Posts Tagged ‘Parade’
From Astoria Park, fireworks show, June 30 2010
– photos by Mitch Waxman
An FDNY fireboat shooting Red White and Blue water in between the Triborough and HellGate Bridges, followed by a cool tugboat, and then a fireworks display framed against the latter bridge. Happy 4th of July!
Madison Avenue Bridge Centennial
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The last of the bridge centennial parades was held on Wednesday, May 12, 2010. The Madison Avenue Bridge spans the Harlem River and connects Manhattan with the Bronx.
from wikipedia
The Madison Avenue Bridge crosses the Harlem River connecting Madison Avenue in Manhattan with East 138th Street in the Bronx in New York City. The bridge is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation. It was designed by Alfred P. Boller and built in 1910 to replace and double the capacity of another earlier swing bridge dating from 1884.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It rained, at this parade.
from nycroads.com
The Madison Avenue Bridge, which today is maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), provides two lanes of eastbound and two lanes of westbound traffic between Manhattan and the Bronx. On the Bronx approach, the bridge directly connects to the Major Deegan Expressway (at EXIT 3). On the Manhattan approach, motorists must take side streets to connect to the Harlem River Drive. According to the NYCDOT, the bridge carries approximately 45,000 vehicles per day (AADT).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
American Bridge Company? That was J.P. Morgan, wasn’t it?
from wikipedia
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles (13 km) between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. Part of the current course of the Harlem River is the Harlem River Ship Canal, which runs somewhat south of the former course of the river, isolating a small portion of Manhattan (Marble Hill) on the Bronx side of the river.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The indomitable DOT crew that provided electricity and made sure that tents were in place to shield the dignitaries and speakers from the weather. Notice their high visibility safety gear.
from wikipedia
The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT or DOT) is responsible for the management of much of New York City’s transportation infrastructure. Janette Sadik-Khan is the current Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, and was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on April 27, 2007.
The department’s responsibilities include day-to-day maintenance of the city’s streets, highways, bridges and sidewalks. The Department of Transportation is also responsible for installing and maintaining the city’s street signs, traffic signals and street lights. The DOT supervises street resurfacing, pothole repair, parking meter installation and maintenance, and the management of a citywide network of municipal parking facilities. The DOT also operates the Staten Island Ferry.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The bridge itself is a rather straightforward swing bridge, with trusses and box girders forming the superstructure for the busy roadway.
from wikipedia
Harlem stretches from the East River west to the Hudson River between 155th Street; where it meets Washington Heights—to a ragged border along the south. Central Harlem begins at 110th Street, at the northern boundary of Central Park; Spanish Harlem extends east Harlem’s boundaries south to 96th Street, while in the west it begins north of Upper West Side, which gives an irregular border west of Morningside Avenue. Harlem’s boundaries have changed over the years; as Ralph Ellison observed: “Wherever Negroes live uptown is considered Harlem.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Two young fellows opened a large box and revealed this cake. As soon as I saw it, I knew what must happen next, for I know a secret about politicians…
from wikipedia
Cake is a form of food that is usually sweet and often baked. Cakes normally combine some kind of flour, a sweetening agent (commonly sugar), a binding agent (generally egg, though gluten or starch are often used by lacto-vegetarians and vegans), fats (usually butter, shortening, or margarine, although a fruit purée such as applesauce is sometimes substituted to avoid using fat), a liquid (milk, water or fruit juice), flavors and some form of leavening agent (such as yeast or baking powder), though many cakes lack these ingredients and instead rely on air bubbles in the dough to expand and cause the cake to rise. Cake is often frosted with buttercream or marzipan, and finished with piped borders and crystallized fruit.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
All Politicians love cakes and cameras, and are magnetically attracted to them from wherever they may be in the city.
from wikipedia
To balance local authority along with the centralization of government, the Office of Borough President was established with a functional administrative role derived by having a vote on the New York City Board of Estimate, which was responsible for creating and approving the city’s budget and proposals for land use. The Board of Estimate consisted of the Mayor, the Comptroller and the President of the New York City Council, each of whom were elected citywide and had two votes, and the five Borough presidents, each having one vote.
In 1989, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris (489 U.S. 688) declared the New York City Board of Estimate unconstitutional on the grounds that the city’s most populous borough (Brooklyn) had no greater effective representation on the board than the city’s least populous borough (Staten Island), this arrangement being an unconstitutional violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause pursuant to the high court’s 1964 “one man, one vote” decision.
The city charter was revised in 1990 and the Board of Estimate was abolished. The Office of Borough President was retained but with greatly reduced power. The borough budget reverted to the mayor or the New York City Council. A Borough President has a small discretionary budget to spend on projects within the borough. The last significant power of the borough presidents — to appoint a member of the New York City Board of Education — was abolished, with the board, on June 30, 2002.
The two major remaining appointments of a Borough President are one member of the city Planning Commission and one member of the Panel for Educational Policy. Borough Presidents generally adopt specific projects to promote while in office; but, since 1990, Borough Presidents have been seen mainly as the ceremonial leaders of their boroughs. Officially, they advise the Mayor on issues relating to each borough, comment on all land-use items in their borough, advocate borough needs in the annual municipal budget process, appoint Community Boards, chair the Borough Boards, and serve as ex officio members of various boards and committees They generally act as advocates of their boroughs at the mayoral agencies, the city council, the New York State government, public corporations and private businesses.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Borough President of Manhattan Scott Stringer arrived first, and seemed pleased with the confection.
from wikipedia
Scott Stringer (born 1960) is a New York Democratic politician and the current Borough President of Manhattan. His mother, Arlene Stringer-Cuevas, is a cousin of Bella Abzug and served on the New York City Council. Stringer grew up in the Washington Heights/Lower Inwood neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, attended Manhattan public schools and graduated from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In 1983, he became a legislative assistant to Assemblyman, and future Congressman, Jerrold Nadler. During these years, he supported Democratic candidates such as Governor Mario Cuomo. In 1992, Stringer ran for Nadler’s Assembly seat representing the Upper West Side when Nadler replaced deceased Congressman Ted Weiss.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. arrived in a nearly simultaneous fashion, and the two exchanged pleasantries- while eyeing the pastry.
from wikipedia
Ruben Diaz, Jr. (born April 26, 1973) is a Democratic Party politician from the Bronx in New York City, and the son of New York State Senator Rubén Díaz.
