Lower Manhattan Documentary Project

A Look into Gotham-New York City Documentary Project

I chose to do my documentary project in my hometown-Lower Manhattan in New York City featuring a brief cameo from the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. My theme was to capture what makes New York City unique. Whether it is the different kinds of people, landmarks, transportation system and the art; NYC offers it all to people. Everything in the city is worth a picture. The vibrant culture and the people are amazing. I have lived in NYC for 21 years and the city is everything to me. It is who I am as a person and I cannot see myself ever changing. Through my biased opinion, If you asked me where to find the greatest restaurants I will point you to a place in Lower Manhattan. If you wanted to watch a movie with an international crowd look no further than Lower Manhattan. If you wanted to visit a famed art gallery and have a glass of wine in your hand, Lower Manhattan is where you want to be. If you can make it here you can really make it anywhere.

Lower Manhattan consists of many different neighborhoods that all give off their own little contribution to NYC. The financial district which is referred to Wall Street is the home of where a lot of the World's financial and economic answers are located. While Battery Park plays the beautiful host of the New York City harbor on the southern tip of the island. After you cross South Street Seaport you are in the neighborhood of Tribeca where many celebrities choose to live due to the lavish condos, best restaurants and entertainment in the area. After you have Chambers street the home of the court houses, than the ethnic villages of Chinatown and Little Italy serve as some of the popular destinations for tourist who want to escape the city without really escaping the city. The Lower East Side and East Village - Is my home and the home of Alphabet city (Avenue go by letters instead of numbers). Then you have Soho where the fashion outlets are everywhere. The rest of Lower Manhattan consist of the Meatpacking District, The West Village, Chelsea, Union Square and Greenwich Village. These neighborhoods is the main reason why the Lower Manhattan is the most unique place in the world. There is never dull walk in the city that never sleeps.

With a photographers mindset, I learned a lot about different angles from objects I am accustomed to seeing everyday. I really learned a lot in photography class and I was excited to do this project because I knew what I wanted to document. I wanted to give people who have never visited the city a taste of what it is like to be a person from Manhattan and some of the things we see on the daily. I cannot see myself living anywhere else. I welcome you into a brief look into Gotham.


The Tribeca Film Festival 
Created and owned by legendary actor Robert De Niro the Tribeca Film Festival is one of the most popular film festivals in the world. The festival had reached international heights where directors and actors from all over the world come to the city to showcase their films to the general public. According to the Tribeca Film Website - The festival has screened over 1400 films from over 80 countries since its first festival in 2002. Since its founding it has attracted an international audience of more than 4 million attendees and has generated an estimated $750 in economic activity for New York City.

The most popular view of the Tribeca Film entrance.  

The Bodega

From some a store is a store but for native people in New York City we like to call them "The Bodega." Bodega's sell almost everything you can think of in its small proximity, from beer, food, diapers. Bodega as it sounds comes from the spanish stem La bodega which means "Grocery Store". Around NYC there is no escaping one since they are on almost every single street corner. There are currently more 13,000 and counting stores in NYC alone and it is owned by a vast majority by Hispanics. New York City is a huge melting pot, and Bodega's are one place where everyone can feel right at home.

Soho Mini Market-Grocery Stores or "Bodega's" are a Huge Part of the NYC Culture

Sports

Being a sports fan in NYC is different than being a fan anywhere else in the world. If you come to the city to watch a sporting event, the only way to fit in is to be ruthless and loud. I love the atmosphere of basketball and baseball games and attending these games could be the greatest time of your life. Even if you are not into sports, NYC can be a lonely place sometimes but when you are at a sporting event everyone is family.

The Barclays Center- Basketball is a huge sport in NYC where you will find the most passionate fans.

Subway Station
If you do not know by now, Subway Stations is one of the things that makes NYC unique. With over 8 million people in the city, the Subway is the fastest and best transportation if you are in rush. Especially if you want to beat the horrendous traffic, if you want to get to point A to B your best bet is take a train. Trains in NYC go almost everywhere and once you in the city for a couple years, you kind of get used to where you are going and how the train system works.

Bleeker Street Subway Station-Subway Stations is one of the things that makes NYC unique

Katz Delicatessen
Located in the Lower East Side on Houston Street and Ludlow, Katz is one of the most famed diners in America, not just NYC. Every time I walk past there is at least one celebrity that is there to get one of their famed Pastrami Sandwiches. Katz was established in 1898 and is one of the most famous landmarks in the Lower East Side. Inside, the walls is covered from front to back with pictures of some very famous people from Presidents, Entertainers and Professional Athletes and more.

Katz Delicatessen is one of the famous food places in NYC- On any day you find a celebrity chowing down on Katz famed pastrami Sandwiches. 

Orchard Street
Orchard Street is one of the most historic streets in Lower Manhattan and is known for its rich history in Jewish immigrants. While some of the old buildings are still there, the area has went through a lot of gentrification where as there are luxurious condos and upscale restaurants in the area.

Orchard Street is one of the most historic Street's in Lower Manhattan.

Coffee and Pizza Shops
I admit as you can tell my first thought when I took this photography was to capture "New York Coffee Shop", but once i started editing the photo I realized that a Pizza Restaurant was next door. Pizza and Coffee shops are two of the most popular destinations for New Yorkers on a daily basis. New Yorkers are always on the rush, and in the morning and after-noon local coffee shops and coffee giants like Starbucks are always crowded. Who does not love Pizza? I may be biased but I visited Italy and ate a lot of pizza but I am still not ready to say that the Pizza in Italy is better overall than NYC pizza. Like Bodegas, Pizza shops are almost on every corner and with cheap prices to eat, and the opportunity to eat on the go, it will always be one of the most popular places. I would suggest going to 2 Bros Pizza shop in St. Marks place where you get giant slices for the price of a $1.

Coffee and Pizza Shops are Essential in NYC.

Houston Street
Finally we have Houston Street; my home street. While my apartment is not in this picture specifically, I do live the complete opposite way of this photograph down by the water. Houston Street is one of the few streets that stretches from the East River to the Hudson river. Houston Street is the center and sort of like the place that separates the most popular streets in the Lower Manhattan such as Soho, Alphabet City, Orchard Street and more.

Houston Street-One of the most known streets in Lower Manhattan and also my home.