Posts Tagged ‘New York City’
rhetorical effect
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There is a curious stretch of 50th avenue, a truncated street that starts at 27th street and terminates at 23rd street in the dusty streets of Long Island City, which is orphaned and decapitated. It is dominated by the high flying steel of the Queens Midtown Expressway section of the Long Island Expressway, and the tortured asphalt of the street it shadows often exhibits bursting ruptures revealing century old cobble stones.
Long have I exerted to refer to this area as the “Empty Corridor“.
Pictured above are the relict remains of Irving Subway Grate, which suffered a catastrophic fire a few years back.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Even during the work week, there are few places in New York City that allow one to feel so isolated and alone as this street. Once it connected with Hunters Point, but that was long before the Queens Midtown Tunnel and the astounding steel viaduct of the Long Island Expressway which sprouts from it were installed and opened to traffic on November 15, 1940.
It was before the Long Island Railroad established its operations that it met with East River, in fact.
Borden and Hunters Point Avenues are the main through way for traffic heading east and west, and this street is little more than relict of earlier times.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The overhead tracks of the Long Island Railroad are observed at the intersection of 25th street, which govern the passage of large trucks on 50th avenue. Never have these tracks been observed as active by a humble narrator, but those in the know about such matters assure me that they are in fact transited.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Alongside these tracks, on the loamy midden which surrounds them, one might observe the colonies of feral cats which hunt and frolic around these parts. The kind hearts of area workers insure that these cats are afforded shelter and food, which unfortunately allows them to breed and multiply.
It is not an easy life, to be a feral cat.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned in the past, when these nocturnes are observed as my perambulations carry the camera about the concrete devastations of western Queens, a sure notion that the right place and time have been arrived at sets into my mind.
Always, they signal that the path which stretches before me is an appropriate and often revelatory one.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Beyond the tracks and their feline neighbors, the gargantuan structure with its attendant loading docks on the right are the former Bloomingdales warehouse, and is currently used by the New York City Housing Authority. They refer to it as the “Long Island City Complex” which sounds menacing somehow.
The left (or south) side of the street hosts several garage based businesses, and mainly acts as a parking lot for fleet trucks.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the LIE slouches rudely toward the Queens Midtown Tunnel it descends from its 106 foot apex over Dutch Kills, just a few blocks away, and the street noticeably darkens. A guarded parking lot and entrance to the LIRR station lies to the right or north side, which is intended for employee access. To the south, one might follow 23rd street southward, toward Borden Avenue.
An audible hum, the sound of automotive tire spinning upon the elevated roadway above, colors the air.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The street ends in the driveway of a steel equipment company, which a humble narrator did not feel obliged to explore. What atavist wonders might lurk down there are surely beyond legal access, and are quite visible from the fence which adjoins the LIRR station on Hunters Point Avenue, near the Paragon Oil building. Surely some revelation hides back there, denied to me.
Illegal trespass, however, is not the Newtown Pentacle way.
nothing useful
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Observed, recently along the Boulevard of Death, this cool set of wheels.
Obviously, loved and kept in a state of functional restoration, this atavist vehicle caught my eye.
Occasionally, a humble narrator needs to remind himself to comment on little gems like this late model pickup truck, and marvel that such manufactured items can survive the trials of time.
Offered is the belief that this is either a 1949 or 1950 Chevrolet 3600 pickup, but I’m no expert.
Obcordate, a short posting today. Back tomorrow with something more substantial for you to sink your collective teeth into.
sitting alone
– photo by Mitch Waxman
All ‘effed up.
In one of those odd moments which often cause my steps to falter, whilst walking down hoary Kingsland Avenue in ancient Greenpoint, this discarded workman apparel seemed to be trying to tell me something.
Clearly, it was pointing at something.
from wikipedia
Ideas of reference and delusions of reference involve people having a belief or perception that irrelevant, unrelated or innocuous phenomena in the world refer to them directly or have special personal significance: ‘the notion that everything one perceives in the world relates to one’s own destiny’.