Diaz became the Bronx Borough President in April 2009 after representing the 85th Assembly District in the New York State Assembly. When first elected in 1996 he became, at age 23, the youngest member of the New York State Legislature since Theodore Roosevelt.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The two BP’s electrified the crowd of well wishers, reporters, and invited guests. Diaz also maintained a certain vigil on the cake.
from wikipedia
On February 18, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr. to the position of Director of the White House Office on Urban Affairs.
When Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared a special election to choose his successor,[64] Diaz was considered the leading candidate for the position of Bronx Borough President.
The special election was held on April 21, 2009. Diaz defeated Republican Party candidate Anthony Ribustello by an overwhelming 87% of the vote, to become the 13th Borough President of the Bronx.
On July 1, 2009 Diaz appointed Delores Fernandez to the reconstituted New York City Board of Education. Fernandez is anticipated to be the sole member of the Board that will have a perspective independent of mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Diaz ended his first summer as borough president by recommending that the New York City Council reject Related Companies’ proposal to turn the Kingsbridge Armory into a shopping mall. In an editorial in the New York Daily News, Diaz wrote he is “fighting to make sure that this development includes ‘living wage’ jobs that offer health insurance.” Related’s proposal is still going through the city’s review process.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The ceremonies began with the national anthem as sung by members of (I believe) the Choir Academy of Harlem.
from wikipedia
Samuel I. Schwartz, a.k.a. Gridlock Sam, is one of the leading transportation engineers in the United States, and is widely believed to be the man responsible for popularizing the phrase gridlock. Educated at Brooklyn College and the University of Pennsylvania, he originally worked as a cabbie. He eventually held the second-in-command post of Deputy Commissioner in New York City’s transportation department for many years and now operates as a private consultant. One of Gridlock Sam’s newest developments is that of a plan to enhance truck traffic along the Detroit-Windsor border. Today he gives advice in his own column in New York City’s Daily News. He answers questions by mail and alerts readers about traffic patterns.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Master of ceremonies Sam Schwartz.
from gridlocksam.com
Some thirty-seven years ago I began my professional career as a New York City taxi driver. This provided basic training for maneuvering through the city’s streets. Though trained in science, I switched majors to transportation engineering in graduate school. I thought I would save the subways, but the Transit Authority wouldn’t offer me a job. I ended up as a junior engineer at the old Traffic Department.
Initially I worked developing neighborhood one-way plans but soon I was moved to “Special Projects”. John Lindsay was mayor and proposed many innovative and bold schemes to reduce traffic in Midtown. I spent a lot of time on these plans, working with an old-time traffic engineer named Roy Cottam. One day, Roy spoke of his fears if we closed the streets in the Theater District, the grid system would “lock-up” and all traffic would grind to a halt. Soon we simply juxtaposed the word, and the term gridlock was born.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was a general feeling of happiness, despite the wet and cold. Of course, we were all under the tent.
from nycbridges100.org
In the spring of 2007, a group of civic minded individuals realized that several of New York City’s bridges were approaching their 100th anniversary. In order to commemorate the significance of these magnificent spans and their role in making New York City the greatest metropolis in the world, the group formed the NYC Bridge Centennial Commission, a 501 (c) 3 corporation.
The aim of the Commission is to promote the 100th year anniversary of six historic New York City bridges, to educate the public about the bridges’ role in the life of the city, to encourage respect for the history of New York City; to heighten the public’s awareness of the City’s infrastructure and the need to maintain it; and to stimulate the interest of the public in celebrating the centennial of these six bridges.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Out of nowhere, the Kevin C. Kane, NYFD Marine 6 appeared.
from limarc.org
Kevin C. Kane, N2MEI, was a New York City Firefighter, and a member of LI-MARC. Early on the morning of September 12, 1991, Kevin responded with Engine Com-pany 236 to a fire in at an abandoned apartment house in the East New York section of Brooklyn. Despite the knowledge that there might not be enough hose to reach all parts of the house, Kevin and his fellow firefighters entered the building in search of victims. Shortly thereafter, a section of burning ceiling fell on Kevin. Despite the frantic efforts of his colleagues, they were not able to reach him. Eventually he managed to jump from a window, into the bucket of a fire truck. Having been burned over most of his body, he died the next day. In his honor, The NYFD named a fireboat The Kevin C. Kane, and created the Kevin C. Kane Medal for bravery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The kids from the Harry S Truman High School band, and I mean all of them, were just jumping with personality and enthusiasm.
from wikipedia
Marching band is a sport consisting of a group of instrumental musicians and usually dance teams / color guard who generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching (and possibly onto other movements) with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands use some kind of uniform (often of a military style) that include the school or organization’s name or symbol, shakos, pith helmets, feather plumes, gloves, and sometimes gauntlets, sashes, and/or capes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Suddenly, all the spectators were looking south while I was looking west.
from wikipedia
Harry S. Truman High School is a public high school at 750 Baychester Avenue, in the Bronx, New York City, United States. The school is designated as an Empowerment School by the New York City Department of Education, which allows it more autonomy in choosing a curriculum.
