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Hoffman Grove slowly slips away

I first wrote about Hoffman Grove back in 2006 when I explored the area after one of the homes there was listed in the paper for sale. $200K for a house in Wayne? Yeah, what’s the catch? Oh yeah… constant flooding. Read the original post for the full story, but I found much had changed since I last visited in 2008. here’s some pics. At that time the community was still vibrant and most had refused to be bought out. There was an attitude of “this is what we have to put up with” and the desire to stay was string. After several floods in 2008, the state took action and in 2009, 36 homes were slated to be bought out.. There were several bad floods in early 2011, but Hurricane irene in August of 2011 was the final blow. FEMA stepped in and most of the remaining homes were bought out.

I took a visit to Hoffman grove this morning and what I saw was depressing. There were still many homes left, but most had plywood over the 1st level windows. Some had them over the doors and garage entrances as well. Yet I could clearly see curtains and items inside the 2nd floor windows. And some had cars in front of them. After driving around several times it became clear: cars meant there was a current resident. No cars meant no one was there and never would be again. Many left behind gas grills, toys, lawn furniture and other personal possessions. Saddest of all was the sight of this flag, upside down, the official sign for distress.

here are some pictures I took, the rest are on Flickr

If you know nothing about NBI, here is my original entry detailing the long and varied history of this unassuming island in the Bronx River. it’s well worth a read and I won’t repeat it here because this is about my own journey exploring the island. I don’t recall exactly where I first heard about it, but I had known about it for well over a year. I had researched it thoroughly, making particular note of the dangerous currents and tides. I was also keenly aware that it was very close to Riker’s Island, which presented a security issue. I certainly did not want to be mistaken for someone escaping the infamous prison. What became clear was that if one was going to go to the island it would have to be by canoe, so one could scuttle the boat on shore. After numerous aborted discussions i finally found someone w/a canoe and someone else crazy enough to make the trip. We made the trip in January 2006. It would be approximately 1,000 feet from shore to shore and I am woefully out of shape, I cant remember the last time I was in a canoe. Complicating things is the fact that the tides are vicious and the water was ice cold. There had been a nasty ice storm the night before so air temperatures were sub-freezing. I can’t imagine what the water temperature would be like. Even with a life jacket, hypothermia could easily set in before I could reach shore. If you haven’t figured it out, this journey probably ranks as the most unintelligent exploration I have ever taken.

As fate would have it, I made the trip over successfully. The island is home to numerous birds which nest there and it’s a a protected bird sanctuary. The hospital buildings are all in severe disrepair. Many stairs are crumbling and there are holes in many walls and floors. This has allowed many thaw cycles to do further damage to the facility as snow and ice have gotten inside and rotted away the wood that held it together. There are 3 main buildings as you can see in the aerial picture below from google. There was almost nothing left in any of the buildings except for rusted out desk and chairs. The one area that was most interesting was the kitchen which still had purchase orders for the patients. In here I also found a 1950 phone book. I found it amazing to see phone listings as KL5-3325. Unfortunately the pages crumbled in my hands so I could not take it home as a souvenir. We spent several hours carefully poking around, but our visit was cut short because we wanted to go back when the tides were just right. Below are several pictures, but you should really check out all the pics on flicker

4 Urban explorers told they can’t be BFF any more

Four urban explorers had made 200+ jaunts into places they shouldn’t have but this time they got pinched. With the royal wedding soon approaching, security was tighter then usual and the police were not going to be as lenient with them as they otherwise might have been. The four were actually let go, but a recent incident (not involving any of the four) prompted the police to revisit the offenders and make what can only be described as a shocking “penalty”.
In England there is something called an ASBO (anti-social behavior order). It’s an alternative form of punishment to prison which involves some sort of a restriction, often not being allowed to do something or go somewhere for a period of time. In this case the four werent allowed to possess any materials that would aid in UE (no flashlights? really), no blogging about the subject of UE, but the shocker was that they could no longer be friends.

You heard that right, the four best friends had to sever all ties between them.

I don’t even know where to begin.

First off, do they really get to jsut make up punishments in England? Apparently when it comes to ASBO, yes they can. They’re special penalties, often custom taylored to the offense or defendant or both. Second, they can’t blog about it? free speech anyone? Oh wait this is England, so there’s no fourth amendment. Third, how can they release them, then months later decide to hit them w/an ASBO? Finally, not being friends any more? Aside from being impossible to enforce, it’s also maddeningly broad. What constitutes friendship? I’m sure they have mutual friends, what if they all get invited to the same party? Would one of them have to leave? How would they decide without speaking to determine who should leave?

It’s mindboggling. I don’t know enough about ASBO’s to say much else, like whether they can appeal the decision or what would happen if they violated the order. All I know is that it’s patently foolish on the part of the police to even try to suggest that they not be friends any more.

Act as if.

“There’s an important phrase that we use here and I think it’s time you all learned it. “Act as if”. Do you understand what that means? Act as if you are the fucking president of this firm. Act as if you have a nine inch cock. Act as if.” – Boiler Room (Video from the movie)

Why am I posting this? Because sometimes when doing what we do, you need to act as if. Act like you belong there. Security/cops come around a corner? Walk TO THEM and flag them down (as opposed to heading for the bushes). It shows confidence that you are in the right and don’t have a guilty conscience. Now of course you need to be prepared with a good explanation/cover story, but if you act as if, it goes a long way to establishing credibility for when you explain whats up.

