‘99 & NOW In October-November 1999 I photographed over 300 strangers I encountered in neighborhoods all around Manhattan. In 2016, I decided to locate these same people to take new photos. The brief conversations we had reminded me that people are never just pictures - that everybody’s important and we all have meaningful stories. So I decided to evolve the portraits from 1999 beyond their inherently static nature by making a film. The result, still ongoing, is a documentary series entitled ‘99 Snapshots. Short videos + other photos are posted to the project IG here.

001 DECHEN

‘99 Dechen was on an uptown 1/9 train and got off at 116th. He was the first person I photographed in the series.

NOW We reconnected outside the subway station at 96th & Broadway. He said if he could, he would plant a tree every day for the rest of his life. We went up to his parents’ house in the Catskills, and I filmed/photographed him planting an apple tree.

022 ALZERINA

‘99 Alzerina was on the Upper East Side, near her apartment. She was married and had just given birth to her second child.NOW 20 years later, happily divorced, she runs a jewelry business that she started herself. Costume designers have commissioned… — **‘99** Alzerina was on the Upper East Side, near her apartment. She was married and had just given birth to her second child.
**NOW** 20 years later, happily divorced, she runs a jewelry business that she started herself. Costume designers have commissioned her to make custom pieces for a number of Hollywood films.

023 ROY

‘99 Roy was at the corner 89th & 2nd, a half-block from the apartment where he has lived for most of his life. His parents had emigrated from Germany. He never married and has no kids. He has two degrees in psychology but never practiced - nor did he teach. Back when computers were new on the scene, he worked as a programmer for Chase Manhattan.

NOW Roy is retired and spends his time mainly in the neighborhood. He’s tall and walks fast. He eats dry cereal for breakfast, sometimes with fruit. He won’t let me in his apartment, so we have only met at a diner on his corner. He has no phone service. The only way to get in touch with him is to send him a letter.

037 RON

‘99 Ron had just gotten off work at the Anna Silver School on the Lower East Side, where he was a school psychologist from 1993-2006. He’s been married and divorced twice and has a daughter from each of the marriages.

NOW The Department of Education has rotated Ron through several schools over the years. In 2017, he was working at a special needs school in the Bronx.

He is thinking about changing his career but is uncertain what he’ll do. He would like to give stand-up comedy a try.

048 VICTORIA

‘99 Victoria was an actress on her way to an audition for an upcoming Shakespeare festival in Western Massachusetts.

NOW She teaches ELA at a NYC public middle school in the Bronx and moonlights as a documentary filmmaker.

057 CONNIE

In ‘99, the Odessa Bar in the East Village was the only bar Connie frequented. Her friend who worked there hooked her up with juice and ginger ale all night long.NOW Connie with her family outside their crowded 1-BR apartment in Fort Greene, Brookly… — In ‘99, the Odessa Bar in the East Village was the only bar Connie frequented. Her friend who worked there hooked her up with juice and ginger ale all night long.
**NOW** Connie with her family outside their crowded 1-BR apartment in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. They left NYC for Pennsylvania about a month after I took these pictures.
When asked if she’s happy in her life she said, with tears in her eyes, “When I was a little kid I knew I wanted to have a family and I knew I wanted it to be tight. And that’s what I have now.”

062 MARIAN, LINDSAY, & LESLIE

‘99 Marian had just picked up her granddaughters, Leslie and Lindsay, from their weekly dance lessons at the Harlem School of the Arts. The girls lived in Queens but stayed with Marian in her Harlem apartment every weekend throughout childhood because their parents had to work.

NOW I met Marian and Lindsay at Lindsay’s high school in Queens. Lindsay had flown in from San Diego to be honored for her accomplishments as a professional track & field hurdler.

Marian has lived in her apartment since 1951. She is a devout Catholic and attends church at least once a week.

In 2014, Leslie passed away from cancer at age 27.

