An alarm? A vent? I cannot figure it out. I've seen a handful of these poles around town, but they remain a mystery to me.
Day 44
What is this??
February 12th, 2012
I'm walking every street in New York City.
This is the counterpoint to my walk across the US. Instead of seeing a million places for just a minute each, I'm going to spend a million minutes exploring just one place. By the time I finish walking every block of every street in all five boroughs, I'll have traveled more than 8,000 miles on foot — all within a single city. Details!
Email me at matt@imjustwalkin.com
Subscribe to my email list
Maps: Progress | Photos
9,326 miles walked
Your donations allow me to keep walking full-time. If you think what I'm doing is valuable and you'd like to offer some support, I would be very grateful. On the other hand, if you think I'm a worthless bum, feel free to email me and tell me to get a job, bozo. Both are excellent options!
Is it above a subway line? They usually are. My guess is an antenna repeater of
some sort.
You, the transportation engineer, doesn’t know what this is? Me neither.
One of many Minuteman silos, strategically placed to fend off the expected Hoboken invasion. Back when I worked for the NYC office of the IIP (Internal Invasion Planning), we had to find a way to use surplus military gear provided by the federal Dept of Defense’s office of HDWGROT (How Do We Get Rid Of These?), and when the girlfriend of the brother-in-law of the mayor of Hoboken let slip that when she became Queen of Brooklyn she would end alternate side parking and open a chain of kosher chocolate bagel and pizza shops, we knew what we had to do.
Oh my Gosh Dad! You have quite a sense of humor there. Good one.
I always wondered the history of these poles and now I know. Thanks for the explanation! I agree with Dorinda – great sense of humor! I love the story!
Raymond, you’re right, it does look like a fireplace insert.
WOULD MAKE A NICE FIREPLACE INSERT, IT’S A WONDER THE HOMELESS HAVE NOT STARTED USING
THEM………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Natural gas pipeline vent.
Presumably they serve the same function as the similar structures in Toronto: vent pipes for sanitary sewers and old landfills.
Chet is correct, a Natural Gas Regulator Vent:
http://cryptome.org/eyeball/qnsgas/qnsgas-eyeball.htm