Posts Tagged ‘newtown creek’
brief and desolate
Vintage Tugboat at Newtown Creek – photo by Mitch Waxman
Note: This is a “reblog”, and was originally presented in August of 2010.
A rare opportunity to ride up the Newtown Creek was recently enjoyed by your humble narrator, and on my journey up that maligned cataract I spotted an artifact of New York Harbor’s glorious past sneaking past Hunters Point.
from epa.gov
Blue-claw crabs, bluefish, weakfish, striped bass, and other species inhabit the creek, and fishing and crabbing for human consumption occurs [Ref. 7, pp. 2, 5; 8, p. 11; 21, p. 13; 22, pp. 1-2; 24, p. 143; 52, p. 93; 68, p. 3; 69, p. 1]. Subsistence fishing has been observed in Newtown Creek at Dutch Kills, and crabbing for consumption has been observed at the end of Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn [Ref. 7, p. 5; 21, p. 13; 22, pp. 1-2; 68, p. 3; 69, p. 1]. These locations are both within the zone of contamination for the Newtown Creek site [Figure 2 of this HRS documentation record]. Therefore, Actual Contamination is documented, and the target fishery is evaluated for Actual Human Food Chain Contamination.
the W O Decker at Newtown Creek – photo by Mitch Waxman
Wooden hulled, its spitting steam boilers have long been replaced by modern diesel engines, this little (52 feet long) tugboat is the W O Decker.
also from epa.gov
Beginning in the late 1800s and continuing into the 1930s, Newtown Creek was widened, deepened, and lined with bulkheads to accommodate the growing traffic, leading to the destruction of all its freshwater sources [Ref. 8, p. 10; 12, p. 52]. During World War II, the government commandeered factories along the creek to make military equipment, such as a factory that made aluminum for fighter planes [Ref. 11, p. 14]. At that time, Newtown Creek was the busiest industrial port in the Northeast, with tanker traffic lining its length [Ref. 7, p. 1; 11, p. 13]. The national highway system built after the war took business away from the nation’s waterways, leading to a rapid decline in the level of industry along Newtown Creek [Ref. 7, pp. 1-2].
the W O Decker passing by the “Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center” – photo by Mitch Waxman
A “historic place” the Decker was originally called the Russell 1 when it was built in 1930 for the Newtown Creek Towing Company, who were specialists in berthing and towing heavy cargo along the crowded and narrow waterway.
from gmdconline.org
The Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC) started in the late 1980s as an innovative intersection of two interests: reclaiming derelict factories in North Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood and sustaining industry and manufacturing in New York City. The organization formally incorporated in 1992.
From its initial purchase and redevelopment of a large facility at 1155 Manhattan Avenue for use by light manufacturers and artisans, GMDC has since expanded and today is the only nonprofit industrial developer in New York City. The organization acquires, develops, and manages industrial real estate that provides small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises with affordable, flexible production space.
In the shot above, The Decker is passing the Newtown Creek Waste Water Treatment Facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn – photo by Mitch Waxman
The Decker is currently a high end tour vessel, operated by and out of the South Street Seaport in Manhattan.
from seany.org
The wooden tugboat W.O. Decker was built in Long Island City, Queens in 1930 for the Newtown Creek Towing Company, a firm specializing in berthing ships and barges in the creek that separates Brooklyn and Queens. Originally called the Russell I for the towing company’s owners, she was renamed the W.O. Decker in 1946 after being sold to the Decker family’s Staten Island tugboat firm.
The shield wall of the Shining City, framed by Long Island City on the right and industrial Brooklyn on the left with the Pulaski Bridge just at Horizon – photo by Mitch Waxman
The vessel I was aboard continued on toward the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, but the Decker turned in the narrow part of the Newtown Creek near the confluence of its tributaries Whale Creek and Dutch Kills.
