1.
New York City Fire Department
–
The New York City Fire Department is the largest municipal fire department in the United States and the second largest in the world after the Tokyo Fire Department. The FDNY employs approximately 10,200 uniformed firefighters and over 3,940 uniformed EMTs, paramedics and its regulations are compiled in title 3 of the New York City Rules. The FDNYs motto is New Yorks Bravest, the FDNY serves more than 8 million residents within a 320 square mile area. The FDNY headquarters is located at 9 MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, there are Three Bureau of Fire Communications alarm offices which receive and dispatch alarms to appropriate units. One office, at 11 Metrotech Center in Brooklyn, houses Citywide, Brooklyn, the Bronx houses Manhattan and the Bronx, and Queens houses Queens. The current Fire Commissioner is Daniel A. Nigro, who took over the position from Salvatore J. Cassano in June 2014. Staff chiefs include the seven citywide tour commanders, the Chief of Safety, the Chief of Fire Prevention, operationally and geographically, the department is nominally organized into five Borough Commands for the five traditional Boroughs of New York City. Within those five Borough Commands exists nine firefighting Divisions, each headed by a Deputy Division Chief, within each Division are four to seven Battalions, each led by a Battalion Chief. Each Battalion consists of three to eight firehouses and consists of approximately 180–200 firefighters and officers, each firehouse consists of one to three fire companies. Each fire company is led by a captain, who commands three lieutenants and nine to twenty firefighters, there are currently four shifts of firefighters in each company. Tours can be either night tours or day tours, the FDNY faces highly multifaceted firefighting challenges in many ways unique to New York. The origins of the New York City Fire Department go back to 1648 when the first fire ordinance was adopted in what was then the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. Peter Stuyvesant, within one year of his arrival, appointed four fire wardens to wooden chimneys of thatched-roofed wooden houses, the first four fire wardens were Martin Krieger, Thomas Hall, Adrian Wyser, and George Woolsey. Hooks, ladders and buckets were financed through the collection of fines for dirty chimneys, an organization known as the prowlers but given the nickname the rattle watch patrolled the streets with buckets, ladders and hooks from nine in the evening until dawn looking for fires. Leather shoe buckets,250 in all, were manufactured by local Dutch shoemakers in 1658, in 1664 New Amsterdam became an English settlement and was renamed New York. The first New York fire brigade entered service in 1731 equipped with two hand-drawn pumpers which had transported from London, England. These two pumpers formed Engine Company 1 and Engine Company 2, the citys first firehouse was built in 1736 in front of City Hall on Broad Street. In 1865, the fire department was abolished by a state act which created the Metropolitan Fire District
2.
New York City
–
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
3.
September 11 attacks
–
The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
4.
National Register of Historic Places
–
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States federal governments official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation. The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966 established the National Register, of the more than one million properties on the National Register,80,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing resources within historic districts, each year approximately 30,000 properties are added to the National Register as part of districts or by individual listings. For most of its history the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service and its goals are to help property owners and interest groups, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, coordinate, identify, and protect historic sites in the United States. While National Register listings are mostly symbolic, their recognition of significance provides some financial incentive to owners of listed properties, protection of the property is not guaranteed. During the nomination process, the property is evaluated in terms of the four criteria for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the application of those criteria has been the subject of criticism by academics of history and preservation, as well as the public and politicians. Occasionally, historic sites outside the proper, but associated with the United States are also listed. Properties can be nominated in a variety of forms, including individual properties, historic districts, the Register categorizes general listings into one of five types of properties, district, site, structure, building, or object. National Register Historic Districts are defined geographical areas consisting of contributing and non-contributing properties, some properties are added automatically to the National Register when they become administered by the National Park Service. These include National Historic Landmarks, National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, National Military Parks/Battlefields, National Memorials, on October 15,1966, the Historic Preservation Act created the National Register of Historic Places and the corresponding State Historic Preservation Offices. Initially, the National Register consisted of the National Historic Landmarks designated before the Registers creation, approval of the act, which was amended in 1980 and 1992, represented the first time the United States had a broad-based historic preservation policy. To administer the newly created National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service of the U. S. Department of the Interior, hartzog, Jr. established an administrative division named the Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hartzog charged OAHP with creating the National Register program mandated by the 1966 law, ernest Connally was the Offices first director. Within OAHP new divisions were created to deal with the National Register, the first official Keeper of the Register was William J. Murtagh, an architectural historian. During the Registers earliest years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, organization was lax and SHPOs were small, understaffed, and underfunded. A few years later in 1979, the NPS history programs affiliated with both the U. S. National Parks system and the National Register were categorized formally into two Assistant Directorates. Established were the Assistant Directorate for Archeology and Historic Preservation and the Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, from 1978 until 1981, the main agency for the National Register was the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service of the United States Department of the Interior. In February 1983, the two assistant directorates were merged to promote efficiency and recognize the interdependency of their programs, jerry L. Rogers was selected to direct this newly merged associate directorate
5.
