Posts Tagged ‘Blissville’
stealthy attendants
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Blissville, USA.
Found at the crux of the main body of Newtown Creek and its atavist tributary known simply as “Dutch Kills,” Sims Metal Management Queens Terminal is in deep focus this week at this, your Newtown Pentacle. My visit was prearranged with a friend who is highly placed at the corporation, and I was shepherded throughout site by its chief- Paul Lawrence, and by Daniel Strechay, a communications officer for the company.
Additionally, one of the employees whom I only know as “Dave” came along for the tour.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After the DSNY discharges its curbside recycling program pick ups, employees at Sims move the materials toward an enormous conveyor belt whereupon it is lifted away from the years and toward its traveling container, which is a barge. Joyous usage of the maritime bulkheads distinguishes this facility, which ships its product out using the water. A single barge is carries the equivalent cargo of 30 trucks, and we have enough of those on our streets already.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The conveyor deposits the recyclable material onto a barge, which is outfitted with netting designed to keep the stuff onboard, despite the best efforts of the wind. This is a critical design feature, by the way, meant to keep the waters surrounding the bulkheads from accruing sediment piles composed of plastic and glass.
Last Sunday, the tug Sea Wolf was displayed handling a similar barge of recyclables while motoring down the East River.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s how their municipal contract is handled here, in a nut shell, but as the global corporation’s name implies- Sims Metal Management is really all about metal.
An explanation of which material is destined for what market was offered, and destinations which included Turkey, Korea, and China were mentioned for various forms of scrap.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point by the onslaught of visual stimuli, your humble narrator took a breath and contemplated the global network of shipping, commodity pricing, and man power which this midden of metal was entering into. All of it, beginning here in Blissville, in the humble borough of Queens.
Upcoming tours:
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, May 25, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
The Poison Cauldron- Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets on sale soon.
Kill Van Kull- Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
carefully sheltered
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Deviant gait carried your humble narrator forth from the hillocks of raven eyed Astoria, and I had arrived at an atavist pavement known only as “Railroad Avenue” in the Blissville section of Queens, a forgotten road which runs alongside that lumbering cataract of unintended consequence known as the Newtown Creek. My goal was to accept an invitation to tour the Sims Metal Management facility which might be found at its terminus.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An industrial lane, Railroad Avenue is well named. Ancient track beds, dating back to the American Civil War, spread squamously across the land. Long ago, passenger service along these tracks created an indelibly unfavorable opinion of Long Island City, as locomotive travel moved past manure depots, rendering plants, acid factories, pickling houses, and yeast distilleries. Today, it is mostly freight, although just a few passenger trains still travel between Hunters Point and Jamaica along these rights of way.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Petroleum industry infrastructure dominates the first section of Railroad Avenue, and upon reaching its terminus, one realizes that he has arrived at the Sims Metal Management Queens Terminal. A waste transfer station, Sims receives municipal recycling materials from DSNY, and is also a large and enthusiastic global player in the metal recycling business.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Like many other industrial sites found along the Newtown Creek, Sims is off limits to the public. There is very good reason for this, as there are enormous machines which dwarf tractor trailer rigs whizzing about, and literally tons and tons of material being sorted and processed. Your humble narrator was asked to arrive with steel toe boots and appropriate clothing. Upon arriving- I was outfitted with hard hat, safety vest and glasses, and instructed by the site supervisor in the mores and habits observed by the corporation and its employees.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Procedurally speaking, Sims welcomes private and public (DSNY) recyclable material, within certain guidelines. Trucks carrying said material are weighed on an enormous scale at the gate, and the attendant creates a manifest describing what is being delivered and dispatches the vehicle to an appropriate spot to tilt and discharge its cargo. Said cargo can be anything from copper and aluminum to iron girders or automobiles.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The equipment at work here is an order of magnitude larger than what I normally witness at construction sites around the city, the rear tires on the earth mover pictured above- for instance- were 3-4 feet in diameter and seemed to be made of solid rubber or composite. Later in the day, I saw a tire change occurring on another unit, which required the presence of a specialized machine to remove tire from its axle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Of particular interest were the series of white packer trucks arriving and tilting here, carrying the Department of Sanitation’s curbside recycling pickups. Sims enjoys a municipal contract with the City to handle this task, and manage the velocity of such materials back into the plastics and glass ecosystem. A variety of raw materials can be derived from the plastic in soda bottles, for instance, including spinning the synthetic fibers woven into “fleece” sweatshirts and sneakers.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Like every other truck entering and leaving the yard, the DSNY trucks are weighed and presented with a receipt for their drop off, for which Sims will later bill the City in accordance with their contract. It is my understanding that said remittance is built around gross tonnage of materials rather than by individual truckload.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A staggering amount of these recyclables was extant on the day of my visit, but this is just one tuesday morning’s worth of material, and isn’t it even close to the final 24 hour tally. The mound visible in the shot above was likely 20 feet high, and receded back from my vantage 20-40 feet.
