A Former Wall Street Trader Took These Photos Of Street Life, Drug Dealers, And Prostitutes In NYC

The hydrants where open, and Jose was looking to cool down.

More of Jose here: Jose the amazing
More from Hunts Point here: Hunts Point

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

It was close to a hundred today so the hydrants where open. These kids had laid a plank in front of the spout and where "street surfing". That and trying to charge passing cars 75 cent for a wash. As a business man I suggested they aim for the paper money and charge a dollar.

Ty-Shawn, Jaquan, Nahjee, and Dallas (I wrote it down) jumped at the chance for a picture. Now I have to bring back four copies of this picture and a Barbados flag (Dallas), a copy of the picture with sparkles (Nahjee), fruit soda (Jaquan) and a toy gun (Ty-Shawn). Got it

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Jackson Heights has what seems like about fifty taxi clubs, or, in Spanish, bailadero, where men come to dance with girls, often for $2. The clubs all have loud pounding music, a small dance floor, and bouncers. The women, some as young as 17, line the walls, usually in clusters of friends, busily working their phones, looking for a man to buy them a drink (they get half the cost) and/or a dance.

The men, almost all away from home and family, come seeking attention and a break from the grueling hours they work. Most speak little english, most leave very drunk, spilling out onto Roosevelt avenue around 4am, some seeking the sex workers who walk the streets at that time.

Some clubs are well run, providing cars home for the women. Others are not, with accusations of undocumented workers being hired under false pretense.

More Jackson heights photos here: Jackson Heights

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

I went back to give these guys their pictures; Dominoes Crew. Given that it was over 100 degrees, they had moved the game into the back room of the local Bodega. I couldn't help myself, and had to take another overhead picture (my boots in lower right, Charles Le Brigands shoes in lower left)

I have spent a lot of time in the last year building trust and relationships in this part of the Bronx, and in last few weeks its really been paying off. I have not yet had one bad experience despite a reputation (partly due to HBO) that is very negative.

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Pinters Hebrew book store is in the heart of Borough Parks orthodox Jewish community. I took a picture of it three years ago, one of my favorite I have ever taken: Flimsy Tables.

The owner, Yanki, has lived above the store since the age of 12, his father having bought the store after immigrating from Poland in the 50's . Prior to his fathers purchase it had also been a Hebrew book store, for how long Yanki was not sure. Unfailing polite, he was kind enough to answer many questions, explaining Shaimos, the proper disposal of religious books. The store itself, especially with the rise of Kindles and iPads, feels anachronistic. A museum masquerading as a store. Old pictures decorate the walls, one of his father meeting Jimmy Carter. Large books, some dating back to 1700 fill the shelves.

Yanki himself is constantly talking to customers, many who have been coming here all of their lives.

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

“When my father dies I will go to his funeral, only to make sure he is really dead.” – Michael.

Michael, or Shelley, ran away from home at 15. His father, a trucker in the Bronx, was "strung out on drugs, and abusive.” Michael was molested when young. When he told his parents "they blamed me. “If you weren't gay it wouldn't have happened.” He has been living in Hunts Point since.

“When I started the drugs and then working the streets, I just wanted attention. I didn’t get it where I should have, at home, but the Johns gave it to me.”

He and others were evicted from a house where they were squatting. Now he lives in an enclosure beneath the expressway, accessible only by an eight-yard crawl space. Used by addicts to shoot up, it was littered with needles and other garbage. He spent a day cleaning it, adding a few small items: Flowers, a plastic tub to bathe in, and some small decorations.

“I been here in Hunts Point for over twenty years. These kids, they have no chance. None. They grow up here and this is all they see: Addicts and prostitutes. Drugs are everywhere. It’s the culture of Hunts Point. This place is hell.”

More on Addiction: Faces of Addiction

Follow on Facebook: Chris Arnade photography

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Michael was excited. He had a new place to live, a crawl space he lovingly called “my cave.” It was tiny and was reached only after entering through two very tight holes. Michael, who is just slightly over five feet, is in and out in seconds. “The police are like you, big and lazy. They are not, I repeat, NOT going to find me.”

The room was organized and clean. Throw rugs covered the dirt floor. A small table was filled with scented candles and a few found objects, organized into an “addicts alter.” Used needles were capped and disposed of in a special garbage. Clean needles, caps, lighters, and sanitizing alcohol had their own container.

A small battery-operated blue light sat on the bed, shining onto Michael, used to spotlight veins to shoot into. All else was pitch black.

The only noise was the rumble of the semi trucks overhead. “I could use a small radio, but I would probably just sell it when dope sick.”

More on Addiction: Faces of Addiction

Follow on Facebook: Chris Arnade photography

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Its rare I post two pictures of the same people, but with these best friends, residents at the local homeless shelter, I really couldn't help myself. In these tougher neighborhoods childhood innocence can be lost quickly, although its often there, just hidden below a tough exterior of self defense.

Here is the prior picture, with a bit of back story: Damian and Wayne.

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Is there more joy than four kids tumbling underneath the Bruckner?

More of Jose here: Jose the amazing

More Bronx photos here: Bronx

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

After 3:00 am, as the bars start to close, transsexual sex workers start walking Jackson Heights streets. They chat with the women working the food carts and cluster about the few open shops. Most of the sex workers are African American or Hispanic, the Johns almost all Hispanic. As one woman told me, “Hispanic men have to be all macho, being gay is a no-no.” By 6:00 the women can be found in the few open restaurants, eating with their friends, sharing stories about the night.

Jessica, 21, was heading home after working and a meal. She has been out on the streets for 4 months, having left her home in Puerto Rico one year ago. “I always knew I was different, from 5. I did not want my penis. I wanted what the girls had. I came here because it’s better to be this way in New York than where I come from.”

“I like the money and the attention. The men, some are lying about who they are, they mostly married and pretend they don’t like men.”

More Jackson heights photos here: Jackson Heights

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Every year a group of children from HPAC perform a Shakespeare play, this year it's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The two performances will be this Saturday and Sunday. I spend lots of time in Hunts Point documenting the struggles of the neighborhood, so seeing these children and the hope they represent is especially satisfying. It is a true thing of beauty.

Nia, here dressed as Titania, wants to grow up to be a fashion designer. I asked Nia what she learned from spending the year preparing and she said, "Everybody has a character inside of them, a character that can express many things." When I asked her about Hunts Point she said "Its good and bad. Lots of people litter, curse, and do drugs. That's bad. There are so many different cultures you can explore. I like that." When I asked how she wanted to be described, she said, "unique."

You can find more information on the play here: Shakespeare

More from Hunts Point here: Hunts Point

Pictures and stories are all from Chris Arnade.  You can follow Arnade on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

A Former Citi Trader Took These Pictures Of New York Prostitutes >