Fireboat
–
A fireboat is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, older designs derived from tugboats and modern fireboats more closely resembling seafaring ships can both be found in service today. Some departments would give their multi-purpose craft the title of fireboat also and they are frequently used for fighting fires on docks and shore side warehouses as they can directly attack fires in the supporting underpinnings of these structures. They also have an unlimited supply of water available, pumping directly from below the hull. Some modern fireboats are capable of pumping tens of thousands of gallons of water per minute. An example is Fire Boat #2 of the Los Angeles Fire Department, fireboats are most usually seen by the public when welcoming a fleet or historical ships with a display of their water moving capabilities, throwing large arcs of water in every direction. Occasionally fireboats are used to carry firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians, some may be used as icebreakers, like the Chicago Fire Departments Victor L. Schlaeger which can break 8 to 12 inch ice. They may also carry divers or surface water rescue workers, passengers from ships in danger can be also transferred to various kind of rescue boats. Also hydrocopters, rigid-hulled inflatable boats, fanboat and even hovercrafts and helicopters are used in fire, rescue, cities with fireboats are usually located on a large body of water with port facilities. Smaller fire departments lacking resources will use rigid-hulled inflatable boat or borrow boats from local rescue agencies, the first recorded fire-float was built in 1765 for the Sun Fire Insurance Company in London. This was a pump in a small boat, rowed by its crew to the scene of the fire. A similar craft was built in Bristol by James Hillhouse for the Imperial Fire Insurance Office in the 1780s. All fire fighting in Bristol was carried out either by private companies or the Docks Company until the formation of the Bristol Fire Brigade as a branch of the police in 1876. In New York City, a boat with a hand-pump was used to fight marine fires as early as 1809. By the middle of the century, self-propelled steam-fire-floats were beginning to be introduced. The FDNY leased the salvage tug John Fuller as the citys first powered fireboat in 1866, prior to the John Fuller, as early as the late 1700s, the FDNY used hand-pumpers mounted to barges and large rowboats. The first purpose built steam driven boats were introduced by Boston Fire Department, the first European fireboat to appear in Bristol was the Fire Queen, built by Shand Mason & Co. London, in 1884 for service in the city docks, the 53 ft. long craft was equipped with a three-cylinder steam pump supplying two large hose reels, one of these was replaced with a monitor, or water cannon, in 1900
6.
Cunard Line
–
Cunard Line is an British-American cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It has been an operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic. For most of the next 30 years, Cunard held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage, however, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line. To meet this competition, in 1879 the firm was reorganised as the Cunard Steamship Company, Ltd, Mauretania held the Blue Riband from 1909 to 1929. The sinking of her running mate Lusitania in 1915 was one of the causes of the United States entering the First World War, in the late 1920s, Cunard faced new competition when the Germans, Italians and French built large prestige liners. Cunard was forced to suspend construction on its own new superliner because of the Great Depression, Cunard owned two-thirds of the new company. Cunard purchased White Stars share in 1947, the name reverted to the Cunard Line in 1950, upon the end of the Second World War, Cunard regained its position as the largest Atlantic passenger line. By the mid-1950s, it operated 12 ships to the United States, after 1958, transatlantic passenger ships became increasingly unprofitable because of the introduction of jet airliners. Cunard withdrew from its service in 1968 to concentrate on cruising. The Queens were replaced by Queen Elizabeth 2, which was designed for the dual role, in 1998 Cunard was acquired by the Carnival Corporation, and accounted for 8. 7% of that companys revenue in 2012. Five years later, QE2 was replaced on the transatlantic runs by Queen Mary 2, the line also operates Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth. At the moment, Cunard is the shipping company to operate a scheduled passenger service between Europe and North America. The British Government started operating monthly mail brigs from Falmouth, Cornwall and these ships carried few non-governmental passengers and no cargo. A Committee of Parliament decided in 1836 that to more competitive. The Admiralty assumed responsibility for managing the contracts, the famed Arctic explorer Admiral Sir William Edward Parry was appointed as Comptroller of Steam Machinery and Packet Service in April 1837. Nova Scotians led by their young Assembly Speaker, Joseph Howe, on his arrival in London in May 1838, Howe discussed the enterprise with his fellow Nova Scotian Samuel Cunard, a shipowner who was also visiting London on business. Cunard and Howe were associates and Howe also owed Cunard £300, Cunard returned to Halifax to raise capital, and Howe continued to lobby the British government. The Rebellions of 1837 were ongoing and London realized that the proposed Halifax service was also important for the military and that November, Parry released a tender for North Atlantic monthly mail service to Halifax beginning in April 1839 using steamships with 300 horsepower
7.
