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I fell in love with New York when my mother took me to see West Side Story as a six year old. I wanted to be a jet and fight with the sharks and watch latina ladies dancing on roof tops. I dreamed of running through grafitti strewn tenements to a Leonard Bernstein soundtrack with dialogue by Stephen Sondheim.
I binged on New York movies as a teenager, watching The Godfather on loop then switching up to Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, French Connection, Dog Day Afternoon, Manhattan, Saturday Night Fever and The Warriors.
I envied the New York punk scene at CBGBs. We had the Pistols, Clash, Stranglers, Buzzcocks, Slits and Siouxsie. They had Patti Smith, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Television, Suicide, Richard Hell and Blondie.
To my 1970s teenage mind mind New York was one of the only two places in the world that any sane person could conceivably want to live. The other was London, which is where I ended up.
I didn't get to New York till the next century but it was everything I'd hoped for. The West Side Story sets had been long demolished but I was able to make the pilgrimage to CBGBs (now a gentleman's outfitters) and paid homage to the wall where Roberta Bailey shot the Ramone's first album cover. I had pastrami on Rye at Katz's. Checked out the house where Scorcese grew up. Took canolli in Little Italy (but left the gun) and just roamed the streets, parks, bridges and subways.
Heaven for a street photographer. And felt like home.
If you like any of the images in this gallery, send a message here. Limited edition fine art prints are available in sizes from A5 to A0.