Posts Tagged ‘kosciuszko bridge’
evil counsel
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned in prior postings, there are certain dates on the calendar which are remarkable for the long list of significant events which have made their mark in the historical record. August 9th is one of those days.
In 586 BCE, for instance- the Temple of Solomon was toppled during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, and in 1483- the Sistine Chapel was opened for Mass in Rome. In 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal in Berlin.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Charlie Manson sent his Helter Skelter squad to Sharon Tate’s place on the ninth of August in 1969, and the Victorian era ended when the Edwardian began in Great Britain. In 48 BCE, Julius Caesar and his Legions won the Battle of Pharsalus against Pompey. In 117 AD, a Caesar named Trajan died, and two hundred sixty one years later in 378- another named Valens was obliterated by the Visigoths.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Today is the “national day” of Singapore, the Eastern Orthodox feast day of Saint Herman of Alaska, and the day that Jerry Garcia died. It’s also the day that history changed forever, for the second time, when the city of Nagasaki ceased to be.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is the 222nd day of the 12th year of the 2nd millennia, and the anniversary of Richard M. Nixon resigning the Presidency of the United States. It’s also the United Nations “International Day of the World’s Indigenous People“.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We’ve just passed through the halfway point of summertime in the Northern Hemisphere, on this oddly propitious date. History is a series of coincidences, strung together after the fact, but any calendrical marker which ties together the fall of the Temple of Solomon with the rise of Caesar, the fall of Dick Nixon, the great working of Charlie Manson, and the use of an Atomic Bomb betrays something else. Dire portent abounds.
wonderful likewise
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Often spotted but seldom photographed, this is (apparently) a Great Blue Heron which has been evading my lens on the fabled Newtown Creek all year. Often too far away to claim a clear shot, or darting about the sky madly, I’ve been chasing this bird for a very long time.
from wikipedia
It is the largest North American heron and, among all extant herons, it is surpassed only by the Goliath Heron and the White-bellied Heron. It has head-to-tail length of 91–137 cm (36–54 in), a wingspan of 167–201 cm (66–79 in), a height of 115–138 cm (45–54 in), and a weight of 2.1–3.6 kg (4.6–7.9 lb). Notable features include slaty flight feathers, red-brown thighs, and a paired red-brown and black stripe up the flanks; the neck is rusty-gray, with black and white streaking down the front; the head is paler, with a nearly white face, and a pair of black plumes running from just above the eye to the back of the head. The feathers on the lower neck are long and plume-like; it also has plumes on the lower back at the start of the breeding season. The bill is dull yellowish, becoming orange briefly at the start of the breeding season, and the lower legs gray, also becoming orangey at the start of the breeding season. Immature birds are duller in color, with a dull blackish-gray crown, and the flank pattern only weakly defined; they have no plumes, and the bill is dull gray-yellow. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 43–48 cm (17–19 in), the tail is 15.2–19 cm (6.0–7.5 in), the culmen is 13.1–15.2 cm (5.2–6.0 in) and the tarsus is 15.7–21 cm (6.2–8.3 in).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just in case you’re wondering, the weird background blur you see was produced entirely “in camera” rather than via the wonders of photoshop. Your humble photographer was onboard a boat headed in the opposite direction than that which the heron was traveling in, and I was horizontally tracking its flight while narrowly “zone focused”- producing the motion blur.
from harborestuary.org
Collectively known as the Harbor Herons, this suite of species includes: Great Egret (Ardea alba), Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus, Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor), Green Heron (Butorides striatus), Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. Herons and their allies are not new to the NY metropolitan region (Bernick and Elbin, in preparation). Since enforcement of the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Harbor Herons have significantly colonized the NY/NJ Harbor Region. Water quality has improved (NJ Harbor Dischargers Group 2006), but quality wetland habitat has become scarce, degraded, and fragmented.. Birds of traditionally isolated habitats, secure from human disturbance, have adapted to human- altered landscapes (Parsons and Burger 1982). Some species thrive as ̳human subsidized‘ and learn to forage among landfills, loaf on the rip rap, and raise their young on islands nestled between barges and smoke stacks (Burger 1981a, Parsons 1987, 1990, Maccarone and Parsons 1994, Maccarone and Brzorad 1998).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s always surprising to see an animal of this size and niche status here at the Newtown Creek, especially considering the comments of State officials offered to me a few months back describing the place as a “dead sea”. If you click through to the full set of images surrounding these four at my Flickr page, you’ll see the bird hunting amongst the waterline stones of a “rip rap” shoreline which is quite typical for the Brooklyn side of the Creek between Maspeth Creek and Meeker Avenue.
