Why can't we all live in NYC?

[Spoks]

"Nasty parts of cities"? I doubt if 5% of the people on this forum would have the guts to go for a stroll in some of the "nastier" neighborhoods in metro Miami (where I live) or any other large city carrying Leicas, doubly so if you're white or don't speak at least a smattering of Haitian Kreyole or Spanish. And then there's cranking up the ISO and shooting at night. Any takers?

I know of no nasty part of any European city that I would not visit with a Leica camera. Nor do I believe that a Leica is such a liquid piece of machinery that has any value for a criminal either. What can be nasty over here is an ordinary Saturday night at a pub. Just anywhere in any European town.

 

[mich8261]

You ever lived in a northern city? Winter at night in most of my town is a wasteland, unless you are in the very downtown area. Then its night, cold and people are hurrying from one warm place to another!

unless you're on George St., then you don't have to hurry very far!

 

[mich8261]

Are there some cities that are really empty in the evenings and at weekends?

No fast food places, no street food, no cinemas, nightclubs, restaurants, bars, public transport...

I only know some British cities and some Portuguese cities, but cannot recall any that were empty out of office hours.

Obviously not a city, but if you visit the financial district in Lower Manhattan in the evening, it's pretty much deserted. On the weekends there are tourists, but no locals. This is not related to the current economic situation, it's just that 95% of the floor space is commercial. Few people live there.

 

[mich8261]

chut, I live in Boerum Hill, one or two neighbourhoods over from Clinton Hill. I wouldn't say it's been gentrified, I would reserve that for Fort Greene and other parts, but it is certainly pretty safe. It does border on the desolation of Atlantic Avenue which is an eyesore.

For the record, I don't necessarily think gentrification is bad. There are different degrees of it.

You're right, Clinton Hill wasn't the worst neighborhood to live in at the time. I once took the wrong train uptown and ended up in Harlem, instead of Morningside Heights. When I emerged from the subway station, it truly looked like a war zone, with burning barrels and abandoned cars on the street.

But when I lived in Clinton Hill, one of my friends was mugged and another student was killed. At night I would hear gunshots and ambulance sirens. And I had moved there from Back Bay in Boston, which was paradise in comparison to the uneasy streets of Brooklyn. I considered moving to a better neighborhood like Prospect Park or Brooklyn Heights, but ultimately I decided to move to Los Angeles.

I haven't been back there in many years but I'm guessing Clinton Hill is quite gentrified by now.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Your photos can also deal with the large amount of empty space in those places. They don't necessarily have to have people filling the frame. The emptiness itself can be interesting photographically. A lot of my favorite photographers have made lovely/interesting images in these spaces vacated by the people. Have fun with it.