Spring had sprung, and while I did need to finally address my tax paperwork and really knock out some writing and photos for PiercingMetal.com, I opted to use the very clear and beautiful day to do a quick wander. Bay Ridge is known for its walkway that brings you right up close to the Narrow’s (and that’s a straight that leads to the Hudson River) but enough about that. While I walked today I happened upon one of the strangest places that I had ever recalled some of my friends “hanging out” back in those days of youth. The place was under the 92nd street pedestrian bridge and referred to as “under the overpass”. To access this you would climb over a small fence and boom, there you were. Under the walkway and about twenty or so feet away from the Belt Parkway. Mind you there was an incline of almost 90 degrees so you always had to be on your best balance, and mindset. I didn’t keep up with this particular crowd all that long and its not for any negative reasons. This was not a bad group of friends, just ones that I didn’t have much in common with on my day to day life so I moved on. Formative band years I guess was my prime reason, started hanging with the other musicians I knew and practicing a lot more.
I was never quite sure why this crowd opted for this particular space because you could easily slide down and hit the concrete divider or worse if you were a few feet to the left or right. Still during my time no one ever seemed to get hurt. I personally did not like standing at an angle. Give me solid ground any day of the week. Stranger still, had we only voted on moving this little circle across the walkway to the other side near the water, it might have been much more preferential. Take a look at the photo below and you can see for yourself. Spacious, clear, flat……much better in my opinion. Oh well it was not my decision on where the group ended up no one asked me and I was not as outspoken back then if you can believe that. Stop laughing. I swear it’s true.
I was near this spot a couple of days after originally taking the photos above and realized that I had not shown you this space from the other perspective by the Shore. This one lets you see just how precarious this actually was in terms of the balance required. Yeesh. Imagine that the best option was to stumble into the big concrete part. Ahhhh youth.
While I don’t really suggest you readers go to visit the exact same space in this first photo, I do think that you would enjoy the small Shore Road Park section that leads to it and the walking bridge that brings you to the shore. Its very picturesque and sometimes even relaxing. Hope you didn’t mind this strange little reflection. When you live and grew up in an area like this one, you often found your own special places whether they were strange or somewhat treacherous when looked back on so many years later. Thinking of this makes me wonder where some of the oddest places you convened with friends in your youth. The comments are open for you to share your own details so have at it.
Category Archives: New York Sights & Scenes
Stuff that we have found of interest in NYC and wanted to share with you all.
“333” – The Apartment Of The Beast or Kudos to Iron Maiden
LOL, I realize that I must have seriously sparked your attention with that title or at least I hope that I did. So let me explain the reason behind it. You all know that the main website I run is dedicated to the proliferation of the Heavy Metal music scene and today my fiends we are at the thirty year mark for one of the most classic albums of the genre’s time. Yes, it has been thirty years since Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast” has been out and what an amazing run this release has had. It’s still a relevant piece of vinyl, tape, or CD depending on what medium you own in your collection and its tunes resonate with the same power as when you first started playing them. Pretty cool yes? I think so.
The photo below was taken by me not too long ago and I originally saw this particular visual when I was out on a photographic adventure with my fellow blogger The Beehive Hairdresser. I remember that I made some kind of comment about it being a half evil place since it was “333” as opposed to being “666” which is of course “The Number Of The Beast” (are you catching the Metal reference now?). He ended up running a little more of an expanded premise on his site and at the time I was not really doing the PiercingKen blog but when I chanced upon the exact location once again I knew that I would have to use it for my own means as well. What better time than at the anniversary of this classic Metal album.
Its amusing to realize that if one does add the two sides of this address together one does end up with “666” and what was the famous line from “The Usual Suspects” again? Something like “”The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist” Food for thought as you walk these dark city streets eh? With that being said and in honor of the mighty Maiden anniversary I am raising a glass of whatever I have handy in the direction of the band and recommend these couple of products to indulge your senses in should you not already have them in your collection. Kudos Maiden and please keep up the good work.
See you soon my friends and thanks for listening.
Merry Christmas 2011 New York City (12/25/2011)
Hey there readers, its that “Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” again and as we mentioned to you in last year’s posting of this nature, we celebrate Christmas Day here at the PiercingKen domicile and with that in mind I wanted to share with you some of the photography that I observed that best captured the seasonal spirit in my eyes. The response to last year’s adventures was well received so why not run with it again. So without any further adieu please enjoy the now annual presentation of Christmas themed images that I’ve seen while doing my normal adventuring around the city.
I’ll start with this charming little foldout snowman. I used to have a lot of paper decorations like this growing up. Sadly most have worn to the sands of time. Oh well. Moving along
Continue reading Merry Christmas 2011 New York City (12/25/2011)
No Parking….Unless…..
You are an illegally parked shopping cart from the nearby Foodtown supermarket. I happened by this interesting site while heading back to my Metal HQ after mailing out some packages before the holiday madness crowd arrived.
Clearly the sign reads easily enough and I apologize for the slightly limited sunlight. The powers of good ole Sol were not pointing down on my subject and I could not wait for him to get to work.
I even tried a slightly different angle to no avail. Mind you I was also using my little Sony Cybershot and not one of the full on DSLR’s or the ever trusty Lumix.
I laughed at the audacity of there actually being two stolen shopping carts at the pole as opposed to only one. I had seen this before at this very same location on 4th Avenue and 90th Street and am guessing there is a his and hers setup going on now.
Sadly, no one from Foodtown could come and retrieve them since the carts were chained to the pole as if they were the thieves own property. Sigh. Be sure to give a yell to those folks handing out flyers who sport these as their conveyances. They are the reason that you can never get a shopping cart quickly in the store and likely the reason that prices keep on rising as well.
Foodtown is getting a serious makeover at the time of this posting, so maybe one of their charming cashiers will be sent over to this corner with bolt cutters to free the kidnapped carts and return them to their brothers and sisters in the market. I will keep my fingers crossed.
Sometimes The Message Is A Very Simple One :)
Am I wrong? I didn’t think so and when I chanced upon this mural and its very simple yet powerful statement I just wanted to share it with you all. It was located on 11th Street and First Avenue in NYC to my knowledge. I didn’t “map” myself as I was running a little late so snapped the shot and continued on my way. That happens sometimes in this grand metropolis.
That’s all I got right now so carry on my friends and have a wonderful everything.