Interview: Laura Goggin, NYC Wildlife Photographer

Laura Goggin is an NYC photographer whose amazing blog is a cornucopia of original NYC street scenes and wildlife. In particular, her blog chronicles the lives of two gorgeous red-tail hawks named Christo and Dora who make Tompkins Square Park their home. For five years now, Laura has followed them, posting pictures of their comings and goings, and showing the love they generate in their community.

Just when you didn’t think someone could find something new to photograph in NYC, Laura has gone ahead and done it. The pictures of Christo and Dora, along with her other wonderful photos of NYC streets and wildlife, capture what a complicated, endlessly fascinating city this is for someone with a great eye.

Laura was kind enough to tell Mr. NYC more about her blog, her love for photography and NYC, and what made her want to tell the ongoing story of Christo and Dora.

What inspired your love of photography?

The streets of New York! I love to walk around and explore, so when I first came to the city, I spent all my time scouring the different neighborhoods, going places I'd never been before. I liked the architecture, especially the 19th century buildings and the history. Every block tells a story and I tried to capture some of that in my early photography.

How long have you been taking pictures?

I received my first Kodak Instamatic for Christmas when I was 11, but I didn't start getting serious until I was given my first digital camera in 2004. Before that, I was more into painting and drawing. When I moved into a tiny apartment that was too small to accommodate all my art materials, I found that using the camera fulfilled my need do something creative and it also motivated me to get outside every day and be inspired.

What made you want to create a photography blog back in 2007?

I was posting my photos on Flickr which is a great social community and a good way to get feedback from other photographers. However, I wanted to be able to attach narratives to my photos and say more about them, so that necessitated me setting up my own site. I didn't really know what I was doing at the time, but I knew I wanted to be more of a storyteller.

Your blog specifically chronicles the lives of two red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park, Christo and Dora. What inspired you to track and photograph these hawks, and how long have you been following them?

The first hawk I saw in Tompkins Square Park was low in a tree near Avenue A and a crowd of people had gathered around to watch as it ate a rat. I'd never been so close to a wild raptor before, so I was mesmerized. I wanted to know all about it, so I stayed with the bird until it finished its meal to find out what it would do next. After that, I was hooked. I knew almost nothing about hawks, so everything that followed was a learning experience.

What struck me that first day, and what still amazes me, is how a wild animal can live in one of the most urban areas in the world and not only survive, but thrive. I never knew there was so much nature in the city until I started paying attention to hawks. Having the opportunity to walk a short distance from my apartment and witness wildlife that I would never be able to see in a rural area was absolutely thrilling. Suddenly, I had new inspiration and a desire to pursue a unique subject I that never crossed my mind before.

In November 2013, a pair of adult red-tailed hawks appeared in the park, which was new and intriguing. Until then, there had been mostly migrating immature hawks who would stay for a few days or weeks and then leave. This new adult pair quickly decided to claim the park as their territory and proceeded to drive all the other hawks out of the area. The pair would come to be known as Christo and Dora (named after the Christodora House on Avenue B and 9th Street), and the saga that followed is documented on my website.

What has been the most surprising and interesting thing in capturing their lives?

I never knew much about birds at all until I started watching the hawks, so every day I learn something new. However, having the hawks nest in plain sight (the first two nests were on air-conditioners in windows), has given us an intimate view of their daily lives and shown us things we would never see in the wild. We've been able to observe net-building, courtship behavior, egg-laying, chick-rearing, hunting, and the roles the hawks play in their relationship. The male, Christo, is the provider, so he does most of the hunting and teaches the chicks how to catch food. The female, Dora, not only looked after the chicks in the nest, but she was the primary defender of the territory. I saw her fight Peregrine falcons while soaring high over the park.

What things about the lives of hawks or exotic birds in NYC that most people probably don't know about?

I think most people just don't know the birds are there. Look up! I can't tell you how many times I've seen a hawk swoop right over the head of someone who is staring down at their phone and they never notice a thing. You also post many pictures of NYC wildlife as well as street scenes. I started out photographing street scenes, but as the streets get sanitized and gentrified, they lose the magic that originally attracted me. Urban wildlife is beautiful, exciting and educational. As I learn more about it, the more involved I become in environmental conservation. I'm hoping other people are also inspired by the hawks to take action and work to keep our neighborhoods clean and safe for wildlife.

Do you seek out things like that to photograph or do you just see something and shoot it if it captures your imagination?

If there is something I'm interested in, I'll seek it out, but I usually like to just take a walk and see where it leads me. What else do you like (or want to) photograph? I like to photograph things you wouldn't find in any of those NYC souvenir shops. There are certain subjects I'm attracted to, like people sitting on fire escapes or stoops. These are moments of quiet and peace in a city of noise and chaos.

Tell us what you love about living in, and photographing, NYC?

I love the energy and the diversity of the city. No day is the same. I can walk out my door and find every kind of art, music, food, culture, entertainment and now wildlife. That's what makes NYC so great.

Thanks Laura!

Two Tabloid Town

But for how long?

The Daily News and The New York Post are both in crises -- the News just laid off most of its staff and is little more than a glorified web page now. And The Post exists purely due the largess of its almost 90-year old owner Rupert Murdoch.

Can they survive these convulsions and threats or will they one day vanish? 

If so, the only remaining tabloid in NYC will be gone and, with them, an entire genre of news-making, of muckraking, of telling the wild story that is this city. 

And we'll be devoid of the great headlines that catch our eye each morning.

Here's an example of these headlines and why hopefully both will continue to exist, in one way or another.