That’s right, this bird is flying around under the Kosciuszko Bridge through the heart of the Greenpoint and Blissville Oil Spills.
The great blue heron nests colonially and usually in tall living or dead trees. The nest is a large flat platform of twigs. Nests may be used for more than a year. The nest will become larger each year as the birds add more nesting material.
Breeding begins from early March through April and usually ends in July. Each pair lays 3 to 7 eggs and incubation lasts 25 to 29 days. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the young. The young are usually ready to fly at 60 days after hatching and will leave the nest at between 64 to 90 days. They may then breed at two years of age.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Consultation is appreciated by those who are familiar with the world of birding, for- as mentioned in the past- every time I try to identify a bird I end up with egg on my face. From references found online, I seem to be correct in my identification, but have often been wrong in the past.
What do you think, gentle readers? Use the comments link below if you can bless or damn my assessment of the specie.
from dec.ny.gov
An estuary is a place where salty water from the ocean mixes with fresh water from the land and creates a unique and special place for marine species to live, feed, and reproduce. Estuaries are transitional areas where the ocean tides bring in nutrients and animals, while freshwater runoff reduces the stress caused by saltwater and carries even more nutrients. Often, estuaries have a restriction across the mouth, like a barrier beach or sand bar which offers protection from the full force of ocean waves and storms. Estuaries are a critical part of the life cycle of many different species. They are the spawning and nursery area for thousands of animals who seek out the quieter waters of estuaries to provide a protected nursery for their offspring. Estuaries also provide a food rich resting area for migrating waterfowl like black ducks, harlequin ducks, scoters, and scaup. Wading birds like the great blue heron, great egret, and glossy ibis, and snowy egret nest in colonies on islands found in New York Harbor, Long Island Sound and Gardiners Bay. Raptors like osprey and northern harriers also nest and feed throughout the marine district of New York.
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August 5th, 2012- Newtown Creek Alliance Walking Tour- The Insalubrious Valley- This Sunday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Newtown Creek Alliance historian Mitch Waxman will be leading a walk through the industrial heartlands of New York City, exploring the insalubrious valley of the Newtown Creek.
The currently undefended border of Brooklyn and Queens, and the place where the Industrial Revolution actually happened, provides a dramatic and picturesque setting for this exploration. We’ll be visiting two movable bridges, the still standing remains of an early 19th century highway, and a forgotten tributary of the larger waterway. As we walk along the Newtown Creek and explore the “wrong side of the tracks” – you’ll hear tales of the early chemical industry, “Dead Animal and Night Soil Wharfs”, colonial era heretics and witches and the coming of the railroad. The tour concludes at the famed Clinton Diner in Maspeth- where scenes from the Martin Scorcese movie “Goodfellas” were shot.
Lunch at Clinton Diner is included with the ticket.
Details/special instructions.
Meetup at the corner of Grand Street and Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn at 11 a.m. on August 5, 2012. The L train serves a station at Bushwick Avenue and Grand Street, and the Q54 and Q59 bus lines stop nearby as well. Check MTA.info as ongoing weekend construction often causes delays and interruptions. Drivers, it would be wise to leave your vehicle in the vicinity of the Clinton Diner in Maspeth, Queens or near the start of the walk at Grand St. and Morgan Avenue (you can pick up the bus to Brooklyn nearby the Clinton Diner).
Be prepared: We’ll be encountering broken pavement, sometimes heavy truck traffic as we move through a virtual urban desert. Dress and pack appropriately for hiking, closed-toe shoes are highly recommended.
Clinton Diner Menu:
- Cheese burger deluxe
- Grilled chicken over garden salad
- Turkey BLT triple decker sandwich with fries
- Spaghetti with tomato sauce or butter
- Greek salad medium
- Greek Salad wrap with French fries
- Can of soda or 16oz bottle of Poland Spring
for August 5th tickets, click here for the Newtown Creek Alliance ticketing page
trembling anxiety
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Recent adventure carried your humble narrator from the noble hills of raven tressed Astoria unto the engineered environment surrounding that squamous exemplar of municipal neglect known as the Newtown Creek. Hardly an extraordinary destination, for one such as myself, and noteworthy only because of the early hour at which the visit occurred. Sleep is an enemy to me, surrendered to only when absolutely necessary, and accordingly both my waking and work habits are those of the late rising nocturne.
