This is the first part of a collection of photos donated by longtime Greenwich Village resident Robert Fisch, primarily of the Greenwich Village of his youth in the 1980s, landmarks and familiar sights of the neighborhood and city in the decades since then, the former World Trade Center and 9/11, and the annual Gay Pride Parade. 

Robert grew up in South Queens and became interested in photography when the Concorde SST began flying over the area in the mid-1970s. His first real camera was a 35mm rangefinder. He completed photography and darkroom courses at his middle school in Ozone Park Queens (J.H.S. 202 Robert H. Goddard) and Stuyvesant High school, where he upgraded to a 35mm SLR.

His photography meshed with his coming of age in the LGBT community; he documented his attendance at meetings of “Gay and Lesbian Youth of New York” at the Gay And Lesbian Community Center on West 13th Street. In addition, he took many photos of the annual NYC Gay Pride Parade. A few of these photos appear in the 2019 book “We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation” by Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown.
 
Since 1991, Robert has lived in the West Village and has continued to document the neighborhood and city around him, from architecture and skylines to sunsets, graffiti, and street art to beloved local businesses and landmarks. He now shoots digitally; the last major event he captured on film were the tragic September 11th attacks.

You can view Robert’s other collection of images related to the World Trade Center and 9/11 here.