Truman High School is one of the remaining large high schools in the Bronx that has not been broken up into a number of small schools. This trend which has been popular in the city has seen South Bronx High School, Evander Childs High School as well as Roosevelt High School split into a number of smaller schools that are still located in the same building.
Truman High is located in the Co-op City section of the Bronx, yet many of the students commute to school from areas as far away as the South Bronx.
The size of Truman High School (over 3000 students) does give it the benefit of having many sports programs and extracurricular activities.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Marine 6 was starting its own performance.
from wikipedia
Types of Apparatus:
MARINE or Fireboat is a specialized boat outfitted specifically for firefighting capabilities. Its responsibilities include suppression of all fires that occur on water, such as boat fires, pier fires, etc. A Marine Unit also assists land based companies with securing a water supply, as they have the ability to “draft” water from the rivers they operate in.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Red and blue colorant is added to two of the firehoses…
from wikipedia
The first bridge on this site was constructed by the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1841. It was composed of four 90-foot (27 m)-long box truss spans, three of which were fixed iron spans, while the remaining span was a wooden swing span. In the closed position, the bridge had a clearance of only seven feet above mean high water. Masonry piers supported the four box-truss spans.
In 1867, the wooden drawbridge was replaced with an iron one that gave a clearance of fifty feet. It was very busy. By the 1880s, the bridge was crossed by more than 200 trains a day.
The bridge was soon made obsolete by heavy traffic and dredging of the Harlem River Ship Canal. Alfred P. Boller worked with the railroad to create a new four-tracked swing bridge. The railroad and the city split the cost.
The new bridge was built in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers’ project to build the Harlem River Ship Canal. The Park Avenue railroad viaduct was also extended north of 115th Street at the same time. While the bridge was being built, a temporary bridge was built and the old span was demolished.
When the new bridge was finished, it had a 300-foot (91 m)-long steel truss span supported by masonry piers. The new span had a vertical clearance of 25 feet (7.6 m).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
… and a patriotic display is manufactured.
from nycroads.com
During the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Park Avenue Railroad Bridge passed through the hands of several financially ailing railroads, ranging from the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to the Penn Central Railroad. Today, the lift span is operated by the MTA Metro-North passenger railroad.
Recently, the MTA Metro-North Railroad announced a $10 million project to rehabilitate the Park Avenue Railroad Bridge. The bridge control, power and lift systems are now beyond their useful life, and will not be replaced. Instead, the project will remove the moveable elements of the bridge (such as the wire rope and counterweight), and will rehabilitate the foundation. The MTA Metro-North Railroad currently is seeking approval from the U.S. Coast Guard to make this a fixed bridge in order to minimize the cost of rehabilitation.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The announcement was made that the rest of the ceremony would be kicking off “Bronx Week”, so the entire crowd began to lurch toward the Bronx shoreline.
from wikipedia
In a marching band or a drum & bugle corps, the colorguard is a non-musical section that provides additional visual aspects to the performance. The marching band and colorguard performance generally takes place on a football field while the colorguard interprets the music that the marching band or drum & bugle corps is playing via the synchronized spinning of flags, sabres, rifles, or through dance. The color guard uses different colors and styles of flags to enhance the visual effect of the marching band as a whole. The number of members in a colorguard can vary- some only having a few members while others may have 41 or more. Within the band, colorguard is often referred to as flagline or simply guard.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Truman kids led the march off the Madison Avenue Bridge toward the Bronx side.
from wikipedia
The size and composition of a marching band can vary greatly. Some bands have fewer than twenty members, and some have over 500. American marching bands vary considerably in their instrumentation. Some bands omit some or all woodwinds, but it is not uncommon to see piccolos, flutes, clarinets, alto saxophones, and tenor saxophones. E♭ clarinets, alto clarinets, bass clarinets, and baritone saxophones are less common, but can be found in some bands. Bassoons and oboes are very seldom found on a field due to the risk of incidental damage, the impracticality of marching with an exposed double reed, and high sensitivity to weather.
The brass section usually includes trumpets or cornets, mellophones or E♭ alto horns (instead of horns), tenor trombones, baritone horns or euphoniums, and Tubas or sousaphones. E♭soprano cornets are sometimes used to supplement or replace the high woodwinds. Some especially large bands use flugelhorns and bass trombones.
Marching percussion (often referred to as the drumline, battery, or back battery) typically includes snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums, and cymbals and are responsible for keeping tempo for the band. All of these instruments have been adapted for mobile, outdoor use. Marching versions of the glockenspiel (bells), xylophone, and marimba are also rarely used by some ensembles. Historically, the percussion section also employed mounted timpani that featured manual controls.
For bands that include a front ensemble (also known as the pit or auxiliary percussion), stationary instrumentation may include orchestral percussion such as timpani, tambourines, maracas, cowbells, congas, wood blocks, marimbas, xylophones, bongos, vibraphones, timbales, claves, guiros, and chimes or tubular bells,concert bass drums, and gongs, as well as a multitude of auxiliary percussion equipment. Drum sets, purpose-built drum racks, and other mounted instruments are also placed here. Until the advent of the pit in the early 1980s, many of these instruments were actually carried on the field by marching percussionists by hand or on mounting brackets. Some bands also include electronic instruments such as synthesizers, electric guitars, and bass guitar, along with the requisite amplification. If double-reed or string instruments are used, they are usually placed here, but even this usage is very rare due to their relative fragility. Unusual percussive instruments are sometimes used, including brake drums, empty propane tanks, trashcans, railroad ties, stomping rigs, and other interesting sounds.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Word went around that refreshments could be found, and other entertainments offered, upon our arrival in Deegan Rock Park.
from wikipedia
For parades, bands usually line up in a marching block composed of ranks (rows) and files (columns). Typically, each member tries to stay within his or her given rank and file, and to maintain even spacing with neighboring musicians. It is usually the responsibility of the people at the end of each rank and the front of each file to be in the correct location; this allows other band members to guide to them.
