A thowback image from the mid-1980s. For close to 35 years, I lived in New York’s East Village. When I moved there, it was still called the Lower East Side. My neighborhood encompassed everything south of E. 14th Street, from Third Avenue all the way to the East River, and as far south as Houston Street. For many years I photographed using an 1898 Kodak Panoram.
That always seemed like the best place to live in NY, to me. The East Village–that was where it was happening!
Yes, it was. Today it is unrecognizable. All the gentrification has destroyed the flavor of the neighborhood. Every time I go down there, I’m surprised how much it keeps changing. My old building is still there though!
Do you wish you had stayed?
No. Those days are long gone. I do miss the area and the fact that I used to walk to work everyday, weather permitting. It was convenient to the parts of the city I enjoy, but I don’t miss the ” new” people that live there now. When I lived there, it was exciting, dangerous, and had a great underground art scene that I took advantage of. I saw celebrities everyday, but they were just regular people who lived in the neighborhood – Iggy Pop, Quentin Crisp, Phillip Glass, Lenny Kaye (guitarist for Patti Smith. He lived in my building.), and so many others. One has to grow and I wish the neighborhood grew in a way that remained accessible. When I got engaged, I couldn’t find an affordable place for the two of us. I got priced out!! I remained there because my apartment was so inexpensive. Rent controlled. It think it made me “stuck” for many years.