The New and Old South Ferry – Unoffical Tour
By: Control , Posted on December 12, 2008
The NYC MTA is opening a new subway station at South Ferry. This new station, funded by the feds after 9/11, is meant to replace the old 1905 South Ferry loop station on the 1 & 9 line. What's most interesting about this station is that they've tied it to the nearby R/W whitehall street station, as well as connected it to the old loop stations via doorways and utility rooms which the public will likely never get to see (and yes, that is loop stations in the plurial - the inner track on the south ferry loop, used to turn #5 trains during non-rush hours, also has a station located behind it's wall. This station was abandoned in the 1970s.).
Long before the MTA gave it's press tour, we helped ourselves to a peak behind the curtain of this new station, which is set to open sometime in the next month or two.
Harlem Segment Uno
By: Control , Posted on October 29, 2008
When the work crew arrived, we found the entrances to this unattached tunnel segment to be so rotted that gaining access was nearly impossible. Upon entry though, we found this very unique segment of abandoned NYC subway tunnel in good shape, considering how little care has gone into it over the years.
Here this half mile long segment of tunnel lay dormant. Perhaps some day it will see a call to duty, but that day, at this rate, probably won't happen in our lifetime.
Brooklyn Navy Yard Power Plant – Day Raid & History
By: Control , Posted on October 28, 2008
At the time of my writing this, the final bricks of the former BRT/BMT power plant in Brooklyn are coming down.
History:
This historic building met an untimely and seemingly little noticed death this year. Built in sections between 1905 and 1935, this power plant, located just north of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, once powered the transit and trolley lines of the BRT. The BRT later became the BMT, and then part of the MTA. In 1950 it was sold by the MTA to Con Ed, who used it as a regular power plant until the 1990s. Eventually they shut the plant down and it sat dormant for years while ConEd tried to figure out what to do with it. Attempts to sell the property failed as it was highly contaminated with Asbestos.
Some say there was so much Asbestos it was 'baked into the walls'.
Demolition work began early this year, largely in secret. When ConEd spokesmen were asked early on about the status of the plant, they denied it was being taken down.
Despite the significant history of the building
(outlined in this great blog post all about the power plant), a request to have the building considered for landmarking & preservation was flatly denied.
"The
decision not to recommend further consideration is based on our current priorities. This decision could be reconsidered at a later date should additional information become available".
The Mission:
Having kept an eye on this place for years, we knew something sooner or later would happen that would allow us access to this location. While it's always unfortunate that the building comes down, we're just glad to have been able to get in.
Very early in the year we noted that security was slacking off. Previously, this location was secured from all available angles of approach. When this started to change, and work equipment arrived on the scene, it was just plain expected that action would happen here. Our first raid of this location was done in the middle of the night early in the spring.
There's always a thrill about being the first in at a place like this. Often times you're not sure it's even completely abandoned, or if there are people still working or lurking inside. Thus, to be the first in again is always an honor. Those in the know probably recognized the mission was accomplished (with certified proof, not GW Bush style)
when we posted this entry to the site in May.
We were not done though, as this place was far too big and beautiful not to document further. In a mildly daring broad daylight, middle of the summer afternoon raid, we went back for all the photos you see on this page (and many more). It seemed like just yesterday. Demo work progressed quickly, and today this location is no more.
Thus this is yet another sad tribute to NYC's industrial past. This lot will likely become like so much other waterfront property around town - more large apartment buildings with ultra-luxury high end prices in the millions. It's just one more push, taking NYC further from it's past and closer to its seeming future as a place where nothing is held sacred and you're not wanted unless you've got a truckload of cash.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/nyregion/thecity/04cone.html?ref=thecity
http://ny.curbed.com/tags/con-edison
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Abandoned 18th street subway station
By: Control , Posted on October 20, 2008
You've all see this station from passing trains - with your face pressed against the glass squinting to see what remains of one of the few original IRT stations that were built and abandoned so long ago...
You know it's there in the dark, you can just make out some of it's features... but do you really know it?
Get a little closer... take a looksy at the photos..
F’ing mirror image.
