Posts Tagged ‘Pickman’
T Time
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An internal staccato, as offered by a humble narrator’s bones and ligaments as they ground and popped against tendons and muscle groups deep within my roadway interface, hit a somewhat epic rhythm on a recent afternoon while staggering up a steep hill which leads from HQ to the nearby light rail station. ‘The T,’ as Pittsburgh’s light rail is called, was a part of my plan for an afternoon walk. I wasn’t planning on the musical accompaniment from the legs and feet, but you take what you can get during the cold weather months. The locale HQ exists in is lovely, but it’s a residential town and not chock full of the sort of visual stimuli one such as myself craves.
This wasn’t going to be one of my long walks, instead I was shooting for burning out a few miles in an area which is coincidentally photogenic. As mentioned in the past, Pittsburgh has this weird dealie going on, regarding the T. When you’re heading into the center city you pay the fare as you board, whereas as you’re heading away from the city you pay when you debark the train set.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s a comfortable ride, most of the time, the T. Gets me the five or so miles from HQ to the City of Pittsburgh in about 20 minutes, unlike the R train back in Astoria wherein a journey of a similar distance (say… Astoria to Union Square) would consume the better part of an hour. While riding to my destination in the middle of ‘downtown,’ I decided to spend some of my afternoon with the newish 16mm wide angle lens which I added to my bag at the end of last year.
I’ve discovered a trick regarding Amazon, btw. Let’s say that there’s some frammistat or gizmo that you want, but don’t like the current pricing of it or the thing is from a brand which seldom discounts… if you put that item onto a ‘wishlist,’ the site will inform you when there’s a change in price to items on that list. That’s how I found out that two lenses (which I wanted rather than needed) were discounted by more than a third last year, during Christmas sale season, and that’s how they ended up in my camera bag.
Canon almost never offers that deep a cut in pricing, I’d add. You gotta jump quick when they do. Same rules as Apple.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The T uses underground stations in the city center, having taken over an old freight tunnel that’s under the downtown area, when the service was conceptualized. The modern system replaced a far more extensive Trolley style service. I still haven’t taken a bus anywhere here (which was the other replacement for the trolleys), as it’s a lot simpler to just drive the Mobile Oppression Platform to vehicular sorts of destinations than deal with mass transit and the unknown, but that also means I’ve been missing out on seeing Pittsburgh’s ‘Busway’ system. Private roads these busways are, often elevated, and only municipal and transit vehicles can travel on them. How cool is that?
Pictured above is Steel Plaza Station, where I left the T system and got back to that rhythmic popping and creaking that my legs were offering. More on what the wide angle lens saw, later on this week.
Back 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.
Parting shots
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few parting shots from a recent visit back to NYC greet you today, as captured by an expatriate but still humble narrator. This one is from the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge, looking westwards along Newtown Creek.
I was still on foot for this one. My next move was to call a cab and head to my old ‘local’ in Astoria – Doyle’s Corner – to meet up with friends, and drink pints of beer over a bar menu dinner. I was told there that the owner had decided to retire, and Doyle’s had been sold. It’s meant to reopen with a new name and set of renovations, and although I’m sure that the same set of barflies will be found along the rail when it does, it was sad to hear. Nothing lasts, everything is change.
As a note, although I spend a LOT of time in bars, I don’t actually drink all that much. I’m known for nursing a pint for an hour or so, which annoys my friends who drink quickly. I can spend all night in a bar and only have two or three drinks over several hours. I often refuse the ‘buy back’ – which is a colloquial NYC tradition, I’d mention – one that doesn’t exist here in Pittsburgh. It’s not even the alcohol, it’s the volume – I couldn’t sit down and just drink a quart and a half of seltzer in two hours, let alone an adult beverage.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I spent some time with my pal Val the day before leaving for the west, and we found ourselves back at the Maspeth Plank Road after inhaling an enormous breakfast at a diner on Grand Avenue. That’s another thing I don’t do anymore – eating breakfast at a restaurant – since moving away.
