New York, with its world-renowned museums, theaters and skyscrapers, is often regarded as a larger-than-life metropolis. But for many who live here, what is quintessentially “New York” is the unique character that the city displays in its diverse neighborhoods and local establishments.
This ongoing project unofficially began in the summer of 1981. That’s when I became painfully aware of the fragility this idiosyncratic urban landscape with the closing of the venerable Trans-Lux 85th Street Movie Theater. I consider these images a bittersweet homage to places now mostly gone, as well as a continuing visual diary - a work in progress like the city itself.

Trans-Lux Theatre 1981

Trans-Lux Interior 1981

Trans-Lux Balcony Wall 1981

Trans-Lux Ladies Room Entrance 1981

Madison Avenue, Upper East Side 1981

Diner Window - 79th Street and First Avenue 1989

Bohemian Hall, Queens 1993

Dubrow's Cafeteria in the Garment Center 1985

Casita on East 96 Street 1987

Barber Shop on East 14th Street 1978

Doll Hospital - Lexington Avenue

Elk Candy - East 86th Street 1992

East 86th Street 1989

Amsterdam Avenue, Upper West Side 2007

Third Avenue - Upper East Side 1999

Trylon Movie Theater, Queens Boulevard 2004

Monte Tecla on 8th Avenue, Closing Night 1999

Mannequin Supply Store on West 22nd Street 1987

Radio City Music Hall - Downstairs Lobby 1987

Raphael Soyer and Model, Upper West Side 1984

Essex Street Market 1993

South Street Seaport 1987

Shoe Repair on Broadway 1982

Rat and Mouse Show, East 88th Street School Gymnasium 1996

Ratner's Waiter, Delancey Street 1995

Third Avenue near 14th Street 1990

Uncle Sam Umbrella Store, West 57th Street 2002

Waiting for the Results, Harvest Moon Ball, Queens 1985

Waltz Contestants at Alexis Dance Studio, Upper West Side 1981

Wigstock, Tompkins Square Park 1989

General Store, Yorkville

Tavern on the Green, Auction Preview 2010

Alvin, who made my tunafish sandwiches, at Primeburger 2012

New Year's Eave at Elaine's , Upper East Side 2010

On the Promenade at Rockefeller Center 2009

Librairie de France window 2009

Colony Records, Broadway and 49th Street 2012

Lascoff Pharmacy on Lexington Avenue, Upper East Side 2012

Seaport Magazine Summer 1995

Seaport Magazine - Fall 1997