Band members also try to keep a constant pace or step size while marching in parade. This usually varies between 22 and 30 inches (56–76 cm) per stride. A step size of 22.5 inches is called 8-to-5 because the marcher covers five yards (about 4.6 m) in eight steps. A step size of 30 inches is called 6-to-5 because five yards are covered in six steps. Because yard lines on an American football field are five yards apart, exact 8-to-5 and 6-to-5 steps are most useful for field shows.
A drum cadence (sometimes called a walkbeat or street beat) is usually played when the band is marching, sometimes alternating with a song. This is how the band keeps time. Alternately, a drum click or rim shot may be given on the odd beats to keep the band in step. Between songs and cadences, a roll is usually given to indicate what beat in the measure the band is at. Cadence tempo varies from group to group, but is generally between 112 and 144 beats per minute.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The band played on, as the crowd crossed safely over the flow of Harlem River.
from wikipedia
A musical instrument is constructed or used for the purpose of making the sounds of music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the beginnings of human culture. The academic study of musical instruments is called organology.
The date and origin of the first device of disputed status as a musical instrument dates back as far as 67,000 years old; artifacts commonly accepted to be early flutes date back as far as about 37,000 years old. However, most historians believe determining a specific time of musical instrument invention to be impossible due to the subjectivity of the definition.
Musical instruments developed independently in many populated regions of the world. However, contact among civilizations resulted in the rapid spread and adaptation of most instruments in places far from their origin. By the Middle Ages, instruments from Mesopotamia could be found in the Malay Archipelago and Europeans were playing instruments from North Africa. Development in the Americas occurred at a slower pace, but cultures of North, Central, and South America shared musical instruments.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Apparently, the syncopated footsteps of marching bands cause bridge engineers no small amount of worry, but the sturdy old girl didn’t shake a bit.
from wikipedia
The Bronx is divided by the Bronx River into a hillier section in the west, closer to Manhattan, and the flatter East Bronx, closer to Long Island. The West Bronx was annexed to New York City (then largely confined to Manhattan) in 1874, and the areas east of the Bronx River in 1895. The Bronx first assumed a distinct legal identity when it became a borough of Greater New York in 1898. Bronx County, with the same boundaries as the borough, was separated from New York County (afterwards coextensive with the Borough of Manhattan) as of January 1, 1914. Although the Bronx is the third-most-densely-populated county in the U.S., about a quarter of its area is open space, including Woodlawn Cemetery, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo in the borough’s north and center, on land deliberately reserved in the late 19th century as urban development progressed northwards and eastwards from Manhattan with the building of roads, bridges and railways.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Word was that the cake had already been transported down to Deegan Rock Park, and somehow- Diaz knew it.
from wikipedia
In 1997, the Bronx was designated an All America City by the National Civic League, signifying its comeback from the decline of the 1970s. In 2006, The New York Times reported that “construction cranes have become the borough’s new visual metaphor, replacing the window decals of the 1980s in which pictures of potted plants and drawn curtains were placed in the windows of abandoned buildings.” The borough has experienced substantial new building construction since 2002. Between 2002 and June 2007, 33,687 new units of housing were built or were under way and $4.8 billion has been invested in new housing. In the first six months of 2007 alone total investment in new residential development was $965 million and 5,187 residential units were scheduled to be completed. Much of the new development is springing up in formerly vacant lots across the South Bronx.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Other Bronx politicos also eagerly followed the charms of the baked goods.
from ilovethebronx.com
Saturday, May 15th through Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
Throughout Bronx Week, residents of the Bronx and visitors from the tri-state region come together to celebrate the people, places, history and businesses of the Bronx. Outdoor performances, trolley tours, health fairs, a salute to volunteers and business workshops are just some of the events in store.
The grand finale is on Sunday, May 23rd, when famous sons and daughters of the borough will return home for induction to the Bronx Walk of Fame on the Grand Concourse, followed by our annual Parade, Food & Art Festival and Concert on Mosholu Parkway.
Bronx Week is the ideal time to remind all New Yorkers that The Bronx is a great place to live, work and play. Don’t Miss The Fun!
For more information on fun Bronx Week events happening in our borough, check back with us using our Bronx Week Calendar page or call 718.590.BRONX
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The lady who was holding this sign was chided by your humble narrator for hiding her face. That was the Madison Avenue Bridge Centennial Parade.
from nypost.com
Bronx Week 2010 kicked off yesterday, May 12, but fear not — all you’ve missed so far was a press conference.
This year’s festive celebration of the borough will include 22 events in only 12 days and culminate in a busy, exciting Grand Finale on Sunday, May 23.
“This time we have organized even more events, while keeping the traditional ones, to celebrate the beauty, culture, talent and development of our neighborhoods,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. “No Bronxite should stay home during these many days full of activities.”
Doris Quiñones, executive director of the Bronx Tourism Council, said that this year, for the first time, Bronx Week has been moved up one month earlier.
“We moved it from June to May to make it easier for schools to participate,” she said. “Eighty schools are already scheduled to march in the parade on Sunday, May 23.”
