When Ghosts Floated Above the East River, January on Roosevelt Island

On a January Day, when ghosts floated above the East River, Roosevelt Island seemed a different place. Perspectives changed as nature interfered, and you could imagine a different city.

Special visual perspectives for The Roosevelt Island Daily News

This photo essay, from the lens of photographer Deborah Julian, renders skyline views this small town rarely sees. It’s January 12th, 2018.

The Ghosts Above the East River

The East River, polluted, pulled back and forth with tides, becomes familiar enough that you can almost stop seeing it. But then, nature reminds us about change.

Looking north from the saturated landing, East River ghosts swirl up, undisturbed by wind.

In this video, the ghosts above the East River consume the Queensboro Bridge and threaten the Upper East Side.

You’re lucky being out on days like this because they never happen a second time. For January, the weather’s mild, and there’s no wind displacing the fog.

You get vague reminders of familiar sites, but where’s the towering skyline? It’s as if New York isn’t New York anymore.

Briefly, the spectral flow subsides. — A spectral parade subsides briefly, and it looks a little like home. But only a little.

Because everything seeks return to set point, the big island across the river rises again, but slowly, gently, so unlike New York.

Ghosts above the East River diminish. — You can’t hold off New York City for long, and the ghosts begin returning home.

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