Posts Tagged ‘New York City’
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.
barbaric degeneracy
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As part of the recent sunken barge raising operation on Newtown Creek, crews working on the project had brought in several equipment barges which operated as platforms for them to work from. The Tug CMT Pike was there to keep everything placed correctly and provide motive power to combat the effect of tide and current. Pike seems to be hanging around the creek. I recently observed the tugboat from the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge in the dark of night.
The location where the barge went down was actually quite fortuitous for both myself and the environment. In my case, it was the rare occasion when something had happened and I could easily get three different points of view of the situation without having to climb on or trespass through something, and in the case of the barge – it didn’t settle down on any petroleum pipelines or conduits of criticality, or anything other than mud and yuck.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After getting my shot of the Pike at the gloriously named “Unnamed Canal,” I headed over to the Newtown Creek Nature Walk on the DEP’s property, along the Whale Creek tributary, and got in a few long shots of the action.
One maintained the tripod and filter setup for the camera, which I’d established at the start of the excursion. I also decided that I’ve got to buy myself an infrared filter. I’ve since ordered one, but it’s on back order, so hang in there lords and ladies – Martian landscapes will be coming this spring.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking westwards towards Manhattan along the main spine of Newtown Creek, this was one of the last shots I captured with the tripod and filter setup before reconfiguring the gear back towards hand held mode. Reconfiguring takes the form of changing a few menu settings, detaching the filter and tripod and cable release, and closing all of the hatches on the camera body which allow for “hands off” operation. The entire operation takes less than five minutes. I can do it faster, but what’s the rush and when you’re dealing with camera gear – it always pays to be methodical – in terms of storing the gear away and ensuring that all the switches and settings are circumstantially correct.
More tomorrow.
“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.
stony plateau
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Ice had recently stopped tumbling down out of the sky on a cold night in late January, so a humble narrator tied the boots with the cleated soles onto his roadway interfaces and shot out of the house onto the wild streets of Astoria, Queens. One was fully insulated, with a new suit of thermal underwears installed under the normal sackcloth. Kit bag all packed up, one smiled, smiled, smiled. That is, until I stepped out the door and got slammed with by the cold. Brrr.
This was one of my short walks, a leg stretch as it were, which never “left the neighborhood.” One also wasn’t in the mood to futz about with gear, so all photos are handheld – no tripods, cables, or camera supports or anything like that.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An awful lot of real estate development has occurred along the seriously undesirable 31st street corridor (noisy). Everywhere that the new construction has gone up, you now see these mega piles of garbage and recyclables. Another missed opportunity for NYC, to not replicate the mistakes of Manhattan, is DSNY related.
Seriously, when you talk to the planners and real estate types – they describe midtown Manhattan as the goal state rather than as a cautionary tale. The specter of Robert Moses is still in the room.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m told that the food truck pictured above suffered a blazing fire a few days after this shot was gathered on 30th avenue. The self proclaimed “Rey Del Tacos” has been thereby deposed and this king of the tacos is no more – so, long live the king. The Boss of the Tacos food truck is said to be consolidating its power and getting ready to make a grab at the throne, but for now, taco anarchy rules in Astoria. Really, this taco superiority process and how it will play out is not unlike how we ended up having a “France” instead of a “Norman Gaul.”
History is the story of wooden Deliverista shoes going up stairs to deliver the tacos, while velvet Deliverista slippers tumble back down. Voltaire never encountered tacos, to my knowledge. He lived in a castle. Either way, the tacos must flow.
“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.
bodiless emanations
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Heading home from a long walk in late January, which started in Astoria and then headed through Industrial Maspeth, a humble narrator decided to be lazy and acknowledge how cold it was by clipping off the return to HQ with a cab ride. Along the way, I passed by the charred remains of the Clinton Diner, nearby the semi legendary Haberman interlocking. Spotted this neato Volkswagen truck, which looks like it was built out of one of their 1970’s vans. Maybe this is the actual form factor it was built to, who knows?
One uses the LYFT service for his car service needs, mainly since I’m seldom in need of a ride in any sort of sane or normal place and will need the driver to be able to come find me in whatever industrial maze I’m in. There’s sort of a trick I’ve discovered to using their service, incidentally. I wouldn’t call for a car from this corner, which is where Maspeth Avenue, 58th street, and Rust Street coagulate.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Maspeth Avenue transmogrifies into Maurice Avenue, and this shot is maybe a block and a half away from the first one. It’s a good place to park a crane in front of a fire hydrant, which is an extremely Industrial Maspeth thing to do – as a note. It’s not a bad place to call for a car, but you’re still technically in Maspeth right here.
In my observation, LYFT seems to base its pricing structure around zip code based “zones.” I could be wrong, but calling a car from in front of the former diner in the first shot – a block and a half away – would result in as much as a $5 higher fare than the one which I’d get from in front of the crane.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A ten minute walk to 58th street at 55th avenue, which is technically in Woodside, shaved a full $10 off the fare reported in front of the diner. That’s pretty significant for what – in a vehicle – is about a 2-3 minute long distance between the two spots.
Besides, you get to see an FDNY service center at this intersection.
“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 