That day is the Grand Finale, which is the big culmination of Bronx Week. In addition to the parade, which starts at noon on Mosholu Parkway, that night will be the famous Bronx Ball, at which the borough’s best and brightest show up in formal attire to dance the night away. This year the ball is under a huge tent at Orchard Beach at 6 p.m. and, as in the past, will have a red carpet, Bronx high school cheerleaders, and will kick off when Borough President Diaz honors a special few.
merry sounds
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Wandering through Manhattan on Saturday the 24th of April, your humble narrator suddenly found himself in a throng of colorfully dressed people. Willfully, I denied myself the opportunity to ask anyone what was going on, and instead preferred total ignorance of the significance of such a gathering.
Why?
Because sometimes it’s important to let New York show you what it wants you to see and not ask too many questions.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Ethnographic assumptions suggested to me that this crowd most likely had its origins on the mysterious subcontinent of India, based on observable physical features and style of dress. Also, many people were eating what I recognized as Indian food. Further trespass into the unknown would assert that these folks are most likely Sikh’s. Such ideations of national specificity hatch from the particular head wrappings and sheer physical size of the men.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Crowded, with what seemed to be thousands of children dashing about in panics of joy, there was a cacophony of conversation and color all around me. Spoken in some foreign tongue, foreign to me at least, their language carried a certain lilting and almost musical tone in utterance- which, I noted- were backed up by a seemingly simultaneous stream of information manifested by a secondary language of hand postures. I have noted that Indian people “speak with their hands” in the past, a cherished tradition of all New Yorkers here in the Shining City.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On 25th street, this enigmatic fellow was intently focused on what seemed to be either religious devotions or preparation of a ceremonial space. The little palace had flowers pinned to it, and seemed to a be a focal point for many of the men to gather and greet each other. On the corner of Madison, the female percentage of the crowd fell off somewhat. That’s when I realized this was a parade of some kind.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Scuttling to an out of the way spot, your humble narrator wondered if the variegated colors of the garb had any significance, and whether it denoted society or affiliation or caste. Musing about whether or not these might be gang colors in some far away place or time, a magnificent cast of characters then passed by- reminding me of a costumed group of super heroes.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Sikh’s, if Sikh’s these folks be, are known to exhibit great physical size- which distinguishes them from their more economically built Asian neighbors. This isn’t scientific, just a personal observation- if I see an Indian Guy who’s over 6 foot and well over 200 pounds, I always think “Sikh”. Afghans also are quite stoutly built, but Sikh men are huge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Your humble narrator continued his long scuttle back to Queens, where- odds are- many of these people likely dwell. There are several Sikh temples near and in Astoria, and I’ve been trying to work up the courage to visit one. I’m intrigued, but I like churches best from the outside. Always… I must remain outside.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
If anyone can identify this event, or positively assess the identity of the crowd, please share.
the shadow over sunnyside
– photo by Mitch Waxman
First Canto,
Lords and Ladies of Newtown-
Homosexuality is a non issue to me. This is partly because I’m not gay, and therefore I don’t suffer the oppression, discrimination, and second class status afforded this slice of the american pie by so called political conservatives. Most people hate me for reasons having nothing to do with sexual preference, but when the subject is brought up by my blue collar buddies- a standard response I offer is “what the hell do you care what somebody else does in the bedroom?”. The antics some of my heterosexual friends get up to would curl your hair, I tell you, but this is a society based on choice and self determination and anyone can follow whatever dream may intrigue them.
from thekelticdreams.com
The Keltic Dreams Irish Dancers, are a group of 33 children ages 7-12 from Public School 59, PS 59 in the Bronx, NY. The school is situated in a low Socio Economic area in the Bronx and has a 95% poverty rate. The students are all African American and Hispanic and have no background in Irish culture. Hired by the Department of Education, I, Caroline Duggan, moved to New York over 4 years ago and began teaching music in the school. I had no intention of staying more than one year in the school but fell in love with the children’s drive to become professional. After being constantly asked by the children why I spoke funny I told them that I was from Ireland. The fascination began with questions about the Irish lifestyle, leprechauns and Irish dance. They questioned me about a huge photo of Riverdance I had hanging in the classroom . I showed the children a few steps and was truly amazed by how quick they grasped even the most complicated steps. They were fascinated with the Riverdance video from Radio City, which I still show them on a regular basis. Especially how the show incorporated different cultures into Irish dancing. With this idea in mind and with the amazing support of the principal and school, I began an Irish dancing program after school twice a week. The group The Keltic Dreams was born and have since had their own one hour show on The Plaza at Lincoln Center, in the Bronx Botanical Garden for Bronx week , St Barnabas Nursing Home, on the Band shell at Central Park, at Lehman College in the Bronx and in The Manhattan Mall at Herald Square NYC. They were the sole performers at the St Patrick’s Day Parade in Queens for Mayor Bloomberg and afterwards all the students marched in the parade joined by their parents. The Irish dance program has encouraged huge parental involvement, bringing the whole community together!!!! Much to my surprise some of the children had never been to Manhattan before they performed in these shows!!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The St. Pat’s for All parade in Sunnyside, Queens, however, was organized as a response to the banning of homosexual marchers in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Manhattan 10 years ago. My take on this, based on an outsider’s view of the Roman Catholic Church- is that although exclusionary politics rub me the wrong way, church policy is that Catholicism is not a buffet. You eat the meal they serve or dine elsewhere, there are no substitutions allowed on their menu.
Saying that, “what the hell do you care what somebody else does in the bedroom?” once again escapes my lips and I remind you that I’m neither gay nor catholic. I grew up in an ethnic culture that encourages the wearing of funny little hats, having Saturday’s off, and the mass consumption of cake. As always, I remain an Outsider.
Shunning homosexuals from public view or acknowledgment – is bigotry in my opinion – and the power elite of New York City’s political class seems to agree with me on this one. One finds an alternative to such rudeness at this all inclusive event.
