Stories & Documentary

Browse the Projects

This page is an introduction into my personal projects and documentaries around New York City. This is the work that I am most passionate about.

The goal of these projects is to capture some of the varied aspects of the spirit and stories in New York. Each project tells a unique story about the city.

Please browse the introductions here and then click through to explore the projects in more depth. 

Luxe City

Luxe City takes place within the backdrop of the current and intense wave of luxurification and hyper-gentrification occurring in Manhattan since the early 2000s. It is a glimpse into life in Manhattan as the borough transforms itself into a luxury product.

While the story takes place within this backdrop, it is about the resulting feelings of disconnection, anxiety, conformity, and lack of purpose caused by this changing and intense environment.

 

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It Was All a Dream

It Was All a Dream is a project capturing the quirks and lively spirit that can be seen while wandering Brooklyn. While the photos are mostly devoid of people, this project captures their spirit through the environment. It is about culture, community, and being unique.

Flowers are a recurring motif and act as stand-ins for photos of people.

 

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Speedway

Speedway began as a project documenting my local Speedway gas station a block from home in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.

I began to see so many interesting things there while walking by that I decided I had to start documenting it, and what resulted was a glimpse into the community and culture of Brooklyn.

However, what started as a project about a gas station eventually morphed into a friendship with a homeless artist who named himself Mango Salso, and who sits on a rock outside the gas station painting and feeding the pigeons. The project becomes about this man, his spirit, and his art.

 

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East Village Stories

Beginning in 2012, this portfolio was part of a 5.5-year weekly interview and history project done with the East Village news website, evgrieve.com, titled Out and About in the East Village.

It consists of over 200 portraits and in-depth interviews completed primarily with long-time residents, business owners, and employees in the East Village neighborhood of New York. Click on the photos to read the interviews below.

The entirety of the project has become a historical account of the last handful of decades in one of the most vibrant communities in the city. Read the oral history of people from all backgrounds and career paths, covering the history of Tompkins Square Park and the riots, the diverse ethnic neighborhoods, the history of punk rock and the music culture, the art, creative, and nightlife culture, the restaurants and local businesses, the daily life intertwined with drug dealers, addicts, and beat up and burned out buildings, the struggle against gentrification and slumlords, and the special stories of everyday life here.

Through all of these stories, trials and tribulations, and powerful moments, what shines through is the community that came together and made the area such a special place to live and be.

 

Project Selects

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