Christmas for me wasn't always a year-round thing like it is now. I know, shocking, right? There was actually a time when Christmas was only a few weeks out of the year. Now it seems like next Christmas begins at roughly 9:45am on Jan. 2nd of every year.
Oddly, I can't think of many early Christmas memories off the top of my head. When It really started pumping was around 1986ish. At least that's when I start being able to pick out specific memories and experiences.
We'd just moved into our new apartment that year, and I distinctly remember cookies being made & presents being opened. Family from both sides would come over, my fathers here on Staten Island, & my mothers from various points in jersey. For a few years we switched it up and went to various relatives houses, but for the mainly it seemed like everyone came to our place most years. Maybe this was because I was the youngest out of the grouping until cousins on my mothers side came along.
Back to the cookies, we ran an operation that could have put most bakeries to shame. We baked upwards of 15 different types of cookie, and at least 4 batches of 25 cookies (at least.), All told the baking alone took the better part of 6 days, one for just shopping. Sometime around the late 90's, maybe as late as 1998, we stopped for a few years due to just....massive amounts of other things demanding our time. But in 2003, to help honor the passing of my mother, we restarted the cookie bake, trimming down the variety to about 10, but increasing the quantity. This was due in part to a new twist. We would hand deliver boxes of cookies to firehouses here on Staten Island. This tradition would actually last until 2016. Now we've streamlined things a bit more, opting to ship cookies to friends & family out of state, and we've lowered the batch count to a more manageable 10 or so.
If you thought the cookies were impressive, just wait till I get into decorating. Most people, from what i've gathered through informal polling have 5 or 6 boxes of decorations. We have about 11 totes, 15 boxes, and a few bags for soft stuff, pillows & stuffed Santa's . The bathroom alone has multiple boxes, though this may change with our upcoming remodel. The decorations range from your usual stockings(personalized of course)and wooden signs, to more eccentric items, such as the Yoda figurine, wherein the diminutive Jedi master has donned Santa's hat and coat with a sack full of toys.
We used to take photos to guide us each year as to what went where, trying to keep to form each year, but over the years kinda decided to change things up every so often. This has led to a bit of confusion when it comes to packing it all away and finding what goes where next year, but we manage.
Until we moved in 2001, we never really had the chance to decorate outside. Since then however, we've gone outside. 2001 was also around the time "icicle lights" became the rage, in fact, they were so hard to find at one point, we resorted to using blue lights until we could find the traditional white ones, a fact bemoaned by my mother, who loved the white lights(Personally I like the more colorful ones). With about a week to go before the big day that year, we finally found enough to fill the roof, leaving us with a sudden excess of blue lights. Making the basement more of my own sort of pool/game room, I had them hung down there for a few years leading to quite a weird effect.
Recently, due to my fathers advancing age, and my arms being essentially made out of tissue paper, the notion of going up on the roof is simply not plausible, so we've opted for an easier lawn setup, complete with a T-rex carrying a gift. "Denver the Dinosaur", is as I call it, the most accurate Christmas decoration you can find. Dinosaurs are fossils, which is what plastic is after all. My idiot logic is solid on this.
Shopping for the big day has always been...interesting. What really changed things for starters, for me at least was when we started taking our summer vacations, usually in late summer, in Cape Cod. It was here where we discovered, "Christmas Tree Shops." For those of you who are unfamiliar with the chain, they're kinda like a bargain version of Bed Bath and Beyond, with a focus on holiday knick-knacks, 4th of July, Halloween, and of course Christmas. Being the crafty person she was, my mother loved the store, and we'd often have the car filled with Christmas gifts purchased from there for various family and friends. Keep in mind this was often late August.
Once I got a sizable income, I could finally contribute to the gifting en-masse. And wow did I. I'd often come home with bags full of gits from the mall, making a detailed shopping list, denoting the giftee, date of purchase, time, location and price. I made, and still do, a vow to never give out a gift card or money. Honestly, and maybe this is just me, I find it impersonal and lazy. If you're even giving the mental space to get someone a gift, put a bit of effort into trying to get to know them. A little effort shows that person you're thinking of them.
