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I started photographing Times Square in New York City in May 1996; I don’t think I’ll ever stop. I was drawn to the place by powerful memories from my childhood. In the mid-sixties my parents, my sister, and I used to walk through Times Square on our way to the theater. Back then the place was really rocking, with hookers, sailors, and all sorts of strange characters crowding the sidewalks like a 24-hour street theater. The new Times Square is nothing like that now. In the name of urban renewal, it’s been turned into a corporate theme park with megastores and billboards blazing the names of Disney, Nike, Warner Bros., and Calvin Klein. With the changes, I feel a loss. The new Times Square is a cold and corporate place, devoid of eccentricity, where individuals seem diminished or lost in a starstruck gaze. I hope my photographs serve as a warning to developers eager to replicate the “miracle” of the new Times Square in cities everywhere. 
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