Posts Tagged ‘New York City’
twelve of twelve
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
January 2012- High Doors
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, the end of 2012, and the arrival of the Newtown Pentacle Greatest Hits of 2012 posting.
It was actually a pretty good year for your humble narrator, which started off when I stumbled across the fact that the Paragon Oil building in Long Island City used to be Queens Borough Hall- back in the day. check out “high doors“
February 2012- mural history
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Steve Brodie said he jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge and lived, becoming one of the great celebrities of the 19th century in the process. Mr. Brodie was buried in Calvary Cemetery and in February, we paid him a visit in “mural history“.
March 2012- skillfully wafted
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In “skillfully wafted“, an opportunity to visit the titan Waste Management facility at Varick Street in Brooklyn was taken advantage of, and the LIRR Bushwick Branch received some attention as well.
April 2012- strange corridors
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An opportunity to witness the procedures followed at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in pursuit of “scientific odor control and engineering” came along, and your humble narrator leapt at the opportunity in “strange corridors“.
April was an interesting month for other reasons, especially since the news that I had discovered a missing piece of the Queensboro Bridge broke at several news sources.
Check out the dnainfo article here, and the cbs radio piece here.
May 2012- obscure world
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the subject of odors and Newtown Creek, a great personal victory was announced when the definitive location of Conrad Wissel’s Night Soil and offal dock was revealed in “obscure world“.
June 2012- strange wanderers
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Johnston Brothers were the proprietors of the J. & C. Johnston company, located ultimately at the corner of Broadway and 22nd street in Manhattan. Their mausoleum in Calvary Cemetery was the subject of interest in “strange wanderers“.
There was also that whole NYtimes article and video about me in June- check out “Your Guide to a Tour of Decay” and “Newtown’s Champion“. To be seen, by so many, diminishes me.
July 2012- virgin aether
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The answer to the question- “what- exactly- would you have done if you suddenly had to get rid of a dead elephant in pre 1977 NYC?” was answered with “call Van Iderstine’s” in “virgin aether“.
August 2012- the last birthday of the Kosciuszko Bridge
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Kosciuszko Bridge was opened on August 23rd, 1939 by Mayor LaGuardia.
“the last birthday of the Kosciuszko Bridge“ carries several historic shots recently made accessible via NYCMA’s Luna images.
September 2012- central chamber
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In September, the Tidewater building on the Queens bank of the Newtown Creek in Blissville received some scrutiny in the “central chamber” posting.
October 2012- embowered banks
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In “embowered banks“, a little altar was discovered in Calvary Cemetery, alongside a certain “tree fed by a morbid nutrition”.
November 2012- open place
– photo by Mitch Waxman
November was defined first by Hurricane Sandy disabling New York City, and then by a back injury which disabled your humble narrator for a spell. An effort to document the post Sandy environment around Newtown Creek was detailed in several postings, the first of which was “open place“.
December 2012- palatial magnificence
– photo by Mitch Waxman
December of 2012 was dominated by the Mayan Apocalypse, and our extensive Newtown Pentacle bunker was described in “palatial magnificence“.
Overall, its been a decent year.
I’ve done a plethora of walking and boat tours of the Newtown Creek- close to 900 people have attended one or another of these events.
The “Magic Lantern Show” has been presented at Universities, Colleges, and for community groups.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading and commenting here, and to everyone who came along on one of my crazy long walks around the Newtown Pentacle. Stick around, 2013 is shaping up to be a fun time.
terrible gateway
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The last Maritime Sunday of 2012 brings the estimable Buchanan 1 before you. A 1967 era tug, it is still observed navigating the Harbor of New York and New Jersey even in the dross modernity of 2012. Notice that in the shot above, it wears a different paint job than the shots below.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just the facts: Buchanan 1 was built in 1967. 89.4 length, 12 draft, and 28.1 beam, she weighs 191 Gross Tons, and is actuated by twin screws supplying 2,200 HP. tugboatinformation.com has a bit more of her story, which can be accessed by clicking here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A hearty Maritime Sunday shout out is sent to the crew of the boat, the last time this year that any such message will be sent.
