When I was a kid there was a vibe of New York City that has somewhat faded for me over the years.

The time was the 1970's, and the dimly lit canyons of the city streets were places of prostitutes and neon lights. Rats and muggers ran free with the Son of Sam. Kids cooled themselves on sweltering summer days in open fire hydrants next to abandoned cars and boarded up houses. Subway trains roared overhead covered top to bottom and end to end with graffiti burners. Phil Ruzuto was the voice of the Yankees, and gas prices were as high as the mohawk's on the Lower East Side. Dark, night time images are called to mind of yellow cabs emerging from steam vents, with a soft sultry saxaphone playing in the background. For better or worse this was the New York City of my youth.

The city that never sleeps also never stops changing. While people might agree that a 42nd Street free of pornographic theaters and abandoned buildings, now occupied by Starbuck's and The Disney Store is an improvement, there's still that vibe that will never be the same.

Some of that essence I've tried to capture in this gallery. The dark and gritty night time city that refuses to sleep for better or worse.