“And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for

them, because they were distressed and downcast

like sheep without a shepherd.”

E P I G R A P H

Matthew 9:36

This book is dedicated to all the forgotten men, women and

children who I pray will one day rise up to be a light again.

D E D I C A T I O N

In 1983, on a co ld , dark October morn ing a t 4 :00 a .m. , I en tered the la rgest men’s she l te r in the New York

C i ty Bowery. I t wou ld be the beg inn ing o f an e leven year photograph ic journey in to a book pro jec t t i t led ,

“New York Underground”. Some of the men in th is she l te r were once doctors , wr i te rs , wor ld champion box-

ers , renowned mus ic ians and fa thers . Some had an in te l lec t close to gen ius leve l wh i le o thers cou ld not

wr i te the i r own name. Look ing in to each and ever y person’s eyes I fe l t compass ion fo r the i r s t rugg le , the i r

wants and the i r needs . I was constant ly reminded o f the fac t tha t a l l these peop le were jus t l ike you and I

a t one t ime. I t i s the s i tua t ion and c i rcumstances , the t r ia ls and t r ibu la t ions o f l i fe and how we hand le them

that determine the road we choose. I wanted to photograph each and every person. I wanted to capture their

personal i t ies, their inner most feel ings, and their souls. I wanted to force the viewer to confront the subject.

In the beg inn ing I chose to photograph aga ins t a n ine foo t pure whi te seamless backdrop. The s tark back-

ground prov ided a power fu l cont ras t to the sub jec t . I then moved toward photograph ing peop le in the NYC

subway sys tem. They included s t reet peop le , the homeless , and mus ic ians . The s t reet mus ic ians were o f ten

incred ib ly ta lented . One o f the most ta lented mus ic ians I ’ ve ever met was Rodger R id ley. I ’ l l never fo rget

h is vo ice – i t was beaut i fu l ye t power fu l l y ano in ted . I can s t i l l hear h im s ing ing “My G i r l ” wi th a pass ion

tha t s t i l l echoes through the tunne ls o f Grand Cent ra l S ta t ion .

I met severa l coup les who made the i r l i ves together on the s t reets . One coup le I spoke to were expect-

ing a baby. The mom-to-be cou ld not have been more than f i f teen years o ld . The homeless ta lked about

the i r da i l y rout ine : a constant search fo r food, warmth and she l te r. The New York C i ty subway sys tem is a

se l f -conta ined in f ras t ruc ture which some choose as a means o f ex is tence. The homeless are the inv is ib le

c i t i zens o f New York . Peop le wa lk past them ever yday and look r ight th rough them. When we turn away f rom

these peop le on the s t reet a re we in fac t t r y ing to deny i t cou ld jus t as eas i l y be any o f us? An unforget-

tab le s tor y i s o f a man who suf fers f rom ep i lepsy but who led on o therwise normal l i fe . Whi le dr iv ing on an

out ing wi th h is fami ly he had a se izure , resu l t ing in an acc ident which ins tant ly k i l led h is ent i re fami ly. As

the on ly sur v ivor he has spent the res t o f h is days agon iz ing over tha t moment . He has chosen to s tay in

the past and no longer cares to funct ion . H is exper ience br ings home the t ru th tha t one’s l i fe can change

dramat ica l l y in a sp l i t second. The cho ices we make, the way we hand le the many hard th ings o f l i fe tha t

a re thrown a t us , may determine how we l i ve out the res t o f our l i ves . L i fe shou ld be t rea ted as a ver y

prec ious g i f t f rom God.

P R E F A C E

E S P O S I T O R I V E R A

Espos i to has res ided on the s t reets o f New York fo r the past decade. As a ch i ld , he l i ved wi th a pr ies t ,but le f t when the pr ies t cou ld no longer take care o f h im. He cla ims tha t he is unemployab le because o f h is poor

eyes ight and lack o f educa t ion . Espos i to i s sure tha t even the s t reet mus ic ians must have “gone to schoo l fo r tha t” . He is content to rummage for food

and admi ts sheep ish ly to panhand l ing on occas ion .

R O G E R M A N

Opt ing out o f th is wor ld , Roger Man l i ves in h is own rea l i t y. He has f requent conversa t ions wi th h is rad io , wh ich he

be l ieves keeps h im in communica t ion wi th h is home p lanet . Our p lanet has obv ious ly been unk ind to h im.

