Ber Murphy- Sleeping Giant/11101 Rezoned

I used to walk the streets of the Long Island City area to escape the ever maddening, ever crowding Manhattan canyons. A haven of small industry, LIC streets were virtually desolate on any given weekend (you could actually walk several blocks without seeing anyone) and you felt a world removed from bustling Gotham just one subway stop across the East River.

That unique sense of place and isolation will soon be relegated to yet another forgotten corner of NY history as towers of luxury condos now rise on its once "idle" streets. Fortunately, Ber Murphy (large format in hand) has managed to capture that area in transition, revealing both the architectural detail and atmosphere that compromised its solitary uniqueness and character, as well as its current transition from isolated neighborhood into upscale, 21st century, urban backyard. His Blurb book Sleeping Giant/11101 Rezoned is one of the highlights of the recent Photography Book Now competition- more info at his blog Pelicula 64.