Posts Tagged ‘Long Island City’
harmless stupidity
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Scuttling, always scuttling, camera in hand, filthy black raincoat flapping about, shoes scraping the concrete. That’s my life. Wherever I go, there I am. Nothing ever changes, nothing matters, nobody cares. Everyday, it all starts over again. Sometimes it snows.
Frost bitten and friendless, there I was at Dutch Kills as the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself rose in the dawn sky. One hoped for the boughs of that little tree to be laden with snow, but this too was denied.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unfortunately, due to a series of reasons that I don’t really want to get into, the decision to walk over to a nearby collapsing bulkhead before heading back to a heated room in Astoria was arrived at. All ten fingers were numb, but only six of them were reporting. So too did a couple of my toes go offline. The tip of my nose was similarly missing without leave. It was 12 degrees Fahrenheit, with a steady wind.
This isn’t the coldest I’ve ever been. There was that negative 37 time in Vermont, and that time I had to ride a boat up the East River at 5 in the morning in January with my old pal Bernie… I’ve been cold before. Saying all that, it was pretty uncomfortable being out. It’s taken weeks for my fingertips to recover. Good news is that in the interval, I’ve been able to pinch out candles with zero discomfort.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As far as 29th street, and the collapsing bulkheads along it go, my pals and I at Newtown Creek Alliance have recently been working the channels of “officialdom” and got sign on’s for immediate action from Congresswoman Maloney, Senator Gianaris, Assemblywoman Nolan, Borough President Richards, and Council Member Won along with a few other powers and potentates, as well as a few local business owners. It’s still a developing situation, down there in LIC.
Back next week with more numbed finger action, 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.
perilous disposition
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Remember that insanely cold day back in middle February when it was twelve degrees? That’s the one where a humble narrator got frostbitten, when he decided to be at the Dutch Kills tributary of Newtown Creek in Long Island City at five o’clock in the morning. I remember it well, since I’m just now starting to get the feeling back in my fingertips. Literally weeks later.
It’s felt like I’ve been wearing a band aid over my right thumb ever since, and it’s only in the last few days that the nerve damage from the frost bite has ameliorated sufficiently to perceive texture again. You have to suffer for your art, they say. Well, here’s what it looked like while I was sustaining an atmospheric temperature induced injury.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Dutch Kills was thoroughly frozen over. A plate of ice several inches thick sat over the water. One was awaiting the arrival of the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself in the vault of the sky, with the camera set up on its tripod. What that meant was that I was standing still with my feet in a six to eight inches of snow and a solid fifteen miles an hour wind hitting me. I needed to pee, but was afraid that if I “whipped it out” to do “that,” “it” might freeze and crack off.
Yes, I was wearing gloves. In fact, a layer of thermal underwear AND a long sleeve sweatshirt would have been found under my normal clothing. Additionally, a fleece sweatshirt would have been observed under the filthy black rain coat by the staff at the coroner’s office after being defrosted. On my left hand, I actually had two gloves on. On the right, there was just one so I could still operate the camera. Cannot tell you how difficult that is when you numbness has set in. Cold is my kryptonite.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One had left HQ at about 4:30 in the morning and hopped in a cab for the journey to Dutch Kills, which I normally just walk to. Man, oh man was it cold.
The entire purpose of the exercise was the hope that my favorite little tree of paradise, pictured in the first shot, might have some snow on its bows. No such luck. Since I was already on site, I decided to just tough it out and wait for the morning light to arrive. That interval is what resulted in frost bite. It wasn’t “British explorer” frost bite, mind you. There was no discoloration or blistering, just a bit of nerve damage.
“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.
terraqueous globe
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Scuttling, always scuttling, camera in hand, filthy black raincoat flapping about, shoes scraping the concrete. That’s my life. Wherever I go, there I am. Nothing ever changes, nothing matters, nobody cares. Everyday, it all starts over again. Sometimes it rains.
Recent endeavor found me friendless, and wandering through Long Island City on my way home to Astoria after a long walk around a short tributary of the fabulous Newtown Creek. An FDNY crew seemed to be taking a break, but this particular ambulance was instead awaiting its turn to enter a gargantuan vehicle services garage that the agency maintains about a block away. I can’t ignore it when the fire people start strobing colored lights around the study area, so…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You have to pick your route, I always say. There’s so many “corridors” in Long Island City’s still industrial areas that dead end at a rail yard or a highway that you need to put a little thought into whether turning left or right at a particular corner is a good move. Make the wrong choice and you’re suddenly presented with an extra four to five blocks of walking in the cold dark.
