“Long Island City is, I believe,
a city within a city that has been
emerging for many years and I’ve
really tried to document some of
the modernity, the new high-rises
that have been towering over
some of the older buildings in the
neighborhood,” he said. “And that
change is incredibly dramatic and
really interesting to photograph.”
As for Astoria, Frattasi described
it as a neighborhood of creatives.
“I will say, as an artist, I’ve enjoyed
living in Astoria because
the neighborhood is full of creative
people, and that ranges
from theater and film actors,
filmmakers, musicians, photographers
and so on,” he said. “Since
I’ve moved here, even if it was my
own borough, I’ve always been inspired
by other like-minded individuals
in the Astoria community
that I can share ideas with and really
feel like I’m part of an artistic
community here in Queens.”
“Velocity” has been in the works
for about four years now and
won’t be completed until the end
of summer. While the project is
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