Posts Tagged ‘north brooklyn’
Post Sandy
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My little dog and I sheltered in place during Sandy, and from the sound of what was going on, I’m more than glad we did. Our little section of Astoria seems to have survived the night- power, internet etc. still up and running. Checking in on the web this morning, one discovered that surrounding neighborhoods weren’t quite so lucky.
Mr. Jimmy Van Bramer, our City Councilman, has been running around the district and updating everyone on the situation via facebook and twitter as well as his own site- http://jimmyvanbramer.com. There seems to be a high number of fallen trees in Sunnyside.
Kate Zidar, who heads up Newtown Creek Alliance, has also been very active on twitter. She has been posting shots of the severe flooding which affected Greenpoint as the Newtown Creek breached its bulkheads. https://twitter.com/newtownCreek
The North Brooklyn Boat Club posted shots of the flooding which affected their outfit, check them out at this facebook album.
Newtown Creek Alliance’s Laura Hoffman also posted shots of the aftermath in Greenpoint, at this facebook album.
Finally, the folks at gothamist posted an album this morning, depicting the flooding along the creek.
I’ll be going out tomorrow morning, doing a long walk around the Creek and seeing what I can see. If anyone has anything in particular that they think I should check out, email me here.
Haven’t heard too much from the harbor people yet, but word has reached me that both the John J Harvey and Tug Pegasus survived the night. I don’t think that it is too early to say that life has changed for all of us, and that it’s a good idea to take extra precautions regarding what washed out of the rivers and the Creek in particular.
something luminous
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Whittling away the remaining days allowed me to scuttle across the mortal coil, recent adventures have taken me to odd places. Last weekend, a humble narrator found himself in a canoe upon the fabled Newtown Creek, participating in a Newtown Creek Alliance survey of avian inhabitants of the waterway. This trip was facilitated via the equipment and skill of the mariners found at the North Brooklyn Boat Club. Discussion of this trip, and those things which we observed, will be explored in future postings as this- your Newtown Pentacle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Additionally, revelations of upcoming walking tours and other excursions I will be leading in October and beyond are coming in the next week. A flurry of such endeavors in prior months had laid one low, as to be seen by so many diminishes me. A vow offered to you, lords and ladies, is to return to historical exploration and description in the coming weeks. I’ve tales to tell, which have been sitting on the back burner for months, due to a lack of time to cogently describe and detail.
Suffice to say that we have only scratched the lipid coated surface of the Creek to this point, and we shall be diving deeper into its languid depths in the near future.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are several opportunities for enjoyment and exploration at hand, including the Field Trip day in Greenpoint on September 29th.
Queens Borough Historian Jack Eichenbaum will be conducting a Newtown Creek walking tour next week which I am looking forward to attending, also on September 29th.
Additionally, Newtown Creek Alliance has several events (not necessarily “Mitchcentric) and a meeting- at the Onderdonk House on September 27 in Ridgewood- upcoming, which have just been announced. These events include an October 7th boat tour which will be part of the Open House NY Weekend.
This is the end of the summer, officially, as tomorrow we enter into the equinox and the autumn season officially begins. Grateful thanks are offered to all the better than 600 people who have shared my summer- attending the multitudinous walking, bus, and boat tours which I’ve been involved with.
Also, a shout out on the efforts and exertions of the vernal period goes out to the long suffering “Our Lady of the Pentacle” and her infinite patience, and to my “aide de camp” and first officer Mai Armstrong.
Project Firebox 28
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hipper than thou, this guardian of the realm is found on the nebulous border betwixt Williamsburg and Greenpoint. As evinced in the shot above, the stalwart nobility of the scarlet sentinel is quite irresistible to the attention of North Brooklyn’s ladies.
The fairer sex is never immune to the power of uniforms, it would seem.
The Newtown Pentacle 