Why hello and how are you!
All the people that inhabit New York show signs of intimacy, whether they be negative or positive depending entirely on the person. the people make New York City feel like home so I use the people to express my personal perspective of a place I love so much. A shoulder bump, a smile, a glance, and more. The motions of an altercation or the sudden pause of a confused commuter generate an emotion. Oftentimes, those emotions also come from natives that notice my camera as I take photos. The reactions are mixed, yet nine times out of ten I leave those moments with great conversation and a new friend.
How I perceived the streets is very different from the perspective of another, especially a tourist. While living in a state that moved lethargically I couldn't help but to appreciate New York more than I did as a native. Especially, matching the energy and pace of the people around me. From the age of eight to now I visit as often as possible and bring my camera to document my visits particularly the strangers I meet on the street.
Certain actions aren't intimate to others yet they are to me. Those actions are carried out by the people who walk the streets daily, occasionally, or for a special occasion. The energy that is New York City is brought on by the people that walk it's streets, work its streets, and create memories everyday. While the landmarks are certainly important, they don't have the same vibe without the people that inhabit them. As a Brooklynite, I have always loved New York, and moving to Stamford, Connecticut over a decade ago forced my love even more. As the saying goes, you could take a girl out of New York but you can't take New York out of a girl. I've decided to create an old form of written intimacy that celebrates the natives rather than the sites: postcards.
Presented below are postcards and portraits from natives of Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Grand Central. Sorry Staten Island unfortunately I couldn't make it out to you on a college budget. These are where I choose to photograph because it's where I find myself traveling the most. postcards and letters used to be the only way for people to communicate with each other, through the written word. Postcards aren't used for their original purpose today. Instead forgotten and bought for the landmark that originally attracted the masses, but why have the masses forgotten the attraction between each other? My goal is for this project to encourage a new type of intimacy in a place that I lovingly call home.
As always, stay safe. You are appreciated!
Andrea O. Ojeda (Andi)
Every portrait below is a person that lives or works within NYC or Grand Central. Each one was asked the same question:
How do the people make the Borough?
The quotes below are their answers.
The Bronx
(L to R) Migelina Figueroa & Stephanie Adorno. A mother and daughter from the Bronx.
“I’ve lived in the Bronx for many years and the people haven’t changed. The types of people change, but they all just want to live in an area that they know and like to live in.”
Migelina Figueroa
“There’s always been similar people in the neighborhood. People are usually looking out for each other.”
Stephanie Adorno
Nancy Gonzalez
“You see everyone united and everybody helping each other. You walk the streets people say, ‘Hi’ and ‘How are you?’ You don’t really see a lot of other people doing that in the times we are going through. But people in my neighborhood never forget to greet you and ask about your day. It’s the little things that make my people great. You ask, I am a Bronx person? Yes, I am. I was born and raised here, and I am 61 years old, so I’ve been there all my life.”
Nancy Gonzalez
Manhattan (The City)
“It’s this incredible mix of tourists and people who’ve lived here since the 80’s and have seen everything kind of come up around them; it’s fascinating to me. I’ll take to someone who’s in their 70’s who’s lived here and has known a completely different Chelsea, and someone in there 20’s who’s just moved here and is artsy, and it’s so fascinating to me.”
Lauren Bourke
Jeffrey Streeter
“We treat neighborhoods like landmarks here. We are all pretty much from the same circumstances, it just may be generational. The stories are the same, the upbringings are the same, that’s where we connect on the ground level. We do everything here, our memories are here, our first lessons are here. You could grow up in a neighborhood with someone, never speak to them, and still feel like you know them. Just being in the vicinity, having your experiences and always being able to look over and see them [neighborhood people] having their own experiences it’s almost like you know them on a personal level.”
Jeffrey Streeter
Queens
(L to R) Sam Arocho, Shakira Atencia-Jump, Esai Lopez
“I feel now it’s the younger community that’s making it. I feel like the younger community is getting more together with a lot of stuff, getting more involved with politics, community, and everything. Especially everything that’s going on in the world, people are coming together and working together, and they are politer than they used to be a few years ago. I see the younger generation making Queens better later on and hopefully continuing that for the generations to come.”
Sam Arocho
“I feel like the people are very friendly, unique, and different. They have different styles, so when you approach someone you get a different reaction versus if you go out to the City. Everyone is closer together. The Queens borough is, how can I say it, a home environment. In Queens you could literally find your next door neighbor at the mall.”
Shakira Atencia-Jump
“I think Queens is meant through the people. Something I noticed working here [Queens Center], as different as everybody may look, a lot of their interests are similar. They’re so many different looking people that come by this kiosk alone. Almost everybody has the same intent you know, to look different or feel different or feel better about themselves. One common interest is to feel good, whether it’s themselves or each other in my opinion.”
Esai Lopez
Brooklyn
(L to R) Matthew Ojeda, Anna Ojeda. A mother and son from Brooklyn.
“I think the people just don’t change around here. You get a lot of old school people. They don’t like to leave the neighborhoods too much, but you know unfortunately because of the time, people have to leave, and people have to move out; but you still have family that remains. As long as you have family that’s around you get traditions that get to be passed down from generation to generation. There’s certain things about Brooklyn that just don’t change.”
Matthew Ojeda
“It’s so family-oriented. In every neighborhood you go to, your family lives there and you don’t leave to go to any other place. You just stay where your family is at. You stay where you’re most familiar and most convenient in everything that you do; whether it be to go to work, whether it be to go shopping, whether it be to go to the community centers or the church you visit on a regular basis. It’s just not a place I would trade for any other borough, at this point in my life.”
Anna Ojeda
Grand Central
Darlene Margeta
“Grand Central is the center of life for so many people. I didn’t know this until sometime last year, it’s actually a terminal not a station, so everyone that works in the City comes here to start their day and go home the same way. So many characters walk through here everyday. It’s fun to see who’s going to be here today, tomorrow, or the next day.”
Darlene Margeta
Unique Dortch
“I would say it’s more intimate because these people are coming from everywhere. Their wants and needs are different, so we get to see all types of people, races, and stuff. I don’t know why they come down here, but to see them from all walks of Earth, I love it.”
Unique Dortch
Postcards
Postcards in New York City always boast the typical tourist sites: Times Square, The Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, The Brooklyn Bridge, The Bronx Zoo, etc. We tell tourists, this is what makes the City and this is where you should spend all your time, money, and energy, but I disagree.
While those sites are historical and great to experience, they would be nothing without the people that inhabit them. So I decided that I would take back that form of a communication and remix it to highlight the true vibe of New York City: the people or otherwise known as the natives.
Below are postcards from Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Grand Central. Each card as a written message (short and long) from my close circle as well as messages to myself. During the timeline of this project, I loved receiving the postcards because they always seemed to come when I needed them most. The messages are timeless. This type of communication and intimacy is I love to see as a human being. It's also what makes New York City feel like home for so many.
From left to right, are the front of the postcards and the messages that were written on them.
I hope you can see not only my love for New York City, but also learn to love it in a different way.
