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July 15, 2015 Aymann Ismail

Long before the Sugar Sweet Sunshine bakery opened on Rivington Street and rents in the area soared through the roof, legendary street photographer Clayton Patterson has been shooting the Lower East Side. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, the neighborhood was notorious as a magnet for crime, drugs, and prostitution and the lensman was there, preserving […]

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June 15, 2015 Aymann Ismail

Over the weekend, a group of graffiti artists painted Boricua-themed pieces to kick off the annual Puerto Rico Day Parade festivities. The march may have started on 5th Avenue, but the celebrations spread throughout the city. Writers such as YES1, DARK, BIO, CRASH, RIBS, BG138, NICER, and ZIMAD descended on the walls (legally) at the […]

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May 26, 2015 Liam Mathews

A photographer named Steve Butcher who has lived in the Lower East Side for more than 30 years shared a treasure trove of vintage photos of the neighborhood with Bowery Boogie. The color photos are from between 1980 and 1985, and the black-and-whites are from 1996. It’s of course old news that the Lower East […]

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April 16, 2015 Lainna Fader

Ossining’s historic Brandreth Pill Factory was demolished without permit on Tuesday morning, according to a report from lohud.com. The abandoned factory had become somewhat of a graffiti hotspot in the last few years. Ossining is an easy two-hour train ride from NYC, close enough to attract dedicated artists and urban explorers, but far enough to […]

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April 14, 2015 Aymann Ismail

On Tuesday, Cinemax show The Knick was filming in Clinton Hill on DeKalb Avenue. The series, directed by Steven Soderbergh, is set in the early 1900s and is a fictional depiction of the horrific conditions common to NYC’s Knickerbocker Hospital. Compared to previous sets in the LES and South Street Seaport, the shoot in Brooklyn […]

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March 17, 2015 Aymann Ismail

In July of last year, talented graffiti artist Jason “DG” Wulf passed away and dedication pieces to him quickly started getting painted from Queens to Moscow. Every year, the artist collaborated with other writers to paint walls celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Recently, in the Williamsburg-Bushwick section of Brooklyn, writers RIBS, ZIM, CS, GHOST, GIZ, KITE, […]

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March 2, 2015 Aymann Ismail

The World Trade Center Transportation Hub is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. ANIMAL snuck into the still-unfinished project by architect Santiago Calatrava to document progress at the lavish, controversial infrastructure that’s been blasted by critics and bungled by Michael Bloomberg. This morning, a Port Authority spokesperson said the hub will be […]

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December 16, 2014 Aymann Ismail

Some of New York City’s most desolate spots are also some of its most beautiful. This derelict warehouse I recently ventured into in Sunset Park qualifies as one of those places. Thoroughly dilapidated and rundown, yet beaming with sunlight and rows of columns, the sprawling abandoned space is adorned with graffiti from the likes of […]

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December 12, 2014 Aymann Ismail

The months-long demolition project taking down the 132-year-old Domino Sugar Factory is almost complete. In April, ANIMAL explored the inside of the abandoned refinery, and in December we returned to observe the entrails of the building that at one point housed the largest sugar refinery in the world. The sight is surreal: the letters from […]

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December 5, 2014 Aymann Ismail

Perhaps sensing the historic nature of the protests for Eric Garner and other unarmed black men and women who have been killed without any recourse from the law, some parents brought their children out to Foley Square on Thursday night. The massive event drew thousands of people, who used the location as a gathering point. […]

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