of the largest inner-city photograph collections of anybody. i used to know everybody that went by. that neighborhood thing is like really important to me. so i photographed the puerto ricans, the dominicans. drag queens from the pyramid club. basically the whole hardcore scene in 87. i was more interested in like the eccentric people, the unique people. anthony: you were at the battle of tompkins square park, which is sort of the gettysburg of the lower east side. i remember it had essentially become clogged with nodding junkies, homeless people who set up permanent camps. clayton: it was dangerous. anthony: it was genuinely dangerous. when the police came down and decided to clean the park, the question is, who won? clayton: well, in the beginning, we did. it s our [ bleep ] park. it s our [ bleep ] park. it s our [ bleep ] park! clayton: you know you have to remember in 1988 they couldn t
psycho. toilet. clayton: classic, right? anthony: you knew you were doing something bad when you bought a product called toilet and, you know, shot it in your arm. oh man, memories. anthony: i mean, basically, your reputation is the godfather archivist of all things lower east side. you were here pointing your camera at stuff since the early 80s. clayton: i probably have one of the largest inner-city photograph collections of anybody. i used to know everybody that went by. that neighborhood thing is like really important to me. so i photographed the puerto ricans, the dominicans. drag queens from the pyramid club. basically the whole hardcore scene in 87. i was more interested in like the eccentric people, the unique people.
clayton: i probably have one of the largest inner-city photograph collections of anybody. i used to know everybody that went by. that neighborhood thing is like really important to me. so i photographed the puerto ricans, the dominicans. drag queens from the pyramid club. basically the whole hardcore scene in 87. i was more interested in like the eccentric people, the unique people. anthony: you were at the battle of tompkins square park, which is sort of the gettysburg of the lower east side. i remember it had essentially become clogged with nodding junkies, homeless people who set up permanent camps. clayton: it was dangerous. anthony: it was genuinely dangerous. when the police came down and decided to clean the park, the question is, who won? clayton: well, in the beginning, we did. it s our [ bleep ] park. it s our [ bleep ] park. it s our [ bleep ] park! clayton: you know you have to remember in 1988 they couldn t close a 10 1/2-acre square park
that neighborhood thing is like really important to me. so i photographed the puerto ricans, the dominicans. drag queens from the pyramid club. basically the whole hardcore scene in 87. i was more interested in like the eccentric people, the unique people. anthony: you were at the battle of tompkins square park, which is sort of the gettysburg of the lower east side. i remember it had essentially become clogged with nodding junkies, homeless people who set up permanent camps. clayton: it was dangerous. anthony: it was genuinely dangerous. when the police came down and decided to clean the park, the question is, who won? clayton: well, in the beginning, we did.
anthony: i mean, basically, your reputation is the godfather archivist of all things lower east side. you were here pointing your camera at stuff since the early 80s. clayton: i probably have one of the largest inner-city photograph collections of anybody. i used to know everybody that went by. that neighborhood thing is like really important to me. so i photographed the puerto ricans, the dominicans. drag queens from the pyramid club. basically the whole hardcore scene in 87. i was more interested in like the eccentric people, the unique people. anthony: you were at the battle of tompkins square park, which is sort of the gettysburg of the lower east side. i remember it had essentially become clogged with nodding junkies, homeless people who set up permanent camps. clayton: it was dangerous. anthony: it was genuinely dangerous. when the police came down and