The Changing Lower East Side

In December 1980, I moved from the West Village to 830 Broadway and became aware that the East Village was very different from its older cousin to the west, which was becoming more and more an overpriced bedroom community. The Lower East Side still had an ethnic flavor that was largely missing in the somewhat more prosperous West Village. I became fascinated with this unique part of New York City, and despite some terribly run down, possibly dangerous streets, I enjoyed taking advantage of all it had to offer. Unfortunately, I rarely had my camera with me, unless it was for a very specific assignment or short-term project.

But the more time I spent on the streets of the Lower East Side, the more I began to notice the changes that were slowly taking place. Some for the good, some questionable, some downright awful. Taking a cue from my friend, Berenice Abbott, who so eloquently documented her adopted city in Changing New York, in March 1986 I decided to undertake a long term photographic survey, to document the changing Lower East Side.

Army of One Graffiti, Eldridge Street, New York City, 2009

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