Tompkins Square Park

by Bill Weinberg, Q. Sakamaki (Photographer)

You better hold on, something’s happening here
You better hold on, meet you in Tompkins Square
—Lou Reed, “Hold On” (1989) 

Summer 1988. Tompkins Square Park, which long served as a makeshift home for the homeless and a center for social unrest, erupted in violence when the New York City Police and hundreds of rioters clashed over ideological differences. Residents of the Lower East Side, historically home to diverse immigrant communities but facing gentrification, united to protest the 1 a.m. curfew the city was attempting to enforce on the park, in effect banishing the homeless and closing off many areas of the park that were once public. Over the humid night of August 6, protestors carrying signs that read “Gentrification is Class War” and chanting “It’s our fucking park, you don’t live here!” clashed with police armed with riot gear. The violence lasted until the next morning. 

The August 6 Police Riot—so called because the consensus was that the police overreacted to the protestors—and subsequent Tompkins Square Park riots were the manifestation of a larger concern of the over-gentrification of the Lower East Side. The Lower East Side has a long history of liberal, and at times radical, movements that attracted artists, intellectuals, anarchists, activists, squatters, immigrants, and even exiles. Many in the community, unlike in other more passive communities facing gentrification, stood up and worked together with the homeless to protect housing rights and human rights, as well as their own lifestyle. By 1991, the estimated 300 homeless people living in Tompkins Square Park were gone and the park was forcefully closed for renovations. Twenty years after the police riots, the park now boasts one of the best dog runs in New York City. 

Genres: Photography

120 pages, Hardcover

First published June 12, 2008

Reviews

[Hallie]

microcosm

[NotoriousGOT · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who has ever lived in New York City during the 1980s or 1990s, especially those who lived in the East Village, you MUST and I repeat, MUST own Tompkins Square Park by Q. Sakamaki. It is THE photography book I recommend for that period of time.

As a NYC dweller, and 3 year resident of the East Village, and urban photographer, I am captivated by images of turbulent times in NYC. It is surprisingly hard to find a quality collection of photographs that truly depict the emotional and physical state of a place and a time but Japanese photographer Q. Sakamaki has done it.

As a transplant to the area in the late 80s, Q was there during the notorious Tompkins Square Riots. With his camera in tow, he was right there in the action, capturing everything during those turbulent times. Sakamaki isn't a photojournalist, at least not in the way he shoots. He shoots like an artistic photographer so his photos, in my opinion, have a rawer quality to them than typical photojournalists. As a result, this book has become my favorite coffee table book and conversation starter.

While there is some writing in the book, mostly describing the neighborhood at the time and comparing to what it is today, it's the photographs that you will remember forever. I personally have a few favorites, but will let you make your own decision when you pick up a copy of this book, and I hope you do - because it's worth it.

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling collection of photographs capturing the Tompkins Square riots, the homeless encampments, the protest concerts of the likes of Missing Foundation, and the last gasp of the East Village before massive gentrification.