The advent of online shopping has made things a bit easier in terms of finding hard to locate items, and I do purchase things online, but I try my hardest to use brick and mortar stores. I worked retail, during the holidays, and I know how difficult it can be to survive in that industry so I try to give back. Though I do enjoy sitting in the food court of the mall on Black Friday, sipping a hot chocolate, watching the chaos unfold.
When it comes to the tree, I, as I am with many things(Asperger's makes me a lil weird), very specific. This also comes in part to just the way the tradition has gone, how we've done things since I can remember. For starters, its a real tree, ok? Don't give me that fake abomination. That is a flat out insult to me. I take this very seriously. Well, sort of. I understand if someone is elderly or allergic or disabled, but if not....there's no reason you should have a fake tree. The tree is usually purchased about 12 days before the 25th. Next, the tree has to have a booty. I want it thick. Just like my s'mores. It's gotta be at least a foot taller than me too. Those are the guidelines that are to be followed.
When we get the tree home, we cut off lil branches and make room on the bottom...which is where one of the...more interesting stories comes from.
I don't remember the exact year, but it was the early 90s. The tree was up and in the stand and we'd begun putting the lights up. Noticing a few branches he missed, my father, scholar that he is, got the clippers out and began cutting....right into the wire. The tree instantly went dark. Reacting without thinking, as kids often do, I screamed, distraught, "You ruined it! You ruined Christmas!", as I ran, crying into my room. Thankfully, it was a simple fix. Ever since, we joke about making sure we get all the cuts done before putting on the lights to avoid another, "Ruined Christmas."
The way it goes is this; Lights, garland, and then the ornaments. There are about 3 boxes of those, and the tradition there is, the oldest goes first, and when I say oldest, I mean oldest. A paper/carboard Santa covered in glitter that belonged to my great grandmother. It's easily over a century old and how its lasted this long I don't know. We flip a coin to decide who gets to do it, then go about the rest of the tree with every variety of ornament you can think of, from photos to LEGO to traditional glass. Christmas music is obviously setting the tone, and it takes anywhere from 2 - 2 1/2 hours.
Something that was told to me a few years ago, was that as a baby, for my first few Christmases, i'd do nothing but stare at the tree for hours on end, which oddly enough, I've found myself doing in recent years.
Under the tree is our Christmas village, much of it consisting of Department 56's, "Snow Village" series. Some of the figurines have seen better days, and i'm slowly starting to replace them in an effort to make the town more...lively...?
Throughout the month, i watched, and still do, many of the specials, from "A Charlie Brown Christmas", to "Rudolph", but one of my favorites would actually be David Letterman's annual Christmas episode, where Paul Shaffer would impersonate Cher, focusing especially on the fact she wore a muff, Jay Thomas would tell undoubtedly the best talk show story of all time, and Darlene Love would wrap it up with an epic version of, "Christmas, Baby Please Come Home."
As tradition heavy as I am, I don't have a particular script I stick to on Christmas eve. Not anymore anyway. It used to be cookie delivery, but in recent years has mainly been about either tidying up or gift wrapping. I think I need a new Christmas eve tradition.
Christmas day. The big one, my Super Bowl. It used to start like this...
I'd wake up, make it approximately 2 feet out of my room before my mother intercepted me like a cop about to take down a criminal, and drag me into the bathroom to stylize my hair for photos. She was hilariously oblivious to the fact that -no one looks that good when they first wake up- This would fall on deaf ears however, as the hairspray turned my head into a helmet. Finally me and my father would get this point across and I made my way to the tree obstacle free.
I used to go first, always starting with the stocking, which has always been filled with snacks, batteries and socks, which, lemme tell you, become a much better gift as you get older. We'd then open one gift at a time, alternating person to person as we had, and continue to have, a glass of Martinelli's apple cider.
