“I took pictures in my mind but wasn’t so quick to carry a camera.”

“Shattered by poverty, racism and civic neglect, it was seen by many as a ruin that would never rise.”

“Despite everything, life was happening in Bushwick. People were falling in love; children were playing in the ruins… ”.

“Meryl's work, as an artist and educator, began to serve the LGBT community best when she finally came out to my entire school community”

“Passion and integrity are more important than ambition and breaks.”

“she also grasped something beautiful and unspoken. Beyond all of this terrible decay, life continued”

“Not all is gloom and doom”

“Her photos are just as much a conduit for nostalgia as they are a memo for the present and seem as relevant as ever for the neighborhood as it continues to go through immense change.”

“It was the best of times; it as the worst of times”

“They were physically and time-wise very close to each other, yet opposite ends of a spectrum of life -- my life as adult in NYC, a true Tale of Two Cities.”

“photos of the people and places that celebrated the spirit of Bushwick”

“The photograph, speaks volumes about place, gender, extended family, where we come from (in the deepest sense).”

“Meisler juxtaposed these grim vignettes with the glitzy party snaps she accumulated as a nightlife fixture in her 20s.”

“Meisler is known for these images of devastated, post–black out New York, and at first it seems odd to pair them with pictures of better times.”

“She snapped photos of William Shatner, Andy Warhol, Grace Jones, and frequented Studio 54…”

“striking, honest street photography, which captures an area beset by arson, poverty, and other afflictions”

“She found the truly rewarding experience was serving, and capturing moments of, underprivileged children of Bushwick at a time when the neighborhood was the most dangerous part of the city.”

“The natural light created by the absence of tall buildings, or any buildings, was a photographer’s dream.”

“The photos capture a certain moment in history that Meisler wouldn’t realize the relevance of until much later.”

“Sex, Drugs, and Disco”

“there is nothing stereotypical about Meisler’s iconic portraits of Bushwick inhabitants”

“Disco lights all around, smoke from a hidden smoke machine, and disco music”

“The juxtaposed imagery of Meisler’s two worlds is mesmerizing”

“It wasn’t work; it was play.”

“Meryl’s work tells the tale of a revolutionary disco nightlife culture in some of New York’s most exclusive clubs with a medium format camera.”

“She managed to capture both the city’s decay and its creative energy as seen through the streets and night life.”

“I photographed things that were positive to me. I did not photograph the crack vials and the heroin and the junkies,” she said. “I was there forthe long term, so theseare my memories.”

“Bushwick looked like a ghost town war zone.”

“Visions of the past”

“Masterful and poignant, and amazingly”

“Moving to New York City to become an illustrator, Meisler made a beeline for the artistic world on her doorstep which shrugged off judgment.”

“She captured the scenes bouncing between the rough-and-tumble five boroughs and the leafy Long Island suburb where she was raised.”

“It beckons me to nostalgize for a time and place that I have no part of”

“This is the environment but also the desire to find joy and humor despite great sadness or other things that go on in life.”

“The ’70s were sassy, but also sweet, and so was Meryl.”

“I had to photograph it to make sense of it all. To hold onto the time, to release and share it, put it in perspective, and move on. It was sassy, but also sweet, and so was I.”

“This book encapsulates my coming of age: The Bronx, suburbia, The Mystery Club, dance lessons, Girl Scouts, the Rockettes, the circus, school, mitzvahs, proms, feminism, Disco, Go-Go, Jewish, and LGBT Pride, the New York streets, friendship, family and love”.

“The images are terrifically rich and the juxtaposition between good-girl Jewish suburbia and inner-city sin is wonderfully rendered”.

“Juxtaposes images of her home life on Long Island with some never-before-seen street and nightlife images”

“Meisler caught the glittering brilliance of disco, the super-glam phenomenon that lit up the city each night in the late ’70s”.

“I wanted to photograph where I was coming from, emphasizing the elements of play and love”

“I photograph, for art, for purpose, to remember; it’s mainly for me. Some people hum and/or sing while they play or work. I hum, sing off key and make photographs.”