I’m all ‘effed up.
from wikipedia
Hypnophobia or somniphobia is an abnormal fear of sleep. It may result from a feeling of control loss, or from repeating nightmares. The prefix Hypno- originates from the Greek word hypnos, which means sleep.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Seldom have I gazed upon the Newtown Creek in such ante meridiem illumination. Tidal influence on the Creek, this far back, is a vertical affair. The horizontal movement of water is slight, but rises and falls a few feet following the patterns set by the East River, which the Newtown Creek is technically a tributary of. The mucoid slick observed in the shots above, I would offer, are fats which were carried out of the sewer outfalls which form a garland about the waterway.
Likely, these are cooking oils and congealed grease.
from wikipedia
Mysophobia (from Greek μύσος – musos, “uncleanness” and φόβος – phobos, “fear”) is a term used to describe a pathological fear of contamination and germs. Someone who has such a fear is referred to as a mysophobe. The term was introduced by Dr. William Alexander Hammond in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one’s hands. This phobia is sometimes referred to as germophobia or germaphobia, a combination of germ and phobia to mean fear of germs, as well as bacillophobia, bacteriophobia, and spermophobia.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There had been rain the night before, one of the powerful bursts which have- so far- made the summer of 2012 remarkable not just for their intensity but for providing punctuation around periods of intense heat. One quarter of an inch of rain resolves, city wide, into a billion gallons of storm water pulsing into a byzantine and often century old network of weirs, tunnels, and pipes. No engineered working of men can endure such sudden volume, and during sustained events especially, should be expected to.
Friends and associates, versed in the esoteric facets of storm water infrastructure management, instruct one not to flush a toilet during a rainstorm unless absolutely necessary- in order to alleviate some of the burden on the system.
from wikipedia
Phobophobia (from Greek: φόβος, phobos, “fear”) is a phobia defined as the fear of phobias, or the fear of fear, including intense anxiety and unrealistic and persistent fear of the somatic sensations and the feared phobia ensuing. Phobophobia can also be defined as the fear of phobias or fear of developing a phobia. Phobophobia is related to anxiety disorders and panic attacks directly linked to other types of phobias, such as agoraphobia. When a patient has developed phobophobia, their condition must be diagnosed and treated as part of anxiety disorders.
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Click for details on Mitch Waxman’s
Upcoming boat tours of Newtown Creek
July 22nd, 2012- Working Harbor Committee Newtown Creek Boat Tour
virgin aether
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“It’s a meat grinder over there” is a phrase and analogous statement often used by modern pundits to describe a past or present war, firefight, or even a less than welcoming part of the Bronx.
Conjuring imagery of familiar butcher tools spewing out hamburger meat, the term means something else entirely to those versed in the lore of that infamous cataract known as the Newtown Creek.
To those who have stared too long at the blasted heaths of Blissville, “It’s a meat grinder over there” refers to a certain spot in DUGABO (Down Under the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge Onramp), the mention of which engenders the sudden display of wan and pale complexions upon the faces of long time area residents merely at the mention of its cursed and shunned name.
Van Iderstine.
from 1875’s “Report of the Department of Health of the City of Brooklyn, N.Y.“, courtesy google books
FAT RENDERING.
In this process animal fat, obtained from the slaughter-houses and butcher-shops, is exposed to sufficient heat to liquefy it The resulting tallow is removed to settling-vats, and finally [tacked in suitable casks to harden. Up to within the past lew years the methods in use were of the most primitive description, the fatty materia) being placed in open kettles and heat applied at the bottom. As during the heating of the mass very offensive odors are given off, consisting of sulphureted and phosphureted hydrogen and ammoniacal gases, repeated complaints were caused, and it became necessary to adopt some method of correcting the evil.
The most improved methods dispose of the noxious goses by combustion or condensation. The latter is the one adopted by the factories in this district, and consists of the following process. The fatty material is placed in a steam-tight tank (Lockwood & Everett’s), capable of holding about ten thousand pounds; the tank is double, being, in fact, a smaller tank within a larger. The fat is contained in the inner compartment, while the outer is used for holding the steam. On applying the steam heat, pressure is originated in the mass, and the offensive gases thereby forced through a condensing-pipe into Newtown creek below low-water mark. The tallow at a certain stage is passed by its proper pipe to a large open vat, from which it is dipped into casks. The residue, known as “scrap,” is subsequently removed through a trap in the bottom of the tank, and being pressed is sold for fertilizing purposes.