065 BRIAN S. & SUSAN

‘99 Brian and Susan were dance partners for many years, specializing in the Katherine Dunham style of African-American and Afro-Caribbean dance. On this day, they were guest performers with the Jazzy Randolph Dancers, a troupe of seniors that perfor… — **‘99** Brian and Susan were dance partners for many years, specializing in the Katherine Dunham style of African-American and Afro-Caribbean dance. On this day, they were guest performers with the Jazzy Randolph Dancers, a troupe of seniors that performed for free around the city.

NOW Susan runs the Jazzy Randolph Dancers. Brian has quit dance, but on this day he came to help her prepare her troupe for a voodoo number that she and Brian had performed in the past. — **NOW** Susan runs the Jazzy Randolph Dancers. Brian has quit dance, but on this day he came to help her prepare her troupe for a voodoo number that she and Brian had performed in the past.

Brian in the East Village.

Susan in her living room in Jamaica, Queens.

106 HELEN

‘99 At 79, Helen was bicycling the loop in Central Park with a friend. She had a long successful career securing work visas for models and artists coming to the US, and would continue in this job for another five years.

NOW Helen suffered a stroke in 2010. Unable to live on her own she moved to a nursing home in Wakefield, RI, where she still lives. She is 99.

109/110 ERICH & NACHI

‘99 A married couple spending the day together in Central Park. She’s from Argentina; he’s from New Jersey.

NOW They got divorced years ago and have been living separate lives.

Nachi lives in Teaneck, NJ, was remarried - had a daughter - and then divorced again. She works as a middle school art teacher and hopes to adopt a child with special needs.

Erich lives in Brooklyn, works as a student advisor at Pratt Institute, has a blog about film, and meditates daily.

114 DAGMARA

‘99 A daughter of Polish immigrants, Dagmara was in the midst of getting her first big break as an actor: she had been cast as an understudy in a Broadway play, and was suddenly called upon to perform the role regularly.

It was Halloween and she was dressed as an extra from the movie “Boogie Nights” (cost of wig, according to her diary: $40).

NOW Dagmara lives with her actor husband and their two children in Montclair, NJ. She has appeared in numerous films and tv shows, including as a regular cast member on the HBO hit, “Succession.”

134/135 ROYAL & AMANDA

‘99 A high school couple who in evenings met in the East Village to hang out. The Rite Aid was equidistant from their homes.

NOW They didn’t last as a couple but they’ve remained close friends. They also didn’t last in New York: Amanda has lived in Arizona since 2015, and Royal moved there a few years later.

139 BRIAN T.

‘99 Late afternoon beverages at Desmond’s Tavern, an Irish bar on Park Avenue South.

NOW Between jobs at construction companies, Brian met up with me back at Desmond’s. He hasn’t lost his penchant for beer drinking - nor his infectious sense of humor.

141 JON

‘99 Jon was an advertising executive at Grand Central Station, waiting for his train’s track number to head home to Connecticut.

NOW He now works from home and doesn’t visit the city too often. Reflecting back on his career working at agencies, he said, “It’s not like the next ad or commercial is the most important thing in the world. It never really was, but you get caught up in it and you feel like it is. Now [life is] a little mellower.”

147 JAMES

‘99 Actually, pre-’99, but a story he told me:

“I remember the first time I was going to see Siouxsie and the Banshees, I was walking to the bus stop in my town [Union, NJ]. I wore makeup, eyeliner and eyeshadow and I had rings and studs. These kids pulled up from my high school that were older than me, and they got out of the car and beat me up… It was kind of empowering in a way because I just thought like, I'm never gonna conform to what they think I should be.“

NOW At home with his paintings, in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He works as a personal assistant for a person with Parkinson’s Disease.

184 JACK

‘99 At the corner of 23rd & Lexington, near his apartment. At the time, he was furious with Time Warner - though he didn’t tell me why.

NOW After performing in his monthly show “Jack Crosley’s Lost World,” in which he croons karaoke to an eclectic mix of classics and obscure mainly-’60s tunes at Otto’s Shrunken Head, a dive bar on East 14th Street. He lives in a one room apartment within a hotel. There is no kitchen, so he eats all of his meals in restaurants.

