Seagulls fly behind the Staten Island Ferry, March 25, 2020
An eerie silence has descended New York City. Taxis drive by one after the other, lights on, searching for a rare customer. It’s so foreign to walk out onto the street and see no people. The masses of people trying to get to work, heads buried in their cellphones, are gone. Grand Central Station is a ghost town. It’s like being in a movie that’s not entertaining. We are fueled by human interaction. In a city filled with unpredictability, we rely on daily routines to ground us. These certainties have been up-ended. I think of the man I would get my morning coffee from. I wonder if he and his cart will ever return.
—Phil Penman
Phil Penman
A passenger wearing a mask on the Staten Island Ferry, March 25, 2020
Phil Penman
A person sleeping on Seventh Avenue in Midtown, March 25, 2020
Phil Penman
Empty benches on the Hudson River, March 18, 2020
Phil Penman
A man walking across Madison Avenue, March 13, 2020
Phil Penman
A movie theater on Third Avenue, March 22, 2020
Phil Penman
Passengers on the 6 Train heading uptown, March 25, 2020
Phil Penman
A street north of Hells Kitchen, March 23, 2020
Phil Penman
The FDR Drive, looking down from Brooklyn Bridge, March 25, 2020
Phil Penman
A man returning from fishing in Central Park, March 24, 2020
Phil Penman
A person passing the Ambassador Theater in Midtown, March 24, 2020
Phil Penman
A rat on 42nd Street near Grand Central Station, March 19, 2020
Phil Penman
A person walking their dog, crossing Tenth Avenue, March 23, 2020
Phil Penman
Park Avenue approaching Grand Central Station, March 22, 2020
Phil Penman
The Statue of Liberty seen from the Staten Island Ferry, March 25, 2020
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Phil Penman, a British-born photographer based in New York, is a former winner of the Leica Fotografie international Picture Prize. His book Street was published by Glitterati Editions in 2019.