Over the years, this has stayed pretty much the same, with small variations here and there. I won't go deep into gifts because that's not what the day is about for me, but I will say that one of the best I ever got is a scrapbook my father made me a few years ago, featuring sort of a, "best of photo series" chronicling my life. There's also been the yearly Hess truck.
The rest of the day has varied throughout the years, but up till a few years ago, i'd spent the majority of the day with a friend a few blocks away. It's been difficult recently, due to the fact I simply don't have much family left and many friends have honestly moved on.
As I look back, I always fondly remember Christmas 2001. It was the first in our new house, and following September 11th, there was a real sense of togetherness and want for a good day. All told, we had over 75 people at the house, with some even having to park on the front lawn due to lack of parking on the block. It was kinda warm from what I recall, which resulted in opening the garage to accommodate more people. It would also be one of the last times the core four of me and my childhood friends would all be together. It would be my mothers last healthy Christmas, though we didn't know that at the time. It was simply put, the best Christmas I ever had. I was surrounded by people I wanted to be around, everyone had a good time and it was just so....ugh I know its lame to use this word, magical.
Remembering it...it seems like just yesterday and not nearly 20 years ago. So much has transpired. I've lost not just family and friends, I've been hit with Parkinson's, Asperger's, bum elbows, depression. I've lost so much and tried desperately to hang on to any facet of previous holidays that I am often disappointed in the end result as of late. No one is around, no one seems willing to interact with others due to the current climate of vitriol it seems. People are less tolerant, less patient and more distracted. It's sad what the holiday has become. It's also become so commercial that even the commercials are commercialized.
Still, I have small vestiges of goodness. I still bawl like a baby at the end of, "It's A Wonderful Life", my mothers favorite Christmas movie. I still name the Christmas tree, and I still have hope for that happy moment under the mistletoe.
Monday, December 02, 2019
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Monday, September 16, 2019
Not Quite Hill Valley, But Better.
Fresh Kills Landfill was a garbage dump covering 2,200 acres here on Staten Island. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary on the western reaches of the Island. It opened in 1948 as a temporary landfill, but by 1955 became the largest landfill in the world, and pretty much had the word, "Temporary" removed." Falsely rumored to be visible from space, it became a lightning rod for controversy, and sadly became the only thing the Island would be associated with for decades to come.
At its peak, in 1986, It received 29,000 tons of residential waste a day. Comprised of four mounds ranging from 90 to over 200 feet tall, it was estimated that, if kept open, the landfill would have eventually reached a height of over 500 ft. At this height, it would have been taller then Staten Island's other high point, Todt Hill, making it the highest point on the Eastern seaboard. Fresh Kills held 150 million tons of waste.
It was structured like a layer cake, with a layer of garbage covered by a layer of ash, another layer of garbage, and then a layer of dirt in an attempt to contain the smell. Initially, the land where it was located was a salt marsh with forests, and tidal & freshwater wetlands. The subsoil was made up of clay & sand, with silt as the top layer of soil. The tidal marsh, which helped clean & oxygenate the water that passed through it. This was destroyed by the dump. Fauna was replaced with seagulls, and native plant species were driven out by common reed, a grass which grows abundantly in disturbed areas. Stagnant, de-oxygenated water was less attractive to waterfowl, decreasing their population.
An eyesore for years, intense community pressure and public outcry finally led to a state mandate being passed in 1996 requiring the landfill cease accepting waste by the end of 2001. With much fanfare, Fresh Kills received its last garbage barge on March 22, 2001.
In 1997, two of the four landfill mounds were closed and covered with a thick, impermeable cap. Capping of the West Mound was finished in 2018. Eight additional layers of barrier material separate the ground and the landfill beneath it. Several systems are in place to manage landfill gas & leachate byproducts. The Department of Sanitation(DSNY) works with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to meet regulations for environmentally sound landfill closure, and will continue operating on–site environmental monitoring & control for at least the next 30 years.