SS Normandie
–
SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat and her novel design and lavish interiors led many to consider her the greatest of ocean liners. Despite this, she was not a success and relied partly on government subsidy to operate. During service as the flagship of the CGT, she made 139 westbound transatlantic crossings from her port of Le Havre to New York. Normandie held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during her service career, during World War II, Normandie was seized by US authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. Although salvaged at great expense, restoration was deemed too costly, the beginnings of Normandie can be traced to the Roaring Twenties when shipping companies began looking to replace veterans such as RMS Mauretania and RMS Olympic. Those earlier ships had been designed around the numbers of steerage-class immigrants from Europe to the United States. Companies like Cunard and the White Star Line planned to build their own superliners to rival newer ships on the scene, such vessels included the record-breaking Bremen and Europa, the French Line began to plan its own superliner. The French Lines flagship was the Ile de France, which had modern Art Deco interiors, the designers intended their new superliner to be similar to earlier French Line ships. Then they were approached by Vladimir Yourkevitch, a former ship architect for the Imperial Russian Navy and his ideas included a slanting clipper-like bow and a bulbous forefoot beneath the waterline, in combination with a slim hydrodynamic hull. Yourkevitchs concepts worked wonderfully in scale models, confirming his designs performance advantages, the French engineers were impressed and asked Yourkevitch to join their project. Reportedly, he also approached Cunard with his ideas, but was rejected because the bow was deemed too radical, the French Line commissioned artists to create posters and publicity for the liner. One of the most famous posters was by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre, another poster by Albert Sébille, showed the interior layout in a cutaway diagram 15 feet long. This poster is displayed in the Musée national de la Marine in Paris, work by the Société Anonyme des Chantiers de Penhoët began on the unnamed flagship on 26 January 1931 at Saint-Nazaire, soon after the stock market crash of 1929. While the French continued construction, the competing White Star Line ship was cancelled, French builders also ran into difficulty and had to ask for government money, this subsidy was questioned in the press. The growing hull in Saint-Nazaire had no formal designation except T-6, many names were suggested including Doumer, after Paul Doumer, the recently assassinated President of France, and originally, La Belle France. French Line wrote that their ship was to be called simply Normandie, on 29 October 1932 – three years to the day after the stock market crash – Normandie was launched in front of 200,000 spectators. The 27, 567-ton hull that slid into the Loire River was the largest launched and the wave crashed into a few hundred people, the ship was christened by Madame Marguerite Lebrun, wife of Albert Lebrun, the President of France
8.
Oil tanker
–
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two types of oil tankers, crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined oil from its point of extraction to refineries. Product tankers, generally smaller, are designed to move refined products from refineries to points near consuming markets. Oil tankers are often classified by their size as well as their occupation, the size classes range from inland or coastal tankers of a few thousand metric tons of deadweight to the mammoth ultra large crude carriers of 550,000 DWT. Tankers move approximately 2,000,000,000 metric tons of oil every year, second only to pipelines in terms of efficiency, the average cost of oil transport by tanker amounts to only two or three United States cents per 1 US gallon. Some specialized types of oil tankers have evolved, one of these is the naval replenishment oiler, a tanker which can fuel a moving vessel. Combination ore-bulk-oil carriers and permanently moored floating storage units are two variations on the standard oil tanker design. Oil tankers have been involved in a number of damaging and high-profile oil spills, as a result, they are subject to stringent design and operational regulations. The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry, although anthropogenic use of oil reaches to prehistory, the first modern commercial exploitation dates back to James Youngs manufacture of paraffin in 1850. In the early 1850s, oil began to be exported from Upper Burma, the oil was moved in earthenware vessels to the river bank where it was then poured into boat holds for transportation to Britain. In the 1860s, Pennsylvania oil fields became a supplier of oil. Break-bulk boats and barges were used to transport Pennsylvania oil in 40-US-gallon wooden barrels. But transport by barrel had several problems, the first problem was weight, the standard empty barrel weighed 64 pounds, representing 20% of the total weight of a full barrel. Other problems with barrels were their expense, their tendency to leak, the expense was significant, for example, in the early years of the Russian oil industry, barrels accounted for half the cost of petroleum production. In 1863, two tankers were built on Englands River Tyne. These were followed in 1873 by the first oil-tank steamer, Vaderland, the vessels use was curtailed by U. S. and Belgian authorities citing safety concerns. By 1871, the Pennsylvania oil fields were making limited use of oil tank barges, the modern oil tanker was developed in the period from 1877 to 1885
9.
