Photo: Tobias Hutzler via T&L

I just came across this great article written by Kate Betts for Travel & Leisure magazine. It’s about touring New York’s most dynamic neighborhoods and experiencing the change over time. Gain insight into how neighborhoods like Tribeca, Williamsburg and Harlem have truly changed since the 1980’s and even the 1990’s moving from the fringe to becoming ‘established’ with such long-time Tribeca restaurants Nobu being joined by celebrated chef Andrew Carmellini’s Locanda Verde in Robert DeNiro’s hotel at 379 Greenwich St. 

This article especially strikes a cord with me this month because I moved to Manhattan from Switzerland on August 24th, 1986. As a young european the city’s neigborhoods captured my visual sense and on weekends I would grab my Minolta XG-1 35mm camera and walk the streets of Tribeca, Soho and other areas snapping away.  From the top of the Empire State building to Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights I tried to capture everything. Far from family, New Yorkers and the diverse nature of our architecture became my surrogate family.  So I remember first-hand walking up Varick Street and Duane Street in the early 1990’s on a Saturday morning and being the only person on the street.  Today Tribeca and New York is a different world and city.