Ron Palacio's photostream  

Chinatown, NYC

Guess what this is (other than a not-so-great picture of a boat with a crane on the Hudson River). These folks are laying bomb-proof blankets over the PATH subway tunnels that connect New York and New Jersey! It's the $600 million dollar latest step toward reinforcing New York City in the event of yet another big terrorist attack. The blankets would reduce the amount of water that would flow into the tunnels in case of an explosion, and would also help them resist the blast by exerting pressure on the tube.

What you're looking at in my image is one of the ultra large blankets being lowered into the Hudson, where scuba divers will eventually direct it to its final destination: over the PATH train tunnels. This is what I've been looking at out of my work window for the past several weeks. I decided to take a few shots last week so that I could share them and this story with you. Thanks for reading!

This is where we once sat silent
It's where we had the fiercest fun
A tribulation stomping ground this was
The sanctuary of our colored tongues

A monolithic turf of hope
Our sanctuary of deep repose
This perfect place of peace and pain
A public place which no one knows
…a public place once all our own

I come here now, but all alone...
What we once had, forever gone.

By Ron Palacio
To who was once my freind

Perhaps I see it this way because I have a morbid fear of heights... or maybe it's just plain nuts that one would find one's self this high up in the sky just to lay new tar on the top of a water canister. One of them saying "Look mom!! One foot!!" Bravo to these brave souls!