Vanishing New York: Ruins across the Empire State

Photoessay explores over 40 of the most evocative abandoned sites in the Empire State and puts their individual stories in the larger context of New York’s historical legacy. New York is filled with forsaken buildings, each ravaged by the exploits of modernisation, each having fascinating histories. This photographic essay explores over 40 of the most evocative abandoned sites in the Empire State and puts their individual stories in the larger context of New York’s historical legacy. Photographer and author John Lazzaro traveled the state, capturing what’s left of such places before they are inevitably swept away by time. Divided by region, these sites, ranging from the Catskills’ once-vibrant vacation destinations to Long Island’s melancholy psychiatric centers, reveal deeper social, cultural, and political changes that lead to their decay. These abandoned hospitals, schools, churches, railways, and estates offer us a view into a past rapidly dissolving before it disappears completely. With a foreword by architectural historian and author Thomas Mellins, this is a valuable meditation on the nature of decay and progress, remembrance and forgetfulness, past and present. AUTHOR: John Lazzaro is a documentary filmmaker and documentary photographer based in Long Island, New York. His main focus is capturing abandoned buildings and vanishing architecture throughout New England. Lazzaro is a member of the Firefly Gallery in Northport, New York, and fotofoto gallery in Huntington, New York. 174 colour and b/w images