Category B — PROFFESIONAL //IPBL 17
2016
Since 1991, I have been commuting to same roads to downtown Brooklyn. A key point along my 21 mile journey is the Kosciuszko Bridge, which crosses Newtown Creek connecting the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. The original 75 year old bridge, long known for its daily traffic congestion, offered an expansive view of the Manhattan skyline. For this driver, the view had served as a visual treat during an often frustrating commute. Seemingly ordinary moments were continually made significant by changing conditions such as early morning light, an approaching storm, the setting sun. The tragic events of 911 underscored the value of these daily yet unique moments. Like most New Yorkers, I knew people who were lost that day. A childhood neighbor from across the street, a grade school classmate, a friend’s fiancé. In those early hours and days the focus was on the devastating loss of human life and an urgent desire to make sense of the nightmare. The sickening smell from the smoldering debris pile permeated the air for weeks, reaching our downtown Brooklyn campus, just 2 miles away from Ground Zero. In those early days, I realized my commute had also changed forever. Not the physical journey, but my response to it. No longer was the view of the skyline a visual treat, rather, it became a daily symbol of loss. Gone were the iconic silhouettes of the towers which anchored the downtown skyline. In their place was a debris cloud, followed by open sky. For a city that takes pride in purposeful change, its skyline has always been an embodiment of its striving. 911’s impact on the skyline continues to be a reminder our vulnerabilities, both personally and as a society. This past summer, construction was completed on the replacement for the deteriorating Kosciuszko Bridge, while the original was dismantled. Once again I am reminded of the impact on our visual landscape when an iconic structure is no more. The new bridge is a few dozen feet lower than the original deck which sat at 125 feet above the waterline. How does the new bridge impact the view of the skyline? To preserve the view from the original bridge, I regularly captured images of the skyline on my iPhone as I crossed into Brooklyn. The work entitled “Skyline Remembrance” utilizes these images all taken from my car over several months in 2016.