STREET LIFE: CONNECTING CULTURES OF SANTO DOMINGO AND NEW YORK CITY

William Casari

These photographs were taken as part of my PSC-CUNY grant Street Life: Connecting the Cultures of Santo Domingo and New York City. My photographic essay examines life on two streets: The Grand Concourse in the Bronx, New York and Avenida Mella in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I hope to illustrate the intersection of the lived experience for Dominicans and others along both streets and show the connections between the two places.

As I take photographs in both venues, I think of comparisons between the two streets and the two countries. I look for people doing similar things, apartment buildings, businesses and retail activity along both streets. However, when I begin editing the photographs later I just notice how different the two streets really are. While the lived experience and people might have similarities, through the photo- graphs the built environment and way residents interact with their surroundings is very different on Avenida Mella than the Grand Concourse. Structures, auto- mobiles, shopping and passersby interact differently in each public space. Many Dominicans and others populate each environment.

I find it easier to take photographs and try not to think about the result. Just take photographs and see what happens. I hope they speak for themselves. Alternatively, I found myself walking along other nearby avenues and neighboring streets: Broadway in Washington Heights, Manhattan and the Little Haiti street market just off Avenida Mella in Santo Domingo. The stories on nearby streets inform the entire neighborhood. This photographic essay is a work in progress and will be completed Summer 2012. Until then I will continue taking photographs and looking at the results. I hope those who view my photographs can stay in a place of wonderment and exploration before moving to analytic thoughts when looking at the images. At least for a moment.

PHOTOS

1. Bronx County Building with Thomas Garden Apartments in foreground. Grand Concourse, Bronx New York. August 2011.

2. Dominican Day Parade. Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York. 24 July 2011.

3. Avenida Mella in the Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. January 2012.

4. Bike vendor along Avenida Mella, Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. January 2012.

5. Passersby walking along Avenida Mella, Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. January 2012.

6. Dominican Day Parade. Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York. 24 July 2011.

7. Dominican Day Parade. Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York. 24 July 2011.

8. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. January 2012.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Casari, William. Street Life: Connecting Cultures of Santo Domingo and New York City. PSC-CUNY Research Award Program. 1 July 2011. Print.

---. Concourse Dreams: A Bronx Neighborhood and Its Future. New York: City Univ. of New York, 2008. Print.

Hoffnung-Garskof, Jesse. A Tale of Two Cities: Santo Domingo and New York after 1950. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2008. Print.

Rosenblum, Constance. Boulevard of Dreams: Heady Times, Heartbreak, and Hope Along The Grand Concourse in The Bronx. New York: New York UP, 2009. Print.

Bronx County Building with Thomas Garden Apartments in foreground. Grand Concourse, Bronx New York. August 2011.

Dominican Day Parade. Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York. 24 July 2011.

Avenida Mella in the Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. January 2012.

Bike vendor along Avenida Mella, Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

January 2012.

Passersby walking along Avenida Mella, Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. January 2012.

Dominican Day Parade. Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York. 24 July 2011.

Dominican Day Parade. Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York. 24 July 2011.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. January 2012.