R O G E R R I D L E Y

S t r e e t M u s i c i a n

3 4 T H S T R E E T

A N G E L

T H E R E V E R E N D

James 1 :12 “B lessed is a man who perseveres under t r ia l ; fo r once he has been approved,

he wi l l rece ive the crown o f l i fe , wh ich the Lord has promised to those who love H im.”

Luke 23: 42-43 “Lord remember me, when you come in your k ing ly g lo r y. And He answered h im

“Today, you sha l l be wi th me in Parad ise” .

No mat ter how dark our l i ves can get in th is wor ld , l i fe and hope can be found in Jesus Chr is t .

I f you would l ike to rece ive th is peace and Sa lva t ion pray th is prayer :

Lord Jesus , I am a s inner and in need o f a Sav ior. I be l ieve you d ied fo r my s ins and rose

aga in . P lease come l i ve in my hear t and be par t o f my l i fe . In Jesus name, Amen

I f th is book has touched your hear t and you would l ike to he lp the many peop le in

need in NYC, p lease contact The Salvation Army Development Dept. at 212-337-7200

or www.salvationarmyny.org to give a donation.

Thank you.

J im R imi

E P I L O G U EI would l ike to thank the fo l lowing for the i r e f fo r ts to make th is book poss ib le :

• The Lord Jesus Chr is t fo r my ta lents , s t rength and for mak ing a l l poss ib le .

• Karen, Mar isa , and Emma for the many, many la te n ights I wou ld be out shoot ing ; fo r the t ime and love in o rder to f in ish th is pro jec t , I w i l l l ove you forever.

• Rober t Bed ig ian , fo r the count less co ld n ights out in the s t reets wi th me, car r y inganyth ing and ever y th ing , tak ing meter read ing a f te r meter read ing and most o f a l l fo r jus t be ing there .

• *Car l Bed ig ian , fo r he lp ing me to f ind some of the d i f fe rent a reas o f the N.Y. Subway System,and for the conversa t ion we had a t Ka tz ’s De l i about photograph ing in the subways.

• Mary El len Mark and Mart in Bel l for their t ime helping me to edit the photos and al l their encouraging input.

• Peter Ga lass i and Susan K ismar ic fo r the i r encouragement to see th is pro jec t th rough.

• Peter Howe for h is suppor t and encouragement .

• Bob and Bonn ie Jones fo r the i r ins ight tha t th is book wi l l b r ing a t tent ion and hope to the downcast and heavy leaden. For see ing these photos as a prophecy to speak L i fe in to a l l who v iews them.

• A l l tha t a lways fe l t tha t th is book cou ld be used for the G lor y o f God.

• My corpora te sponsors : Agfa , I l fo rd , Fa lcon, Pr in t Fi le and H&H Co lor Lab

• Ter r y Keenan for hav ing a hear t fo r th is pro jec t and do ing such a grea t job in the des ign o f th is book.

• A por t ion o f the proceeds o f th is book wi l l be dona ted to the Sa lva t ion Army o f New York C i ty,in o rder to he lp res tore the l i ves o f men, women and ch i ld ren .

• *On September 11, 200 l , my cous in NYC Fi re f ighter Car l J . Bed ig ian was k i l led in the bru ta l a t tack on the Wor ld Trade Center. He d ied sav ing the l i ves o f o thers . He was an awesome bro ther.

I l oved h im and he is deep ly missed.

Techn ica l SummaryA l l photographs in th is book were taken wi th a hand-he ld Mamiya RB6x7 camera wi th two foca l length lenses , a 90mm and a 50mm. A l l photos were l i t w i th a Norman 200B s t robe on a custom gr ip made by Armato Photo . The f i lm was I l fo rd FP4/120, deve loped in Edwal FG-7 d i lu ted 1 :15 wi th Sod ium su l f i te

added. A l l p r in ts were on AGFA Ins ign ia g lossy Grade #2. A 9- foot ro l l o f wh i te seamless paper was set up to capture a l l wh i te backdrop photos .

Book Des ign : Keenan Des ign www.keenan-des ign .com

N E W Y O R K U N D E R G R O U N D