Lifestyle, these days, involves a new motto: the only thing you eat at a restaurant is something you can’t make at home. Both Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself have sharpened up our cooking skills since moving away, and we have a proper full sized kitchen at our new HQ in Pittsburgh, so few things are out of reach. We have a plug in Belgian Waffle press, for instance, so…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was my ‘last look’ at the fabulous Newtown Creek. After taking care of the stuff I had returned for, my buddy in Middle Village who was putting me up for the week prepared a huge and fabulous dinner at his place. My old friend Armstrong came by too, and stayed the night there as well. I had to make it an early night, however.
The next morning, I staggered out of bed at 4:30 a.m. and filled my thermos with coffee. I was behind the wheel and driving over the Triborough by 4:55 a.m. and then passing through the Delaware Water Gap choke point on I-80 by 6:15 a.m. Having successfully avoided the crunch of morning traffic in NYC, it was smooth sailing for the next 6 or so hours back to Pittsburgh and the loving arms of Our Lady and the snapping jaws of our insane puppy/adolescent dog Moe.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“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.
Let’s review
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
During a brief visit back home a couple of weeks ago, which I’ve been describing all week, one made it a point of visiting all of the old familiar places. After walking up on the Kosciuszcko Bridge, I scuttled back down to the cursed earth of Queens and headed down onto Review Avenue and into Blissville. Along the way, my eye kept getting caught by a plethora of heavy vehicles.
This is another one of the street corridors which I’ve spent a LOT of time along, and I’ll never forget the sights and sounds I’ve experienced here. For instance – during COVID’s mid lockdown period, I saw people using the high walls of First Calvary to practice rock climbing. Also during that interval, I saw the cemetery people digging up roads on their property to make room for an abundance of new graves, which was space that observationally filled up pretty quickly.
Scuttle, scuttle, scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was odd, I’ll admit. Being home again. I’ve said it a million times at this point, but whereas I now live in Pittsburgh and I’m building a new life there, NYC will always be what I refer to as ‘home.’ Especially so this section of poisoned terrain found amongst the concrete devastations which are line the banks of a ribbon of municipal indifference which the kids call the Newtown Creek.
Historic, it is, especially so for me.
I was dressed for Pittsburgh winter, unfortunately, wearing a heavy winter coat which I’ve adopted in place of the filthy black raincoat that was always my go to for outer garb here in NYC. It was an unusually warm afternoon for mid February, and one was perspiring freely. I took the opportunity for a quick sit down on an industrial building’s concrete siding, pulled off my coat and allowed my body temperature to drop.
Back in Pittsburgh, I’ve started a new habit of carrying a thermos bottle of water with me, but I didn’t bring it with me on the road trip – which I was cursing myself for at this particular moment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Before y’all ask – no, I didn’t visit my favorite tree on Dutch Kills during this trip. There were a variety of reasons for that, which I won’t bore you with. I wasn’t back home for photographic pursuits I’d remind, instead I had some personal and familial business to take care of, and my behind the camera time was fairly limited. Also… is there a photo opportunity at Newtown Creek which I haven’t taken advantage of?
Back next week with just a few more shots, from my beloved Creek.
“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.
Up high
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A brief visit to the nest back in NYC occurred, and one of the few photographs I was desirous of capturing was from up high on the Kosciuszcko Bridge.
The K-bridge replacement project was something which I had the pleasure of being quite close to, and one enjoyed an amazing amount of access during the demolition of the old bridge, and design/construction process of the new one. I was ‘on the bridge committee’ and the reason you can stick a lens through the fence on the new bridge is because of me.
They originally wanted to do chain link up here, but I connived the NYS DOT people out of that idea, and instead they installed fencing with vertical slats that offer 90mm apertures between them. Coincidentally that’s just big enough to fit my favorite lens through, but that’s not the point.
Particularly during the pandemic months, this point of view was a regular ‘go-to’ on my ‘every other night’ walks.