By: Control , Posted on September 22, 2008
Sometimes subway stations are only, at best, half in use. There's many many many stations with abandoned mezzanines and closed off entrances. This is one of them.
Metro Warehouse
By: Control , Posted on September 21, 2008
There's not much to say about this place really. I was scouting out a better spot and came upon guys putting up a plywood fence outside of it, so I couldn't just wander into that one... down the street through I found this sucker: a warehouse with a waterway in the back and driveways in the front, obviously meant for transloading barges. No transloading was going on today though, nor has there been in some time. A rear wall was built facing the waterway, and the interior of this place was devoid of everything except for a pile of tires. Someone carved a pocket of space out though by stacking up some of the tires and bringing in a beat up old couch, making for one pretty decent sized living space.
Such is the life of the homeless, finding shelter wherever society has moved on from...
Taking out the trash
By: Control , Posted on August 20, 2008
Abandoned for several months now, this old dept. of sanitation garage sits vacant on a plot of land that is apparently more valuable for some pie-in-the-sky city redevelopment plans. Will these plans ever happen with the economy in the crapper? I suppose we will see. Until then, this old warehouse sits abandoned. The lights are on, but no one is home.
Construction Hijinx.
By: Control , Posted on July 22, 2008
Late night, out jones for something to break into. We came across this high rise construction site and refused to be denied. Fuck the security guy sleeping right there near the entrance. If they're going to charge a million dollars for these apartments in a few months, I sure as fuck want to see that shit before it becomes a fucking trend.
The view wasn't bad, made for nice night photos. Never pay for a view you can steal.
New City
By: Control , Posted on June 16, 2008
Winter. Looking back on it in the rearview mirror, life always seems so clear. The passage of time brings with it evolution, of both the mind and it's surroundings. My surroundings make much of who I currently am. This me, the old shiva behind his many masks, plays the part so I know so well. And this city, it doesn't sit still. Not for a moment.
Just a few years ago I was on a rooftop at this very same plot of land. The buildings were low rise, so you could only look across at the surrounding city. Today though, the rooftop of the building that has replaced all that was old is a high rise, so you can look down on the city if you so choose. For me, this is more than just a metaphor. As time and tide have ebbed and flowed, so too have I.
Each year I seem to find myself again on some freezing cold winter night alone with the relative darkness of the city enveloping my physical being. It is during nights like these, on solo missions such as this one, that the big decisions get made - and there have been a lot of them as of late.
Somewheres along the way in life, I lost track of who I was. I doubt I'm alone in that sensation. I look back though and feel fortunate, to have completed yet another smaller circle in the larger one which is life. I spiraled upward for years, then spiraled downward for some. I have come upward once again, I have come back to the beginning, and am all the more wiser for it. If you've ever experienced this, you know exactly what I mean. If you have not, then perhaps you're not the type of person that should be reading this.
I wish I could say the same for this city I am from, for it has spiraled as well. Only this time, it has spiraled so far up that average citizens can no longer attain it. Hipsters flock here from across the country and most eventually depart, realizing they can ill afford it. The trains and streets get more crowded, the quality of life for those without the means, drops like a baby from a ghetto project rooftop.
This rooftop on this night was a clear example. Located on property that was once a thriving industial blue collar location providing jobs to the working class, it is now this: a glass fishbowl of a building, with apartments that will sell for over a million dollars.
Today I can look back at myself, and feel as though I've accomplished much. These hours of decision have lead to a profoundly compelling and wonderous life today, free of many of the nonsense chains that tried to hold me back before. I look towards the future, and all seems well.
For the city though, I'm not sure I can say the same. What some call progress I see as a downward spiral. The death of the city I knew so well. What stands to take its place is a place decided not for those without the cash to throw at it. And as much as I may not like it, it matters not what comes of this place. So long as I have myself again, my love and my people, all is right once again.
< - for KMFR, with mucho amor - >
The Aquaslide
By: Control , Posted on June 11, 2008
It's always nice to be able to revisit an old favorite. Thanks to all those that made this trip and the drinking afterwards... oh and your mom, because I totally touched her MilfBags later on that night...
