Lifestyle: Stephen Webber is a fabulous artist who accurately depicts life in New York City Housing Projects.
His work also includes other genres of street , music and lifestyle nuances. I lived in Ravenswood Housing Projects, Queens NY. from 1966 – 1975 with thousands of other residents and for the most part, we settled our differences with dialogue, not anger. Yes, there were fights, violence and people who did not get along, but fortunately this was the exception . We tried to understand each other.
My corner apartment was 35-06 21 Street which also bordered the Department of Sanitation garage which housed hundreds of trash trucks. Every morning the trucks would exit the garage with the sounds of beeps while they backed out of the building.
This started about 4 am and continue for an hour or so until they all left to pick up trash. Incredibly noisy but somehow we managed to sleep through the night. It was not a quiet neighborhood as 21 street was also a thoroughfare for cars and trucks coming and going to the Triboro and 59 Street Bridge. Long Island City , our neighborhood, was the industrial hub of Queens. There were also two other housing projects within a mile or so of each other.
Additionally the hood also had the power plant known as Big Allis, which at the time was the world’s largest non nuclear power plant. So much for solitude.
We played, hung out and grew up. The projects are still there , but have not gone back in decades. Hope the present residents are doing well.
Keep smoking