A Vanishing New York: A Conversation with Photographer John Lazzaro

A Vanishing New York: Ruins Across the Empire State
A Conversation with Author/Photographer John Lazzaro

New York is filled with forsaken buildings, each ravaged by the exploits of modernization, each having fascinating histories. This photographic essay explores over 40 of the most evocative abandoned sites in the Empire State and puts their individual stories in the larger context of New York’s historical legacy. Photographer and author John Lazzaro traveled the state, capturing what’s left of such places before they are inevitably swept away by time. Divided by region, these sites, ranging from the Catskills’ once-vibrant vacation destinations to Long Island’s melancholy psychiatric centers, reveal deeper social, cultural, and political changes that lead to their decay. These abandoned hospitals, schools, churches, railways, and estates offer us a view into a past rapidly dissolving before it disappears completely.

John Lazzaro specializes in urban landscape photography and the documentation of the solemn beauty in abandoned buildings and vanishing architecture throughout New York State. As an author, photographer, and documentary filmmaker, he is fascinated by history, storytelling, and social awareness. His first book, The Walls Still Talk: A Photographic Journey Through Kings Park Psychiatric Center (2019), documented the decades of neglect and decay of Kings Park Psychiatric Center in Kings Park, NY as a result of deinstitutionalization. His second book, A Vanishing New York: Ruins Across the Empire State (Schiffer, 2022), which includes an essay by renowned architectural historian Thomas Mellins, was the result of a three-year survey of the last remaining abandoned sites representing the diverse history of New York State. Lazzaro draws upon his experiences from documentary filmmaking in order to create a realistic, visual, and thought-provoking dialogue of the macabre.

Lazzaro is a member of The Firefly Gallery in Northport, NY and his photographic work has featured at numerous galleries, libraries, and historical societies throughout New York, as well as Untapped New York, Fstoppers, Long Island Herald, and The New York Post. Since his college years, Lazzaro’s documentary shorts have screened in film festivals in 12 different states.

This author talk was presented as part of the League's Preservation Book Club. Thank you to our sponsor, the Peggy N. & Roger G. Gerry Charitable Trust.