By this method all offense appears to be prevented, and the manufacture might be carried on without prejudice in a built-up portion of the city.
In this district there are three rendering factories of any importance, all situated on Newtown Creek, near Greenpoint avenue. The owners are F. A. Van Iderstine, S. Rosenbaeh and John Van Iderstine.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Chicago’s Phillip Armour, whose industrial methodology was contemporaneously described as “using every part of the pig except the squeal”, set a standard for the industrial exploitation of animals. Inedible parts of farm or food livestock, spoiled meat or rancid chicken eggs, dead animals such as equines, canines, feral cats- even the collected blood from slaughterhouse killing floors was (and is) a valuable commodity.
Rendering companies receive this organic “raw material” from butcher shops, slaughterhouses, dog pounds, and veterinarians.
In the days of horse and Ox drawn carriages, thousands of dead pack animals found their way to the Van Iderstine mills, which seemed to specialize in larger mammals.
I haven’t been able to locate a primary source for this not locked up behind a paywall, yet, but they apparently handled Elephants.
from fire-police-ems.com
In the early days any animal which died on the streets of New York, such as horses that pulled wagons, circus animals, some as huge as elephants, that died when the circus came to town, were taken to the Van Iderstine Factory. There, they were put into a giant funnel set-up that had huge meat grinders at the bottom which ground up their bodies. These smaller more manageable pieces were brought to other buildings on the large factory premises where the fat was rendered to make soap and glue.
Van Iderstine trucks would also go to butchers all over the city to buy their waste fat and bones.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Some detail will be presented and discussed in later postings of the subject, as the early Van Iderstine story is obscured behind distaste for their long presence in the community, and reviled on both sides of the Creek. An odd thing, considering they were a major employer and- in one corporate guise or another- the operation was in this spot for a little over a century. There’s a Green Asphalt company in the shot above, which is found in modernity at the extreme eastern side of the Van Iderstine property.
A fire in 1964, coupled with a rising tide of community activism, is said to have led to the company’s abandonment of the site and eventual move to Newark, New Jersey.
from wikipedia
The rendering industry is one of the oldest recycling industries, and made possible the development of a large food industry. The industry takes what would otherwise be waste materials and makes useful products such as fuels, soaps, rubber, plastics, etc. At the same time, rendering solves what would otherwise be a major disposal problem. As an example, the USA recycles more than 21 million metric tons annually of highly perishable and noxious organic matter. In 2004, the U.S. industry produced over 8 million metric tons of products, of which 1.6 million metric tons were exported.
Usually, materials used as raw materials in the rendering process are susceptible to spoilage. However, after rendering, the materials are much more resistant to spoiling. This is due to the application of heat either through cooking in the wet rendering process or the extraction of fluid in the dry rendering process. The fat obtained can be used as low-cost raw material in making grease, animal feed, soap, candles, biodiesel, and as a feed-stock for the chemical industry. Tallow, derived from beef waste, is an important raw material in the steel rolling industry providing the required lubrication when compressing steel sheets. The meat and the bones (which are in a dry, ground state) are converted to what is known as meat and bone meal. For many years meat and bone meal were fed to cattle. This practice is now prohibited in developed countries because it is believed to be the main route for the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease, BSE), which is also fatal to human beings. Meat and bone meal from cattle is, however, fed to non-ruminant animals and meat and bone meal from non-ruminant animals is fed to cattle in the United States. This may not prove to be a solution to the problem due to the resistant nature of the infectious agent of BSE, a misfolded protein (prion). Therefore, even if cattle is fed to non-ruminant animals and vice-versa, it will not prevent BSE from occurring. The underlying cause is that the prion survives within the system of the animal that has been fed with meat and bone meal from different animals including cattle. These animals are then eventually rendered and fed to cattle, which also results in the development of the disease.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Effluents, miasma, all sorts of ugly “humours”, hung in the air around the Van Iderstine Mill. A complex of buildings, there would have been dozens of dark blue trucks waiting to tip their loads into the yard. Workers would have sorted fester from boil, fat from bone, and would have had to be quick with both saw and hook- along with possessing a startling ability to ignore a blasting and pestilential stink.