Scrap
–
Ferrous metals are able to be recycled, with steel being one of the most recycled materials in the world. Ferrous metals contain a percentage of iron and the addition of carbon. In the United States, steel containers, cans, automobiles, appliances, a typical appliance is about 75% steel by weight and automobiles are about 65% steel and iron. The steel industry has been actively recycling for more than 150 years and it is cheaper to recycle steel than to mine iron ore and manipulate it through the production process to form new steel. Steel does not lose any of its inherent physical properties during the recycling process, the energy saved by recycling reduces the annual energy consumption of the industry by about 75%, which is enough to power eighteen million homes for one year. Basic oxygen steelmaking uses 25–35% recycled steel to make new steel, EAF steelmaking uses almost 100% recycled steel. This steel contains greater concentrations of elements that cannot be removed through the application of oxygen. It is used to make structural beams, plates, reinforcing bar, downcycling of steel by hard-to-separate impurities such as copper or tin can only be prevented by well-aimed scrap selection or dilution by pure steel. Recycling one metric ton of steel saves 1.1 metric tons of ore,630 kilograms of coal. Also known as borings or swarf Manganese steel – Non magnetic, hardened steel used in the industry, cement mixers, rock crushers. Rails – Rail or tram tracks As of 2008, more than 83% of steel was recycled in the United States and it is the most widely recycled material, in 2000, more than 60 million metric tons were recycled. Scrap metal British Metals Recycling Association Aluminium recycling Steel Recycling Institute
10.
National Park Service
–
It was created on August 25,1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. As of 2014, the NPS employs 21,651 employees who oversee 417 units, the National Park Service celebrated its centennial in 2016. National parks and national monuments in the United States were originally individually managed under the auspices of the Department of the Interior, the movement for an independent agency to oversee these federal lands was spearheaded by business magnate and conservationist Stephen Mather, as well as J. Horace McFarland. With the help of journalist Robert Sterling Yard, Mather ran a publicity campaign for the Department of the Interior and they wrote numerous articles that praised the scenic and historic qualities of the parks and their possibilities for educational, inspirational, and recreational benefits. This campaign resulted in the creation of a National Park Service, Mather became the first director of the newly formed NPS. On March 3,1933, President Herbert Hoover signed the Reorganization Act of 1933, the act would allow the President to reorganize the executive branch of the United States government. It wasnt until later that summer when the new President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Roosevelt agreed and issued two Executive orders to make it happen. In 1951, Conrad Wirth became director of the National Park Service, the demand for parks after the end of the World War II had left the parks overburdened with demands that could not be met. In 1952, with the support of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he began Mission 66, New parks were added to preserve unique resources and existing park facilities were upgraded and expanded. In 1966, as the Park Service turned 50 years old, emphasis began to turn from just saving great and wonderful scenery, Director George Hartzog began the process with the creation of the National Lakeshores and then National Recreation Areas. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has managed each of the United States national parks, Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States. In 1872, there was no government to manage it. Yosemite National Park began as a park, the land for the park was donated by the federal government to the state of California in 1864 for perpetual conservation. Yosemite was later returned to federal ownership, at first, each national park was managed independently, with varying degrees of success. In Yellowstone, the staff was replaced by the U. S. Army in 1886. Due to the irregularities in managing these national treasures, Stephen Mather petitioned the government to improve the situation. In response, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane challenged him to lobby for creating a new agency, Mather was successful with the ratification of the National Park Service Organic Act in 1916. Later, the agency was given authority over other protected areas, the National Park System includes all properties managed by the National Park Service
11.
