From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: After Dark

By Noah Devereaux.

Miss Heather

New York Shitty Day Starter: Remnants

This item hails from Sunnyside Blissville and comes courtesy of Noah Devereaux. Great shot!

Miss Heather

New York Shitty Photos Du Jour: The Writing On The Wall

Taken in Long Island City, Queens & Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Miss Heather

Blissville Photo du Jour: Who’s The Man?

November 5, 2009 ·
Filed under: 11101, Long Island City, Queens 

REAMIR!

What does one say about something like this (other than perhaps chanting REEM-UR over and over for everyone’s edification)? Absolutely nothing, that’s what! You merely bask in its sublimity. Speaking of which, if you’re wondering what Reamir & Company is about click here. NOTE: turn the volume down on your computer first.

Miss Heather

Found In Blissville, Made In Greenpoint!

WATCHYOUSTEP

I found the above at the Van Dam Street yesterday. Needless to say I found its use (abuse) of grammar amusing. Upon closer inspection I found a nugget of Greenpoint goodness.

BrooklynVault

BROOKLYN VAULT LIGHT CO. 262 Monitor St. Brooklyn, N.Y.

It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten my Greenpoint geek on. Today I did. Here’s what 262 Monitor Street looks like nowadays.

262monitor

To say the least I was disappointed.* But I did find a few nifty items about Brooklyn Vault Light Company online. Here they are:

Industrial Progress

The above hails from the 120th Volume of American Architect. It would appear that I have stumbled upon a state-of-the-art coal hole cover! By 1921 standards, anyway.

BVLCglassiandotorgNYS

This classy piece of correspondence comes courtesy of Glassian.org.

And last, but hardly least, what would a piece of Greenpoint history be without a lawsuit? Involving high society, no less! From the March 13, 1921 edition of the New York Times:

3131921NYTIMES

To get a peek of Mrs. Vanderbilt’s digs click here.

To see what has happened to Mrs. Vanderbilt’s manse (666 Fifth Avenue) click here.

Miss Heather

*There are no sidewalks to speak of on Monitor between Greenpoint Avenue and Norman Avenue. Just a bunch of pot holes and a bunch of parked/idling cars mostly. Northside Car Service seems to be particularly fond of parking/hanging out on the “sidewalk” in this area.

Blissville Photos du Jour: Autumn on 31st Place

November 4, 2009 ·
Filed under: 11101, Long Island City 

truckerbomb

leaves

leaves2

cherds

LOVE

Taken November 3, 2009.

Miss Heather

Queens Photos Du Jour: Sunnyside Shots

March 6, 2009 ·
Filed under: Queens, Sunnyside 

My pilgrimage to Sunnyside for delish Mexican food earlier this week might have ended in failure*, but you know what they say about life: it isn’t about the destination it’s about how you get there. Courtesy of rush hour gridlock and some on the worst drivers this fine city has to offer I had plenty of time on my hands while riding the B24. After noticing the evening sun was bathing everything in sight in a gorgeous fiery hue I decided to while away the time by taking a few pictures. I have entitled this set of photographs Sunnyside Shots. Yes, I am aware some of these images do not hail from this neighborhood per se— but I like the sound of this title and I am sticking with it. Besides, its all about the pictures anyway. Enjoy!

bronx

A little Bronx on Greenpoint Avenue in Queens.

calvary1

Calvary Cemetary.

churchongptavenys

I love the crazy reflections in this one.

gptavepos

Those of you who are in the know can attest that this building (which is located on Greenpoint Avenue) is one very ugly one indeed. Somehow I managed to make it look nice. No worries, I’ll run it on Fedders Friday soon enough!

going-homenys

I finally got around to taking a photograph of this Greek Orthodox Church (which I love) after getting off the bus.

empire-state

Empire State.

sunnysideflowers

And that’s all she wrote!

Miss Heather

*Sort of: we went to Arriba Arriba on Queens Boulevard. It was pretty tasty. Enough so I would go back.

Night Smelling Committee

Dept. of Heath(er)?

A weekly feature I have inaugurated of late (albeit irregularly to date) is featuring an odd, provocative and/or strangely relevant chunk ‘o’ Greenpoint history for all to savor.

To steal a phrase from my buddy Judy McGuire, Man, oh Manishevitz do I have a fun tale of “Oy vey” before the l’oi ill’splay to share today. Oil spill or otherwise, Newtown Creek stinks… even back in 1892, when the Mayor of Brooklyn came down to inspect the stench personally. The following article is from the August 27th, 1892 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. I have taken the liberty of condensing this VERY VERBOSE article and bold-facing my favorite passages. Enjoy!

