Posts Tagged ‘Newtown Creek Alliance’
gleaming image
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It should be mentioned that under normal circumstance, the narration recited on board one of the Newtown Creek boat tours which I’ve been a part of in the recent past has been “the straight story”. By that, I mean that the normal narrative which readers of this blog have grown used to is toned down a bit, and a more mainstream presentation is offered. There are still plenty of “night soil and offal dock” stories, but as I have a relatively short amount of time to tell the story of Newtown Creek, a lot of the more… colourful… stuff gets trimmed out. Luckily, the Newtown Creek Alliance is producing a “spooky” Halloween tour this Saturday (October 27), and I get to go to town on this one.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In addition to weaving the Blissville Banshee, Maspeth Gypsies, and witch panics into my speech- there are two other factors which make this tour special. First and foremost is the price, subsidized by grant money from the NYCEF fund of the Hudson River Foundation – which allows NCA to offer the trip at an amazing price of just $25. Secondly, the time at which we will be embarking is late in the afternoon, which should offer spectacular sunset lighting of the Creek for photographers and sensitives alike.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is a two hour excursion, leaving from Manhattan’s South Sea Seaport on board a comfortable NY Water Taxi (which, yes, has bathroom facilities). NCA is encouraging the wearing of seasonal costuming to celebrate and acknowledge the Halloween holiday. Scheduled speakers include your humble narrator and NCA Executive Director Kate Zidar. Whatever there is, which cannot possibly exist, lurking in the Black Mayonnaise which underlies the cursed waters of that cataract of agony known as the Newtown Creek has refused to make an appearance sans ritual sacrifice- something NCA cannot have any involvement with due to the intricacies of its 501/3c non profit status. The thing in the megalith will be watching, however.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The question of what sort of costume I will be wearing is still up in the air. Attempts to borrow a death cloak have so far been unsuccessful, despite the fact that several people I know own such raiments. Click the banner just below this paragraph for ticketing information and fulfillment. Do you dare to enter this nightmare world of the Newtown Creek, or will you instead cling to the illusion of sanity which exists beyond its banks?
Also- Upcoming Newtown Creek tours and events:
for more information on the October 27th Newtown Creek Boat Tour, click here
for more information on the November 9th Newtown Creek Magic Lantern Show, click here
for an expanded description of the November 11th Newtown Creek tour, please click here
things to do!
for an expanded description of the October 13th Kill Van Kull tour, please click here
for an expanded description of the October 20th Newtown Creek tour, please click here
Things to do…
– graphic from newtowncreekarmada.org
What are you kidding, as if I wouldn’t be drawn to this like a lemming?
Can’t tell you how many emails I received this week asking if I’d be attending this event. Nate Kensinger and Sarah Nelson Wright are friends, and I think I’ve met Laura Chipley a couple of times as well. This is such a neat idea, and it will be playing out at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Nature Walk on Paidge Avenue in Greenpoint.
“The Newtown Creek Armada will be open 1-4pm on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, weather permitting.”
They’ve even posted a sample video from their testing period here.
A
The Newtown Creek Armada is an art installation that invites the public to explore the past, present and future of a contaminated New York City waterway. The Newtown Creek, a Superfund site bordering Brooklyn and Queens, is one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States. Visitors to The Armada will pilot a fleet of artist-made, miniature, remote-controlled boats along the surface of the Newtown Creek while documenting the hidden world of its waters using waterproof cameras and microphones.
– graphic from forgotten-ny.com
Your humble narrator will not be able to attend this week’s Forgotten NY tour, unfortunately, as I’ll be conducting a Newtown Creek Tour for a group of students from Cornell. Why not spend some time with the intrepid duo of Kevin Walsh and Richard Melnick, who will be marching through DUMBO?
“Meet outside York Street IND station on Jay Street near York, DUMBO, 12 noon, Sunday, September 9th.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the dark, Belgian-blocked streets between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, commonly known asDUMBO, or “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass” were transformed into a vibrant neighborhood with pricey condominiums, delis, hardware stores, pizzerias, and even gourmet chocolatiers.”
