Posts Tagged ‘queens’
damp pavement
It’s Monday, are you cybering?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The fractured phalange situation is improving, and accordingly a humble narrator has been enjoying brief trots about the neighborhood once more. One is still taking it easy – baby steps as it were – since the busted toe smarts a bit and it’s always best to error on the side of caution with such matters. Nevertheless, the camera can’t be allowed to accumulate dust any longer and neither, concurrently, can I.
That’s 45th street between Northern Blvd. and 34th avenue pictured above, which will soon be where a vulgar display of power will be offered by the real estate industrial complex. It’s coming, Astoria.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In my attempts at staying close to home, one has been positively haunting the Northern Blvd. and Broadway corridors here in Astoria. Of special interest during the endeavor, long exposure views of automotive traffic seem to be catching my eye. One has opined to anyone who might listen that this camera technique can reveal the hidden patterns of automotive “desire paths” and act as an aid to conversation about how to better use the shared roads of NYC.
Pictured above is a Q66 bus, which arrived in frame at an opportune moment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One will resist the urge to visit Newtown Creek this week, unless duty calls. There’s a Newtown Creek Community Advisory Group meeting tonight at Sunnyside Community Services on 39th street, which I’m hoping will provide me with an opportunity to wave the camera around afterwards. I’m also meant to attend a holiday party towards the end of the week in lower Manhattan, one which I’ll likely sneak out of for a bit to set up the tripod and do some shooting. It’s nice to be mobile again.
If anybody knows of a section of Western Queens where an over the top display of Christmas lights might be found, leave me a message in the comments.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Come on a tour!
With Atlas Obscura – Infrastructure Creek! My favorite walking tour to conduct, and in a group limited to just twelve people! December 14th, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Click here for more information and tickets!
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.
striated skin
Bored, bored, boredity, bored.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pain and I are old pals, so whereas the broken toe dealie has indeed been less than a pleasant experience, it’s certainly something which my particular wheelhouse has a checklist for dealing with on a clipboard. What’s been really getting under the skin has been the inaction and lack of capability. Not being able to push away from the dinner table and announce “I’m going out for a walk” is a manifestation of the very worm that gnaws for me. Normally I’m a pretty active fella, and all this sitting around with my foot up is driving me nuts with boredom. The thing with a busted bone (or any medical condition, actually) is that “you have to be patient when you’re a patient” and it takes six weeks at the minimum for a bone to heal.
The toe pain thing is really getting in the way, though.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily, I’ve only had to conduct two walking tours during the last few weeks, and there’s only been one photo gig which required me to be on my feet the whole time. Everything else has been revolving around writing stuff, so at least there’s that. Problem is that I’ve been fairly isolated down to my little stretch of Broadway here in Astoria since the last weekend of October, and both me and the camera are keen to get out there and do some work. When I’ve limped out of the house, I’m trying to carry my minimum kit in an attempt to reduce the amount of weight I’m dragging around.
Wish I could say that my time has been productively spent otherwise, but I’ve mostly been sitting around with the left foot elevated and watching a lot of TV.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unfortunately, I’ve missed out on a lot of cool atmospherics and conducive to photography weather conditions during my hermitage. For those of you who have asked, the toe is recovering nicely. I’m no longer wearing the weird orthopedic sandal dealie, and no longer require the phalange to be wrapped up in gauze and a stiffening bandage. It still smarts when I’m walking about, but I’ve managed to navigate the subways at rush hour in the last week, and seem to be able to walk for several blocks at a time before being reminded of the broken bone. I won’t be kicking anybody’s ass with it prior to Christmas, however. Soccer is not going to played anytime soon either, but that’s ok as I don’t actually play soccer but I like to have options and right now I don’t.
Sigh. My creek is calling and I cannot answer.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
Limited Time 25% off sale – use code “gifts25” at checkout.
“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.
lacquered patinas
Signs and portents.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Everybody wants to tell you what to do, all the time. Signage adjures, cautions, forbids, and demands attention wherever you look. If you’re literate, your brain instantly begins putting together the messaging on signs and you have no choice but to receive the intended messaging. For years, I’ve wondered about whether or not there’s some combination of words which could render you instantly insane upon receiving them, in the manner of a magick spell. Could a campaign of signage designed to transmit a “very bad idea” or incantation end civilization itself, and reduce mankind to atavistic savages in the process? We can only hope so.
Personally, I’m reduced to reaching into the archives today, as the whole busted toe drama has reduced my productivity to nearly zero.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I won’t fill you in on how to interpret the sign above, in the language of NYC’s street culture, but if you are literate in slang it’s quite a funny message.
One did manage to attend two CB1 community board functions this week, both of which saw me using a taxi to get to the meetings. The first was held by the “land use” committee, which I’m not a member of but we are encouraged to attend all committee meetings whether or not we are officially a member thereof. I’m trying to visit with each one of the groupings at least once, in pursuit of meeting all the other CB1 members and also learning the operational side of things. Personally, I’m on the “transportation” and “environmental” committee groups.
