Greenpoint, October, 2015

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Not Qool

Greetings from Brooklyn's NEXT Next Soho
How did Shea Stadium, a music club, end up in Bushwick? Or Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop organic farm, in Long Island City--they might have at least called it Brooklyn View Grange. They got Spuyten Duyvil, a bar, from the Bronx a while back. Is it cultural colonialism Brooklyn style? Or a good, old fashioned Queens identity complex? I mean, nobody ever suggested calling it the QBE. Even Anthony Weiner, who represents both boroughs, chose to announce his resignation in Sheepshead Bay.

One thing we can agree on, though, as my friend John points out: It's only the East River if you're in Manhattan. He lives in Brooklyn.

2 comments:

  1. Oh dear! Spuyten Duyvil is not in the Bronx.

    The name comes from rapids in the tidal straight (known as the Harlem river) that connected the North River (as the Hudson is known inside the NYC limits) to the East River (a second tidal straight--that connects to LI sound and ocean-via the lower harbor).

    A shipping canal was built (south of the rapids)--and a small chunk of Manhattan is north of the canal--this area is -which seems to be part of the mainland and the Bronx (since the rapids dried up as the water was diverted into the canal, the natural water way (the rapids at least) were filled in, and turned into real estate.

    The chunk of land between the shipping canal and the old "river bed" is still technically Manhattan. The Bronx area adjacent to Spuyten Duyvil is Marble Hill (named for an out cropping of 'marble' (white limestone).

    limestone is the newest strata (and found in a few places around the city) Below it, Manhattan schist, the oldest rock in NYC is Bronx gneiss. (which is well studded with garnets).

    Queens has it attractions, and claims to fame (the Flushing Remonstrance for example) Its also the only borough to have 3 (three!) postal codes and 3 postmaster generals! (the postal codes are for LIC, Flushing, and Jamaica.)

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  2. Thanks for the correction--and restoring Spuyten Duyvil to Manhattan.

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