Check back on www.astorialic.org or www.forgotten-ny.com for developing tour details.
Fee: $15.00 to GAHS members, $20.00 non-members (rain date Sept 16
RSVP to info@astorialic.org or fny@astorialic.org.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, the Working Harbor Committee is conducting a fundraiser at Pier 66 Maritime, West 26th Street & Hudson River, New York City on Wednesday the 12th of September (6 pm to 8:30 pm). All proceeds from the event will assist the Working Harbor Committee in fulfilling its mission to educate residents, visitors and youth on the vitality and importance of our working harbor and help fund its educational programs to introduce youth to opportunities in the maritime world.
The Special Honoree of the party will be Andrew Genn- Sr. Vice President, Ports & Transportation, New York City Economic Development Corporation. The award will be presented by Helena Durst, President of New York Water Taxi and Circle Line Downtown.
This will be a party, not a boat ride, it should be mentioned. A great opportunity to meet some of the movers and shakers on New York Harbor, let your hair down and have a drink or two, and it benefits a great non profit operation. Click here for tickets.
Things to do!
July 28th, 2012- Working Harbor Committee Kill Van Kull walk- This Saturday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
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 July 28th tickets, click here for the Working Harbor Committee ticketing page
August 5th, 2012- Newtown Creek Alliance 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 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
moderate size
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The news about the Queensboro Bridge Lamp Post broke into the larger City just the other day, and your humble narrator found himself being examined and interrogated by members of the news media.
That sounds worse than it actually was, they were all actually quite charming, but the abject self loathing which defines and informs my character is always a bit put out when dragged out into the light.
For the original postings about the thing, click here for “an odd impulse” and “wisdom of crowds“
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Standing exposed, in front of a possibly angry crowd of villagers, can carry severe repercussion for so onerous an individual as that one which stares at me from beyond silvered glass.
Really, it might have been best to just pretend that I missed the message, or was out of town. Of course, it has been years since I’ve left this city for even a single day, so zero efficacy would have met the claim. Whether it be bacchanal or shift work, the megalopolis has become an involuntary prison, and I’ve learnt to obey its whims.
Like a leaf, you, and free will is some cruel myth.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This Sunday, as detailed in the blurb below, just such random chance will carry me to the Newtown Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant Nature Walk. There, in the radiated splendors of the Newtown Creek itself, shall gather the Newtown Creek Alliance for an Earth Day Celebration and BYO Picnic.
The public is invited, and encouraged to examine and explore a fabulous waterfront space which presents an unparalleled panorama of that legendary waterway, in the company of those who understand her mysteries best. Do join, don’t let my attendance hold you back, as I plan on holding to the shadows and lurking- in fear- away from crowds.
Also from newtowncreekalliance.org
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Earth Day BYO Picnic Lunch at the Newtown Creek Nature Walk
Sunday, April 22nd at 1 p.m.
Come join in for this casual celebration of the victory that is the Newtown Creek Nature Walk. Bring your own brown bag lunch and join the Newtown Creek champions who worked hard for years to win this unique waterfront park.
Sunday, April 22nd at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Nature Walk between 1pm – 2pm.
Finally,
Obscura Day 2012, Thirteen Steps around Dutch Kills
April 28th, 10 a.m.
Your humble narrator will be narrating humbly at this year’s Obscura Day event on April 28th, leading a walking tour of Dutch Kills. The tour is already two thirds booked up, so grab your tickets while you can.
“Found less than one mile from the East River, Dutch Kills is home to four movable (and one fixed span) bridges, including one of only two retractible bridges remaining in New York City. Dutch Kills is considered to be the central artery of industrial Long Island City and is ringed with enormous factory buildings, titan rail yards — it’s where the industrial revolution actually happened. Bring your camera, as the tour will be revealing an incredible landscape along this section of the troubled Newtown Creek Watershed.”
For tickets and full details, click here :
obscuraday.com/events/thirteen-steps-dutch-kills-newtown-creek-exploration
The Newtown Pentacle 