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Men at work

Grown Men Build a Fort

 

Earlier this week I photographed The Rat and noted that labor workers are protesting the construction company that’s building a condo on 10th Avenue between 22nd & 23rd, just to east (an arms-breadth is all…) of the High Line. Well, it seems that the builders have rather a thin skin: they have erected a wall around themselves from what looks like large sheets of wallboard so the protesters can’t see them. Out of sight, out of mind. Except they have to listen to all the whistling, horn blowing, and cries of “Scabs, go home!” that resound in our neighborhood all day long. All we need now is vuvuzelas and the game will really be on.

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Action in the Neighborhood

I haven’t written in awhile, and the reason is not that I’ve been launching websites (which I have) or traveling on the west coast (which I was) but something more prosaic: there hasn’t been any action at all on my section of the High Line.

But things are changing and we have three developments. First, The Rat.

This fella has nothing to do with the High Line; he’s protesting the management and workers of a new condominium that’s just beginning to rise from the concrete outside my window. What you can’t perceive is the cacophony of whistles and car horns that this creature inspires. So my work has a new soundtrack, and it’s not altogether pleasant.

But I’m happy that the Rat and his friends are able to exercise their right to free speech.

The building they are addressing is harder to like. It’ll ruin my view of 10th Avenue, and thereby my ability to grok whether or not it’ll be easy to get a taxi, or how much snow has actually accumulated, or whether people are using umbrellas or not. Luckily, it won’t block my view of the High Line.

So if you look past the under-construction-section of the High Line you’ll see the rebar and rough framing for the second floor of this new condominium. The only upside as far I can tell is that we will no longer have to look out at the bright blue, neon, Chase Bank logos that just got installed on the NE corner of 23rd and light up the neighborhood at night; this new building will block that too.

But back to the High Line. Here’s the exciting action on that front: today I discovered men unloading piles of earth for the plantings. The landscapers have arrived, and though it doesn’t look like our section is nearly ready for it, you can just imagine the trees, grasses and wildflowers that are on the way. That’s cause for celebration.

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Cement Elephant


The long end of this wonderful machine looks exactly like an elephant’s trunk, and as it dangles and sways it even mimics the gate of the giant beast. But it’s a cement hose, and if you ever wondered how they got the cement up to the High Line, here’s the answer: the Cement Elephant.

I snapped this photo at the start of the day, then left for a meeting, so didn’t get to watch much of it. But several men guided the hose as fresh cement poured from it. Magically, the machine turned green.

On subsequent visits it turned orange…..


Down at street level the scene is a bit less romantic, unless you happen to love huge trucks.

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The Grasshopper


I’ve been sensationally busy lately, building a website. I haven’t looked out the window in days. So I can’t say when the High Line guys moved the wonderful Grasshopper to the spot it now occupies, center stage in my evolving High Line drama. But tonight, as I was passing by the window with a nice glass of wine, I happened to glance out and there it was. It reminded me of my father once more.

Thanks again, High Line guys. Tomorrow I’ll try very hard to put myself in front of the window and watch, so I can see what this marvelous device actually does. Or maybe it’s better to let it stay a mystery. Only tomorrow will tell.

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They come and go….

There hasn’t been much action lately. Workmen come and go (talking of….Michaelangelo? Popsicle Toes?).

They carry materials….

 

and they haul materials….

 

and they work together to move stuff around.


Some of them seem almost balletic in their movements.

 

It feels like they are nipping and tucking. Getting ready for something much more significant.

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