At this parade, you don’t even have to be Irish.
from wikipedia
John Chun Liu (simplified Chinese: 刘醇逸; traditional Chinese: 劉醇逸; pinyin: Liú Chúnyì, born January 8, 1967 in Taiwan) is a New York City elected official, currently serving as New York City Comptroller. Liu previously served on the New York City Council representing District 20. He was elected to the City Council in 2001 to represent northeast Queens (Flushing, Queensboro Hill, Mitchell Linden, Murray Hill, Holly, Kissena Park, Harding Heights, Auburndale, part of Whitestone) and was re-elected in 2003 and 2005.
Liu entered the New York City Comptroller election in 2009 and won the race on November 3, 2009, becoming the first Asian American to be elected to a city-wide office in New York City. He was succeeded in the City Council by pharmacist Republican Peter Koo. Koo, along with Democrat Margaret Chin, a Council member from Manhattan, comprise the Asian-American delegation of the Council.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Events like this are a photographer’s dream, a time when the politicos let their guards down for a few minutes, and they seem to conduct a lot of business at the sidelines. The politician smile mask, which is every bit as menacing and shallow as a shark’s grin, drops away and you see the actual face of the people who run our government. To wit, witness the Mayor in a contemplative moment, and his assumption of the public face he normally shows us when Carolyn Maloney greets him, and then his “big show” face used for working the crowd. This is part of the art they practice, the methodology of navigating the “endless sea”- as a 15th century Italian Poet might have described politics.
from wikipedia
Elizabeth Crowley (born November 27, 1977, Queens, New York) is a member of the New York City Council and a Democratic Party politician in New York.
Crowley was elected in November 2008, defeating the incumbent Republican, Anthony Como. She was sworn in January 2009 to represent the Queens neighborhoods of Glendale, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village and Woodhaven.
Crowley is the first Democrat and first woman to represent the 30th Council District. She was born and raised in Middle Village and now resides with her family in Glendale, Queens. She has two sons, Dennis and Owen. Crowley graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors degree in Restoration/Preservation from the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY). She has a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning from the Pratt Institute Graduate School of Architecture.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An admission I must make is that I love taking pictures of Michael Bloomberg. Absolutely no gap seems to exist between his thoughts and the facial postures exhibited, which is of course what his public persona is designed to intone. If it seems that I’m describing stagecraft and thespian performance, I am. Like all great actors, the elite who have clawed their way to the dangerous summit of political life in New York City must go to where a receptive audience can be found, and for politicians- places where their constituents can see them supporting favored causes. The LGT community is an important voting bloc, and those who do not take them seriously will suffer the consequences- and appropriately so.
from wikipedia
Carolyn B. Maloney (born February 19, 1946) is a New York Democrat who has served in the United States House of Representatives as the Congresswoman for New York’s 14th congressional district since 1993. This district, popularly known as the “silk stocking district”, includes most of Manhattan’s East Side; Astoria and Long Island City in Queens; and Roosevelt Island.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Social conservatives- a term which is actually a bit of a misnomer as it refers to a series of radical ideologies which advocate the overthrow of current social mores and policies in favor of something that would have nauseated Ronald Reagan, infuriated Nixon (who was an evil genius), and that even Ayn Rand might find severe- have a right to their opinion, also known as conscience. The Constitution of the United States acknowledges and protects this right- it does not GRANT this inalienable and irrevocable human right– as asserted by the so called “right wing”, it bows before it. This notion is something that evolved out of the religious wars of 16th and 17th century Europe, producing “the enlightenment“, Freemasonry, and representative democracy by the 18th and 19th centuries.
“Conservatism” can serve traditionally left wing causes as well, with do gooder progressives regulating what you eat and drink and inhale in the name of knowing what’s good for you – I term this “the left hand of fascism”- but that’s a story for another day.
from wikipedia
Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is a Democratic politician and the current Speaker of the New York City Council, which is among the most powerful positions in city government after the Mayor. The office of speaker was established in 1990 as a result of the revision of the City Charter.The third person to hold this office, Quinn is the first female and first openly gay speaker.
In 2007, the New York Post named Quinn the third-most powerful woman in New York, after Hillary Rodham Clinton and Diane Sawyer.She was rated one of the “Forty Under Forty” by Gotham Magazine.
Second Canto,
Lords and Ladies of Newtown-
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Early in the parade, I encountered a community affairs officer of the NYPD I had met during the Manhattan Bridge Centennial planning meetings, and after I reminded him of our amiable conversations- he shepherded me into the “press box”. Feeling haughty, as I was shoulder to shoulder with the Daily News, NY1, and CBS News personnel, I scanned around from my vantage and did my thing.
As long time readers of this Newtown Pentacle know, “my thing” is to look for what doesn’t fit or belong in a scene, and find out everything I can about it. That’s when I noticed the gentleman in the shot above, who seemed to be aghast at the unfolding tableau. In the middle of a happy and raucous crowd, he was radiating sorrow.
from wikipedia
A lone wolf is a wolf that lives by itself rather than with others as part of a pack. Lone wolves are typically old specimens driven from their pack or young adults in search of new territory. Instead of openly challenging the leadership of the pack leaders, most young wolves between the ages of 1 and 4 years leave their family in order to search for a pack of their own. Some wolves will simply remain lone wolves; as such, lone wolves are usually stronger, more aggressive and far more dangerous than the average wolf that is a member of a pack. They have difficulty hunting, as wolves’ favorite prey are large ungulates, and it is nearly impossible for a wolf to bring one down by itself (hunting on their own can be done, as lone wolves are naturally stronger and some specialize in hunting moose on their own). Instead, they will hunt smaller animals and scavenge. Sometimes, a lone wolf will find another lone wolf of the opposite sex, and the two will start a new pack.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Soon, his dour and expressionless countenance found company in the form of protesters waving signs. Ugly sentiment on such placards is commonplace at public events centering around LGT communities and these were rather tame by the standards of such protest. Once again- not commenting on right or wrong, just what “is”.
