The end of the old Kosciuszko Bridge. Via Brooklyn Paper
So far this summer, New Yorkers have reacted to the demolition of the Old Kosciuszko Bridge in a variety of expressive ways. There were the illicit parties held on the Bridge ahead of the scheduled July demolition, and the group of urban vigilantes ready to defend the bridge from demise with wolves and swords.
The city itself decided on a more muted end to the 1939 span that crosses Newtown Creek, connecting Greenpoint to Maspeth, Queens, than these events, or even the Bridge’s namesake, Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Revolutionary hero in both Poland and the United States, might warrant. Instead of the scheduled July explosion, the main span of the bridge was lowered onto a barge in Newtown Creek.
Do you feel like things have been pretty quacked in Greenpoint this week? You’re not wrong. On Monday night, a leashed duck boarded the G Train, and as you can see from the video, he was not too pleased to be there.
All day yesterday (Tuesday) the main span of the Kosciuszko Bridge was lowered onto barges on Newtown Creek. The bridge segments will be barged out of the Creek today, from 10am to 12pm. The pieces will be taken to a recycling facility in New Jersey. The Newtown Creek Alliance has a handy timeline of the bridge’s demolition, and future plans for a park on the Queens side of the new bridge.
Below, the NCA has put together a map of the best viewpoints for today’s barging, which include the very end of Greenpoint Avenue, the Newtown Creek Nature Walk, under the Pulaski Bridge, and the end of Manhattan Avenue. If you’re one of the lucky seafaring few in a boat, there will be security zones in place during lowering and barging; boaters are required to stay a minimum 500 feet away from the working barges.
NYC sunset from The Brooklyn Barge. Photo: Megan Penmann
What happened this week besides the weather being steamier than a dirty monkey’s crotch and more stifling than a sweat lodge? Here’s the rude, sad and the fugly.
Looks like Greenpoint could be getting another park! The Open Space Alliance and the Department of Transportation are holding a meeting on June 28 to offer the community the chance to give input on possible open space usage underneath the Kosciuszko Bridge. They’ll also be hosting a tour of the proposed park site on June 24th, but the tour is capped at 25 people and currently full.
What: Kosciuszko Bridge Park Community Planning Meeting When: Wednesday, June 28, 6:30 – 8:30 pm Where: The Park House at Bushwick Inlet Park, 86 Kent Avenue (at N. 9th Street) RSVP here
Franklin St & Greenpoint Ave sunset. Photo: Megan Penmann
According to police, a man was slashed and robbed in McGolrick Park Saturday night around 9:30pm. He had seen someone in a group of people drop a pack of cigarettes and went to return them—only to get his head smashed on a metal bar, slashed on his cheek with a knife and robbed of his iPhone, $250 in cash and a bracelet.
A Paulie Gee’s server was seriously injured after a cyclist struck her on the corner of Manhattan and India. Without insurance, she’s now facing $10k in medical bills and $25k of bills and lost wages combined while she recovers. You can donate to her crowdfunding campaign to help her recover physically and financially. Continue reading →
The new Kosciuszko Bridge finally opened yesterday to much fanfare (and of course, some traffic). If you’re passing by at night, or on a rooftop, you’ll be able to catch the rad light show, which was funded with the $500 million that the MTA chipped in for bridge overhauls. According to CBS New York, “The first of two new spans opened to drivers Thursday. It will carry traffic in both directions while the second span is built. The first span will be converted to five lanes of Queens-bound traffic when the second span containing four lanes opens in 2020 for Brooklyn-bound traffic. The bridge will also feature a 20-foot-wide path for cyclists and pedestrians.”
The old sections of the bridge will be imploded this summer, and there’s currently a petition to have a live orchestra play the 1812 Overture as the bridge literally bites the dust. More than 14,000 people have RSVP’d to the bridge blow-up on Facebook, with another 56,000 people “interested” in the event. And PS—if you’re wondering how to pronounce Kosciuszko, here’s a video primer with a little history mixed in.
Yesterday, photographer Nick McManus was able to ride over the bridge before it opened to traffic and captured some cool instant photos. See more after the jump.
A protest at Greenpoint’s 94th Precinct this weekmadeheadlines following Captain Peter Rose’s statements to the press about rape cases. The protest happened despite his formal apology via Twitter. The National Organization For Women has requested a meeting with the police commissioner to discuss sytem-wide reforms.
There’s a new development going up next to Transmitter Park, and local residents are not excited about the building’s lobby overlooking the park. Residents voiced their dissent at a Community Board meeting this week about the zoning amendment which would allow the proposed construction to take place. The issue now goes up before the City Planning Commission and then to City Hall.
The renovated Kosciuszko Bridge might actually open sooner than originally planned. The project, which started in late 2014, has been regularly clogging up neighborhood traffic leading onto the BQE. A Department of Transportation spokeswoman says that the “main span will be completed and all traffic in both directions will be shifted onto it in early spring.” Hallelujah! Continue reading →
