From 1982 to 1984, Ray Mortenson wandered around the South Bronx, taking photographs of the widespread devastation that had engulfed the borough. The South Bronx became a poster child for urban blight. Mortenson’s photographs are powerful. There are no people in these scenes, only the places where they used to live, work, and play. The interior photos are particularly tragic, showing what used to be an elegant rooms and furnishings now abandoned and trashed. When the camera pulls back, the scope is overwhelming, blocks and blocks bombed out.

While the Bronx is now making a comeback, these photographs present a cautionary tale that constant vigilance is needed to prevent repeating the past. The juxtaposition of another museum exhibit, Growing and Greening New York: Planyc and the Future of the City, serves as a guide for avoiding that fate.

The Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street
212-534-1672
www.mcny.org