After all my visits to New York I still hadn’t visited the East Village until recently. Alphabet City had always been on my radar from many Law and Order SVU episodes (and not in a good way) and Tompkins Square Park and St Marks Place were fresh in my memory after reading the amazing biography of Patti Smith Just kids.I love New York history, especially the 50s and 60s. Even though this area has changed tremendously due to gentrification, I was still able to sense what it would have been like way back then. Hence the treatment of my photos. I wanted them to feel like I had experienced the East Village of old (sans the crazy drugs and robbery).

I particularly love this photo as I could imagine water bursting from the hydrant and the streets filled with kids playing in the water on a humid New York summer’s day