Posts Tagged ‘queens’
perfumes from
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Three Queens neighborhoods in one scuttle, now that’s what I’d refer to as a “long walk.” It’s everything I can do not to just end up at Newtown Creek every time I leave the house, so an effort is made not to do so.
That’s an N train on the Astoria Elevated tracks, found along 31st street. The cross street is Newtown Road, which I’ve been told is a pathway through the area that predates the arrival of the Europeans and that once followed the course of running water.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Spotted this one on 39th street in Sunnyside, and found it comical. The reference is of course to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation at the Federal Dept. of Homeland Security. The reason I find it comical is the absolutism of the slogan. You really, really don’t want to abolish the Customs Dept., in particular. I’d be in favor of some reform when it comes to the Immigration Dept., but suspect that what I’d have in mind differs wildly from what the writer of this graffiti has in mind.
Y’know, I advise my leftie buddies all the time to be mindful about giving Tucker Carlson something to talk about on Fox, but there you go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Over at the border of Blissville and Sunnyside, you’ll find the Long Island Expressway. I’ve always been fascinated by the design motifs and cues offered by the design teams at the “House of Moses” back in the 1940’s and 50’s. That’s Robert Moses, of course. I mean, it’s an inherently ugly thing – a highway off ramp – but there’s something esthetically pleasing in the design, to my eye at least.
More tomorrow.
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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.
glided regretfully
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Christmas lights game in Astoria is always strong, and especially so on 43rd street between Broadway and 34th Avenue. Look at that tree, huh?
I got to chat briefly with a member of the family who lights up the block thusly, and she was pretty pleased to hear my appreciation for their effort. The house is also done up with all sorts of electrical holiday doodads that blink and shine.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Major Auto World over on Northern Blvd. has a bit of construction work underway. The skinny is that they’re building a new auto showroom on the expansive lot they occupy. Major just sold off a lot across the street which is currently being demolished and which will be turned into an 8 story residential building. 44th st. and Northern Blvd., for the curious.
It really never ends, the real estate thing.
– photo by Mitch WaxmAn
Whilst wandering one night, chance carried my decaying bulk past a nicely lit up food truck on Broadway. One is currently fascinated by these roving kitchens, but not for gastrointestinal reasons. Food trucks seem to be engaged in a war with each other in which the primary tactic revolves around “attention getting.” They’ve got all sorts of lights and LED sign boards flashing and broadcasting color into the darkness of the Western Queens night.
They’re also quite challenging to shoot, as a note, due to the bright and saturated nature of the colored light they spew.
“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.
vague tradition
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A demolition crew has come in and eradicated the remains of Irving Subway Grate in LIC, along the Dutch Kills tributary of Newtown Creek. It’s been coming for a while, I guess. Apparently a concrete company is going to set itself up on the property, one whose operations have been based over in Ridgewood for a while.
Sigh. Another heavy truck based business from an industry notoriously noisome and noxious, water pollution wise. Whatever. Nothing matters and nobody cares.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s some of Irving’s grate, embedded in the sidewalk of 27th street. Exciting, no?
The green plywood and chain link fences with green fabric coverings have gone up around the site, so something is likely to start happening there fairly soon.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When I was shooting this image, a group of teenagers were noticed a few blocks away and noisily coming my way. Brr. Teenagers lack impulse control and a humble narrator would make for a great target, so I kept an eye on their roving and undirected pack. This group moved in a terrifically unorganized manner, loping and leaping while exclaiming loudly. You could hear them from blocks away.
The only thing scarier to me than a regular mixed up group of teenagers is a group of teenage girls. The latter might say something mean to me, something really cutting, which was designed to mock or make me feel bad about myself. It would be like junior high school all over again…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Despite the adolescent threat’s approach, one continued on with his tasks. I kept an eye on them, as they brandished their phones and exulted gutturally to each other.
Said tasks being the capture of photos, walking around, and generally side eyeing things I don’t like or don’t approve of.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The teenagers were getting closer, only a few blocks away, so I quickened my steps. Seriously, I treat other people that are walking around these areas at night in the manner of them being a horde of zombies. Best to avoid, lest something bitey might happen.