After September 11th, Fresh Kills was temporarily re-opened to be used as a crime lab for some of the rubble from Ground Zero. More than 1,600 personal effects were retrieved during this time. About 1.6 million tons of material from the World Trade Center Site was taken to the landfill for sorting. Thousands of detectives & forensic evidence specialists worked for months trying to recover remnants of the victims. A final count of 4,257 human remains were retrieved, yet only 300 people were identified from these remains. The search effort did not end until all discernible remains & effects were removed and taken to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner for identification and safekeeping. Remaining debris was buried in a 40-acre portion of the landfill.
Shortly after closing, but before the 9/11, the NYC Department of City Planning held an international design competition to find a landscape architecture firm to design a city park at the Fresh Kills. The winning proposal, announced in 2003, came from the firm James Corner Field Operations. A Draft Master Plan was released in March 2006. The Plan for what is now known as Freshkills Park - envisioned the site as five parks in one, each with a unique character & programming. Original design proposals were adjusted with input gathered in meetings & workshops between the project team,Staten Islanders and government officials. These outreach efforts led to design updates including; roads to ease traffic around the park, recreational uses such as kayaking, horseback riding, sports fields, and renewable energy projects, such as a solar farm and wind turbines.
Later that year, the NYC Parks Department became the lead city agency responsible for overseeing implementation of the plan. The Parks Dept. also had to meet the same NYSDEC regulations as DSNY, with no area of the park to be open to the public until it meets state standards for public access. Ensuring health and safety of visitors to the Park became the highest priority. DSNY established state-of-the-art environmental controls, making it a worldwide model for land reclamation & reuse.
A system of wells, trenches & pipes collects landfill byproducts & gases, sending them to nearby treatment plants. The gas is refined into natural gas and distributed to Staten Island residents for cooking & heating. With leachate, solid materials are separated from water and compressed into sludge cakes which are transported to other facilities, with clean water being reintroduced into Arthur Kill.
A majority of the funding to build the park has come from Mayoral capital funds, grants from the N.Y. State Department of State, the State Department of Parks, and the Federal Highway Administration through funding from the Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement Program.
The Freshkills Park Alliance was created as the not-for-profit partner that will work with the City to develop the Park. The Alliance helps ensure the Park’s evolution & will assist in raising necessary funds, promoting environmental research & ecological restoration, engaging advocates & volunteers, and sponsoring a range of recreational, cultural, and educational programs for the public. Initial projects are already underway with the U.S. Forest Service, CUNY’s College of Staten Island & Hunter College, among others. Partners in academia, museums, government, and the private sector are continually being sought in the interest of scientific research and additional funding opportunities.
While initially Only 700 acres were originally allocated for the park, a change in November 2013 allowed for all 2,200 acres to be used, making it three times the size of Central Park, and the largest park developed in New York City in over 100 years. So you can look forward to seeing the following in the coming years:
•The Confluence: 70 acres at the meeting point of the park’s two creeks, which will be the center of the park. Comprised of two major sections, the 50-acre Point & the 20-acre Creek Landing, the Confluence will be home to the visitor & information centers, restaurants, event spaces and landscapes for passive recreation. Waterborne access to the area has been proposed via waterways that previously allowed barge deliveries to the landfill.
•North Park: The 223-acre portion known as North Park will largely be devoted to wildlife, featuring the William T. Davis refuge, along with running/walking/hiking and bike trails. There are also plans for bird watching structures, hilltop picnic areas, an eco-education center, and a floating dock for canoe access. Construction of North Park began in 2010, and In October 2012, Schmul Park opened to the public. Formerly an asphalt & chain-link fence playground, it was restored with new play surfaces, basketball & handball courts & native plants.
•South Park(No, not that one.): Like North Park, this 425-acre part of the park will feature a significant amount of natural woodlands & wetlands, but also contain space for more active recreational uses like tennis & biking, and an equestrian center. In April 2013, Owl Hollow Fields part of the park opened with four new AstroTurf fields located near Arden Avenue & Arthur Kill Road.
•East Park: At 482 acres , it is proposed to feature meadows, trails, playing fields and picnic areas. Entrances for a vehicular road system along Richmond Avenue are expected to permit traffic through East Park toward the West Shore Expressway.
