The Encampment on Roosevelt Island

October 8, 2007 -

The Encampment was a 100 tent installation which stood for three nights on Manhattan's Roosevelt Island. Each tent was designed by a different contributor under the supervision of artist Thom Sokoloski. This massive installation focused on the dark history of the island, when it was known as Blackwell Island and Welfare Island, detailing its days as lunatic asylum, a prison and a ward for abandoned babies. The Encampment stood at the southern tip of the island, next to the abandoned smallpox hospital and across the East River from the United Nations.

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For more photo essays from New York's half-abandoned islands, please visit Ellis Island: South Side (2007) and Governors Island: Manhattan's Ghost Town (2011).

Coney Island Creek

September 30th, 2007 -

Coney Island Creek once divided Coney Island from mainland Brooklyn. It now houses a collection of ruined boats and one dead experimental submarine. This creek, like its Brooklyn siblings the Gowanus Canal and the Newtown Creek, was a once thriving waterway. It has now been left to decay and wildlife. Jellyfish, rats and fisherman line its banks. These photos document a tea party on the creek arranged by the creative group Ars Subterranea, which was founded by the artist Julia Solis.

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For other photo essays from abandoned Coney Island, visit The Freak's Domain (2008), Under The Boardwalk (2009) and Abandoned Playland (2011).

Newtown Creek: Linden Hill Tracks

September 25th, 2007 -

North of the freight lines in East New York is a fork in the tracks: Bushwick Junction. One section heads towards the north side of the Newton Creek while the other goes west on dead-end tracks through the streets of Linden Hill. These photos are from Linden Hill, where you can walk above the Newtown Creek. The creek divides Brooklyn and Queens and has the dubious distinction of being the largest urban oil spill in the world. Its polluted waters are a deep green. Weeds and wildflowers thrive along its banks. It is a quiet space where homeless camp and burnt out cars are turned into art.

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For more photo essays from Brooklyn's freight train tracks, please visit Underneath Flatbush (2007), Underneath East New York (2007) and Underneath Bay Ridge (2007).

Homeless Camp

Art Car

The End of Newtown Creek

Wild in the Spill

Brooklyn Freight: Underneath East New York

August 24th, 2007 -

A 1914 tunnel runs under East New York, Brooklyn, along a section of a freight line originating in Bay Ridge. This tunnel, a grade crossing elimination built by Robert Moses, is approximately one mile long. It travels underneath the tangled tracks of Broadway Junction, where the LIRR meets several MTA trains. It is pitch black inside the tunnel, which is home to an abandoned train station and empty freight cars. One entry is guarded by a massive junkyard rottweiler, while the other end is active with homeless visitors.

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For more photo essays from Brooklyn's freight train tracks, please visit Underneath Flatbush (2007), Linden Hill Tracks (2007) and Underneath Bay Ridge (2007).

Abandoned Station Platform

Abandoned Station Entrance

On the Tracks

Underneath East New York

Track Glow

Dark Exit

Leaking Tanker

Worlds Oldest Subway Tunnel - Part 2

August 8th, 2007 -

In this second set of photographs from inside the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in Brooklyn, the generator was working and all the lights were on. When you can see more then two feet in front of you, the space is even more spectacular.

As previously written, the Atlantic Avenue tunnel was built in 1844 and sealed in the 1860's. It was considered lost until Brooklyn's Bob Diamond discovered an entrance in 1980. The tunnel runs underneath Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Entry is gained through a manhole cover in the middle of a busy intersection. Though the tunnel was closed for over a century, it is still remarkably intact. Brick and stone are all in place and - despite pouring rain outside - the tunnel was almost completely dry. The interior of the tunnel is eerily quiet and without light of any kind. Graffiti from the early 1900's is still legible on the walls.

The tunnel is now regularly open for tours - contact the BHRA for more information.

Previous photos from the tunnel can be seen here.

World's Oldest Subway Tunnel

July 30th, 2007 -

The Atlantic Avenue tunnel was built in 1844 and sealed in the 1860's. It was considered lost until Brooklyn's Bob Diamond discovered an entrance in 1980. The tunnel runs underneath Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Entry is gained through a manhole cover in the middle of a busy intersection. The tunnel was closed to the public for the last five years, but it will now be open at specific times.

Originally, the tunnel was closed for over a century. It is still remarkably intact. Brick and stone are all in place and - despite pouring rain outside - the tunnel was almost completely dry. The interior of the tunnel is eerily quiet and without light of any kind. Graffiti from the early 1900's is still legible on the walls.

For more photos of the tunnel - with the lights on - please click here.

For more about Bob Diamond and the tunnel, visit the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association.

Brooklyn Freight: Underneath Flatbush

July 28th, 2007 -

As the Bay Ridge freight line continues east on its route, it passes underneath Flatbush Avenue. A large platform being constructed overhead supports parking lots new and old, while several bridges allow traffic to flow by without allowing a glimpse of the nearly abandoned train line below.

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For more photo essays from Brooklyn's freight train tracks, please visit Underneath Bay Ridge (2007), Linden Hill Tracks (2007) and Underneath East New York (2007).