The LIRR tracks, of course, run right alongside the property and provided the factory with freight service. These tracks were also used by passenger trains heading east from Hunters Point.
One colorful description of experiencing Van Iderstine in a passenger train advanced that the writer’s first impression of the distant scene was that a series of smoky campfires had been lit at Van Iderstine, with long plumes of black smoke trailing into an evening sky.
When the train came nearer, he realized that the smoke was actually formed by billions of flies descending on the yard from the swampy wetlands found east of the spot, past Haberman and around Maspeth Creek.
from epa.gov
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the primary air pollutants emitted from rendering operations. The major constituents that have been qualitatively identified as potential emissions include organic sulfides, disulfides, C-4 to C-7 aldehydes, trimethylamine, C-4 amines, quinoline, dimethyl pyrazine, other pyrazines, and C-3 to C-6 organic acids. In addition, lesser amounts of C-4 to C-7 alcohols, ketones, aliphatic hydrocarbons, and aromatic compounds are potentially emitted. No quantitative emission data were presented. Historically, the VOCs are considered an odor nuisance in residential areas in close proximity to rendering plants, and emission controls are directed toward odor elimination. The odor detection threshold for many of these compounds is low; some as low as 1 part per billion (ppb). Of the specific constituents listed, only quinoline is classified as a hazardous air pollutant (HAP). In addition to emissions from rendering operations, VOCs may be emitted from the boilers used to generate steam for the operation.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sensational hyperbole is what it seems to be.
Nearly every reference to Van Iderstine and the other renderers- or distilleries like Fleischman Yeast- involves a court case or ordinance condemning them. Rest assured that the horror stories, in particular the ones offered by the NY State Board of Health, are likely true. Reports from community members old enough to remember the operation are less than glowing. It’s just odd.
The Board of Health reports, then and now, are considered sworn testimony- but…
This was the golden age of Tammany Hall.
Entirely speculative, this, but: In the 1890’s, the Tammany boys were cooking up the consolidation of the City of Greater New York, and they very well might have needed a villain or two for their political narratives. I’m just getting started on this one, I’ll let you know what can be squirreled out on the subject.
After all- who can guess, all there is, that might be buried down there?
from 1894’s “Public Papers of Roswell P. Flower, Governor” courtesy google books
A continuous nuisance of a serious character is caused, (a) by Hildebrandt’s Works, located on Furman’s Island, just north of Wissel’s offal dock. This is a small wooden structure where blood and animal refuse matter are treated in an open kettle; (b) by the following rendering establishments: Preston’s Fertilizer and Rendering Works; Peter Van Iderstine, Jr.’s Fat Rendering Works; F. A. Van Iderstine’s Rendering Works; Fred. Heffners Fat Rendering Works.
These rendering establishments depend upon the water of the creek for water supply to furnish their condensers. The latter are used to condense the gases and vapors given off during the process of rendering. These gases and vapors, condensed and held in solution and in suspension in the water, are discharged into the creek with the discharge from said condensers. The creek water is utterly unfit for this purpose, and the creek itself is unfit to receive such discharge, which, under the conditions now existing thereat, is a source of nuisance that can only be abated by closing the rendering works named in this section, or by a radical change in the present method of disposing of the gases in question. The latter, under the circumstances, is not practicable.
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Click for details on Mitch Waxman’s
Upcoming walking and boat tours of Newtown Creek
July 8th, 2012- Atlas Obscura Walking Tour- The Insalubrious Valley
for July 8th tickets, click here for the Atlas Obscura ticketing page
July 22nd, 2012- Working Harbor Committee Newtown Creek Boat Tour
antique bridge
– photo by Mitch Waxman
To be seen by so many diminishes me.
Seeking solace, one such as myself can only find succor and peace in those hinterland angles found between neighborhoods- or boroughs. Neither tick nor tock, Brooklyn nor Queens, the concrete devastations found in these places are nepenthe. Often do I find that my steps have carried me in some inexorable and unconscious fashion to the Grand Street Bridge, spanning the lamentable waters of the Newtown Creek itself.
