Mitch Waxman
Mitch Waxman was raised in Brooklyn, attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, and worked for many years as a comic book writer and artist. He also worked in advertising production and as a photo retouching specialist for several advertising agencies. He has always had a certain fascination with historical material.
After a health scare several years ago, medical personnel advised him that he should start running to improve his health. Having grown up, as aforementioned, in Brooklyn – Mitch cannot run unless something is chasing him so he began to walk the earth and brought the camera along to keep things interesting. Soon, he found the occluded reality of the Newtown Creek and hasn’t left the place since.
Mitch started the Newtown Pentacle website in 2009 to document his adventures along the Newtown Creek(and in the greater harbor and city beyond). He has served the City of New York as a Parade Marshall three times, has been named the Newtown Creek Alliance’s group historian, is a Steering Committee member of the Working Harbor Committee, and offers regular walking, bus and boat tours of the Newtown Creek Watershed. He resides in Astoria, Queens, with his wife Catherine and their little dog.
His photography and unique point of view have attracted no small amount of attention, and Mitch has appeared in several documentaries about the Creek and is often quoted in news articles about the subject. A book collecting his photos and discoveries- Newtown Creek for the Vulgarly Curious, is available for order at lulu.com, and a second book will be published soon.
Photo credit: Steve McCann
Courses taught
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Grab Bag
Calvary Cemetery Walking Tour
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Walking Tour
Walking Tour - DUPBO: Down Under the Pulaski Bridge Onramp
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Walking Tour
Glittering Realms: A Walking Tour of Greenpoint
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Walking Tour
Walking Tour: The Insalubrious Valley of the Newtown Creek
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Walking Tour
Modern Corridor: A Walking Tour of Long Island City's Hunters Point
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Walking Tour
Kill Van Kull Walking Tour
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Grab Bag
The Newtown Creek "Magic Lantern" Show
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Grab Bag
The Poison Cauldron of the Newtown Creek
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Grab Bag
13 Steps Around Dutch Kills