afternoon. The light is spectacular during that time of day, and the intricate cantilever gears of the great bridge are evenly illuminated.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking north along the East River, you’ll notice a series of steel structures which carry the Roosevelt Island Tram from Manhattan’s 2nd Avenue to the island. The tram is another one of my favorite destinations, incidentally, as it allows for a birds eye perspective on the Queensboro Bridge and the waterway it spans. One of “my walks” involves crossing the bridge, catching the tram, and then perambulating back to Astoria via the Roosevelt Island Bridge which carries pedestrian and vehicular traffic to Queens.
I’ll often stop off and hang out with my pal Judy Berdy at Roosevelt Island Historical Society when exiting the tram – which is located in a historic kiosk nearby the Tram’s landing point. You can’t miss it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Midpoint on the bridge, one always turns back and considers avoiding going to Manhattan altogether and returning to the poisoned loam of western Queens. In the instance of this particular journey, however, a humble narrator was set to meet up with friends in the City so I kept moving in a westerly direction.
I catch a lot of shade for the contempt with which Manhattan is discussed here. I actually used to live in the City for more than a decade, on Broadway at 100th street. Best move I’ve ever made was listening to Our Lady of the Pentacle when she announced that her desire was to move our HQ to Astoria. Back when I was a Manhattanite, my M.O. was “cocooning” – leaving the apartment only to go back and forth to work. There was no “community” to draw one out, and a vast depersonalization was experienced in the daily round. Whatever there once was that made the City an attractive place to live – night life, for instance – is long gone.
The City is a ruin, exploited and picked over and destroyed by the Real Estate Industrial Complex, and there is little fun to be had there anymore. Brooklyn and Queens are “where it’s at” these days – at least for one such as myself.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
