Beginning in November 1971, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) embarked on a massive project called DOCUMERICA to document pollution and its effects in America. Over a hundred photographers contributed to the project. The result was more than 20,000 photographs that led to three decades of environmental revolution in the country. One of the project’s subjects was America’s cultural and financial hub, New York City. Danny Lyon, Arthur Tress, Gary Miller, Chester Higgins, Wil Blanche, and Erik Calonius were some of the photographers who documented the state of New York City in the 1970s before it became the beautiful city we now know it to be.
Manhattan Bridge Tower as seen framed by nearby buildings in Brooklyn, New York City. The borough remains one of the best surviving examples of 19th century American architecture, June 1974.
An illegal dumping area near the New Jersey Turnpike, facing Manhattan across the Hudson River. In the background is the World Trade Center and to the South is the landfill area of the proposed Liberty State Park, March 1973.
Old refrigerators dumped in front of an incomplete apartment building at Breezy Point Highrise. Construction was stopped by the city in order to preserve the area for public recreation, May 1973.
A creek at Hunter’s Point near the JFK Airport with debris and trash floating around. The houses had no sewers and the community suffered severe pollution problems, May 1973.
