I wouldn’t call this view breathtaking but I had some fun seeing a familiar landscape from a new perspective. I happened to spot a hand-written sign on Northern Boulevard announcing a Brooklyn Grange Open House on the roof of the building. I am no foodie but said hey, why not.
The highest spot I can remember being at in Astoria/Long Island City (I call it AsLIC) was at the Citi building, where I had an interview on the 20-somethingth floor. I think about that interview process every once in a while, and how “constipated” remains the best descriptor. It dragged on for 18 months, I went back repeatedly to face increasingly large gatherings of Citi employees who lobbed meaningless questions at me, as if confused by the idea that anyone would apply for a job at the company.
I remember when the Brooklyn Grange first started setting up shop. People at one of the hyperlocal neighborhood anger blogs predicted the soil and food grown on this rooftop would cause the building to collapse. That hasn’t happened, obviously, but I can’t say it didn’t enter my mind when I got up there that a weight limit had to exist for this surface, and that it would make for one hell of an adventure if I and the others here got swallowed into a collapsed quagmire of organic beets, livestock, and verdant soil. The space was cool, though, and worth a visit if they host Open Houses in the future.
All those beets and tomatoes did make me hungry. So I hit the nearby 7-Eleven for a decidedly non-organic hot dog with mustard. At the 7-Eleven on Northern Boulevard and Woodside Avenue one must absolutely punch the plastic dispenser for mustard to emerge. Just a little hyperlocal anecdote, in case you’re ever hard up for mustard in the area. You now know how much suffering to expect.
I took a lot more pictures than this. I usually beautify in some way through Photoshop, but this time, in the spirit of organic earthiness, I’ll just foist them out as-is, or as-are.
