Makayla White
The 1980s in New York City wasn’t all glitz and glam like the movies. Away from the Wall Street boom and the rise of MTV, photographer Richard Sandler captured a different side of the city. He focused his lens on everyday people, documenting life on the streets with a raw honesty that few others could match.
Sandler’s photos are like a time capsule, transporting us back to a grittier New York. Subway cars plastered with graffiti rumble through tunnels, the screech of metal on metal echoing in the darkness. Street vendors hawk their wares on bustling sidewalks, their voices competing with the cacophony of car horns and sirens.
We see faces etched with the struggles of daily life – weariness, determination, and fleeting moments of joy. A young woman, her eyes filled with a mix of hope and uncertainty, stares out from a subway window. A group of kids, their clothes worn but their smiles bright, turn a fire hydrant into a summer sprinkler. An elderly man, his face weathered by time, sits alone on a park bench, lost in thought.
His photos show the city grappling with poverty, crime, and the AIDS epidemic. We see homeless individuals huddled in doorways seeking shelter from the cold. We witness the aftermath of violence, with police officers and concerned onlookers crowding around a crime scene. These images are a stark reminder of the challenges New Yorkers faced, but they also reveal the resilience of the human spirit.
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