Unfortunately, the Manhattan skyline has been absolutely ruined by the rapacious real estate jackals, who have privatized the clean views of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings from here with soulless condo buildings in the fore, or the abominate Hudson Yards development that’s behind it to the west. Bah!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The pedestrian and bike path on the bridge has become quite well used by communities on both sides, although you wouldn’t know it from the shot above. I didn’t walk over to Brooklyn, instead it was the middle of the span which I was interested in visiting. One of the most unique views in the entire City, if you ask me, and a creek runs through the middle of it.
I’ve been up here during Thunderstorms, Blizzards, heat waves, sunrise, sunset… it’s one of my faves, and I would have suffered some regret had I not paid this spot a visit while I was back in town.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For years and years, I’ve joked about this area being called DUKBO – Down Under the Kosciuszcko Bridge Onramp. Always got a laugh from the crowd on tours.
Coincidentally, my little joke also created a designation for a section of the Newtown Creek watershed which is otherwise quite anonymous. NYC historical and rail people will respond to ‘Haberman,’ others in the maritime world will say ‘yup’ when they hear ‘Turning Basin,’ but these are ‘cultic’ designations for the section of Newtown Creek’s upland IBZ (Industrial Business Zone) which is found between Greenpoint Avenue on the west and Grand Avenue on the east, not a colloquial one.
Apparently, some of the mouth breathers back in Maspeth take issue with my ‘DUKBO’ conceit, as I discovered when my pal Kevin from Forgotten-NY recently shared one of my shots from up here on Facebook. This really ticked me off from afar. Freaking keyboard warriors… say it to my face, cowards.
I’d be less pissed off about that particular burn, if any single one of those dullards had ever made the time to get involved with the Newtown Creek Superfund process, attended a few meetings with the powers that be, or spoke up for Queens. The only way you could ever activate the Maspeth people was by telling them that the hipsters in Brooklyn were going to get all the superfund money and they’d be left out.
Me? I went to and voiced up during the meetings, advocated for Queens, and at the very least got a fence installed on the new bridge which accommodates the view. What did you do to make things better, or did things just happen around you which you blamed on ‘the hipsters’ or ‘the libtards’? Democracy is a contact sport.
Eat my shorts, say I, and go ‘eff yourselves.
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.
At last…
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described in prior posts, a humble narrator was back in NYC for a few days attending to some personal business, and a point was made to get in a visit with my beloved Newtown Creek. All the familiar places…
Also as described, I had driven back out here from Pittsburgh and since a car in NYC creates more problems that it solves, I left it in my buddy’s driveway in Middle Village. A rideshare cab was summoned and I headed over to the Kosciuszcko Bridge, which became a starting point for a short photowalk.
Paraphrasing Duane the Rock Johnson here – At last, the Waxman had returned to DUKBO.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I didn’t enter the grounds of First Calvary Cemetery in Blissville, a place which I’ve spent a lot of time studying and exploring. I’ve often described the place as a history book whose pages are carved into granite monuments. If you are interested in the story of 19th century NYC, Calvary is where you can find the text. I had to cut off that particular set of posts for unexpected reasons.
A few years ago, I received a cease and desist order from the Catholic Church’s lawyers proscribing me from leading a walking tour, writing about, or photographing the place. The order was unenforceable garbage, but it’s also a point of pride for me that the watery eyed prelates of the Brooklyn Archidiocese didn’t want me to poke around their nest. I really didn’t want to get into it with their lawyers, so…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I know a whole lot of things about Calvary which I’ve never publicly stated, but suffice to say that there’s a lot of fishy business which goes on at this polyandrion. When you don’t have to pay taxes, and the subject is one that most people wouldn’t want to talk about or delve too deeply into… Suffice to say that after the State of New York itself, the largest land owner in New York State is the Catholic Church. God’s ambassadors have quite a real estate portfolio, and many buried secrets.
At any rate, my goal for this part of my visit wasn’t to visit with the tomb legions, instead it was to walk over the Kosciuszcko Bridge.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 