Branch flagging — another vestige of the recent cicada invasion
A DOT palimpsest! See if you can make out the previous destination this sign pointed toward. Here's a larger version of the photo, and here's the answer.
VARIOUS ARTICLES USED IN
RELIGIOUS SERVICES OF ALL FAITHS
WERE DONATED IN MEMORY OF
ERNEST P. PALCIC, JR., SP. 4
WHO GAVE HIS LIFE
IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY
VIET NAM — JANUARY 24, 1968
BY THE EMPLOYEES OF
WILLOWBROOK STATE SCHOOL
AND THE
BENEVOLENT SOCIETY FOR RETARDED CHILDREN
APRIL 1969
There's a big Caribbean population out here in Cambria Heights/Queens Village, so I think it's a good bet. (Compare to the flag of Trinidad and Tobago.)
My understanding is that the X-in-a-square you sometimes see painted on a vacant building warns firefighters that the structure is compromised and should not be entered unless absolutely necessary.
On the other side of this wall is the Little Sisters of the Poor's Queen of Peace Residence.
Repossessed by the Federal Housing Administration; acquired by the city's Housing Authority
This Art Deco structure (wider shot here) was built in 1933. Babe Ruth served in the 104th Field Artillery, a unit of the New York National Guard, for a few years in the 1920s (photos here), but that was before the regiment moved to this location. On a related note, you can see Ruth's World War I draft card (from back in his Boston Red Sox days) here.
surround an old water storage tank that was built by the Jamaica Water Supply Company and is now part of the city's unused groundwater supply system.
I've seen several similar paintings in other parts of the city, and I finally figured out what they are: rangoli designs! Rangoli (known regionally by other names, including kolam, alpana/alpona, aripan, and mandana) is an ancient art form, traditionally practiced by women, that originated in the Indian subcontinent. You can see more examples here, and you can watch the "world's largest alpona" — several acres in size — being painted on a major thoroughfare in Dhaka, Bangladesh here.
The plaque relates the legendary account of General Woodhull's death, claiming that on August 28, 1776, after having been captured, he "was mortally wounded by a British officer near this spot for refusing to say God save the King".
According to the AIA Guide to New York City, this "large, freestanding, elaborately ornamented Italianate house is a remarkable throwback to the area's 19-century roots."
There is no city street cleaning out here in Rosedale; this sign must have been put up by a Type A homeowner on a rigid sidewalk-sweeping regimen.
As we've seen, the western edge of Rosedale lies directly beneath a much-used approach to JFK Airport.
watching a match at Idlewild Cricket Field*, a well-kept facility (photo here) largely hidden away at the edge of town in the woods of Idlewild Park Preserve. Apparently it's not uncommon for international cricketers to play here; one of today's teams was from Trinidad and Tobago.
* The article linked above is the best source of information I could find about the field, but it's also highly exaggerative at times. Most notably, its claim that Idlewild is like several world-class cricket stadiums "all rolled in one" is completely absurd.
It's just like watching the Mets: guys throwing balls, guys swinging bats, jets roaring overhead...
Three conflicts that don't usually make it onto war memorials
Day 579
Today’s haul
July 31st, 2013
The streets of Rosedale and Brookville may not be paved with gold, but today they were basically paved with zinc, copper, nickel, and steel. Look at this ridiculous collection of coins I picked up off the pavement! Finding more than 10 coins on one walk is extremely rare for me, but today I collected 117. And they were scattered about, too; there wasn't just one big mother lode. Of course, the more I found, the more time I spent looking at the ground, so I probably noticed a considerably higher percentage of coins than I normally would.* But still, this is preposterous. By the end of the day, my thigh was sore (or at least annoyed) from being smacked by the 12 pounds of metal in my pocket every time I took a step.
For the record, my total take, based on today's exchange rate, was about $2.2897: 2 quarters, 4 dimes, 7 nickels, 103 pennies, and 1 Canadian penny.
(I snapped this photo two days later.)
* I also did most of my walking in the street today — asphalt is easier on the feet than concrete, and traffic in this area is light enough that it's safe to avoid the sidewalks — which means I had very little pedestrian competition in my treasure hunt, and also means I was passing right through the areas where people are most likely to drop coins when they park and get out of their cars. But even with these factors taken into consideration, 117 coins is simply obscene.