Noticing that the protesters were all carrying similar signs, however, made me realize that this might be a coordinated effort by a small group to manufacture the appearance that the surrounding community disapproves of the event and disseminate this false impression via the news media.
The news media ignored them… but your humble narrator… scuttles forward
LO, BEHOLD, AND TREMBLE
for the Newtown Pentacle is back in session…
Third Canto,
Lords and Ladies of Newtown-
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Were it not so, but there is a shadow which fell on the sylvan lanes of Sunnyside this last weekend, a malevolent force which seeks to hurl down the hard fought progress of mankind and return us to serfdom. An organization whose roots reach into the sandy amazonian soil of Brazil, and has spread to all points on the globe.
A true conspiracy, the apostate organization whose identity is displayed on these unhandsomely designed placards reads “The American TFP – America Needs Fatima”.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Scuttling ahead of the parade, and I really must compliment NYPD on their gentle touch in keeping me ahead of the pack as I walked backwards up Skillman Avenue, I kept on noticing sullen faces with leaden eyes scanning the scene.
People who didn’t fit.
The first warm day after a torturous period of winter storms and blasting wind, families and dogs and marching bands promulgated a general feeling of relaxed enjoyment along the route. The parade felt like a safety valve, blowing off the high pressures of a very cold and dark winter in the megalopolis, but there were those who felt other things.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The American TFP (Tradition, Family, Property) is a Catholic Lay organization which is the United States arm of the international TFP. Banned from Brazil by diocesan edict, outlawed in France as a cult organization, the TFP was founded by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. A very interesting group of people, the American TFP and America Needs Fatima can be contacted here:
American TFP P.O. Box 341 Hanover, PA 17331
Phone – (888) 317-5571 or (717) 225-7147 FAX – (717) 225-7382
and at their web site,
At this site, which is a tremendous and expensive feat of web engineering, you can expose yourself to the totality of their views. I recommend “Dispelling Myths about the Crusades“, “Virgin is not a dirty word“, and the credo of their group which is Prof. de Oliveira’s Revolution and Counter Revolution.
quoting from Revolution and Counter Revolution:
This terrible enemy has a name: It is called the Revolution.
Its profound cause is an explosion of pride and sensuality that has inspired, not one system, but, rather, a whole chain of ideological systems. Their wide acceptance gave rise to the three great revolutions in the history of the West: the Pseudo-Reformation, the French Revolution, and Communism.
Pride leads to hatred of all superiority and, thus, to the affirmation that inequality is an evil in itself at all levels, principally at the metaphysical and religious ones. This is the egalitarian aspect of the Revolution.
Sensuality, per se, tends to sweep aside all barriers. It does not accept restraints and leads to revolt against all authority and law, divine or human, ecclesiastical or civil. This is the liberal aspect of the Revolution.
Both aspects, which in the final analysis have a metaphysical character, seem contradictory on many occasions. But they are reconciled in the Marxist utopia of an anarchic paradise where a highly evolved mankind, “emancipated” from religion, would live in utmost order without political authority in total freedom. This, however, would not give rise to any inequality.
The Pseudo-Reformation was a first revolution. It implanted, in varying degrees, the spirit of doubt, religious liberalism, and ecclesiastical egalitarianism in the different sects it produced.
The French Revolution came next. It was the triumph of egalitarianism in two fields: the religious field in the form of atheism, speciously labeled as secularism; and the political field through the false maxim that all inequality is an injustice, all authority a danger, and freedom the supreme good.
and from wikipedia
Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira (São Paulo, December 13, 1908 — October 3, 1995) was a Brazilian intellectual, politician and Catholic activist.
His mother, Lucilia Corrêa de Oliveira, was a devout Roman Catholic. He was educated by Jesuits. In 1928 he joined the Marian Congregations of São Paulo and soon became a leader of that organization, often giving speeches. In 1933 he helped organize the Catholic Electoral League and was elected to the nation’s Constitutional Convention. As the youngest congressman in Brazil’s history he was part of the “Catholic bloc”.
He assumed the chair of Modern and Contemporary History at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. He was also the first president of the São Paulo Archdiocesan Board of Catholic Action.
From 1935 to 1947 he served as director of the Catholic weekly Legionário. In 1951 he began his direction of the monthly paper Catolicismo. From 1968 to 1990 he wrote a column for the Folha de São Paulo, the city’s largest daily newspaper. He opposed communism and Catholic leftism in Latin America, believing instead in the breeding of a ruling elite to run society.
An admirer of Thomas Aquinas, he was the author of 15 books and over 2,500 essays and articles. His works include: In Defense of Catholic Action, Revolution and Counter-Revolution, The Church and the Communist State: The Impossible Coexistence, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII, and many others.
