NEW YORK: "When young people today look at my shots from the 1980’s," writes photographer Steven Siegel, "they are aghast. To them, New York of the 1980’s is almost unrecognizable. And they are right."
Bushwick, Brooklyn, in 1982 as photographed by Steven Siegel. The World Trade Center towers are visible in the distance on the extreme left. Courtesy The Gothamist.
Around 1980, Siegel began documenting urban wreckage as a New York art form. Today, his photographs will be nostalgic for some, but shocking to others. Either way, they evoke a vanished city - the site of crack dens and fiscal crises, a gritty, dangerous place that has long since yielded to espresso bars and free range chicken. Courtesy The Gothamist.