Downtown Then & Now. And hopefully “then” again.

Having no alternative but to stay in Manhattan during this pandemic, I was afforded the opportunity to see the city in ways most have never seen. My runs and cycles allowed me the chance to film the city asleep. The absence of people and traffic, replaced by singing birds and occasional bicycle bells as they whizzed by, made it easier to traverse.

As a result, I’ve amassed a lot of footage of an empty NYC.

With the city in the process of opening up, I decided to put this together a series and share what I saw, while documenting these neighborhoods. In the coming weeks, I’ll share some more ‘hoods.

First up is my film on downtown Manhattan. The seat of our symbolic economy. Filmed in May 2020 while NYC was under New York State’s shutdown order.

An empty Brooklyn Bridge above stares back at me

Downtown NYC – In the Stillness There is Life from Surreal NYC on Vimeo.