Posts Tagged ‘sunnyside’
psychologically sensitive
Another darkling image in today’s post.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, an attempt to catch up on my many deadlines is under way, hence a single shot with little commentary is offered.
Upcoming Tours
Saturday- September 28, 2013
Newtown Creek Boat Tour with the Working Harbor Committee- tickets on sale now.
Saturday – October 19, 2013
The Insalubrious Valley of the Newtown Creek with Atlas Obscura- tickets on sale soon.
Sunday- October 20th, 2013
The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek with Brooklyn Brainery- tickets on sale now
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
broad slab
In today’s post, the night terrors.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Perambulating through the fuligin night, across the cracked ambitions of Western Queens, recently did your humble narrator find his lonely self. A meeting in Brooklyn with the cognoscenti of Greenpoint had run late, and no offers of automotive conveyance were offered, so off I went. The tenebrous shadows ran slickly together as one crossed a bridge spanning a creek and shambled through Blissville and its tenement haunts. Entering the Sunnyside, whose name is but a cruel promise when the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself has slipped below the horizon, one experienced a deep unease and nervous apprehension of a dire near future set in.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Feeling one of my states coming on, with its attendant fugue of panic and self critique, vast mental effort was expended in the name of maintaining my pace lest some creature of the night take notice of my passage. Lurking in fear and scuttling toward Newtown Pentacle HQ, the vulnerability of my position with its attendant possibilities carried me toward that panicked chasm of madness and other worldly horror which, once crossed, destroys all succor and peace. Prescription tablets, ordered by my team of physicians, were hastily consumed. Their influence calmed me, but how can one remain calm in a realm of halogen and sodium shadow as he plunges his feet towards the earth in an uneven and arrhythmic syncopation which might simply be described as “out of step”?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
What malign and queerly unicellular thing might lurk and scheme in some nearby warehouse, a sort of life which must at all costs avoid contact with sunlight? Where, in the shadowed obscurity of the buildings all around me, might some criminal organization, cabal of hidden cultists, or conclave of conspiratorial partners gather- or are gathering? Why, asked I, could no one offer me a ride back from Greenpoint, knowing that night time is scary and full of half guessed at horrors which only the sickest minds can perceive? Who, passerby must ask, is that shabby shambling fellow- the mendicant with a camera- taking pictures as he scuttles along in the dark? How, exactly, does a humble narrator always find himself stumbling along in the darkest corridors of a hostile universe?
Upcoming Tours
Saturday- September 21, 2013
13 Steps Around Dutch Kills Walking Tour with Atlas Obscura- tickets on sale now.
Saturday- September 28, 2013
Newtown Creek Boat Tour with the Working Harbor Committee- tickets on sale now.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
tightly packed
Just a short one today, got to catch a cab.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An uncanny valley of off duty cabs, called Skillman Avenue in Queens.
freely generating
If you see something, photograph it and say something.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Despite the overt messaging offered by security professionals and municipal Police officials concerning the presence of literally millions of desert born sappers hidden alongside the heaving shorelines of a lake called Freedom, there do seem to be quite a few holes in the fence lines of our rail yards. Probably, this is because the security apparatus of these institutions need to strike different nerves to acquire their sources of funds, rather than to rankle the ire of the common proletarians and politicians alike.
Luckily, this homeland insecurity allows one such as myself opportunity to observe some often esoteric kit which the railroad people employ for “maintenance of way.”
from wikipedia
A railroad crane, (US: crane car or wrecker; UK: breakdown crane) is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary uses: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way (PW) maintenance, and accident recovery work. Although the design differs according to the type of work, the basic configuration is similar in all cases: a rotating crane body is mounted on a sturdy chassis fitted with flanged wheels. The body supports the jib (UK; US: boom) and provides all the lifting and operating mechanisms; on larger cranes, an operator’s cabin is usually provided. The chassis is fitted with buffing and coupling gear to allow the crane to be moved by a locomotive, although many are also self-propelled to allow limited movement about a work site.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s a flat bed car coupled to a self propelled rail crane, called a Burro, you’re looking at there. What your humble narrator doesn’t know about the rails is enormous and the scope of my ignorance on the subject is actually breathtaking, so if i misname something or am just wrong on this subject- please instruct and correct via the comments section.
Corrections and additions are always welcome at this, your Newtown Pentacle.
Burro cranes (some were outfitted with shovels, as the one at Roots) were designed to be self-sufficient maintenance-of-way tools. As such, they were self-powered, and could propel not only themselves, but could take along with them a flat car, gondola, dump car or other equipment needed for their work. Therefore, they could take with them rail, ballast, timbers or any other materials needed for track repair or construction.
These utilitarian rail vehicles have been built by several manufacturers, including Cullen-Friestedt, Federal Sign & Signal, and now by the Badger Equipment Company. But they have always retained the name Burro, and if you say Burro to a railroader, he knows that you’re not referring to the four-legged animal.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Extensive construction and demolition work has been underway at Sunnyside Yards in anticipation of the East Side Access project for several years now, but these fellows with their Burro were MOW workers.
from maintenanceofway.com
Railroad Maintenance-of-Way (MOW) machinery and its design and utilization, is the equipment used by railroads to lay, clear, and maintain railroad track infrastructure and is of paramount importance in keeping the world’s railroads running dependably, safely and profitably. Railroads are a key component of the world economy. Corn, beans and other foods and feeds, coal, oil, manufactured goods, building materials, and virtually everything else that one can name, moves by rail. The volume of goods transported by the railroads is increasing dramatically. Existing railroad track must carry more and heavier traffic. Railroad bridges must be repaired and maintained. Fences, walls, gates, area lighting and other security structures are of increasing importance. Increased traffic and speeds adds to demand on signals. Railroad and railway Maintenance-of-Way equipment and utilization strategies play a key role in keeping all rail traffic running safely and on time. Railroad Maintenance-of-Way equipment and utilization efficiency planning make it possible for railroads to upgrade and maintain track and rights of way.
Want to see something cool? Upcoming Walking Tours
Modern Corridor– Saturday, July 13, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Atlas Obscura, tickets now on sale.
Kill Van Kull– Saturday, August 10, 2013
Staten Island walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Working Harbor Committee, tickets now on sale.
13 Steps around Dutch Kills– Saturday, August 17, 2013
Newtown Creek walking tour with Mitch Waxman and Newtown Creek Alliance, tickets now on sale.
forced economies
Today, we pass through a crossroad.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the things I find endlessly fascinating about Western Queens is the juxtapose between at least three different urban planning schemes and where they overlie each other. Of course, the term Urban Planning is seldom found prior to the 20th century, so modern bias interferes with understanding the why’s of where. Also, everything has been so extensively built and rebuilt over the years…
The oldest one wasn’t really planned, rather its where the colonials and farmers of Newtown laid down roads like Greenpoint Avenue or Thomson Avenue, which were literally means to an end- a way to move from point a to point b which took into account and diverted around natural features like hills and streams.
Overlaid on these atavist lanes is an industrial era grid, Skillman and Borden Avenues comes to mind. Hold overs from the locomotive city of the late 19th century- which favored long arcs and subtly graded streets wide enough to carry a street car or in some cases a full on steam locomotive.
Dross 20th century engineering was applied to the most modern layer, such as where Queens Blvd. originates at Thomson Avenue or where Greenpoint Avenue transmogrifies into Roosevelt Avenue at its intersection with Queens Blvd. The modern layer was designed to carry the automotive and mass transit city forward and which is pictured in the shot above. The latter two are definitively hostile to pedestrian activity, but the way.
The Newtown Pentacle 