“Land use,” which was on Wednesday night, seems to focus in on zoning and other niceties of the City Planning process. Discussed was the status of Rikers Island. It seems that despite Rikers being officially and politically part of the Bronx, Queens CB1 has regency over the island and facility. The Dept. of City Planning was seeking board consensus for two items – redefining the island as a “public place,” and secondly the effort to create a locked down deadline of December of 2026 for when detention would no longer be allowed on Rikers Island. Discussion of what comes after occurred, but that was shelved as it’s functionally impossible to predict what the next Mayor and the next City Council coalition would want to do with it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Last night, the “transportation” committee met. We received a presentation from Revel, a private company offering “last mile” electric moped services. With an app and smartphone based business model which feeds customers to their moped fleet of 1,000 units (currently), the Revel people were quite nice and prepared for questions and answers. In general, I’m liking their service (which I don’t use, but several of my friends do), and the conversation with their reps centered around safety and operational issues. My questions for them centered around privacy issues, how long trip data persists on their servers, and so on.
It was nice to be amongst people, for a sheltered invalid such as myself.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Come to the library!
In the Shadows at Newtown Creek – The Roosevelt Island Historic Society has invited me to present a slideshow and talk about my beloved Newtown Creek at the New York Public Library on Roosevelt Island, on November 14th, 6 p.m. Free event!
Click here for more information.!
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.
anguished frenzy
Cut and cover.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Let’s say that a humble narrator announces a tour of the fabulous Newtown Creek, or a boat excursion to some remote corner of the harbor, and I end up taking a bath on the endeavor and lose money. Did I take a risk that didn’t pay off? When I’m talking about my empty right hand pocket, do I pretend that the roll of hundred dollar bills and the bag of assorted gem stones maintained in my left pocket doesn’t exist? What if my left hand pocket assets included billions and billions of dollars of Manhattan real estate? Can I just confess that I didn’t market the tour properly, or manage its costs competently, or proceeded with the operation under some rose colored ideation that it would sell out and make me richer than Croesus? Did I employ the services of a bunch of incompetents who are related to or friends with various political party officials, using my project as a patronage mill?
Or do I just blame the audience, accuse them of trying to get one over on me, and then go further in debt to hire a small army of armed guards with marching orders to generate revenue via fines and tickets because I can’t be losing money unless someone is stealing from me? Of course not, I’m not the MTA.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The practice of blaming the ridership, accusing them of theft of service, pretending that your pocket is empty when in reality you are one of the biggest landlords in New York State… that’s the MTA. Need a few billion bucks? Maybe sell your office building on Jay Street in Brooklyn and move your operations to a less tony location in Nassau or Suffolk County, or maybe Westchester. I understand that Mount Vernon and Yonkers have several abandoned office parks which would be quite affordable to move your army of bureaucrats into. Still underfunded? How about selling off some of your investment properties in upper Manhattan while the real estate market is hot?
That, or you can just wait for the next video of a bunch of cops having a fist fight with teenagers over $2.75 to make the nightly news.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Me? I’d let the Wall Street guys have a go at MTA. Let the bean counters in there to look for redundancy and cost savings through consolidations. Funny thing is, this would barely be felt by the Union people who actually keep the system running. MTA loves publicizing the fact that some shlimiel on the LIRR collected an outlandish amount of overtime pay, but never discusses the number of empty suits populating the office cubicles at their Jay Street HQ. I’d like to smash the system over there, where the subways are still operated as if the IND and IRT were distinct. There’s multiple bus companies, LIRR and Metro North have virtually zero interoperability… it goes on and on. The MTA real estate and property manager folks operate in shadow, with virtually zero public awareness of their shenanigans.
If NYC is an organism, with DEP the liver and kidneys, MTA operates the venous system. Arteriosclerosis is something I’m familiar with. The best treatment, long term, for this sort of disease vector is lifestyle change.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Come to the library!
In the Shadows at Newtown Creek – The Roosevelt Island Historic Society has invited me to present a slideshow and talk about my beloved Newtown Creek at the New York Public Library on Roosevelt Island, on November 14th, 6 p.m. Free event!
Click here for more information.!
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.
agonizing mortality
Three Boroughs today.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Right up there is the very first shot ever published at your Newtown Pentacle, which is an oldie but a goodie. Queensboro Bridge just before it’s centennial parade, and I was the only person on the upper level when this was captured. Archive shots will be greeting y’all for a bit while my smashed toe heals, an endeavor which is shaping up to be quite the ordeal. I’m heading over to the hospital later on to get it properly looked at, since – despite one of my hidden talents being first aid and the ability to tie off a sterile field dressing – things aren’t progressing as I’d like them to and I have to consult with somebody whose first name is Doctor.
I really cannot afford to do this, invoking the broken medical system here in NYC, but you have to do what you have to do and a possible infection related to a broken bone is not something you want to play around with.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m not sure what the name of that rail bridge is in the shot above, but I can tell you that it’s in the Bronx. Another archive shot, I captured it during another one of the Centennial events about ten years ago, celebrating the Madison Avenue Bridge.
Man, my foot is killing me today. The swelling has gone down, but that means that I can now fully experience and enjoy the injury.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s what it looks like when the ship or boat you’re on is entering the Gowanus Canal, and that’s the Hamilton Avenue Bridge. Got this one a while back on a Working Harbor Committee excursion to Gowanus Bay and the canal. My pal Joseph Alexiou was on the mike, who is someone you should be paying attention to on all matters involving the Gowanus and South Brooklyn in general.
Oww.
“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 