After shooting this one, I ducked down a side street and hid behind a dumpster for a while.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One truly detests the idea of “others” these days. Staying away from these others, with their bizarre ideations, display behaviors which connote societal rankings to each other – that’s my mantra.
That, and “nothing matters and nobody cares.”
“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.
simpering inanities
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A brief stop over in Pennsylvania’s Harrisburg saw Amtrak change out the crew on my Pittsburgh to NYC journey. Pennsylvania’s Capitol, Harrisburg, offered a 15 minute or so “leg stretch” and “smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em” interval, and half the train staggered out into the daylight to do one thing or the other and sometimes both. We had collectively boarded the train at 7:15 in the morning, after all.
After the bells rang and we all filed back onboard, an announcement that the cafe car was reopened occurred, and a humble narrator purchased a range of comestibles for luncheon and settled back into the seat I had been assigned. After quaffing some coffee and eating an Amtrak Hot Dog, I got back to pondering my fate and staring out the window while watching America roll past. The camera was gathered out of its sack, and I got back to looking for interesting sights.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The landscape in Pennsylvania fascinates me. The Appalachian Mountain range and plateau is incredibly ancient, is a geologic feature which Pennsylvania is situated on the northern reaches of, and it dates back some 480 million years to the Ordovician Period – which is when ocean critters first started exploring dry land. Formed by the action of tectonic plate compression when the super continent Pangaea begin to split up, the Appalachia once rose as high as the Alps or Rockies do today. They’re referred to as “folded mountains” and the reason that all that coal is buried in them is due to their presence during the highly forested Carboniferous era (that’s when the giant dragonflies were around, and you had centipedes the size of school buses sliding around in the swamps). An absolutely staggering amount of effort and expenditure in the 19th and 20th century saw Americans burrowing and mining into, blasting rights of way through, and building upon and around the Appalachia Range.
Fascinating. Really. Mountains older than the dinosaurs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At 30th street Station in Philadelphia the now familiar dance of changing out the locomotive engine from the diesel powered model to the electrified “coGen” unit used for the Northeast Corridor was enacted by the Amtrak people. They did their thing, and waved lanterns at each other, and then it was time to get back onboard again and head back to “home sweet hell.” This was another “stretch your legs” break and a good number of people onboard took advantage of it.
A humble narrator settled back into the assigned seat, and picked up the camera. I affixed the foam collar to my lens and began passing the time by shooting through the windows again.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s Philadelphia, America’s consolation prize, pictured above.
After spending an entire day on the train, and eating two Amtrak meals along the way, I was quite ready to return to the grinding existential nightmare of a dystopian shithole which I call “home.”
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Upon my return to Penn Station, I ducked outside onto 8th avenue to breathe a bit of what passes for fresh air in Midtown before heading back to Astoria on the subway. It was rush hour, and despite Covid, the subways were quite busy. Unlike the last time I exited from that door pictured above, this time I didn’t see anyone masturbating into a street grate. There was a guy who offered to sell me something, but I’m not sure what he was offering. Could have been a gold chain, or crack, or sex. Wasn’t interested, me.
A quick ride on the E line got me out of Dodge, and soon I was at Queens Plaza. As is usually the case with me, as soon as the train entered Queens, I felt a rush of energy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The final leg of my long journey arrived at Queens Plaza just as I did, a local R line which would carry me to Astoria.
Our Lady of the Pentacle had arrived home the night before, and had graciously obtained food stuffs which were waiting for me back at HQ. I tore into a bagel like it had done something to my mom, and began downloading all of the photos you’ve been looking at for the last two weeks onto the computer for processing.
I felt a need, and a desire, to listen to this song while setting myself up for the labor of developing them.
“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.
prattle feverishly
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, a bit of travel was in the cards for early December, and in the midst of preparing to pick up and split for the better part of a week, I decided to get in one last “short walk.”
This one never left Astoria.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
They must’ve decriminalized graffiti bombing people’s cars. I’ve seen so much more of this sort of thing in the last two years…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned – short walk. Turn around point was at 31st street and Astoria Blvd.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Checked another gas station off my list at 44th street.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Managed a shot of an old wrecker tow truck I’ve had my eye on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Encountered evidence of an apparent miracle on 44th street, nearby 31st avenue, with an abandoned wheelchair.
“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 