rhythmical promise
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Recently, occasion carried me down to Long Island City, where my stated goal was to catch the venerable East River Ferry and attend a meeting in Brooklyn Heights. It is somewhat ironic, to me at least, that the only mass transit pathway between two points on the western tip of Long Island that doesn’t involve transversing Manhattan is to use a ferry service set up to carry folks from the former to the latter. Unfortunately, just as I arrived at the dock, the boat was leaving, which in many ways is a metaphor for my entire life.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was no tragedy, as it offered an opportunity to linger and play around with some of that night photography I was talking about at the start of the week. Manhattan can be quite lovely when viewed from outside of itself, and some effort went into the endeavor. The Empire State Building, a shining beacon of hope erected during the deep despair of the Great Depression, never disappoints.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For some reason, the Freedom Tower will always be the name I call the building at One World Trade Center. Future generations will just call it whatever name they inherit from us, and Freedom Tower reminds me of those early days of the Terror War when terms like “blowback”, “freedom fries”, and “new normal” were coined. I think it’s important to remember that time, and that some symbolism is valuable even for the jaded mindset of modernity.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Such ruminations came to end, when the East River Ferry showed up. Their service has really matured in the last year, although the dock at Long Island City is in dire condition. It is temporary, of course, as the Hunters Point South development project surrounds and engulfs all in a shroud of ongoing construction.
fortunately verifiable
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
“Choose your battles” is what the old man used to say. Then he’d remind me of how I physically compared with other members of my peer group and advised “pick up something- a brick, pipe, garbage can lid- throw it at their head, and then run away as fast as I could”. Following this advice over the years, I’ve learned something. I am not a fast runner.
Walking, however, is something I can do for hours at a pop.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Choosing the battle, however, during the short and dark days of the winter is not always up to me. Complicating my life, the recent multiple day long spurts of rain has made getting out something of a luxury. One can withstand some amount of cold, or a limited quantity of wet, but not both. In recent years, your humble narrator has developed a nearly comic book level “vulnerability to cold”.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s a funny thing. The various groups I work with along the Newtown Creek and New York Harbor have a lot of meetings which I am compelled to attend, whether it be out of interest or obligation. More often than not, these meetings take place far from home, and I will take advantage of “getting there” via scenic routes in order to collect photos and tour certain locales. Unfortunately, during the winter months, darkness begins as early as half past four in the afternoon, and these meetings often start more than hour or two after sunset.
Unable to follow the old man’s advice and choose my battles, as I cannot throw a brick at natures head, an attempt is underway to improve my “hand held at low light” photgraphic skill set.
day’s gropings
“follow” me on Twitter at @newtownpentacle
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In the bizarre world which your humble narrator inhabits, a Christmas Eve post is as good a time as any to expand on a little enigma which has been bugging me. As you all well know by now, the long walks around the pentacle often offer bizarre or odd details which torment and tantalize ones imagination. On a recent perambulation, I noticed yet another one of the single shoes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My curse is to notice things like this. For much of 2012, I have been observing shoes- always singular, never in pairs- discarded along my route. Once or twice, I’ve seen multiple examples of castoff footwear, but even then- orphaned individuals rather than matched sets.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shots above were gathered at 43rd street, off Northern Blvd. in Queens. Satisfied that I had documented this oddity, I continued on my path to a destination down in Long Island City. In accordance with habit, I found a moment to photograph and add to my library a few shots of the Megalith. Walking along Skillman Avenue, I was scanning the ground for more shoes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was around 36th street and Skillman that it occurred to me, suddenly, that I should look up. What did I spy, with my little eye?
Have a merry one lords and ladies.
The Newtown Pentacle 