Twenty-Four Images of SoHo New York After the Riots
Photo essay by Julie Sullivan
Editor’s note: Julie Sullivan is a traveling Respiratory Therapist who has spent the past eight weeks working with COVID-19 patients and others in a major Brooklyn hospital. These photos were taken on June 2, 2020.
I went into Manhattan yesterday afternoon and took some photos of the destruction that’s been occurring. It’s gut wrenching to see all the destruction, but also the pain that triggered this. I understand the need to protest the horrible murder of George Floyd and many others.
I’ve talked to some of the owners of small businesses in Brooklyn whom I’ve come to know during my time here. They’re very fearful. Most of them are considering closing their businesses out of concern for their safety. They’ve barely been making it.
Others who were going to open on Monday may not out of fear or due to the destruction of their properties.
They’ve all barely been sustaining and this may end up being the thing that finishes them off. So many people in these neighborhoods will no longer have jobs. They closed down the Target where I shopped; in fact all the Target stores are shutting down in New York. If the little local grocery closes or is looted, where will people go to buy food and supplies? They were already so hard to come by here Where will those workers now go to work to be able to support their families?
I never thought coming to NY to fight alongside many people from all walks of life, that the people here would be fighting each other on the streets.
I am praying for our country and for the end of ignorance, racism and social injustices.
I pray for a time when we no longer see color or race, we see humanity. I know from caring for humans, we all are the same colors under our skin. Empathy, is empathy for human beings too much to ask?
All photos by Julie Sullivan for WBDaily.
SoHo, sometimes written Soho, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, which in recent history came to the public’s attention for being the location of many artists’ lofts and art galleries, but is now better known for its variety of shops ranging from trendy upscale boutiques to national and international chain store outlets.