“The result is a delightfully outlandish family photo album, and a capsule of seventies suburbia crackling with humor and mischief.”

“Sweet and sassy with a pinch of mystery.”

“New York is a city, and our uniqueness and diversity makes it greater.”

“Meryl shows us a world that made Meryl, Meryl. “It’s a coming of age story in pictures,” she says with surety that shows Meryl means business.”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.

“Documenter of the 70’s and 80’s New York disco and punk scenes”

“Scintillating images all but transport us to its infamous dancefloors”

“Photography is a relationship you’re having in that moment. When you’re looking at people and you can tell when your irises meet.”

“The photographs drift between the kitsch-filled rooms of Meisler’s hometown in Long Island to the gritty clubs and streets of disco-era New York”

“She laboured on the powerful juxtapositions of the party and a city teetering on the edge”

“Meisler looked for the humanizing touch in the wreckage, the sleaze, and the schmaltz, often positioning herself and her own maturation at the comedic fulcrum”

“I’ve been writing my memoir through photography”

“Kitchsy, boisterous, and lovin’ it”

“American female trailblazers who challenged the accepted conventions of the time and paved the way for today’s image makers”

“The photographs capture the drama and exuberance of the 1970s”

“vision of her native New York City as the mythical island of Atlantis”

“glamour and glitz was flourishing, nourishing itself, eagerly yearning for its close-up”

“The love of photography is part of my heritage”

“In all of her images, there's as a vivid connection between photographer, subject, and life itself”

“The photographs drift between the kitsch-filled rooms of Meisler’s hometown in Long Island to the gritty clubs and streets of disco-era New York”.

“The type of lifestyle, both urban and suburban that Meisler was able to capture is candid and real”

“Each image a witty and memorable souvenir from a time gone by”

“Quirky, nostalgic and a bit naughty”

“Juxtapositions she often found with her camera—of the high and lows of a city in decadence and decline”

“Her distinct, borough-spanning vision of the Big Apple in the '70s aligns her with the masters of Americana”

“Craziness and humor link all these works together”

“Suburban Long Island housewives, drag and disco queens, punks and dancers at Playmates club… all are characters that Meisler captured through her viewfinder”

“A personal diary, the snapshot aesthetic and night life”

“A genuine cultural capsule of a decade that captivates today’s generation”

“This book is like discovering a shoe box filled with outstanding images that sees as much wonder in the antics of her eccentric family”

“As a young artist in her 20's, Meisler spent the 70's out on the town, camera in tow, ready to capture any click-worthy moment”.

“vision of her native New York City as the mythical island of Atlantis”

“But any hint of that refinement vanished on this day 40 years ago when a power outage threw the city into darkness during a heat wave”.

“Meisler's photos capture the sexy, carefree spirit of a post-Stonewall, pre-aids summer spent among lovers and friends”

“Once a photograph is taken, the vision captures a bygone moment. The pace of change in Brooklyn is rapid.”

“The presidential election left her feeling something like mourning, and she saw the march as a chance to assuage her anger over the result, and fears about the future”

“My first connection with Bushwick was the night of the blackout in 1977. I was going to Studio 54, like I was doing a lot”.

“As an artist and retired art teacher, I was invigorated by the powerful messages creatively expressed in signs, costumes, and music”

“Playing dress up and shooting self-portraits at her parents' house in the suburbs coaxed Meryl Meisler out of the closet and into herself”.

“photographs documented it with compassion and humor”

“The throbbing, thrusting city of “big visions, noisy ambitions and brash art”, of grim wonderment and violent menace, reeled, rolled, grabbed its keys and avoided eye contact in the 1970s”

“As crazy as the city was back then, so, too, was her affection for it. And it hasn’t wavered”.

