Astoria Scum River Bridge from Jason Eppink on Vimeo.

As Jason mentioned a few days ago, the repair work on The Astoria Scum River has finally been completed!

So, I am now proudly able to present this fantastic video made by Jason, which does a wonderful job of summing up the project, and telling the story of it from start to finish!

ENJOY!

From Jason’s Video Description:
Astoria Scum River Bridge is an unauthorized city improvement by Jason Eppink and Posterchild:

http://jasoneppink.com/astoria-scum-river-bridge
http://bladediary.com/tag/astoria-scum-river-bridge

For more than twenty years, a leaky pipe on 33rd Street beneath the Hell Gate Bridge viaduct approach submerged more than a hundred square feet of heavily-trafficked sidewalk under a festering cesspool of standing water. Astoria Scum River, as it was called, stretched the entire width of the sidewalk, and as winter approached, the river iced over and became particularly hazardous to cross.

Astoria Scum River Bridge was constructed to offer Astorians an opportunity to safely cross this hazard. The unauthorized bridge was a gift to the pedestrians of Astoria in the absence of successful municipal efforts to ameliorate the problem.

The bridge was made at zero cost entirely from recycled materials: an old work bench found on the curb, rescued screws from a disassembled desk, and a metal plate from an expired electrical component. It was installed and dedicated on December 30th, 2009.

On January 25th, 2010, Astoria Scum River Bridge was the subject of a commendation from the office of NYC Council Member Peter F. Vallone, Jr., accompanied by a pledge to work with Amtrak to re-route Astoria Scum River off the sidewalk.

Two days later, Amtrak workers began construction work. Astoria Scum River was quickly routed off the sidewalk, and within a couple months, custom-made grates were installed to complete the project. The bridge, no longer needed, was de-installed on March 20th, 2010 and returned to the curb whence it came.

Hey hey- we made change happen AND we made da paper!

I’d like to thank my partner in SLIME, Jason Eppink, again, for maintaining the bridge, handling all the media requests, and being such a good ambassador for us while I’m out of NY!

What a guy!

Original article here.

Wow!

Jason Says:

“Walking to the train this morning, I heard construction noises and half joked that maybe Amtrak was fixing Astoria Scum River. Turns out they were!

The guys were really friendly and very complimentary of our bridge. Awesome!”

As of this morning, The Astoria Scum River, that long dreaded crossing, is dead!!! (or dying, anyway!)

All photos courtesy of Jason Eppink.

The bridge has been tagged!

While I would have preferred a tag with a bit more… aesthetic appeal… I must say that I’m actually not at all upset by this- in fact, I’m happy to see it. Personally, I think it legitimizes the bridge in a way. Every other bridge in New York is tagged, now this one is too! It’s like christening a boat. Now this is truly a New York bridge, no?

Like people crossing the bridge, It can also be seen as a sign of incorporation, acceptance and use by the community. Here’s another: The other day Jason and I both received a very nice email:

Hello,

Thanks for making the bridge for residents. Our office had a meeting with Amtrak and discussed some solutions beginning with cleaning out the existing drop inlets that are filled with debris. A timeline for alleviating the problem will be developed shortly.

Thanks,

Jonathan A. Szott
Constituent Liaison
NYC Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr.

We were very happy to get such news; here is Jason’s reply:

Hi Jonathan, thanks for the note.

Posterchild (cc-ed) and I are thrilled that the community has taken such
a liking to the Astoria Scum River Bridge. Besides just using the
bridge to walk over the “river”, our neighbors have been snapping
photographs and even writing songs about it!

But your note is especially affirming. As artists working in public
spaces, our intentions and actions are sometimes misinterpreted,
particularly by city officials.

We saw a problem and took the most direct and creative action we could
to fix it. It’s a minor improvement, certainly, but we’re both adament
about the importance of direct action and personal responsibility in
caring for our shared spaces.

So it’s very gratifying to receive a positive response from you and to
learn that your office is working to create a long-term solution. This
outcome is the best we could have hoped for!

Knowing that you’re a busy guy and that your office has a lot more
pressing matters to attend to, I’d love if you could keep us posted on
this project as it progresses.

cheers,
-jason

I’m very excited to see any positive developments that may come out of this!

All photos courtesy of Jason Eppink.

Ah, yes, yes y’all.

Another sweet ol’ collabo from Jason Eppink and myself.

As the inimitable Eppink explains:
“For years, a leaking pipe on 33rd Street beneath the Hell Gate Bridge viaduct approach has submerged more than a hundred square feet of a heavily-trafficked sidewalk in a festering cesspool of standing water. In the winter, Astoria Scum River, as it’s called, ices over and becomes particularly hazardous to cross. Posterchild and I constructed this bridge as a gift to the pedestrians of Astoria.”

Some very interesting things have developed since the bridge was installed, the least of which was the dedication plaque slowly developing its full-blown patina!

More on all that soon!

All photos courtesy of Jason Eppink.