188 ANNE-MARIE

‘99 Anne-Marie and her twins at the 42nd street subway station.NOW Anne-Marie and the twins, on their 21st birthday. With them is Anne-Marie’s husband (and the twins’ father), Franz. — **‘99** Anne-Marie and her twins at the 42nd street subway station.
**NOW** Anne-Marie and the twins, on their 21st birthday. With them is Anne-Marie’s husband (and the twins’ father), Franz.

207/208 TONY & BUDDY

‘99 (1) Contact sheet from the bar/social club Mare Chiare aka “Tony’s Nut House” on Mulberry Street. After letting me snap this roll, Tony brought me around the corner to Caffe Roma, and introduced me to (2) Buddy.

Tony sold the bar in 2003, moved to Florida, and passed away in 2017, at age 96.

NOW Buddy (84), still owns and operates Caffe Roma, the pastry shop in Little Italy that was founded by his grandfather in 1891.

215 JEFF

‘99 On the steps of the 5th precinct, which encompasses parts of Little Italy and Chinatown.

NOW Jeff retired after precisely 20 years with the NYPD. He’s now a stay-at-home dad who enjoys looking at birds in his backyard.

239 WILLIAM

‘99 In East Harlem with Father José Otero, who he had known since early childhood. Father Otero passed away in 2001.

NOW William does building maintenance at a women’s shelter in East Harlem.

245/247 BOB & JK

‘99 Bob owned the iconic “Bleecker Bob’s” record shop in Greenwich Village, and JK was his girlfriend.

NOW Bob had a stroke in 2001 but kept the record store open until the challenge of rent in New York City in the digital age finally forced its closure in 2013.

After the stroke, JK’s role transformed into that of caregiver. She spent most of every day with him in the nursing home where he lived - even doing his laundry so that his life wouldn’t feel “institutionalized.”

Bob passed away in 2018.

249 CHRISTINE aka KIKA

‘99 At La Bonbonniere, a diner in the West Village. Christine had recently moved to New York from Colombia, where she had been a tv soap opera star.

NOW Same location. She is an ensemble cast member in Repertorio Español theater in Manhattan.

267/268 JOEL & LAUREN

‘99 Joel and Lauren were at the NoHo restaurant Savoy, celebrating the 1-year anniversary of their first date.

NOW The couple continues to celebrate this anniversary every November 19. They went on to get married on May 28, 2008, and are still together.

Joel owns a bar in Williamsburg, and Lauren serves as its wine director. Lauren is also a full-time pilates instructor.

254 CHARLES & FANNY

‘99 Fanny and her son Charlie run a pork wholesale business in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. It was opened by Fanny’s husband (Charlie’s dad) in 1955.

NOW By 2008, soaring rents had made staying in Manhattan impossible, so they moved the business to the Hunts Point Cooperative Market in the Bronx, which - according to Wikipedia - is the largest food distribution center of its kind in the world.

264 INDERJIT

‘99 My notes from ‘99 state that Inderjit was “an economist in a hurry” near the corner of 26th & Lexington. At the time he was a professor at nearby Baruch Collage.

NOW He is now mainly but not totally retired. He lives on the Upper East Side but travels a lot - including months-long visits to New Zealand to see his daughter and grandchildren. He drives a Tesla.

282 NINA

‘99 At the corner of Pine and William Streets, in Lower Manhattan, Nina was a real estate broker on her way to or from a meeting.

NOW She’s now a grandma, works out at the Y, and continues to work as a real estate broker - partnering with her husband. They specialize in estate sales.

283 ABDUL

‘99 Abdul - originally from Pakistan - opened a pushcart in 1986 and located it at Liberty Plaza Park, near lower Broadway. He says he was the first to offer “chicken-rice” in the area.

NOW His food cart is larger now, and you can find it just a block away from the original spot. There are many other carts nearby, so I asked him how his chicken-rice compares with the others. He said, “Everybody has the same [because] they all buy it from a garage.” He told me that he used to work as a butcher and knows to throw out ingredients if they smell bad. “I take the money I have to get good food,” he said.

His chicken-rice goes for $6.

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