Posts Tagged ‘Brooklyn’
wriggling out
Today’s post is about things that really suck.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As often described, one of the many odd things about your humble narrator is my ability to suddenly notice an incongruous pattern or subtle environmental alteration invisible to others.
Something that has popped up recently are a large number of vacuum trucks plying area streets. The crew hard at work in the shot above was cleaning a noisome and aromatic sewer found at the foot of the Pulaski Bridge in Hunters Point, and they seemed to be doing an admirably sucky job.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This truck sucks. It didn’t seem to be sucking in anything other than fuel at the gas station on the corner of Steinway and Northern, but it still had the potential to massively suck. It is, in fact, labeled as being a “Supersucker.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Greenpoint too, it seems, needs trucks that suck. Observed turning north onto West Street from Greenpoint Avenue with the Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory behind it, this massive machine seemed to possess a capability to suck harder than the other two, combined, could.
This odd predilection of mine, noticing hidden patterns and odd coincidences hidden around the blasted heaths of the Northern Brooklyn and Western Queens, often reveals things that just completely suck.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Want to see something cool? June 2013 Walking Tours-
The Poison Cauldron– Saturday, June 15, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, June 22, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
The Insalubrious Valley– Saturday, June 29, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
Project Firebox 71
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Fireboxes of tony DUMBO are doing a whole lot better than those here in dross Queens, I can tell you that. Freshly painted, seemingly fully functioning, this scarlet scion of the common cause sits between the two great bridges on Cadman Plaza West in what my dad would have called “Downtern Brooklyn.”
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.
quiet travel
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just a short one today. Something pretty cool is in the pipes, and I’ve been developing a massive batch of shots from a site visit I got to do on Tuesday. Accordingly, a humble narrators eyes are tinged with red and the coffee doth flow freely. These Canada Geese are new neighbors, it seems, having taken up residence on Newtown Creek in Maspeth.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It feels as if one has spent the last few weeks doing nothing but hurtling about the harbor. Next week, it should be mentioned, the Working Harbor Committee 2013 schedule commences with the “Beyond Sandy” series of harbor tours. More information and ticketing can be found at the Working Harbor Blog, which is accomplished by Newtown Pentacle Aide de Camp and far eastern correspondent Armstrong. Check her stuff out here, and get more info on “Beyond Sandy.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I plan on being a fixture on those WHC boat tours, but not on the microphone. I’m the official photographer for the group and will be on board just shooting away. Back tomorrow with a bit more substance for you to sink your teeth into.
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.
impassable barrier
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unhappily, one must report to you that the May 26 Newtown Creek Cruise has been postponed and needs to be rescheduled. Unforeseen circumstance has reared its ugly head, in the form of the NYC DOT announcing a bridge painting project which will preclude the opening of the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge during the time and date of our excursion.
Working Harbor Committee remains committed to the trip, but we need to reschedule it for a more opportune time when the three hour exploration is not in danger of being cut short some 30 minutes in.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After reporting on the bridge maintenance last month, in the posting “tireless and continuing,” your humble narrator contacted the WHC group’s leader- Captain John Doswell- and the two of us began a lengthy debate as to what to do. The NY Water Taxi we use for these Newtown Creek Boat Tours has a shallow draft, but we couldn’t take the chance that a rising tide would trap us in front of or behind the bridge and it was decided to reschedule.
All of you who bought tickets should have already received an email from the Captain, and a refund.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The trip will likely occur in the autumn instead, probably toward the end of September. The silver lining in this is that the Newtown Creek seems to look best in the fall and those of you who are photographers will benefit greatly from the shift of seasons. I will keep you posted as news develops, but for now, apologies are offered for those of you who bought tickets and planned to spend some time with me exploring the Newtown Creek.
The walking tours listed below are offered as a curative.
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.
sylvan bower
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Snarling guardians of the public good offer a fierce defense when they discern that a passerby is carrying that veritable thunderbolt of the gods, a weapon fiercer than any other, which is called a camera. The theft and imprisonment of valuable photons in digital form is surely the greatest menace faced not just by America… nay… but by the entire World itself.
The glint of recognition crosses their noble brows, followed by a surprised glance at the lens toting madman’s face. Surely the thing he’s carrying says “Canon” for a reason they think, and then they imagine what might happen should it be pointed at them. Irritation is doubled by the fact that I NEVER cross fence lines or do any of the crazy “Urban Explorer” derring do, or climb bridges the way my pal Dave Frieder used to.
I’m like a Vampire, I need to be invited in to do my work. I also don’t like when people clunk up my shots.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The guardians, like certain employees of this seemingly wholesome scrap metal operation on Provost Street in Greenpoint, grow incensed at the very mention of such devices. Confrontation of the animal invader with its dangerous weapon occurs, and wild interpretations of civil code are shouted at it.
Puzzled, an odd mendicant with a penchant for flowery prose and long wanderings about a certain Creek- with just such a weapon in hand- was forced to remove his headphones when confronted by one of these guardians recently. Interaction with the human hive is anathema.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Most of what I wanted to say to this fellow could probably be construed as a hate crime in California, but this is Greenpoint in Brooklyn- so I toned it down a bit- but, since he volunteered and all…
I sort of began an impromptu lecture on constitutional rights, the importance of the recycling industry in which he was gainfully employed, the fact that there are no laws in the United States forbidding photography except around certain Federal facilities (inside, but not outside, a secure Military or Intelligence base, airline security etc.), certain radical notions I have about the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, and avoided questioning the parentage of his mother out of respect for the dear lady. He turned and walked away when I whipped out a pocket edition of the Bill of Rights which I keep in my camera bag.
Upcoming tours:
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 now on sale.
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.
for a full listing and schedule of tours and events, click here
The Newtown Pentacle 