The 1980s East Village photography of Peter Bennett is currently on display at the Tompkins Square Library branch.
Bennett, a native New Yorker now residing in Los Angeles, grew up in Greenwich Village and lived in the East Village from 1979 to 1988.
The above photo (not one featured at the library) shows the south side of Eighth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C from 1983. (You can see St. Brigid's on the corner.)
Bennett told us this about the photo:
I used to hang out on that block in the 1970s. [He finished high school at Seward Park in 1972.] I had two friends who lived there, and I would visit them. It was a rough, rough block back then. I was mugged on at least one occasion. Tompkins Square Park was completely off-limits after dark; I remember walking around it coming back from my friends and hearing gut-wrenching screams coming from the park somewhere. It's come a long way.
Tomorrow (Thursday) evening, as part of Lower East Side History Month, Bennett will be one of the guest speakers in a session titled "The East Village in Music, Art, and Words." He'll be joined by Linus Coraggio, MaryAnn Fahey and Andrea Wilson. Unfortunately, the session is full, and the registration is closed.
However, Bennett's photos will be up for the next few months at the library, 331 E. 10th St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Follow Bennett on Instagram here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
