Vintage Gotham: A Street Photographer’s Pictures of New York City 1969 to 1990

“They are already memories once I press the shutter. These memories are at once mine and ours.”

– Jeff Rothstein, New York

 

Jeff Rothstein has been photographing New York City since the early 1970s.

“They are already memories once I press the shutter,” says Jeff, a Native New Yorker. “These memories are at once mine and ours. Mine because they are what I have witnessed and captured with my camera. But they will be shared by all of us who know or have known the city intimately or casually or even remotely and vicariously. The photos are a record of history through a local eye. Many are evocative of the time and place of bygone eras, imbued with a timeless quality….

“When I look at Second Avenue in 1969, I’m reminded of how the East Village existed in that rare space between the fading immigrant era and the rise of counterculture. This corner held onto the last threads of the old Jewish and Ukrainian communities — storefronts with hand-painted signs, longtime residents, and the lingering smell of old bakeries and cafés. Yet you could already sense the shift as younger artists, musicians, and newcomers began filtering into the neighborhood. ”

 

All images copyright Jeff Rothstein.

Buy prints and books of Jeff’s great work at his site.