The Italian festival of San Gennaro takes place every autumn on a long stretch of Mulberry Street, running from Houston to Canal Street in Soho.

In all the years I lived on Spring Street and Bowery, the neighborhood changed, became more diverse and more gentrified.

One thing didn’t change: For the San Gennaro Festival the lights went up in the streets, the stalls were built, and the people came. It was a joy to shoot. My wife L.A. knew I had eaten my fill of sausage and onions by the time I got home from shooting. She also knew that if I was not out of town for work I could be found wandering through the festival.

It was like having Coney Island, New Year’s Eve, Carnival, and Las Vegas in my neighborhood.

But only for a couple of weeks each year.

(This year's San Gennaro Festival runs from September 15th through the 25th, 2022.)