Y’know, I never see stray cats or dogs around these parts. You see cats nearby certain industrial sites and shipping warehouses, but they’re generally being “kept” with food, water, and shelter to assist with pest control. You do hear a lot of hawks and falcons, but they are an illusion. The cries of these birds of prey echo about the empty streets, with said utterances being played through roof mounted speaker systems to scare away prey species like gulls, pigeons, and their ilk. The fear induction mechanism is meant to keep these feathery loiterers from nesting on building roofs, and degrading them structurally with guano.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While scuttling back towards HQ, my empty existence was suddenly illuminated by the appearance of a single shoe, perched along the fencelines of the gargantuan Sunnyside Yards. It would seem that the Queens Cobbler has reemerged from lockdown. A probable serial killer who leaves macabre singular shoe trophies to mock law enforcement and the surrounding communities, the Queens Cobbler has followed me home at least twice – and left behind personalized messages adorning the fence surrounding HQ.
How long will the Queens Cobbler’s reign of terror continue?
“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.
expiring orb
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One really hopes that this critter was playing possum, but given that this shot comes from the corner of Queens Blvd. – I don’t think it was pretending to be dead. Shame, it seemed nice.
Despite the blistering cold, one felt an obligation to migrate over to the Dutch Kills tributary of Newtown Creek in Long Island City’s Degnon Terminal section and check in on the collapsing shoreline situation along 29th street.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Yup, still collapsing. You probably wouldn’t be surprised at how difficult it is to build up a sense of urgency in officialdom regarding this dangerous situation. They have lots of budgetary options available to them once the street collapses and somebody gets hurt, but very few dollars to spend prior to that happening. Let’s hope that whomsoever gets mortally wounded here is a really sympathetic victim. Homeless mother of three? New immigrant supporting a family by working nights driving a truck? BIPOC Trans bicyclist recently recovered from Covid and interment in a North Korean death camp for distributing condoms and bibles? That Opossum from the first picture?
I really, really hate the world right now. Everyone is focused on what can happen rather than what is happening and that causes bad things to happen.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Dutch Kills canal has been more or less frozen over for the last few weeks of January and half of February, with a stout plate of inch thick ice croaking and creaking against the bulkheads and shorelines. When it warms up, and the frost heaves begging to melt away, I’m pretty sure something bad is going to occur on 29th street.
Thing is, nothing matters and nobody cares.
“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.
limitless limitations
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Whilst scuttling about on a recent evening, one met an Opossum. I have no idea if the critter was a he or a she or a they, but it seemed nice. Are there trans or non gender conforming opossums, and do we have to worry about their feelings? The thing was vamping for me, and since I had just updated the firmware on my camera with what Canon promised as being “improvements to the eye tracking autofocus for animals and people” this situation presented an excellent opportunity for me to test the improved feature out.
Apparently, a big part of this face and eye tracking update involved adapting to the presence of Covid masks. The Opossum wasn’t wearing one, and neither was I for that matter, but there you are. Speaking as someone who has treated Covid with a great deal of respect over the last two years, it absolutely flummoxes me when I see people who are entirely alone – and outside – wearing masks. Same thing with people who are driving solo and wearing one. Why?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Now, when I was riding around on various Amtrak’s in the September and December, and on Subways here in the City, you’d have had to pry the mask off my cold dead face before I’d remove it willingly in an unventilated congregate setting. Outside, though? Unless it’s a truly crowded sidewalk – a protest or maybe a press event – I’m bare faced. Ventilation, people, ventilation. Also, distancing, people, distancing. This isn’t advice, you do you.
Recent occasion found me at the Jackson Heights intermodal subway and bus station at Broadway and Roosevelt Avenue here in Queens, where a masked up crowd formed into tight rows less than a foot away from each other when either boarding the escalator or awaiting the train’s arrival. Me? I was masked up, but stood well away from everybody else and their clouds of cooties. Why crowd in? What advantage is there? Who are you trying to beat out for pole position in terms of boarding the R? I guarantee you’re going to get onto the train, why do you need to be first?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My evening’s destination, which the pursuance thereof had precipitated meeting the nice Opossum, was the Newtown Creek waterfront in Maspeth. The former bulkheads of a long gone copper refinery and chemical factory called Phelps Dodge offer a commanding set of views of the Kosciuszko Bridge as well as a few other interesting things to point a camera at.
As far as Newtown Creek goes, the waters which greasily lap at the Phelps Dodge shoreline are generally considered to be the most deeply compromised – environmentally speaking – on the entire waterway.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 