The Plywood House

The Plywood House was built by a Architect Gamal El-Zoghby, an Egyptian man learned in astronomy, mathematics, philosophy and art, all of which were incorporated into his dream-house design. The house was sheathed in unpainted plywood and covered with several coats of special preservative or varnish to protect it from the sea spray and cold winters. Built in the late 90′s the design gives one the impression that it is unfinished, which was as intentional as the other design elements. The house is aligned precisely on eographic east-west and astronomical alignments. As in an ancient monument, two windows are positioned to capture the sunrise and sunset at the spring and autumn equinoxes. Unfortunately Mr El-Zoghby did not always appreciate the attention he receives and hated the nickname “the Plywood house”. The houses true name was the “The Parousium” from the Greek word “parousia,” meaning “presence or appearance.” I had visited the house many years ago and the owner was uninterested in discussing his home. Apparently he was tired of explaining the design to gawkers, passerbys and photographers….

The house and it’s owner were in the news today when a fire broke out. Firemen broke thru the walls with axes to get at various empty pockets of wall space. While doing this, child porn fell from between the walls and El-Zoghby was arrested as a result.

Th abandoned townhouses above the Great Falls

Over the summer A friend and I explored the Great Falls and Colt Factory, then he took me to something unexpected. What appeared to be full constructed, ready to move in townhouses, that were completely abandoned. You can read the entire story here (which is how my friend found out about it) but the short story is this. Located just above the Falls, on a cliff overlooking downtown Paterson, a developer built the first of what to be several townhouse buildings. In 2008 the 10 units went up for sale and several people moved in. By 2010, however, the developer ran into financial problems, the remaining buildings, pool and everything else was not going to be built and the town foreclosed on the property. The few owners who had bought moved out, and the entire building was boarded up.

When I investigated the property, everything except for one door was boarded up. One entrance had previously been broken into, so we went in and looked around. Everything was in move in conditions, which really stunned me. You would think that by now copper thieves would have stripped the place, the boiler, fridge, and other appliances would’ve been stolen and homeless would’ve moved right in. It’s almost like no one know this place is here. The future is unclear, but if Paterson is smart they’ll try to make it a scenic view tied to the newly created Great Falls National park.

Pictures here

Hinchcliffe Stadium

Located just behind the Great Falls in Paterson, Hinchcliffe Stadium was used for football and baseball as well other athletics activities for 5 decades before falling into disrepair and disuse. It now sits abandoned right behind one of Paterson’s many public schools. Hinchcliffe stadium opened on July 8, 1932, and was named for the mayor of Paterson, John Hinchcliffe. It immediately hosted Negro league baseball games and was the site of the Colored Championship of the Nation, the Negro League equivalent of the World Series. The stadium was the home of the NY Black Yankees until 1945., when they moved to Rochchester, NY. The stadium was home to boxing matches, auto racing, as well as professional football.

The stadium was owned by the city until 1963 when it was turned over to the public school system. many repairs and upgrades were made. Over the next 20 years, the stadium would host antique car shows, concerts and the Great Falls Festival on labor Day. Further upgrades were made in 1983 with the addition of handicap access among other things. In 1988 the stadium became home to the NJ Eagles of the American Soccer League. Eventually though, funding problems prevented necesary repairs from being made and by 1997 the stadium was closed for safety reasons. By 2002 a non profit group called Friends of Hinchliffe Stadium announced plans to try to revive the stadium. In 2004 the stadium was placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Little has been done in the past 6-8 years, however. In 2005 a local ballot endorsed the idea of restoring the stadium. A similar ballot initiative passed in 2009 and provided for over 10M to restore the site. The creation of a National Park out of the Great Falls may further spark the restoration process. The National park will incoporate the land on which sits the former ATP ruins. It would seem natural to include Hinchliffe in such renovations as part of a historical look at Paterson’s past.

All of my pictures of Hinchcliffe can be found here

Some interesting stuff in the paper: an irish bar and a bunch of worries about pollution.

This bar in Denville seems pretty cool. It’s only the second thatched roof Irish bar in the United States.

In bridgewater Twp, a superfund site got submerged in over 10 feet of water for a long time. Did those water leech toxins and move them around? Probably.

Shipwrecks off the jersey and Maryland coastline are leaking fuel… and thats never a good thing.

Staying on the issue of pollution the long polluted Quanta site in Edgewater will be capped. 150,000 cubic yards will remain underground. Granted paying 5M to cap it is more economical then paying $300M to clean it up right… but why are we not making the companies pay for it? But the EPA is evil folks, it’s *big government*. That’s why Herman Caine would appoint oil and gas execs to head the EPA if he gets elected…. There isn’t a big enough #facepalm for this kind of thinking.

DIY MRE’s

Here’s an instructable on making your own MRE. There’s a bazillion reasons to DIY on these things. Like what? Lesseee… price, tayloring it to what you like to eat, taste, price, avoiding chemicals/preservatives or anything you don’t like or may be allergic to… umm… did I mention price? The entry here isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it’s worth a read because it can get you thinking about the subject. If you read my entry where I tried out a bunch of different MRE’s, I think that’s all the inspiration one needs. My other issue is that if you look carefully some of the items in the picture would require hot- water. I’d avoid anything that needed hot water personally unless you were going to include a mug and one of those heater thingies that plug into a cigarette lighter.

Coyotes sighted in Maywood NJ

Multiple sightings of coyotes in the Hackensack and Maywood area have folks unnerved. You think?