The first time I used this title was 12 years ago after I’d come back from Panama, where I was able to see details of large ships up really close–even closer than from along the KVK.  Unlike Sir Mick, I still get lots of satisfaction catching unusual details in the aperture of my camera.  I think the photo below fits that category, four YP vessels cutting through the sixth boro on their way back to Annapolis with a set of McAllister tugboats mixed in, the McAllister heading out to meet in incoming ship.   Of the McAllister tugs, I know it was Capt. Brian and Rowan, but I can’t place the twin-stack McAllister to the right.  Anyone help?  I know it should be obvious, but I just can’t ID it.

I know the ferry John A. Noble is one of the two smallest ferries of the Staten Island Ferry fleet, but the juxtaposition here really emphasizes the scale of Symphony of the Seas.  I took this photo at 0536 the other morning, but the summer haze is already quite apparent.

The next few photos–all taken this June–are quite unremarkable but serve as a baseline I hope of places that will be changing drastically in the next months.  I’ve mentioned before that the best way to see the ever changing landscape of Manhattan is by boat.  A water conveyance is also the best way to see these changes.

First, note the cranes along the edge of South Brooklyn Marine Terminal?  This area is going to see lots of attention in the next months and years.  

This is not new and I may be misunderstanding what I’m seeing here, but the Gowanus Barge Mounted “peaker” Power Plant fits the description of a little known detail of the boro.  As I understand it, it will be phased out by some upcoming battery storage facilities.   In these hot, peak AC-usage days, these are essential but hidden infrastructure.

I’m not sure what crane barge Jared Walter is doing at this site.

Demolition is ongoing over at Vinegar Hill in preparation for the “energy hub.”  Again, watch this space for some big changes.  Some background on Vinegar Hill can be found here.

And finally, across the East River from Rikers are these “silos” I’d not noticed before.  Work has been ongoing here for some time, but last week was the first time they caught my attention.  In the foreground and low-slung along the river’s edge is NYC’s only floating pool.

I’m always looking out for new [to me] vessels in the boro;  as we met on the East River the other day, I could not place this one either from the profile or the name on AIS, Megan T. Miller.  Of course, the Miller fleets are not foreign to the boro;  Miller’s Launch has worked in the boro for almost a half century, but I’d not seen a Megan T. 

Welcome, Megan T. 

And there, in the haze, in front of and between ships, is that what I think it is, a sign of the time of year!?

Yup!  the illuminations are just 11 days away, so these barges do have to be loaded, and the staging and charging needs to begin!  Bravo, John Joseph.

All photos, any errors, WVD.

If you’re wondering, I did miss the mermaids again this year.  Call me whatever you like, but the prospect of being out in the heat just dissuaded me.  Here, here, and here are some recycled, “don’t have to be reheated,” tugster-taken mermaid pics from previous years.