Tomorrow, we go deeper into the operation and find out where to get all heavy metal on the Newtown Creek.
Upcoming tours:
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, May 25, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
The Poison Cauldron- Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets on sale soon.
Kill Van Kull- Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
golden nebulae
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One such as myself is drawn to certain locales normally shunned by the teeming masses of the vast human hive. Obsessive, my long standing fascination with the processes and mores of the waste disposal and handling industries have led me to waste transfer stations, sewer plants, even cemeteries. Luckily, my beloved Newtown Creek offers exemplars of each, but there has always been a certain spot which has caught my fancy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Located at the junction of Newtown Creek with its tributary, Dutch Kills, a particular industrial site has long tantalized. Several years of stalking the place have provided for a extraordinary images, and whether onboard a vessel or on foot, visitors to the watershed are seldom disappointed by this singular location with its frenetic activity, maritime splendor, and constantly moving heavy equipment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It isn’t a terribly large facility, by Newtown Creek standards, which hosts massive properties like the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment plant, the former Standard Oil properties along Kingsland and Norman, Calvary Cemetery, the former Phelps Dodge location, or the enormous National Grid parcel. It is fortuitously located, with maritime bulkheads and along a rail line.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The sites history is storied, for this was once the home of the LIRR Manure dock, wherein the rail company’s freight operations collected that which the age of horse and carriage produced. Infamous in the historical record- this dock exhibited, in the open air, a 30 foot high and three football field long mound of human and animal manure.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The material was largely destined for use as fertilizer on the catholic estates in Jamaica, Queens, and some was shipped to points further east where it was sold as a commodity to Long Island farmers. There was also a market for the stuff, along the creek, as a raw material in the acid and fertilizer factories which lined the Queens or northern bank during the late 1800’s.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Often remarked upon by those of us who puzzle over the Newtown Creek’s unique history- during the hypercapitalist 19th century era, recycling and repurposing waste materials was referred to with the aphorism “waste not, want not” and great profits could be realized by “using every part of the pig but the squeal” as Chicago’s Philip Armour once said.
Modernity strives to achieve such profitable utility in the handling and “recycling” of our waste materials, something that seemed to have been forgotten during the decades of excess following the Second World War and which is painfully and expensively being reimagined by engineers today.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Long have my eyes desired to look upon this place directly, and not dependent on the focal and resolution of long lenses. Recent happenstance, running into an acquaintance who could arrange a site visit at a waterfront conference, finally allowed your humble narrator to approach and inspect this object of my affections.
This week we will be exploring the Queens Terminal of Sims Metal Management, found in Blissville, along the lugubrious Newtown Creek.
Upcoming tours:
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, May 25, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
The Poison Cauldron- Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets on sale soon.
Kill Van Kull- Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
tireless and continuing
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Missives regarding the Newtown Creek reach my desk all the time, mostly describing activist causes and far reaching governmental plans, but a particular message from the United States Coast Guard seemed to be the sort of thing which will likely affect the communities (on both sides and upon the water) which are nearby the troubled waterway so I decided to share it with you.
The Greenpoint Avenue Bridge is going to receiving attention, this summer, from NYC DOT bridge painting crews.
from federalregister.gov
The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge across Newtown Creek, mile 1.3, at New York City, New York. The deviation is necessary to facilitate bridge painting operations. Under this temporary deviation, the bridge may remain in the closed position for various times up to six days at a time during a four month period.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
From the sound of it, the main inconvenience will be felt by the maritime community, as the bridge repair will render the drawbridge static for as long as six days at a pop between May and September.
