auto purgatory
Willets Point, aka The Iron Triangle, is a shadow-neighborhood, seemingly on the fringes of the city, and even civilization. Bound by railroads, freeways, and the Flushing River and Bay, it is a hard place to get to. There is a strange world here- entirely dedicated to auto work and scrap metal. There are no sidewalks here, the streets are barely paved, huge puddles abound, and no normal rule of traffic apply. No one has a home here, and there are no stores or any kind. Mechanical work is happening everywhere- in the garages and even in the streets themselves.
Cars come to Willets Point to be resurrected- like the pristine BMW's and Mercedes being driven back out to more genteel surroundings. Or- cars come to Willets Point to die, as seen by the overturned chassis strewn about, and the massive mound of scrap metal.
This is the ash heap of The Great Gatsby, traversed by Nick Carraway on his trips from West Egg to Manhattan....
What is most amazing about Willets Point is its location right next to Citi Field and a stone's throw away from the U.S. Tennis Open. Being such a wasteland in such close proximity to places with such national and international profile puts the neighborhood in constant peril- had NYC won the 2012 Olympic bid (thank goodness it didn't, for many reasons) this area would have been razed for an Olympic venue.
10 mile expedition to Old Vlissingen- from Forest Hills through Corona, Willets Point, colonial sights of Flushing, the World's Fair ruins, and back.
December 2, 2010
auto purgatory
Willets Point, aka The Iron Triangle, is a shadow-neighborhood, seemingly on the fringes of the city, and even civilization. Bound by railroads, freeways, and the Flushing River and Bay, it is a hard place to get to. There is a strange world here- entirely dedicated to auto work and scrap metal. There are no sidewalks here, the streets are barely paved, huge puddles abound, and no normal rule of traffic apply. No one has a home here, and there are no stores or any kind. Mechanical work is happening everywhere- in the garages and even in the streets themselves.
Cars come to Willets Point to be resurrected- like the pristine BMW's and Mercedes being driven back out to more genteel surroundings. Or- cars come to Willets Point to die, as seen by the overturned chassis strewn about, and the massive mound of scrap metal.
This is the ash heap of The Great Gatsby, traversed by Nick Carraway on his trips from West Egg to Manhattan....
What is most amazing about Willets Point is its location right next to Citi Field and a stone's throw away from the U.S. Tennis Open. Being such a wasteland in such close proximity to places with such national and international profile puts the neighborhood in constant peril- had NYC won the 2012 Olympic bid (thank goodness it didn't, for many reasons) this area would have been razed for an Olympic venue.
10 mile expedition to Old Vlissingen- from Forest Hills through Corona, Willets Point, colonial sights of Flushing, the World's Fair ruins, and back.
December 2, 2010