Posts Tagged ‘queens’
spectacled stranger
A few things to say, I have.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
To start with, this Saturday the 30th of March is the 110th anniversary of the opening of the Queensboro Bridge. It’s the official moment that you can stick a pin into for when Queens stopped being an agricultural backwater and began to develop into its modern form. Queens Plaza and the Sunnyside Yards occurred shortly thereafter, and then the subways began rolling and everything we know as Queens today began to get built up. If you’re crossing her on Saturday, tip your hat and offer the old girl a salutation. Extra karma points will be awarded if you say “Gustav Lindenthal.”
Lots of people cross that bridge everyday, unfortunately just last night that included the crew of loathsome sentience which calls itself the NYC EDC. They’re the ones who want to deck over the Sunnyside Yards. “Once in a lifetime opportunity,” they say. “Bring Queens into the 21st century” is also offered. Queens, and Queensboro made it just fine into the 21st century without the NYC EDC, although the bridge had to suffer the indignity of being renamed for Ed Koch. That wasn’t EDC’s fault, it was Bloomberg. The reason that the EDC was in Queens yesterday is sort of Bloomberg’s fault, as he elevated Dan Doctoroff to a position of influence and is a fellow whom our current Mayor (who is supposed to hate Bloomberg, right?) is under the sway of. Don’t forget, it was Doctoroff who kicked off this whole “deck the yards” thing in 2014.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Two evenings last week, I found myself in “private” meetings with members of EDC’s planning teams. Other folks were in the room, of course. We discussed open space and green space, transit and sewage, design and architecture. I insisted that our nomenclature for the conversations omitted usage of the word “will” in favor of “if” when referring to the possibilities of this project of theirs. There’s a few careers riding on this one, for the well bred and extremely well educated power brokers at the “public benefit” corporation called the New York City Economic Development Corporation. I’d point out, and I did during the meetings, that EDC doesn’t have the greatest track record. Amazon, the Staten Island Ferris Wheel, Brooklyn’s Bush Terminal… the list goes on and on.
At every juncture, I reminded them that I actually thought highly of the intellect and skills and pure moxy of their team, but that I view them as nothing more than an invading army sent in from Manhattan to destroy my home.
For some reason they were wounded by this statement. I guess that like any other abusive parent or bully, EDC wants you to thank them for and enjoy your beatings. It’s in your own best interest, as they’re doing this to help you, right?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve told EDC multiple times that they will not be allowed to do to Queens what they’ve done to Manhattan. For any of y’all EDC people reading this, I haven’t even gotten started yet on ensuring that it won’t. You’ll hear drums, first. Then the bagpipes. That’s when you’ll know it’s officially begun. You should pick some other community to fuck with, or wait for us to die out. There’s a line here in Queens, the same one you stepped on with Amazon, and my neighbors and I are standing on the other side of it.
I’m going to be conducting a free walk in LIC on the 30th of March, this Saturday afternoon. The Sunnyside Yards project has roared back to life in the aftermath of the Amazon debacle, and since the Manhattan people are going to all sorts of effort to get this thing done… Click here for details on the “Skillman Corridor” walk.
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.
apparent bit
Astoria odds and ends, in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m fascinated by illegal dumping, as you may have noticed over the years. The bucket above was abandoned in front of the post office on Broadway here in Astoria, where it persisted as street furniture for a good couple of weeks. Given my acquired obsession with trash and litter, which I acquired due to my obsession with Newtown Creek, noticing this sort of thing has become an obsession in itself. Saying that, we really have to start some sort of public service announcement campaign on the subject of litter. NYC is a mess these days, and on windy or stormy days there’s a tsunami wave of trash heading toward the sewers.
Is it so hard to just hang onto your waste products for the block or two it would take to encounter a bin? Sheesh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shot above is technically not Astoria, it’s actually Sunnsyide, but I just can’t resist peeling paint. It reminds me of my own physical dissolution and decay, I guess, and like is attracted to like.
You’d think that were you spending the money associated with the largest capital project in the United States, and had been involved with adding an additional trackway for a Federal railroad right of way over a decades long period, that you’d have figured in or budgeted for sprucing up the underpass with a paint job, huh?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just like the MTA, one continues to struggle in the direction of getting back on and maintaining his schedule. I’m fairly nocturnal these days (or nights), and the daily post keep son sneaking up on me. I’m about to transition back to normal, as tour season and summertime obligation are nearly arrived.