For drivers, and this is an incredibly busy span, one suspects that there will be traffic tie ups and lane closures but this is conjecture based solely on the behavioral and occupational patterns exhibited and displayed by DOT crews and their contractors on other projects around the City.
One suspects that the four day windows when the draw bridge is open for “business as usual” shall also witness a higher than normal number of bridge openings, which is good for me, of course as lots and lots of tugboats will be lined up along the Creek.
also from federalregister.gov
The bridge owner, New York City Department of Transportation, requested multiple six day closure periods between May 1, 2013 and September 30, 2013, to facilitate bridge painting operation at the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge. Each six day closure period will be followed with four days of normal bridge operations. The exact time and dates of each six day closure period will be announced in the Local Notice to Mariners and also with a Broadcast Notice to Mariners at least two weeks in advance of each closure period. This temporary deviation will be in effect from May 1, 2013 through September 30, 2013.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
C’est la vie, life in the big city, and what can you do about it anyway?
Such maintenance is a necessary inconvenience to keep the structure from rotting away into a corroded heap. The waters of the Newtown Creek, just like the East River, are brackish. Salt is the natural enemy of steel and no one wishes to see a traffic mess like the one created by the 1987 rebuild of the bridge occur anytime soon.
Additionally, although I imagine that the Public Art Commission will approve the continued usage of “Aluminum Green” paints for the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, I would suggest that using “Pulaski Red” all the way back to the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge would visually unite and “Brand” the Bridges of Newtown Creek.
from nyc.gov
The first bridge on this site, a drawbridge known as the Blissville, was built in the 1850’s. It was succeeded by three other bridges before a new one was completed in March 1900 at a cost of $58,519. That bridge received extensive repairs after a fire in 1919 damaged parts of the center pier fender, the southerly abutment, and the superstructure. Until that time, the bridge had also carried tracks of the Long Island Rail Road. The current bridge was built in 1987.
Also: Upcoming Tours!
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, May 4, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Parks and Petroleum- Sunday, May 12, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
The Insalubrious Valley- Saturday, May 25, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets on sale soon.
Hidden Harbor: Newtown Creek tour with Mitch Waxman – Sunday, May 26,2013
Boat tour presented by the Working Harbor Committee,
Limited seating available, order advance tickets now. Group rates available.
troubled jottings
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The scenes depicted in today’s shots actually didn’t actually look very much like these presented photo. In general, I screw around with every shot a little bit- push or pull the exposure and midpoints of dark and light, alter the color temperature to neutralize and compensate for sodium or fluorescent lights, drop an exposure gradient into a sky or on the water to compensate for glare. I’ll do the occasional tilt shift here and there, but largely strive for the ability to do it “in camera” more than anything else. Nothing major is altered, by “retoucher” standards, who would define such adjustments as merely “helping” the photo.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These photos, however, have had a whole bag of hammers thrown at them. One of the things I’m trying to eliminate from my mind these days is any fealty to the metaphor of film in creating a digital photograph. Even the term “photograph” is somewhat disingenuous as what these images actually “are” is a 23 megabyte computer file compiling the data captured by a sophisticated sensor. There is more information in the original file than is needed for reproduction, and the process of outputting the final image always involves a bit of photoshop editing work- deciding what to throw away, and that’s where the artsy fartsy stuff happens.
Losing this metaphor, the film one, leads one down the odd path of the so called “Uncanny Valley.” This term refers to a human perception bias which can instantaneously determine if something is artificially contrived, using CGI techniques to simulate a human face for instance. What I was “going for” in developing the shots as they are was a sort of old timey hand colored thing accomplished by a severely limited but quite saturated color range and an extremely high contrast regarding the black and white ratio. It’s a “formula” or “look” I’ve been asked to apply to other people’s files in my advertising life, by the way, usually for sports marketing stuff.
It beggars a certain question though- If it’s not a faithful rendition of the scene, a photograph by definition, what is it?
Also: Upcoming Tours!
Glittering Realms– Saturday, April 20, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, May 4, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Parks and Petroleum- Sunday, May 12, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets on sale soon.
The Insalubrious Valley- Saturday, May 25, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets on sale soon.
Hidden Harbor: Newtown Creek tour with Mitch Waxman – Sunday, May 26,2013
Boat tour presented by the Working Harbor Committee,
Limited seating available, order advance tickets now. Group rates available.
The Newtown Pentacle 