DUGSBO has been calling to me (Down Under the Grand Street Bridge Onramp) again.
from nyc.gov
The bridge is located between Gardner Avenue in Brooklyn and 47th Street in Queens. The Grand Street Bridge is a 69.2m long swing type bridge with a steel truss superstructure. The general appearance of the bridge remains the same as when it was opened in 1903. The bridge provides a channel with a horizontal clearance of 17.7m and a vertical clearance, in the closed position, of 3.0m at MHW and 4.6m at MLW. The bridge structure carries a two-lane two-way vehicular roadway with sidewalks on either side. The roadway width on the bridge is 6.0m and the sidewalks are 1.8m wide. The height restriction is 4.1m. The approach roadways are wider than the bridge roadway. For example, the width of Grand Avenue at the east approach to the bridge (near 47th Street) is 15.11m.
The first bridge on this site, opened in 1875, quickly became dilapidated due to improper maintenance. Its replacement, opened in 1890, was declared by the War Department in 1898 to be “an obstruction to navigation.” Following a thorough study, a plan was adopted in 1899 to improve the bridge and its approaches. The current bridge was opened on February 5, 1903 at a cost of $174,937.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is close to the cartographic end of the actual “Newtown Creek”, although the English Kills tributary slithers forth into Brooklyn and slouches roughly toward Bushwick from this spot. Truncated wetlands, the canalized bulkheads and present shape of the waterway were established by the Army Corps of Engineers in the early 20th century, eradicating any semblance to what the Mespat, Dutch, or English knew the place to look like.
There used to be a nearby island, called Mussel, which the Federal authorities spent no small amount of effort on eradicating from common memory, for instance.
The East Branch, as the water on the eastern side of the Grand Street Bridge is called, continues a short distance and terminates in a complex of sewage infrastructure which underlies Metropolitan Avenue.
from 1920’s Port of New York Annual, courtesy google books
Newtown Creek is a tidal arm of the East River, and forms the boundary between the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City. The mouth of the creek is nearly opposite 34th Street, Manhattan, and 4 miles northeast from the Battery. Its length is about 4 miles, with width varying from 125 to 200 feet.
About 2.75 miles above its mouth it divides into two branches, termed the East Branch and English Kills, or West Branch. About 4,000 feet above the mouth a tributary, Dutch Kills, 4,450 feet long, enters the creek from the east, and almost directly opposite another tributary, Whale Creek, 2,000 feet long, enters it from the west. Maspeth Creek, 3,550 feet long, branches off to the southward 2.25 miles below the mouth of the creek. Mussel Island, included in the existing project for removal, is situated just above the junction of Maspeth Creek with the main stream. The drainage area embraces about 7 square miles, for the most part densely built up along the banks of the creek.
Previous projects.—The original project was adopted by the river and harbor act of June 14, 1880, and was modified and extended by the river and harbor acts of July 5, 1884, and June 3, 1886. A total of $527,530.58 had been expended on the modified project prior to the adoption of the existing project on March 2, 1919.
The amount spent for new work and maintenance can not be separately stated with accuracy, the division in the early years being intermediate. An approximate estimate is that $401,260.51 were applied to new work and $126,270.07 to maintenance.
Existing project.—This provides for a channel 20 feet deep at mean low water in Newtown Creek, including Dutch Kills, Maspeth Creek, and English Kills, and of the following widths: 250 feet wide at the entrance to Newtown Creek, narrowing to 150 feet, and continuing with this width to the Grand Street Bridge on the East Branch, and thence 125 feet wide to Metropolitan Avenue on said branch, including the removal of Mussel Island; 150 feet wide in English Kills, or West Branch, to the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge across said branch, including the easing of bonds; 100 feet wide for a distance of 2,000 feet up Maspeth Creek; and 75 to 100 feet wide for a distance of 2,800 feet up Dutch Kills, with a turning basin at the head, and for the collection and removal of drift. The total length of channel included in the project is about 25,000 feet.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Traffic, of an automotive sort, courses through and defines this locale. On the Brooklyn side, the neighborhood is called East Williamsburg and on the Queens side it’s an ancient community called Maspeth. There used to a light electric rail running through here and across the bridge, which contemporaneous sources referred to as “a streetcar” (trolley to we moderns), along Grand Street. It allowed for expansion of the great human hive in both directions, which allowed workers to get to and from the dark satanic mills of the industrial age.
Today, there’s a city bus which follows an ancient route of cart and horse, later travelled by streetcar and trolley.
