IN PICTURES: THE TRANSFORMATION OF LOWER MANHATTAN - THE 80’S, 9/11, AND BEYOND
For nearly 300 years, the waterfront area of Lower Manhattan was the busiest seaport in the world, the epicenter of New York’s trade and commerce. Yet the neighborhood was never glamorous. For generations, the waterfront offered jobs to dock workers: unloaders, lumpers, seamen, journeymen, fishmongers. That all began to change in the 1980s, as Mayor Ed Koch and a young Rudy Giuliani began working to get rid of the crime family’s control of the waterfront, clearing the way for the area’s old buildings to be torn down and replaced by luxury housing and shopping. After the seminal moment of Sept. 11, 2001, the area was rebuilt even more, erasing almost all of what remained of Lower Manhattan’s working-class past. It is this transformation that photographer Barbara Mensch captures in her new book, “A Falling Off Place: The Transformation of Lower Manhattan,” which includes images from the 1980s through 9/11 and beyond. Mensch, a prominent photographer whose photos have been included in a collection at The Museum of Modern Art, joins MetroFocus to share many of her stunning black and white photographs of that period – including images capturing the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and their aftermath, Downtown’s rebirth as a global economic engine, and the final days of the Fulton Fish Market, which closed in 2005.
“FIVE FLOORS UP: THE HEROIC FAMILY STORY OF FOUR GENERATIONS IN THE FDNY”
For nearly a century the Feehan family has been at the heart of the New York City Fire Department. From the dawn of the motorized fire truck to the September 11th attacks, at least one member of the Feehan family has worn the FDNY patch. First Deputy Commissioner Bill Feehan was the highest-ranking member of the department killed on 9/11 and two decades later his legacy lives on thanks in part to his family. Their extraordinary service and how it reflects the history of the department is the foundation of author Brian McDonald’s new book, “Five Floors Up: The Heroic Family Story of Four Generations in the FDNY,” and the New York Times bestselling writer joins MetroFocus to discuss this New York family’s lasting impact.