Check out this 1896 article at the NYTimes, which actually interviews the manager of Newtown Creek Towing Company, John Russell, for whom the Decker was originally named.
singularly heavy
– photo by Mitch Waxman
So, nowadays one finds oneself hanging off bridges late in the evening attempting to capture “time exposures” after realizing that there aren’t all that many “night shots” in the library. Honestly, even I find this behavior suspicious, which is why there aren’t that many “night shots” in the aforementioned library. When the thermonuclear eye of god itself shines not upon the Newtown Creek is when a lot of the really “fun stuff” happens around these parts, only a small part of which involves a rodentine army which emerges and swirls out from hidden apertures in the concrete devastations.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The first and second shots featured today are captured from the Pulaski Bridge, specifically the staircase which carries pedestrian traffic to Borden Avenue from the elevated path. The shot above looks toward Greenpoint with Manhattan behind it. The shutter was open something like eight seconds, which is why the water appears glassy and the artificial lighting of parking lot and lamp posts have taken on a star like halo. The halo is caused by the iris shutter mechanism within the camera, and is shaped by the blades of the device.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The big problem I’m having with gathering this sort of material is actually the pedestrian nature of my movements. As automotive conveyance is a luxury which I currently do not enjoy, there are large sections of the Creeklands which I just don’t want to walk through at night. A vast physical coward and feckless quisling, the problems your humble narrator is experiencing are dual.
First- I am simply too meek and bookish to trust that the cruelty of the nocturne streets will leave me unmolested, and second- I fear that which may be revealed in the result. Who can guess what it is, that might march about the deserted industrial lowlands of the Newtown Creek when free from the tyranny of casual observation?
dared consciously
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Loathsome, the only place one such as myself can truly feel at peace is amongst the emerald devastations of First Calvary Cemetery, in the company of the tomb legions. Lousy, my thoughts grow increasingly unordered and chaotic, as melancholy and regret rule my every step. Lost, revelation is sought, as I struggle not to say that forbidden name.
And over all, the thing which cannot possibly exist in the Sapphire Megalith watches bemusedly.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Morose, peregrinations of primal fear rack my mind, remembering that “as above, so below” can have many meanings. Monstrous, the consequences of uttering those hateful syllables eat at my thoughts in the manner and urgency of an addiction. Montresor would understand the compulsion, and the nagging hunger to abandon all caution and restraint.
Perhaps I should join with some cult of Arabian Hasish eaters, or develop a taste for the distillates of the poppy, just in the name of finding some relief.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Violent and horrible, the reprisals for resuming the quest would be Jovian in character, striking from the heights with demoniac fury. Vengeance, previously forsworn by those powers and potentates who conspire and corrupt as they sail the endless sea, will undoubtedly be horrible. Victory for them would come if their overt warnings and admonitions were ignored.
The spring has brought violets to the surface, here in Calvary, and their nepenthe like perfume has emboldened me to take a foolish chance.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Let them come, for I care not anymore. Lovers of that unholy thing which cannot possibly persist in the cupola of the Sapphire Megalith, these unholy acolytes can stay my tongue no longer with their threats. What can they take which has not already been lost, stripped away, or erased? At long last, the question must be asked out loud, and damned be the consequences.
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
Project Firebox 40
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At the edge of nowhere in Maspeth, this noble soldier of the realm sits on the truncated remains of the Jamaica and Newtown Turnpike, which was once carried the Maspeth Plank Road over Newtown Creek. A no mans land of trucks, industrial concerns, and desolation, the corner it polices is one seldom travelled except by those of us drawn to the mysteries of the Creeklands. In the distance, one can discern the Freedom Tower rising in the Shining City.
tones and accents
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sauntering suspiciously through the hinterlands of Maspeth, along the malign fence lines of Rust Street, your humble narrator suddenly sensed a cacophony of ringing bells which occluded all reason. Assuming that one of my states was coming on, those hours of panic and terror brought on by a weakened constitution and the numerous afflictions which plague me, my first instinct was to monitor both pulse and temper.
Suddenly I realized that this ringing in my ears, now accompanied by a clattering and approaching ruckus, heralded the nearness of a train!
Note: Train folks, if you’ve got anything to say or link to regarding the actual model of locomotive, please use the comments link for this post. Every time a train photo is displayed here, I get at least a couple of emails telling me something cool about the locomotive. Please share, and leave a comment.
