Saturday, October 2, 2010

What government-driven progress looks like

Nathan Kensinger has a photo essay on Edgemere.

Remember when Ronald Reagan said that the scariest words in the English language were, "I'm with the government and I'm here to help?" Well, this is why.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ronald Reagan was terrible as an actor and even worse as a president. Why do you continue to worship this guy? The fall of the American Empire will be traced directly to his policies.

Queens Crapper said...

I don't worship the guy.

And the photos don't lie. Of course, it could be that you like urban desolation.

Anonymous said...

Ronald Regan was one of the more inspirational presidents of the last century. He and Obama have a lot in common. Now let's see if Obama can win that second term or if he'll have more in common with Jimmy Carter.

LibertyBoyNYC said...

No more of that Reagan-talk, Crapper, you'll scare away the Village Voice crowd who "dig" your "street cred" and "authenticidad".

Anonymous said...

Ronald Reagan a terrible President?
Which part of his 8 year term was terrible?

The part about rolling back Soviet Expansionism and finally getting those 10,000 ICBM's off our tails?

The part about bringing the US out of the Carter era economic mess (it was worse than today with higher interest rates and more unemployment)?

The part about creating 20 million jobs with his tax cutting measures?

oh, I know,
it was the part about him winning
49 out of 50 states in 1984.
that must be it.lol

Anonymous said...

This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man’s hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.

Is it like this
In death’s other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.


(From T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men)

Anonymous said...

Nathan Kensinger's photo essay is a startling look at a neglected area of Queens. It's a bit of the post-apocalyptic world in our backyard. It starts:

Edgemere is a Queens waterfront neighborhood split in two. In the north, residents live on the shores of Jamaica Bay. In the south, a vast plain covers more then 20 blocks of abandoned oceanfront. This city-owned wasteland is a part of the Arverne Urban Renewal Area, and may soon be redeveloped as Arverne East. Stretching along the Rockaway shoreline from Beach 32nd Street to Beach 56th Place, this property has remained empty for decades.