SMELLS FOR THE MAYOR

Two Newton Creek Samples Were Quite Enough
His Honor’s Brief Trip Upon the
Slimy Stream With the Health Commissioner, the Corporation Counsel, Alderman Fitzgibbon and a Committee of Citizens— Relief Promised.

Mayor Boody had cold and rainy weather for his visit of inspection yesterday to the much complained of factories on the shores of Newton Creek. The citizens from the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Wards who accompanied him would have been much better pleased over a heavy and sultry day. The smells would then have been at their worst, so far as the daytime is concerned, for after all it is at night that the vileness of Newton Creek odors is most apparent and oppressive. As it was Mayor Boody in a very few minutes yesterday got quite enough of creek smells and was more than satisfied long before the committee of citizens was.

The mayor, accompanied by Health Commissioner Griffin and Corporation Counsel Jenks, was driven in a carriage to Chapman’s docks at the head of Grand Street. He was met there by the committees of eastern district citizens. The only other representative of the city govenment was Alderman Fitzgibbon, who accompanied the Seventeenth Ward delegation and whose home is within the district invaded by the noxious smells…

Alderman Fitzgibbon and other members of the party welcomed the mayor, health commissioner and the corporation counsel and escorted them to the steam propeller Mascot. It was raining smartly then and a stiff breeze was blowing, but the heavy, sickening odor from the neighboring fertilizing factories and from the filthy creek itself saluted Mayor Boody’s nostrils even before he left his carriage. Health Commissioner Griffin bore the smell like a veteran, but Corporation Counsel Jenkins looked unfeignedly sick from the start. The smell seemed a little worse than he had prepared himself to meet.

Through the slimy waters the boat coursed, while members of the committee sitting in the wheelhouse with the mayor told him they were sorry the tide was not low, for then the smell would be many times worse. Mayor Boody, intimated, with a laugh, that the situation as it was seemed sufficiently atrocious. A stop was made at Cord Meyer’s bone boiling establishment on Furman’s Island, only a hasty and superficial examination was made, but the smell was such that Mr. Jenks turned away in disgust and gasped for fresh air. The mayor tried hard to conscientiously sniff all the odors that were to be caught, but began toshow signs of not relishing the task. When the party re-embarked the boat steamed to Andrew Wissel & Co’s place, also on Furman’s Island. Wissel has the contract to remove offal from King’s County, and out of his unsavory stock he manufactures fertilizing preparations. Wissel’s son in law, a young man of pleasing manners and speech, tried hard to convince Mayor Boody that the atmosphere was not polluted, but the mayor’s nostrils were as wide open as his ears, and with a significant sniff and a still more more significant look he started off towards the boat.

A whole creek full of stench producing establishments remained, but Mayor Boody asked to be taken back to the Grand Street dock, where his carriage awaited him, “I have had enough of this,” he said. “I realize that you have a grievance and I want to live to help you.” “It is a crying shame.” said Corporation Counsel Jenks. The he stopped suddenly and listened without comment to members of the committee who explained that the odors which had sickened him were nightly pervading miles of Brooklyn thoroughfares and ruining the comfort and the health of thousands of people. The health commissioner had little to say, but both the mayor and corporation counsel freely promised to do what they could to abate the nuisance. “We will use all the power possible,” the mayor said in substance, “but it is your duty also to exert yourselves. A nuisance exists here and it is for you to prove it a nuisance. Everybody who suffers from this nuisance should be prepared to come downtown and testify against it. The trouble has been that when two or three citizens came down to testify that these smells were a nuisance the other side invariably presented a greater number of witnesses who were willing to swear that no nuisance existed.”

The mayor and his party were cheered by the delegations as they re-entered their carriage. Afterward some of the delegated sailed the length of Newton Creek and paid a brief visit to Rosenberg’s fat rendering and bone boiling establishment near Calvary Cemetary Bridge. At no time during the afternoon, however, was anything like a thorough examination of the alleged nuisances on the creek shore made.

In the evening an executive meeting Seventeenth Ward citizens was held at 101 Monitor Street. Henry T. Steinhaner presented a report of the mayor’s visit to the creek and also reported, with much detail, the result of several night trips which have recently been made by Seventeenth Ward citizens to Newton Creek factories. This report is not to be made public… the intention being to use it in the courts as evidence. Members of the night smelling committee say, however, that their experiences have been quite stirring at times, and that some day they will make interesting reading.

And they have! It is interesting (and a little depressing) to learn that even in 2007 nothing has really changed. Same shit, different century.

Miss Heather

  • NYS Flickr Pool

    The One CrewSnowy SeagullsWalking the Dog in the Snow
  • Ads