SF0 / twine / Trespassing

25 + 55 points

Trespassing by twine

March 24th, 2011 10:45 PM / Location: 40.688220,-73.88801

INSTRUCTIONS: Go somewhere you are not allowed to go.

The Ridgewood Reservoir is a cryptoforest located on the Queens/Brooklyn border in New York. It is in the middle of a large swath of land otherwise occupied by highways, anonymous warehouses, auto body shops, and miles of cemeteries. It's also within walking distance from my apartment building in Bushwick. I went there earlier this year with some co-conspirators to explore, just a few days after one of the heaviest snows of the season.

The reservoir itself is decommissioned and the area is fenced off. The reservoir sits on top of a large hill that looks out over Queens and Brooklyn. The sense of calm once we got inside was incredible. Something about freshly fallen snow brings a real sense of stillness. The peacefulness of this area was accentuated by the intensity of the rest of New York-- it was amazing to be able to stand still, and not talk, and not hear anything or anybody else. The feeling is much different than the public, managed parks in NYC.

The rest of the description is captioned with the photos.

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Entering the Reservoir

This is the pedestrian path that runs between the Reservoir and the Jackie Robinson Parkway. It's not a very pleasant place to walk-- there's ugly fences on both sides and speeding cars on one.

More Pedestrian Path

This is about where we entered. We found several holes that had already been cut in the fence that had been patched up with bailing wire, so we only had to cut through wire instead of the thicker fence.

Chain-Link Fence and Trees Inside the Reservoir

This fence was supposed to keep us out.

On the Embankment

Inside the Reservoir

There are two parts to the reservoir, with a large berm running between them. This picture shows H and C walking along the berm where we entered. The lower area in view is more of a pond, on the other side is the drier birch forest.

Original Fencing

This wrought iron fence ran along each side of the embankment and presumably was intended to keep people out of the reservoir itself when the area was still open/in use. The fence itself, while completely rusted, is beautifully made. It recalls a time when there was a sense of artisanship even in minor public works projects. The contrast between this fence and the chain link (tall, ugly, and cheap) is notable.

Fence Closeup

Lake Side

This is the half of the reservoir that seemed to actually have standing water. There were long ice rescue ladders lining the fences, so we decided not to risk it and stayed in the other half.

Trees

Fence Below Surveillance Tower

Note that despite the fact that there was a pre-made entrance, someone decided to tear another hole in the fence. The tower itself was ~30' tall and had some kind of rotating camera on top, we couldn't figure out what it was for.

Birches Felled by Ice

This picture was taken after we descended from the berm into the lower birch forest. The snow was about knee-high. We stood there for a good 45 minutes, enjoying the peace, until our toes started going numb.

More Birches