Surprise, surprise!

Check this out, kids, the Borden Avenue Bridge has reopened!




Photos from Newtown Pentacle.

Why the Borden Ave Bridge is still closed

"Hi: Any more information on the re-opening of the Borden Avenue Bridge? It's April....and it's still closed." - anonymous

From the Dept of Transportation's website:

The Department of Transportation has identified a pocket of contaminated soil which has been classified as “contaminated non-hazardous”. As such, it poses no significant health risk to workers or the surrounding community. However, precautionary measures will be taken and every effort is being made to remove and dispose of the contamination quickly, yet safely, within all New York City and State guidelines. A Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for the removal and disposal of the contamination has been submitted to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for review and approval. Upon receipt of the NYSDEC approval, the contractor will prepare a new construction schedule and commence work under the terms of the permits. At this time, a date for the resumption of work is unknown which precludes an accurate prediction of a new anticipated completion date, although every effort will be made to complete the project in the Spring of 2010. All posted detours will remain in effect until further notice.

Affordable housing in LIC

Hey everyone - Newtown Pentacle found some truly affordable housing in LIC next to the Borden Avenue Bridge! There's actually quite a few shanty towns in the area. But shhhh! don't want to let that cat out of the bag lest it bring down the property values.

To Infinity and beyond!

I don't know anything about Teddy other than the fact that he's no longer with us. He apparently was either a dumbass thieving coward or quite a ladies' man, depending on whom you ask.
Also no longer with us is this strip club that sits in the shadow of the LIE. More than likely, the recession hurt it and the Borden Avenue Bridge reconstruction put the final nail in its coffin.
But as I stood here, I found it rather appropriate that Greenpoint's Shit Tits were highly visible from the site of the former titty bar. These photos were taken New Year's Day in lands where Tower People fear to tread.

Borden Avenue Bridge reopening now April 2010

From the Daily News:

The reopening of a Long Island City bridge that was closed for emergency repairs is now being pushed back because of toxic sludge found in the soil around the structure.

The century-old Borden Ave. Bridge, which handled nearly 16,000 vehicles a day before it was shut down, was abruptly closed on Dec. 31 because of structural problems.

The city Transportation Department said it would be reopened within six months. But a pocket of contaminated soil was discovered during the excavation, an agency official said.

The petroleum-contaminated sediment was determined to be nonhazardous, but the cleanup is now rolling back the reopening to at least April 2010, sources told the Queens News.

Small businesses in the area which have already been hit hard by the flagging economy are expecting a further hit to their bottom line.

NY Times visits Borden Avenue Bridge

Despite the bridge’s current difficulties and ragged environs, the structure has a novel feature that, for some, renders it an object of affection. The bridge sits on rails that allow the structure to roll open horizontally on wheels. It is one of only two such retractile bridges in the city and four in the nation. (The Carroll Street Bridge over the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn is the country’s oldest, and a designated landmark.)

“Even though it’s not the prettiest bridge, people find beauty in it,” said Sam Schwartz, a transportation consultant and the president of the city’s Bridge Centennial Commission, a nonprofit group whose mission is to celebrate six New York bridges that are about a century old. He described the bridge’s retractile feature as “very elegant.”

The Borden Avenue Bridge has not displayed its elegance much lately, however. Commercial marine traffic along Dutch Kills is highly diminished; the bridge last opened for a passing vessel in 2005.

A Humble Bridge With One Fetching Feature