In psychiatry, delusions of reference form part of the diagnostic criteria for psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder, or bipolar disorder during the elevated stages of mania. To a lesser extent, it can be a hallmark of paranoid personality disorder. Such symptoms can also be caused by intoxication, especially with hallucinogens or stimulants like methamphetamine.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For a moment, the ridiculous notion that its missing owner was in mid gesture and then suddenly dissolved away struck me. The fence seen behind the glove is laden with signs that promise electrocution to those who might attempt trespass of the property it surrounds, and I thought that perhaps its owner had ignored these warnings and had been consumed by torrents of voltage and the sole survivor of the man was this garment.
That’s when I thought “perhaps it’s trying to tell me to look behind me, and offering a warning”.
People suffering from persecutory delusions believe that they are being conspired against or persecuted in some way. Common manifestations include the belief that one is being followed, that one’s mail is being opened, that one’s room or office is bugged, that the telephone is tapped, or that police, government officials, neighbors, or fellow workers are harassing the subject.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, nothing was amiss, and your humble narrator remained the lord of his near vicinity.
“I’m all ‘effed up” was all I said, out loud, and then continued walking back to Queens.
also from movementdisorders.org
The subject’s behavior is unusual, bizarre, or fantastic. For example, the subject may urinate in a sugar bowl, paint the two halves of his body different colors, or kill a litter of pigs by smashing their heads against a wall. The information for this item will sometimes come from the subject, sometimes from other sources, and sometimes from direct observation. Bizarre behavior due to the immediate effects of alcohol or drugs should be excluded. As always, social and cultural norms must be considered in making the ratings, and detailed examples should be elicited and noted.
curious heaps
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Like Thoreau, your humble narrator occasionally needs to escape it all and commune with the beasts of the field on their own terms. Journey toward nature and become as one with it, all that. Accordingly, a recent perambulation was embarked upon whose destination would reward me with the presence of creatures for whom freedom is no abstract notion, rather it is their daily experience.
from wikipedia
Walden (first published as Walden; or, Life in the Woods) is an American book written by noted Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self reliance.
Published in 1854, it details Thoreau’s experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts.
By immersing himself in nature, Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection. Simple living and self-sufficiency were Thoreau’s other goals, and the whole project was inspired by transcendentalist philosophy, a central theme of the American Romantic Period. As Thoreau made clear in his book, his cabin was not in wilderness but at the edge of town, about two miles (3 km) from his family home.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unfortunately, despite the unseasonably warm temperatures of recent weeks, it is still winter- limiting my options for observing natures bounties. There will always be birds exploiting safe harborage, it was reasoned, so my steps headed for the shoreline.
There I found my reward as small flocks of birds were exploiting the mud flats typical of estuarine coastlines.
from Walden (1854) by Henry David Thoreau, courtesy en.wikisource.org
What is a country without rabbits and partridges? They are among the most simple and indigenous animal products; ancient and venerable families known to antiquity as to modern times; of the very hue and substance of Nature, nearest allied to leaves and to the ground — and to one another; it is either winged or it is legged. It is hardly as if you had seen a wild creature when a rabbit or a partridge bursts away, only a natural one, as much to be expected as rustling leaves. The partridge and the rabbit are still sure to thrive, like true natives of the soil, whatever revolutions occur. If the forest is cut off, the sprouts and bushes which spring up afford them concealment, and they become more numerous than ever. That must be a poor country indeed that does not support a hare.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unlike Thoreau, I have no virginal woodlands with an untouched body of water to retreat to, rather my lot is to yearn for the accursed East Branch of the hated Newtown Creek. Saying that, however, there is a mythology about this body of water which I have become keen to dispel.
This ain’t a dead place, it’s actually teeming with life. Unfortunately, it’s not the cuddly or cute kind of life- instead there are mainly worms, bugs, and other creepy crawlies for whom these anaerobic mudflats are a nutrient rich paradise. The hypoxic state of the water actually reduces the number of potential predators they might encounter.