A
from wikipedia
Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. It is usually described as a ringing noise, but in some patients, it takes the form of a high-pitched whining, electric buzzing, hissing, humming, tinging or whistling sound, or as ticking, clicking, roaring, “crickets” or “tree frogs” or “locusts (cicadas)”, tunes, songs, beeping, sizzling, sounds that slightly resemble human voices or even a pure steady tone like that heard during a hearing test. It has also been described as a “wooshing” sound, as of wind or waves. Tinnitus can be intermittent, or it can be continuous, in which case it can be the cause of great distress. In some individuals, the intensity can be changed by shoulder, head, tongue, jaw, or eye movements.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was once one of the busiest stretches of rail in New York, let alone the United States. The Long Island Railroad (in its various guises, incarnations, and corporate forebears) have maintained their “road” here since the 1860’s. A shame, these tracks are a shadow of their former self and it’s not all that frequently that one sees traffic along the route. Hurling myself across the busy truck route, your humble narrator quickly sprang onto that fence which vouchsafe the track from trespass and interference, and whipped out the camera and began clicking away.
from wikipedia
The LIRR chartered the New York and Jamaica Railroad on September 3, 1859, and a supplement to the LIRR’s charter passed March 12, 1860 authorized it to buy the NY&J and extend to Hunters Point. The LIRR carried through with the NY&J purchase on April 25, along with the purchase of a short piece of the Brooklyn and Jamaica at Jamaica, and the next day it cancelled its lease of the Brooklyn and Jamaica, but continued to operate over it. The Brooklyn Central and Jamaica Railroad, a consolidation of the B&J with the new Brooklyn Central Railroad, began operating from South Ferry over the top of the tunnel, along the B&J tracks to Flatbush Avenue, and south on the new Fifth Avenue Line in August 1860. The new line to Hunters Point was officially opened on May 9, 1861, with regular service starting May 10. A ferry connection (Hunter’s Point Ferry) was initially advertised to James Slip; connecting boats began running to East 34th Street Pier in October. he BC&J soon began operating horse cars over the old line from South Ferry, connecting with LIRR trains at Jamaica. The tunnel was closed off in December.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This double engine was hurtling along, which was somewhat remarkable. When I do see trains along this route, 9 times out of 10 they are NY & Atlantic freight trains which lumber along at a fairly tepid pace compared to this blue and gold comet which roared past me. Sadly, a diminished capacity for joy and low threshold for excitation allow one to consider the witnessing of this passing locomotive to be the high point of the day. Juvenile in character despite advanced years, it does not take much to impress one such as myself.
from wikipedia
Federal regulators limit the speed of trains with respect to the signaling method used. Passenger trains are limited to 59 mph and freight trains to 49 mph on track without block signal systems. (See dark territory.) Trains without “an automatic cab signal, automatic train stop or automatic train control system” may not exceed 79 mph. The order was issued in 1947 (effective 31 Dec 1951) by the Interstate Commerce Commission following a severe 1946 crash in Naperville, Illinois involving two Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad trains. Following the 1987 Chase, Maryland train collision, freight trains operating in enhanced-speed corridors have been required to have locomotive speed limiters to forcibly slow trains rather than simply alerting the operator with in-cab signals. The signal panel in the Maryland crash had been partially disabled, with a muted whistle and a missing light bulb.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Undoubtedly, as these tracks lead toward the Long Island City yard- which offers connections to both Manhattan and the gargantuan Sunnyside Yard- it is impossible to speculate on their final destination, but these engines were headed to somewhere in Long Island City.
for more on the twisting trackways of the Montauk Cutoff, check out this trainsarefun.com page
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the Queens side of the Newtown Creek, a loathsome flood plain typified by concreted devastation and the relicts of the industrial revolution, the Long Island Railroad has long been the proverbial “800 pound gorilla” and as such- goes wherever it wants to go.
For visual orientation to more familiar locales, notice that dagger in the heart of Queens- the Sapphire Megalith- embedded in the innocent soil of Court Square in LIC, or the distant Freedom Tower under construction in lower Manhattan.
from wikipedia
“800 pound gorilla” is an American English expression for a person or organization so powerful that it can act without regard to the rights of others or the law. The phrase is rooted in a riddle:
“Where does an 800 lb. gorilla sleep?”
The answer:
“Anywhere it wants to.”
Also,
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 half booked up, and as I’m just announcing it, 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 