A battle is raging for the soul of New York City

We need to #SaveNYC — Gentrification is taking its toll on the city’s cultural fabric. Artist and photographer Clayton Patterson throws his weight behind the #SaveNYC campaign.

Artist, photographer and local historian Clayton Patterson isn’t afraid to put his finger on what made New York City one of the most creative and culturally innovative places on the planet: cheap rent and an inexpensive lifestyle. “Coming out of that you have Jackson Pollock, Rothko, Jimi Hendrix, Madonna, Lou Reed,” he told Huck last year. “One way or another, the advantage of low rent gave them all the opportunity to become who it was that they are, which is the genius behind America.”

Ever since the big money started flowing across Canal Street during the 1980s and into the cultural melting pot of the Lower East Side – which he’s called home since 1979 – Clayton has noticed the creep of gentrification slowly destroying what made the city great. What were once mom and pop shops or avant-garde music venues like CBGBs have increasingly become bland chain stores that suck money out of the community.

As the pace of change intensifies, affecting more and more neighbourhoods across the city, Clayton has been joined by a growing number of dissenting voices – from community activists to filmmakers to rap group Ratking whose track ‘Protein’ yells: “The world is fucked, the city is gone.”

Perhaps the most concerted effort yet to fight the ongoing gentrification comes from the #SaveNYC campaign, with its two-pronged strategy. Firstly, it seeks to raise awareness through photo and video testimonials from New Yorkers who want to see their city’s heritage and culture protected. Second, it’s developing a political strategy that kicks off with attempting to pass the Small Business Jobs Survival Act.

Clayton has thrown his weight behind the campaign and submitted his own video in which he declares his own personal story of survival on the subcultural fringes would not be possible in today’s New York. “The whole American idea of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps and finding your own place in the world doesn’t exist anymore,” he explains. “[Successive mayors] have changed [the city] and made it impossible for the little guy to come and be here. The American dream is starting to not exist anymore.”

Find out more about the #SaveNYC campaign.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Sport

Is the UK ready for a Kabaddi boom?

Kabaddi, Kabaddi, Kabaddi — Watched by over 280 million in India, the breathless contact sport has repeatedly tried to grip British viewers. Ahead of the Kabaddi World Cup being held in Wolverhampton this month, Kyle MacNeill speaks to the gamechangers laying the groundwork for a grassroots scene.

Written by: Kyle MacNeill

Culture

One photographer’s search for her long lost father

Decades apart — Moving to Southern California as a young child, Diana Markosian’s family was torn apart. Finding him years later, her new photobook explores grief, loss and connection.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Culture

As DOGE stutters, all that remains is cringe

Department of Gargantuan Egos — With tensions splintering the American right and contemporary rap’s biggest feud continuing to make headlines, newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains how fragile male egos stand at the core of it all.

Written by: Emma Garland

Culture

Photo essay special: Despite pre-Carnival anxiety, Mardi Gras 2025 was a joyous release for New Orleans

A city celebrates — Following a horrific New Year’s Day terror attack and forecasts for extreme weather, the Louisiana city’s marquee celebration was pre-marked with doubt. But the festival found a city in a jubilant mood, with TBow Bowden there to capture it.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Sport

From his skating past to sculpting present, Arran Gregory revels in the organic

Sensing Earth Space — Having risen to prominence as an affiliate of Wayward Gallery and Slam City Skates, the shredder turned artist creates unique, temporal pieces out of earthly materials. Dorrell Merritt caught up with him to find out more about his creative process.

Written by: Dorrell Merritt

Music

In Bristol, pub singers are keeping an age-old tradition alive

Ballads, backing tracks, beers — Bar closures, karaoke and jukeboxes have eroded a form of live music that was once an evening staple, but on the fringes of the southwest’s biggest city, a committed circuit remains.

Written by: Fred Dodgson

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to stay informed from the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, with personal takes on the state of media and pop culture in your inbox every month from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...