It’s precisely this sort of critter, who live in the sediment mounds of the Newtown Creek, that the lovely birds in the shots above are feeding on.
from wikipedia
Hypoxia, or oxygen depletion, is a phenomenon that occurs in aquatic environments as dissolved oxygen (DO; molecular oxygen dissolved in the water) becomes reduced in concentration to a point where it becomes detrimental to aquatic organisms living in the system. Dissolved oxygen is typically expressed as a percentage of the oxygen that would dissolve in the water at the prevailing temperature and salinity (both of which affect the solubility of oxygen in water; see oxygen saturation and underwater). An aquatic system lacking dissolved oxygen (0% saturation) is termed anaerobic, reducing, or anoxic; a system with low concentration—in the range between 1 and 30% saturation—is called hypoxic or dysoxic. Most fish cannot live below 30% saturation. A “healthy” aquatic environment should seldom experience less than 80%. The exaerobic zone is found at the boundary of anoxic and hypoxic zones.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Across the City, State, and even the Nation- engineers are working feverishly on grand designs and byzantine plans whose purpose it is to “fix” Newtown Creek. Many are experts on the place, and can quote a staggering amount of raw data about it from memory, but so few of them have ever actually been here.
It’s as if one can say they understand a neighborhood because they’ve memorized its map and boundaries.
When confronted with the fact that birds, including exotic specimens like egrets, cormorants, and herons are nesting along its banks- to appropriate a term from the British- “they are gob smacked”.
from wikipedia
Tidal flats, along with intertidal salt marshes and mangrove forests, are important ecosystems. They usually support a large population of wildlife, although levels of biodiversity are not particularly high. They are often of vital importance to migratory birds, as well as certain species of crabs, mollusks and fish. In the United Kingdom mudflats have been classified as a Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat.
The maintenance of mudflats is important in preventing coastal erosion. However, mudflats worldwide are under threat from predicted sea level rises, land claims for development, dredging due to shipping purposes, and chemical pollution.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Don’t misunderstand, this is an extremely troubled waterway, and the biomass which it should be supporting is exponentially higher than what you’ll find living here today. The early Creek, the one that the Dutch encountered, was known for an abundant biosphere. All of the highest forms of the mammalian, ichthian, and avian species were here in great numbers- everything from pike to bass to shrimp swam in it, deer and bears and wolves were roaming the hills adjoining the salt marshes and coastal wetlands and hawks, owls, and eagles were described as soaring overhead.
Such fauna obviously won’t be coming back, but there are still fish swimming around here. Not big fish, but fish nevertheless. They eat the creepy crawly things too.
from wikipedia
A tidal creek, tidal channel, or estuary is the portion of a stream that is affected by ebb and flow of ocean tides, in the case that the subject stream discharges to an ocean, sea or strait. Thus this portion of the stream has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle. Due to the temporal variability of water quality parameters within the tidally influenced zone, there are unique biota associated with tidal creeks, which biota are often specialised to such zones.
Creeks may often dry to a muddy channel with little or no flow at low tide, but often with significant depth of water at high tide.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What chance can such an environment stand with an open sewer the size of an 18 wheeler truck, though?
See, my version of Walden Pond is rent asunder by CSO Outfall NC-083, which discharges an average of 586 million gallons of filth into the East Branch of Newtown Creek per year.
from habitatmap.org
Combined Sewer Outfall NC-083 discharges approximately 586 million gallons of untreated wastewater year into Newtown Creek. This accounts for 2.2% of New York City’s total sewer overflow into the estuary.
This CSO is ranked at #15 out of the 434 permitted outfalls in the city, by volume. It is located alongside a second, smaller, CSO outfall, NC-019.
Project Firebox 33
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Somewhere in that part of Astoria north of the Grand Central and East of the tracks of the Hells Gate Extension is found this moribund character. An unnatural pallor and complexion distinguishes it, making it seem like the star of some Universal Horror movie of the 1930’s, with natural ruddiness only hinted at by its root. Loathe to complain despite a visage of gray and graffiti, this Firebox is nevertheless functional and ready to sound the alarum should some passing weather or torch bearing mob accidentally set fire to its charges in that atavist and triangular section of the ancient village which it is sworn to protect.
Soldier on, zombie firebox, soldier on.