North River (Hudson River)
–
North River is an alternate name for the southernmost portion of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City and northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The colonial name for the entire Hudson was given to it by the Dutch in the seventeenth century. However it still retains currency as an alternate or additional name among local mariners and others as well as appearing on some nautical charts and maps. The term is used for infrastructure on and under the river, such as the North River piers, North River Tunnels, the names for the lower portion of the river appear to have remained interchangeable for centuries. In 1909, construction of two projects was under way, one was called the North River Tunnels, the other. The origin of the name North River is generally attributed to the Dutch, in describing the major rivers in the New Netherland colony, they called what is now the Hudson the North River, the Connecticut the Fresh River, and the Delaware the South River. Another theory is that the North River and East River were so named for the direction of travel they permitted once having entered the Upper New York Bay. In 1808 the Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, issued his report of proposed locations for transportation and communication internal improvements of national importance and this peculiarity distinguishes the North River from all the other bays and rivers of the United States. The tide in no other ascends higher than the ridge or comes within thirty miles of the Blue Ridge or eastern chain of mountains. In the North River it breaks through the Blue Ridge at West Point, a few miles above Troy, and the head of the tide, the Hudson from the north and the Mohawk from the west unite their waters and form the North River. The Hudson in its course upwards approaches the waters of Lake Champlain, hagstrom Maps, formerly the leading mapmaker in the New York metropolitan area, has labeled all or part of the Hudson adjacent to Manhattan as North River on several of its maps. On a 2000 map of Northern Approaches to New York City, Piers along the Hudson shore of Manhattan were formerly used for shipping and berthing ocean-going ships. In shipping notices, they were designated as, for example, Pier 14, most of the piers that once existed in lower Manhattan fell into disuse or were destroyed in the last half of the 20th century, although a number have been adapted to new uses. As with the river, the name North River piers has largely supplanted by Hudson River piers, or just by a pier and number. The remaining piers are Pier A at the Battery and piers ranging from Pier 25 at North Moore Street to Pier 99 at 59th Street, many of these piers and the waterfront between them are part of the Hudson River Park which stretches from 59th Street to the Battery. Several piers are being rebuilt as part of the park project, Piers above Pier 40 have addresses approximately that of Manhattans numbered streets plus 40 – thus, for example North River Pier 86 is at West 46th Street. Pier A is a national and New York City landmark. The building on the dates to 1886, and was used by the citys Department of Docks, Harbor Police
12.
Dazzle camouflage
–
Dazzle camouflage, also known as razzle dazzle or dazzle painting, was a family of ship camouflage used extensively in World War I, and to a lesser extent in World War II and afterwards. Unlike other forms of camouflage, the intention of dazzle is not to conceal but to make it difficult to estimate a targets range, speed, Dazzle was adopted by the Admiralty in the UK, and then by the United States Navy, with little evaluation. Each ships dazzle pattern was unique to avoid making classes of ships instantly recognisable to the enemy, the result was that a profusion of dazzle schemes was tried, and the evidence for their success was at best mixed. So many factors were involved that it was impossible to determine which were important, Dazzle attracted the notice of artists such as Picasso, who claimed that Cubists like himself had invented it. Edward Wadsworth, who supervised the camouflaging of over 2,000 ships during the First World War, painted a series of canvases of dazzle ships after the war, Arthur Lismer similarly painted a series of dazzle ship canvases. At first glance, dazzle seems an unlikely form of camouflage, the approach was developed after Allied navies were unable to develop effective means to hide ships in all weather conditions. Kerr compared the effect to that created by the patterns on a series of land animals, taking up the zebra example, Kerr proposed that the vertical lines of ships masts be disrupted with irregular white bands. Hiding these would make less conspicuous, and would greatly increase the difficulty of accurate range finding. However, in the letter, Kerr also calls for countershading. For example, he proposes to paint ships guns grey on top, grading to white below, similarly, he advised painting shaded parts of the ship white, and brightly lit parts in grey, again with smooth grading between them, making shapes and structures invisible. Kerr was thus hoping to both a measure of invisibility and a degree of confusion for the enemy using a rangefinder. It had made up its mind, and all Kerrs subsequent letters achieved nothing and his ideas were considered by the Admiralty, but rejected along with Kerrs proposals as being freak methods of painting ships. Of academic interest but not of practical advantage, the Admiralty noted that the required camouflage would vary depending on the light, the changing colours of sea and sky, the time of day, and the angle of the sun. Thayer made repeated and desperate efforts to persuade the authorities, Wilkinson advocated masses of strongly contrasted colour to confuse the enemy about a ships heading. This was dropped in favour of an admittedly non-scientific approach, led by the socially well-connected Wilkinson, Kerrs explanations of the principles were clear, logical, and based on years of study, while Wilkinsons were simple and inspirational, based on an artists perception. The decision was likely because the Admiralty felt comfortable with Wilkinson, in sharp contrast to their relationship with the stubborn. Wilkinson claimed not to have known of the theories of camouflage of Kerr and Thayer. In 1973, the museum curator Robert F. Sumrall suggested a mechanism by which dazzle camouflage may have sown the kind of confusion that Wilkinson had intended for it
New York City Fire Department
Media related to John J. Harvey (ship, 1931) at Wikimedia Commons
