The Original New Yorkers is a portrait series documenting New York City natives affected by gentrification.
Author Tom Slater describes gentrification as a “spatial expression of economic inequality.” Simply put, it is the process by which middle- and upper-class residents move into previously disinvested neighborhoods, displacing long-time working-class communities. Gentrification is often conflated with terms like “urban renewal” and “revitalization,” yet it has historically brought devastating consequences for native residents—among them, no-fault evictions, landlord harassment, property neglect, and increased policing—rooted in a long history of racist housing policies in the United States.
Sitters are photographed in their homes or workplaces and invited to submit a handwritten letter, either reflecting on how gentrification has shaped their lives or addressing newcomers to the city. Each unedited note is paired with their portrait in diptych format.
This series was created in partnership with Perfect City, a Lower East Side-based arts and civic action network co-commissioned by Abrons Arts Center and Henry Street Settlement.
Location: Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Location: Lower East Side, Manhattan
Location: Jamaica, Queens
Location: Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Location: Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Location: Flatbush, Brooklyn
Location: East Village, Manhattan
Location: Woodhaven, Brooklyn
Location: Chinatown, Manhattan
Location: Flatbush, Brooklyn
Location: Astoria, Queens
Location: Flatbush, Brooklyn
Location: Coney Island, Brooklyn
Location: Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Location: Flatbush, Brooklyn
Location: Chinatown, Manhattan
Location: Lower East Side, Manhattan
Location: Lower East Side, Manhattan
Translation: "Welcome new New Yorkers, gentrification is not about new comers or coffee shops. Gentrification is when policymakers and developers collude to advance policy changes which deliberately benefit those with capital over poor and working class communities. If you are not with the super rich who exploit everyday people then you need to fight to keep your place here in New York city. We are all at risk to be displaced. I am here fighting with my son. Protect New York City."
Location: Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Location: Jamaica, Queens
Location: Lower East Side, Manhattan
Location: East Flatbush, Brooklyn
Location: Jamaica, Queens
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan
Location: Lower East Side, Manhattan
Location: East New York, Brooklyn
Location: Fordham Heights, Bronx
Location: Fordham Heights, Bronx
Location: Brownsville, Brooklyn
Location: Brownsville, Brooklyn
Location: South Bronx, Bronx
Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Location: Brownsville, Brooklyn
Location: East New York, Brooklyn
Location: East New York, Brooklyn
This project was on view from October 14 - November 17, 2017 at Henry Street Settlement/Abrons Arts Center, a public health institution and community center that has been offering social services, arts, and health care programs to the Lower East Side community since 1893.
Photo Credit: Steven Paneccasio
Photo Credit: Steven Paneccasio