A couple in Tompkins Square Park. May 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
The 80s was the era of Ronald Reagan. He created Reaganomics to bounce back from the economic recession from the Carter era and helped to create an investment boom. But at the same time, these policies drastically widened the gap between the rich and the poor.
A fan crowd-surfs during a Fishbone concert at legendary rock club CBGB, which closed in 2006 due to soaring rent. June 19, 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
I moved to New York in 1986 from Japan. I shared an apartment with two other people in the East Village, just a few blocks from Tompkins Square Park. Many of the buildings were abandoned, burned out, or completely in ruins. There were “candy stores” (shady storefronts that sold heroin in candy wrappers) on every block, which rarely got shut down.Turf battles between gangs and drug dealers were common, and I could hear gunshots on most weekend nights. The bodies of murder victims or drug users who had overdosed sometimes turned up in the street. In spite of all of this, I was inspired and even charmed by the neighborhood; multi-ethnic and culturally diverse, it was a bohemian place where people pursued their dreams regardless of their race, age, or gender.
Vocalist Stephan Ielpi of the punk band False Prophets performs at the Tompkins Square Park bandshell during the “Resist to Exist” event. May 1, 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
Tompkins Square Park was the center of it all, for socializing, art, music, and political discussion. On any given day, you could find people sitting on benches or on the lawn, reading books or the paper and talking about life, often with strangers. People easily became friends with one another.At night, especially early nights in summer, it was also romantic—young lovers were hanging out as well as the old. Yet, late at night, it was often dangerous. It was because hard drugs were often sold in the streets near the park and drug-related turf wars sometimes erupted in gun violence, though residents somehow avoided such violent incidents.There weren’t many homeless people in the park until 1988; prior to then, they lived in other parks or in empty lots around the city. In 1987, the city government started putting a curfew on public parks and kicking homeless people out. Many of the homeless moved to Tompkins Square Park because it was still open all night. The park became an anti-gentrification symbol of the resistance that began during the final term of Mayor Ed Koch.
On Avenue A, police in riot gear and three undercover officers violently arrest a Tompkins Square park protester who reportedly was just hitting a trash can as a drum during the protest. July 1989. © Q. Sakamaki
That night I was out of the scene, because I was on assignment and returned to my apartment late at night. I didn’t go the park since I was so tired. From my room, I could hear the sound of helicopters flying overhead. The next morning, I had a plan. I seriously started to cover the Tompkins Square Park movement and the protests that would continue for years, and as a result, I witnessed police brutality many times.
On Memorial Day, protesters prepare to confront police on Avenue A. May 27, 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
In terms of diversity and addressing the rights of the people most desperately in need, the Tompkins Square Park movement may have been the most significant protest in New York. It would go on to inspire Occupy Wall Street in 2011, and squatter rights in Berlin and Tel Aviv in the mid-90s.
Keith Thompson, a homeless activist, and his supporters demonstrate for affordable housing on Avenue B, August 1989. © Q. Sakamaki
Now that we are in the era of Trump, the United States and the international community are facing a dangerous divide. The economic disparity is more drastically growing and people seem to forget the merits of multiculturalism. The Tompkins Square Park movement is not only about conveying the dire importance of human rights but also about the need for peaceful co-existence between different types of people, no matter their race, religion, class, or language. I remember one of the most famous slogans of the resistance: “Tompkins Square Park is everywhere.”
A homeless man in front of his encampment. June 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
Some of park residents burn their tents in protest of the eviction. December 14, 1989. © Q. Sakamaki
The NYPD prepares to confront protesters on Avenue B. June 3, 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
A Pakistani immigrant’s store on Avenue A is looted. May 27, 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
On Avenue A in front of the park, protesters hurl bottles at police. May 27, 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
Following the eviction of the homeless from Dinkinsville, the residents’ possessions are flattened and destroyed. October 15, 1991. © Q. Sakamaki
An abandoned building with graffiti murals on Avenue B. December 25, 1988. © Q. Sakamaki
St. Brigid’s Church holds Sunday mass in Tompkins Square Park to oppose the forceful park closure. June 2, 1991. © Q. Sakamaki