Back during the days of industry, however, the preferred methodology for shipping freight was either rail or barge, not inefficient automotive conveyance.
also from nyc.gov
The highest volume Brooklyn-Queens highway was the Kosciuszko Bridge on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, with two-way daily volume of 190,800 vehicles, 32.0% of all traffic on the monitored thoroughfares and 71.4% of Newtown Creek crossings. Belt Parkway (Shore Parkway) was second with 155,600 vehicles per day, 26.1% of the total recorded screenline traffic.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the great shames about the modern era along the Newtown Creek, often remarked upon at this- your Newtown Pentacle, is that so few of the industries based along the water utilize the bulkheaded shorelines lining their properties for their intended purpose.
Instead, the vast majority of stakeholders in the watershed are truck based businesses.
Soot paints the walls, and a bizarre “colour“- not part of any familiar palette or wholesome hue- but instead like something from outer (or perhaps out of) space- stains the vegetation and building stock with a queer sort of iridescence.
from nyc.gov
During the 47 years from 1963 to 2010, daily traffic crossing Newtown Creek increased 66.5%, to 267,100 from 160,400. Volumes increased on all four facilities: Kosciuszko Bridge up 86.7% to 190,800 from 102,200; J.J. Byrne Memorial Bridge up 51.5% to 26,700 from 17,600; Pulaski Bridge up 29.5% to 37,000 from 28,600; Grand Street Bridge up 5.3% to 12,700 from 12,000.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Overheard murmurs, carelessly spoken in my company by the Manhattan elites, have revealed that -as early as 2004 (see page 75)– plans to replace this centenarian structure were being drawn. Statisticians have compiled numerical data, engineers have produced dire reports, and described the need for a newer, wider, and distinctly static vehicle bridge to be installed on this spot. Heavy trucks, the presence of a nearby MTA bus garage, and an ever increasing number of automobiles are cited as causatives.
Personal experience offers that when a city bus or fully loaded truck speeds across the structure, often far in excess of the posted speed limit, the 1903 vintage swing bridge cavitates, trembles, and vibrates tremendously.
from Mayor Low’s Administration in New York at Google Books.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Given that which flows, lugubrious and languid, below- the kinetics of the Grand Street Bridge dancing in its casements can be quite disconcerting. It is something which one grows used to, however, despite the sure knowledge that when confronting the water and sediments of this part of the Newtown Creek- a single question crowds out all other thoughts in the minds of vehicle borne transient, pedestrian, or casual visitor alike…
Who can guess, all there is, that might be buried down there?
from Annual report of the State Department of Health of New York. 1896, courtesy google books
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Also:
June 23rd, 2012- Atlas Obscura Thirteen Steps around Dutch Kills walk
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The “Obscura Day” Thirteen Steps around Dutch Kills tour proved that the efficacy and charms of the Newtown Creek’s least known tributary, with its myriad points of interest, could cause a large group to overlook my various inadequacies and failings. The folks at Atlas Obscura, which is a fantastic website worthy of your attentions (btw), have asked me to repeat the tour on the 23rd of June- also a Saturday.
for June 23rd tickets, click here for the Atlas Obscura ticketing page
June 30th, 2012- Working Harbor Committee Kill Van Kull walk
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My various interests out on the sixth borough, NY Harbor, have brought me into association with the Working Harbor Committee. A member of the group’s Steering Committee- I also serve as the “official” group photographer, am chairman and principal narrator of their annual Newtown Creek Boat Tour, and occasionally speak on the microphone during other tours (mainly the Brooklyn one). This year, the group has branched out into terrestrial explorations to compliment the intense and extant schedule of boat tours, and I’m going to be leading a Kill Van Kull walking tour that should be a lot of fun.
The Kill Van Kull, or tugboat alley as its known to we harbor rats, is a tidal strait that defines the border of Staten Island and New Jersey. A busy and highly industrialized waterfront, Working Harbor’s popular “Hidden Harbor – Newark Bay” boat tours provide water access to the Kill, but what is it like on the landward side?
Starting at the St. George Staten Island Ferry terminal, join WHC Steering Committee member Mitch Waxman for a walk up the Kill Van Kull via Staten Islands Richmond Terrace. You’ll encounter unrivaled views of the maritime traffic on the Kill itself, as well as the hidden past of the maritime communities which line it’s shores. Surprising and historic neighborhoods, an abandoned railway, and tales of prohibition era bootleggers await.
