Murder on Second Avenue

In 1980, Edward Fausty and I embarked on a year-long documentation of the Lower East Side in a unique collaboration in which we shared a 4×5 view camera.

1980 was a pivotal moment in the history of New York. While the city teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, artists and musicians flocked to the crumbling Lower East Side with its affordable housing and edgy vibe. Ed and I were participant witnesses to that almost mythical time when everything from punk rock to graffiti emerged from the streets of Downtown New York.

Murder on Second Avenue is a memoir that keys off of an infamous murder at Binibon, a restaurant that once stood at the corner of East 5th Street and Second Avenue.

My walk begins at St. Mark’s Place proceeds down Second Avenue and ends on East 4th Street where I lived in the late 70s until about 1993.