•West Park: The site of the 9/11 investigation, the West Park site is where debris was carefully screened. A monument to the September 11th attacks is planned to occupy this portion of the site with active recreational uses being kept away from the monument area.
Even though the park is not scheduled to be finished until 2035–37, the Parks Department reported in 2011 that nature was returning en masse to Fresh Kills, with two hundred different species of wildlife spotted, including; snapping turtles, osprey, red-winged blackbirds, American goldfinches, red-tailed hawks, tree swallows, and turkey vultures. The site has offered a unique opportunity to study biodiversity change in an urban setting.
While Freshkills Park continues its development, NYC Parks & Freshkills Park Alliance have hosted events & programs on the site. From 2010 through 2014, the highlight of these programs was the annual Sneak Peak where visitors had the chance to kayak, hike and bike, and fly kites on normally under construction sections of the park. Beginning in 2015, the Sneak Peak event was replaced by a host of programs regularly offered during the April through October season.
One such of these events, Discovery day, I happened to attend yesterday, Sept. 16th. and to say I was impressed would be a great understatement. This place has so much potential, it would be criminal for it not to follow through on its promise to return a blighted sight to glory. In fact, if the plan goes as expected, I fully expect it will make the dump all but a forgotten memory.
There are portions that I walked on, North Park and East Park, wherein I felt as though I was in the middle of a Kansas cornfield, surrounded by utterly serene nothingness, which for someone used to the urban jungle of the big city is a much welcome reprieve. I found myself almost emotional in the vast green space. Many times throughout the day, I repeated to myself, "this cannot be the dump, this cannot be the dump."
While a few signs of the past remain, such as small vents and piping, the transformation from trash heap to sanctuary is absolutely and utterly jaw dropping. The combined efforts of the Parks dept., DSNY, FreshKills Park Alliance, the contractors, and everyone involved with this project should be rewarded. It's gloriously refreshing to see what happens when real effort is put into something.
Continuing on my way through the park, I felt at ease on the paved trail, denoting how great it will be to eventually run it. Never once did it feel like any of the 7 plus miles I walked was a slog. A minor complaint is certain sections lacked appropriate tree cover. This could prove difficult for some in the summertime. But i'm sure that will be addressed, and once ample tree cover is provided, it will be an incredible recreational refuge for untold millions, making Manhattans Central Park seem like a traffic island in comparison.
For far too long, Staten Island has been known as, "The Forgotten Borough", cast aside by glitzy Brooklyn or eclectic Queens. When this park is finished, we will finally take our rightful place as a beacon of environmental success that will drive the city unto the future. The nearly unbearable stench that assaulted shoppers sense of smell at the Staten Island mall is a thing of the past. Shoppers will soon be privy to what could be the greatest public works reclamation project of our time.
The amenities, lacking now, but anticipated later will be heartily welcomed for sure, as the only other downside to my visit was a lack of seating and available drinking fountains. Though with much of the site still under construction, this is understandable. I can see great potential for an amphitheater to host local bands- and maybe even global superstars, food carts or small restaurants(This was already announced, I hope they follow up with it, and go local - maybe a Mark's Bakery or Ralph's Ices outpost, or even another Nunzios pizza location), as well as a dock for the ever expanding NYC Ferry system in the future, perhaps even a garden or fruit orchard, I mean, we are the big apple, right?
For decades, this island has been where good, sometimes great ideas go to die. Movie studio at the former Stapleton navy base? Went no where. NASCAR track? That was a non-starter, and lets try and forget the debacle that was the N.Y. wheel project, and now its side project, the stone and glass monstrosity known as the Empire Outlets mall is already facing financial difficulty, and it hasn't been open for even six months.
But Freshkills Park, this, I tell you, will be Staten Island's savior. It's Kind of ironic when you really think about it. The garbage dump everyone looked at as the point of everything wrong with Staten Island will in the end, wind up being its savior.
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