Member Newsletters

October is usually a time of beginnings for us at Turnstile. It's always our busiest month of the year, and it's when we often launch new tours—our Essex Market (2016), Brooklyn Army Terminal (2013), and Brooklyn Navy Yard (2008) tours all kicked off in the fall, many in coordination with Open House New York. Not only is this a special weekend because there are so many amazing places to visit (though, honestly, we're always working straight through the weekend), but it really is where our journey as a company began.

On August 8, New York Harbor was shaken by an explosion, and 1.5 million square feet of historic structures came tumbling down. The Military Ocean Terminal Bayonne (MOTBY) was originally conceived as a commercial facility, a 440-acre manmade peninsula for rail and maritime shipping. With the outbreak of World War II, the Navy took it over and completed the project, building the Navy Supply Center and an annex to the Brooklyn Navy Yard with a 1,092-foot dry dock at its point. This shipyard would allow for docking of ships that were too large to fit underneath the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, and was used to remove superstructure components (antennae, stacks, etc.) that would allow ships to access the main yard in Brooklyn. After the war, Bayonne became home to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, with dozens of mothballed ships berthed at the peninsula.

Earlier this month, a pair of billionaires climbed into their respective rockets and launched themselves to the edge of space. Richard Branson made it there first (there being not space) on July 11 aboard Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, despite having many, many fewer billions than Jeff Bezos, who's Blue Origin New Shepard also didn't go to space on July 20. Both of these were inaugural launches of tourist attractions, very expensive rides that will take very rich people to places no one else can go.

Last week, we continued two ongoing series on our virtual programs: programs about canals, and programs from boats. This time we paddled around in a canoe to explore the Connecticut River, taking a closer look at Sumner's Falls in Hartland, Vermont, former site of a small two-lock canal for riverboats. You can watch the whole program, and check out resources we put together on the history of the seven canals built between 1795 and 1835 in a futile effort to make the river navigable from Long Island Sound to Barnet, Vermont. We especially recommend taking a closer look at this beautiful 1828 map, which shows an ambitious plan to connect the Sound with the St. Lawrence River in Canada. Or if you just want to enjoy a bit of the scenery, watch the one-minute segment above of Andrew paddling below the rapids.

This week is the 199th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted, and we will be announcing special programming for his 200th birthday year. While parks and public lands have been critical to many people's physical and mental health, we must acknowledge that venturing into the outdoors can be fraught for many people. Discrimination and exclusion in the outdoors has been a major topic of conversation and action over the past year, and you can find some of our thoughts and resources below.

What are the objects that have brought you comfort, companionship, or connection? If your favorite keepsake is a product manufactured in the past 50 years, there's a good chance that it spent part of its time getting to you inside a shipping container. During the pandemic, social media has been overrun by some of our favorite topics – sea shanties, birdwatching, and now container ships. The grounding of the 20,000-TEU Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal and roughly one-tenth of global sea trade, captured the world's attention for six days. While this mega-ship plies the East Asia–Europe routes, and is 30% larger than the biggest ship we've ever had in New York Harbor, our New York City waterfront is deeply connected to the same global trading routes that were stopped up.

As most of the country is blanketed in snow and ice, and we're bracing for another several inches of snow in New York City, we will admit – we love the snow! The ability to explore the city on snow, especially the parks, has been a much appreciated respite and recreation for us (except for the shoveling part!) Whether it's skiing, skating, or birdwatching (and we've done virtual programs on all three), we have tried to take advantage of the winter landscape as much as possible.

"From many points of the drives, rides and walks, the eye will range over a meadow-like expanse, wherein the first definite obstruction or break in the turfy surface will be at least half a mile away, sometimes considerably more than that, and in which tree tops will be seen in rising perspective fully a mile away. These views will not offer merely peeps, but will comprehend quite broad and well-balanced pastoral landscapes, free from any object which will suggest the vicinity of the city, from which it is the primary purpose of the park to give the means of a ready escape."

Two developments over the Thanksgiving holiday reminded us of the story of the SS Great Republic and the great turkey-lift of 1944. First was the fact that we were celebrating apart from our families to stem the spread of COVID-19, and the second was encouraging news about vaccinations, though most of them will require an extensive "cold chain," as they need to be stored, transported, and administered to potentially billions of patients at extremely low temperatures.

One of our core missions as an organization is to "foster connections and understanding between people," and we strive to build a community where people can learn together. Next month, we as a country will have to navigate a contentious and divisive election, and we hope that some of our programming will provide opportunities to take break from the news and work to build bridges to new places, communities, and ideas.