“The photos capture exuberant, sexually fueled reveling”

“Meryl Meisler captured some of the rowdiest house parties in those locations where attendees wore little to no clothing along with similar images taken at the public beaches”

“any hint of that refinement vanished on this day 40 years ago when a power outage threw the city into darkness during a heat wave”

“The sprinkle of new faces from afar keeping things fresh”

“She desecrates that space, discovering her sexuality instantly”.

“...It was really quiet; it was not the destination that it is now”

“People enjoy the crud of chemicals in darkness, an easy price for the magic of watching life come back to visibility in a tray, like magic”.

“Focuses on the rich cultural history of the neighborhood and takes an unflinching look at the daily lives of the working-class people and immigrants who lived there”.

“New York City in the 1970s was tough but if you took the trouble to look for them, signs of joy were everywhere”.

“Meryl’s photos capture the LES when it was predominantly a tight knit immigrant and working-class neighborhood during difficult times in NYC history”.

“By highlighting the everyday life of real people in her past, Meisler makes us think about what each of us is doing at present to preserveand contribute to future history”.

“Think about what each of us is doing to learn from, preserve and contribute to history. What will we give to future generations? What will they say about us?”

“both the great diversity of the neighborhood, as well as the danger and despair”

“Surrounded by decadence and decay, she looked for the humanizing touch in the wreckage, the sleaze, and the schmaltz of the struggling city.”

“It’s busy and alive and yet, there are still people on the street that are true New Yorkers”

“the heart and heat of the wild 1970’s and 80’s disco and punk scenes”

“Inside punk rock's hard core in its 1970s heyday”

“she uses this rare quality of truly caring to look at everyone as someone who should be photographed, and that’s what makes her photography beautiful”

“an opportunity to live vicariously in the past with multiple chances to rue the disappearance of that most enticing and beautifully squalid demimonde”

“needless to say, I’m a fan. Her legacy as a New York City street photographer over the past 40 years ago reveals a grittier metropolis”

“Continuing our rediscovery of Meisler’s rich body of work”

“The black-and-white photos depict the joy, creativity, and inclusivity”

“focuses on scenes of joy, freedom, moments of innocence and abandon”

“Sun, sex and disco: the American photographer looks back on the summers of ’77 and ’78”

“There is an element of play in many of Meisler’s photographs, and it’s fun to see them plein-air.”

“Photography is a powerful democratic tool.

“hundreds of images showcasing both urban decay and also how residents thrived among the destruction”

“Meryl’s work documents the life of a compelling artist.”

“Printed side by side, the images show how necessary all these different signs of strength can partner with general empathy.”

“change is a mother

“amazing nostalgic photos that give us a peek into the excitement of the epic era”

“Meryl Meisler led a double life, working a regular job by day, and by night, as a hostess on NYC's hedonistic club scenes... photos she captured of the nights' debauchery”

“Great photo, but I also want the film dress for my Halloween costume this year because it’s always such a perfect time climate-wise to wear bikini tops and the skimpiest skirt you can find.”

“Carrying her medium format camera everywhere with great delight – Meryl photographed the world she knew”

“uncanny ability to find those humanizing moments admidst the wreckage, sleaze, and the schmaltz of a decadent and dying city”

“The photo is a bit off focus, but the memory is clear as can be.”

“Camera in hand, Meryl Meisler looked for the life and the humor of the city’s broken streets”

“Abandoned buildings loomed over piles of garbage and rubble. Playgrounds were overrun by drug dealers.”

“an integral part of Bushwick’s flourishing artistic culture for the last decade”

“an artist whose work captured Bushwick at one of its most defining moments: the early 80s”

“enthusiastic and joyful about her photography”

“As a 1978 CETA Artist grant recipient, Meryl created a portfolio of photographs which explored her Jewish Identity”

“her sympathetic eye and her love and wonderment of the characters and of this neighborhood”

“The talented photographer offers outsiders the opportunity to peer behind the curtain at another world.”

“ore than 40 years later, Meryl is still getting surprised and feeling blessed for the life she lives.”

“You get real slices of life in New York City at any given moment”