Loisaida, a particular neighborhood within the Lower East Side also referred to as Alphabet City. The photographs were taken before Avenue C was renamed Loisaida Avenue; back when heroin ruled the streets – and just as today's rampant gentrification was beginning.

1981–1984

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Some of these images were included in a story on the New York Times Lens Blog called Close-Ups of Puerto Rican New York. Click here to view the story.