"No Passport Required": Queens

Preserving the Future

American society loves The New. It loves the "latest trend", the "fresh face", the "hottest" this-that-or-the-other-thing. Our society is constantly churning out bright shiny objects that quickly fade, that become, to quote that sage Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "so five minutes ago." 

But in NYC we've learned to love and preserve, not so much the old, but the forever precious. Ever since the old Penn Station was knocked down in the early 1960s, we've come to appreciate what we have as much as what we might get. And yet, in preserving things, they need to change.

Here are some perfect examples:

The Bowery, that wide remote avenue on the Lower East Side, used to be where deadbeats and drunk and peep shows and all sorts of wild stuff use to exist. Now? It's beautiful and respectable. It's been preserved and (arguably) improved – although CBGBs is long gone.

Same thing with Film Forum: this fifty-something classic movie house, an "elder statesman of New York cinema" is being saved from the fate of so many other revival houses through the efforts of its fans, including by another NYC elder statesman and well-preserved commodity, Ethan Hawke.

Finally, Madison Square: today it's best known as the location of the original Shake Shack, an absolutely incredible playground (if you have kids), and interesting art installations. It's been beautifully preserved. But did you know Madison Square Park is also where the Manhattan grid system and baseball were invented? Where the first sky scraper, the Flatiron Building, was built? Madison Square teams with NYC history and, as it changes and evolves, its history becomes all the more important -- and easier to appreciate.

And then, of course, there’s the Highline.

So while it’s easy to mourn the changes to our city, it’s also important to remember that some of its most valuable artifacts are being safeguarded for our future.

Hello, Bulgaria

Every day I check my audience stats to see where in the world Mr NYC is being read: the bulk of the readership, no surprise, comes from the US but we also get a healthy dose of clicks from the UK, Russia, Germany, France, even China. 

But every day, almost without fail, Mr NYC gets at least two clicks a day from Bulgaria. The readership from other countries comes and goes, ebbs and flows, rises and falls, but someone (or someones) from Bulgaria is (or are) reading this here blog every single day.

I'm quite flattered. 

To my Bulgarian fan (or fans) I thank you and would love if you left some comments to tell me what you, in Bulgaria, think about this blog and NYC. Here's what I know about Bulgaria: my mom went there on a trip several years ago, told me it was beautiful, and took pictures of some of the most colorful and interesting architecture I've ever seen.

Also, my favorite bar used to be Mehanata 416 BC, otherwise known as the Bulgarian TV Studio Bar, that used to be located on the corner of Canal Street and Broadway. It was a cramped, dirty, funky dive that was unmarked and on the second floor of a ramshackle building. It had a sexy vibe and played Bulgarian TV shows on giant screens, and it even had belly dancers (the bar's motto was "Helping Ugly People have sex since 416 BC"). Sadly, in became a cliche of NYC gentrification and was evicted in favor of constructing a Ramada Inn. The bar relocated to the Lower East Side and became another Yuppie hang out. But it remains my favorite bar in NYC ever. 

Anyway, thanks for reading Bulgaria. You rock!

Ocasio-Cortez @ Netroots

Holy Schist!

Not far from where I grew up, smack dab in the middle of two townhouses on a side-street, sits an enormous boulder. It's just ... there ... lying dormant and unperturbed behind a fence. 

It's a piece of the past -- and here I'm talking like the billions of years ago past -- that's remained perennial as the asphalt jungle grew around it. 

For various reasons, it's never been dynamited or removed, it appears too daunting a task -- although in real estate hungry NYC, people see this piece of evolutionary history has occupying a precious location and want it gone.

I hope, for one, that it remains. This piece of pure earthliness is a reminder of where we came from and, in a way, where we'll return. 

Dare I say that this boulder is ... holy?

Ghosts of Mayors Past & (Maybe) Future

Right now former NYC Mayor Giuliani is shredding whatever's left of his reputation by acting as Donald Trump's lawyer and apologist for treason. Each week the thrice-divorced so-called tough on crime mayor pops up on TV spouting some new outrageous lie like "Collusion is not a crime!" or whatever.

Rudy's gone from the hero of 9/11, America's Mayor, to the Disgrace of Donald Trump, America's joke. The whole reason Rudy's is doing this is, let's face it, because he's long out of power, long out of relevance, a ghost of the past desperately trying to stay in the spotlight.

But the darkness of the past can't stamp out the lightness of the future. Check out Eric Adams, the Brooklyn BP, who's going to run for mayor in 2021. He's Rudy's opposite in almost every way. He's a ghost of sorts, a potential future that our city might slide into. And he couldn't be more different than the past if he tried.

Mr NYC x 2000

This blog post, the one you're reading right now, this very one, is officially the 2000th blog post to Mr NYC.

That's two ... THOUSAND posts since this blog's debut on March 27, 2007 -- 11 years, 4 months, 6 days ago. 

I can't believe it. Can you?

If you want to read any or all of them, just go to your right and browse thru the Previous Entries or Search this Blog. I promise you, you won't be bored (or maybe you will, I'll leave that to you to decide).

Thanks for reading!

Spike Lee Says ...

Spike Lee is one of NYC's greatest filmmakers and he's still at the top of his game. His new movie, BlackKlansman, is opening soon and the buzz is outstanding. I can't wait to see it!

Spike has been making movies for over 30 years, and his work has looked at the relationships between black and whites, men and women, and the New Yorkers with their city. He's a man who has lots to say, whether its through his movies, documentaries, or his very own words.

Talking about Spike talking, you should read this big interview that Spike did with GQ and also listen to this wild interview he did with Alec Baldwin recently. You can also find Mr NYC's Spike Lee coverage here. 

Spike Lee says ... a lot!