Washington Heights is a series documenting the street culture of the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan, on St. Nicholas Avenue between 168th and 190th streets. It’s a neighborhood that screams Old New York, but it’s a New York that is rapidly fading due to gentrification. Few people are familiar with the sidewalk culture in Washington Heights. During the summer everyone sits outside as if it were their living room: people playing dominoes, smoking hookah and listening to loud music. There is a vibrant, high energy and familial sense to this community.
I’ve used a Hasselblad Super Wide C for this series. It attracts attention on the bustling street. A film camera that dates back to the 1960s speaks to the rich cultural history of the neighborhood. Due to it’s wide lens, it captures more within one shot to reveal the whole story. It sees the high energy of the streets, the commotion of people.
This is a neighborhood with a rich culture, the Dominican Republic culture in particular. It is very similar to their homeland in the Caribbean: a love for motorcycles, the loud and long parties that last until dawn, and the delicious and aromatic homemade empanadas. With all these similarities, there is a twist: the New York attitude. A tough, guarded sensibility permeates this culture. To be drawn in with these photographs allows one to be part of this culture, to join this family in the sidewalk-living room so that it can be viewed it in its truest form. In keeping with the New York attitude and it’s vibrant diversity, it is essential to celebrate and preserve this sidewalk culture.
