[St.Mark's Place 1979]
Alex at Flaming Pablum uncovered a cache of photos from Patrick Cummins, a Canadian archivist. Of particular interest is his set of 250-plus photos on Flickr dubbed "NYC 78-83."
Let's quote Alex's post on the photos:
Everyone talks about how “gritty” New York City used to be, and it’s almost become this quaint little descriptor that people blithely toss around, but Cummins’ photographs hit you like a sooty, graffiti-slathered stone. His remarkably composed black and white shots of various city spaces can be chilling and stark, revealing a great city in decline. Suddenly, your eye fixes on some random architectural flourish or landmark, and you recognize the location. More than a few of these pictures had me positively gasping.
Here's a sampling of the photos from around these parts (his photos span from Harlem to Coney Island) …
[Looking east on Union Square from 1979]
[Bleecker at the Bowery, undated]
[Crosby and Bleecker 1978]
Jeremiah posted a selection of Cummins' photos on Thursday at Vanishing New York.
Find this set and a lot more at Cummins' Flickr account.