To put his ideas into action, he founded the Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) in 1960 and served as president of its national council until his death in 1995. His treatise Revolution and Counter-Revolution inspired the founding of autonomous TFPs groups in nearly 20 countries worldwide.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Come into my house, and make the Lords and Ladies of Newtown uncomfortable on the first nice day in 2010? You get what you get, folks. The storm approaching you is the light of day, and something wicked this way comes… its called Truth.
from nationmaster.com
TFP’s worldview is based on Corrêa de Oliveira’s 1959 study Revolution and Counter-Revolution. According to the aims laid out in this book, TFP strives to reverse what it sees as the immoral processes that have undermined Christian civilization since the 14th century, the “Revolution” of the study’s title. TFP promotes the values of Christianity, and opposes liberal and egalitarian ideas, policies, and trends in both society as a whole and in the Catholic Church. Thus, in addition to supporting official Catholic teaching on matters like abortion, same-sex marriage, and the like, the group distinguishes itself by also being monarchist and feudalist in its political tendencies and advocating a return to rule by “aristocracies” and “elites,” such as the titled, landed nobility of the Middle Ages, as witnessed by one of Corrêa de Oliveira’s most available works, Nobility & Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII (in this book, Corrêa de Oliveira rejects the “preferential option for the poor” idea that has become the core of modern Catholic social teaching, and argues for a “preferential option for the nobility”). Ardently anti-Communist, the group’s Catholic identity did not prevent it from excoriating the Pope over his perceived softness on Communism (Corrêa de Oliveira, The Church and the Communist State: The Impossible Coexistence)…
…The group’s activities, notably its pro-life marches, have won it the admiration of many conservative Catholics.On the other hand, most other Catholics, including conservative ones, consider the group an embarrassment, and allege that it advocates a return to Medieval society by advocating values that are, paradoxically, incompatible with Christianity. Recent pronouncements on their website that the Indian Ocean Tsunami was sent by God the day after Christmas as a punishment for the sinfulness of vacationers and the rest of the world, have added to this controversy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
democraticunderground.com presented a fully realized reporting of this organization here.
Amongst other revelations found in the posting are: the story of Carmina Salcido, TFP’s banning or condemnation by the governments of Venezuela (1985’s version), Chile, and France. The Church’s response to them is similar- take for example this bulletin from the Archdiocese of Miami from 2007, this study of them by the University of Durban (written DURING apartheid, I would add), and this lovely exchange at catholicforum.fisheaters.com’s message board in which the current director of the American TFP- Robert Ritchie- offers his views to an anxious public.
from wikipedia
The American TFP’s worldview is based on Corrêa de Oliveira’s 1959 study, Revolution and Counter-Revolution. According to the aims laid out in this book, TFP acts to oppose the anti-Christian process that has undermined Christian civilization since the 14th century, the “Revolution” of the study’s title. This “Revolution” has three phases which progressively undermine the Church and social order:
The Protestant “Pseudo-Reformation” and its rejection of religious authority and inequality, in particular the Pope.
The “Enlightenment” and the French Revolution and its rejection of temporal authority, in particular the King and nobility.
The Communist Revolution and its rejection of economic inequality.
The final phases that follow (now taking place) seek to eradicate the Church and Christian civilization while applying more radical egalitarianism and implementing neo-paganism.
The American TFP promotes the values of Christianity, and opposes liberal and egalitarian ideas, policies, and trends in both society as a whole and in the Catholic Church. In addition to supporting all official Catholic teaching, the group also argues for the need for authentic elites in society that raise, above all, the moral tone of general society, as witnessed by Corrêa de Oliveira’s Nobility & Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII. In this book, Corrêa de Oliveira seeks to balance the notion of “preferential option for the poor” idea in some modern liberal Catholic social thinking, with support for the natural elite that exists in all societies, according to the teaching of Pius XII, that they may become the obligated class working for the good of society (Noblesse Oblige).
If the Revolution is disorder, the Counter-Revolution is the restoration of order. And by order we understand the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ. That is, Christian civilization, austere and hierarchical, fundamentally sacral, anti-egalitarian and anti-liberal.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
And yet, most of the people along this parade route in Sunnyside would agree to defend the right these people have to express this odd stance in public without fear of state retribution. It would be nice if the same courtesy was afforded in return…
Manhattan Bridge Centennial Parade 3
Manhattan Bridge Tracks – photo by Mitch Waxman
Under normal conditions, the time it would take to even steady and focus my trusty Canon G10 would have seen your humble narrator reduced to juices by Brooklyn bound traffic.
Directly after the Manhattan Bridge Centennial Parade, I had a good half hour or so to just wander around the roadway (in the company of city officials and with NYPD everywhere) and just take pictures, which was kind of surreal. In the age of the Terror Wars, whose only victor will be the side that scares the other more, such access is rare.
A similar experience was had at Queensboro Bridge, several months ago, and upon the many Working Harbor Committee voyages I attended over the summer and fall.
Brooklyn Bound Manhattan Bridge- photo by Mitch Waxman
A curious defect has emerged after a year of carrying my trusty Canon G10. The lens shutters seem to be less than a tenth of a millimeter too close to the lens, and over time, symmetrical scratches have scribed into the glass. You can see one of them catching the sun in the top of the shot above. These scratches are at the wide angle, and a tiny zoom-in eliminates their effect, but regardless- the thing goes back to Canon this week for repairs- hopefully on warranty. Despite this defect, this is one great camera, whose only real weakness is in low light. Recommended.
Empire State from Manhattan Bridge – photo by Mitch Waxman
Empty Manhattan Bridge roadway perspective, facing infinite Brooklyn – photo by Mitch Waxman
Manhattan Bridge cable perspective, facing infinite Brooklyn – photo by Mitch Waxman
Manhattan Bridge disturbing rust – photo by Mitch Waxman
Manhattan Bridge Centennial Parade Fireworks Show – photo by Mitch Waxman
Later that night, incontrovertibly next to the Williamsburg Bridge in a Lower East Side Manhattan Park, a scheduled fireworks show was performed to celebrate the Bridge Centennial. Additionally, musicians plied their arts as did political speakers.
Manhattan Bridge Centennial Parade Fireworks Show – photo by Mitch Waxman
I won’t bore you with a lot of fireworks, if you could use some shells bursting on high, click over to our flickr page and check them out.
and just as a note: this is Wright Brothers Day is the USA.
The Newtown Pentacle 