I’m going to be conducting a free walk in LIC on the 30th of March, this Saturday afternoon. The Sunnyside Yards project has roared back to life in the aftermath of the Amazon debacle, and since the Manhattan people are going to all sorts of effort to get this thing done… Click here for details on the “Skillman Corridor” walk.
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.
archaic hand
A few leftovers from Maspeth.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the things which I realized, whilst compiling shots for the new “In the Shadows at Newtown Creek” book (ahem, available at the link at the bottom of this post) was that I need to remind myself to turn the camera on its side periodically and capture “portrait” format shots. My habit, and compositional preference, is for landscape oriented shots – the sort you see displayed here all the time. Problem with that scenario is that when I need to fill a vertical space like a book cover or magazine page, the shot ends up being cropped so severely that it’s no longer the same image I worked on capturing.
C’est le vie, huh?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These shots were gathered on the night I mentioned last week when a raccoon in industrial Maspeth was trying to eat me, and were shot at the Maspeth Plank Road site. I’ll be out and about shooting tonight and in fact just about every night this week, but at the moment that this post was being written I’m still sort of hard pressed as to where I’ll be. It’s entirely possible that I may find myself over in the City, looking wistfully across the river at Queens and Brooklyn, but I really can’t say yet. A bit of wanderlust is upon a humble narrator, and beyond having a singular obligation tomorrow night, my time is my own to fill.
Any suggestions?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My default state is to head on over to the Newtown Creek, and in particular, industrial Maspeth. Saying that, I’ve been hitting this area a LOT in recent months and want to take pictures of something different for a bit. The atmosphere really isn’t on my side this particular Monday, what with the milky white sky. Cloudy conditions are meant to continue through the evening, I’m told, but you work with what you’ve been given.
Let’s see where my feet take me, it could be anywhere really.
“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.
ritualistic innocence
So off schedule these days…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Apologies offered for inconsistent timing on these posts, but my rather nocturnal lifestyle these days means that I’m constantly out of sync with the rest of the world. What can I tell you, I’m basically living on Asia Pacific time. The thing in the megalith doesn’t care, it just laughs instead. Mortals and their foibles, huh?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a whole lot going on, including a free walking tour or two coming up that I’m sealing up the details on, and which I’ll let you know about later on in the week. Meanwhile, I’m wandering around with the camera while you’re sleeping, capturing some of the wonders of Long Island City before they’re swept away.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Tomorrow, something a bit different, which I got the other night in Maspeth. Meanwhile, why not buy a photo book at the link below and help me support myself? I’ve got bills to pay, y’know.
“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.
nocturnal meetings
Back in session.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One wishes he could tell you that all sorts of cool adventures occurred during my week off, but I mainly ended up going to meetings and engaging in “no fun zone” activities. I did manage to find one night to wander about in LIC during the evening hours, specifically in the Degnon Terminal area found nearby Borden Avenue. One does enjoy his concrete devastations, after all. So, what have I been up to?
Working on the summer tour schedule, figuring out my next set of moves, and cleaning house to prepare for the busy part of my year which occurs between April and November. Mainly.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Long Island Expreessway framing the Empire State Building, as seen from Borden Avenue in Long Island City, in the shot above. At night it’s a desolate and lonely spot, which is what I seem to gravitate towards. Don’t judge.
Last Sunday, I spoke to a crowd in Sunnyside about the proposed Sunnyside Yards project. Monday found me at a meeting of the Kosciuszcko Bridge Stakeholders Advisory Committee getting an update on the construction project from the chief engineer and discussing some of the ongoing issues associated with the effort. Tuesday found me on a call in meeting for the Newtown Creek Superfund Community Advisory Group steering committee, and Wednesday I had to shoot over to Greenpoint for the reception event for the Brooklyn Public Library’s Greenpoint Oral History project. Thursday and Friday were mine to fill, which I basically did nothing with. I had every intention of Friday being an “on the water” day, but weather reports scared me off the idea. As it turned out, it was a beautiful day and a missed opportunity, as the promised thunderstorms didn’t arrive until well into the evening.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s even more Sunnyside Yards action happening this week and next. As mentioned, the NYC EDC has shrugged off their Amazonian humiliations and seem to be doubling down on the “next big thing.” Accordingly, I’ve been doing quite a bit of research on the principals involved with their project. If any of them are reading this right now, I’m sure their bowels are loosening at the sound of that sentence.
That’s not thunder, that’s me. Something wicked your way comes.
“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 