The tour will start at 11, sharp, and you must be on (at least) the 10:30 AM Staten Island Ferry to meet the group at St. George. Again, plan for transportation changes and unexpected weirdness to be revealed to you at MTA.info.
for June 30th tickets, click here for the Working Harbor Committee ticketing page
July 8th, 2012- Atlas Obscura Walking Tour- The Insalubrious Valley
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Newtown Creek Alliance historian Mitch Waxman will be leading a walk through the industrial heartlands of New York City, exploring the insalubrious valley of the Newtown Creek.
The currently undefended border of Brooklyn and Queens, and the place where the Industrial Revolution actually happened, provides a dramatic and picturesque setting for this exploration. We’ll be visiting two movable bridges, the still standing remains of an early 19th century highway, and a forgotten tributary of the larger waterway. As we walk along the Newtown Creek and explore the “wrong side of the tracks” – you’ll hear tales of the early chemical industry, “Dead Animal and Night Soil Wharfs”, colonial era heretics and witches and the coming of the railroad. The tour concludes at the famed Clinton Diner in Maspeth- where scenes from the Martin Scorcese movie “Goodfellas” were shot. Lunch at Clinton Diner is included with the ticket.
Details/special instructions.
Meetup at the corner of Grand Street and Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn at 11 a.m. on July 8, 2012. The L train serves a station at Bushwick Avenue and Grand Street, and the Q54 and Q59 bus lines stop nearby as well. Check MTA.info as ongoing weekend construction often causes delays and interruptions. Drivers, it would be wise to leave your vehicle in the vicinity of the Clinton Diner in Maspeth, Queens or near the start of the walk at Grand St. and Morgan Avenue (you can pick up the bus to Brooklyn nearby the Clinton Diner).
Be prepared: We’ll be encountering broken pavement, sometimes heavy truck traffic as we move through a virtual urban desert. Dress and pack appropriately for hiking, closed-toe shoes are highly recommended.
Clinton Diner Menu:
- Cheese burger deluxe
- Grilled chicken over garden salad
- Turkey BLT triple decker sandwich with fries
- Spaghetti with tomato sauce or butter
- Greek salad medium
- Greek Salad wrap with French fries
- Can of soda or 16oz bottle of Poland Spring
for July 8th tickets, click here for the Atlas Obscura ticketing page
July 22nd, 2012- Working Harbor Committee Newtown Creek Boat Tour
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Many people know about the environmental issues facing Newtown Creek, but did you know that the Creek was once the busiest waterway in North America, carrying more industrial tonnage than the entire Mississippi River?
You’ll learn much more when Working Harbor Committee’s maritime historians and harbor experts
put it all in context during a Hidden Harbor Tours: Newtown Creek Exploration.
The heart of industrial New York, Newtown Creek was home port to hundreds of tugboats (one of which is the historic WO Decker). It was also an international destination for oceangoing ships and a vast intermodal shipping and manufacturing hub that employed hundreds of thousands of people. Forming the border of Brooklyn and Queens for nearly three miles, five great cities grew rich along the Newtown Creek’s bulkheads — Greenpoint, Willamsburg, Bushwick, Long Island City and Manhattan itself. The waterway is still a vital part of the harbor and the Working Harbor Committee (WHC) is proud to present this tour as part of the celebration of their tenth anniversary year.
Mitch Waxman, a member of WHC’s steering committee and the group’s official photographer, also serves with the Newtown Creek Alliance as its group Historian. In addition to working on WHC’s boat tours of the Creek, Mitch offers a regular lineup of popular walking tours, and presents a series of well-attended slideshows for political, governmental, antiquarian, historical and school groups. His website — newtownpentacle.com — chronicles his adventures along the Newtown Creek and in the greater Working Harbor.
He was recently profiled in the NY Times Metro section, check out the article here.
Upcoming tour: Hidden Harbor Tours: Newtown Creek Exploration.
On July 22nd, Mitch shares his unique point of view and deep understanding of the past, present and future conditions of the Newtown Creek as the narrator and expedition leader for this years Hidden Harbor Tours: Newtown Creek exploration.
Our NY Water Taxi leaves from South Street Seaport at 11 a.m. (sharp) on a three hour tour of the Newtown Creek. From the East River we’ll move into the Newtown Creek where we’ll explore explore vast amounts of maritime infrastructure, see many movable bridges and discover the very heart of the Hidden Harbor.
Limited seating available, get your tickets today.
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The Newtown Pentacle 