The Forty Deuce (Böcker)

In the 1970s and 80s New York was internationally renowned for its seedy underbelly; the world capital of leisure, luxury, and sin. And the epicenter of New York vice, hands down, was 42nd Street-Times Square—a.k.a. the Forty-Deuce. On any given night on the Forty-Deuce you could take in the latest blockbuster, B-movie, or skin flick; cop drugs or cop a feel. A playground for the perverse, as well as a destination for thrill-seekers and partiers from every borough of New York City and beyond, Times Square was the electric heart of the city that refused to sleep. The Forty Deuce is a series of photographs capturing a gritty, glamorous, and authentic old-school New York, well before Mickey Mouse took over Times Square and scrubbed it clean. A revealing portrait of the Forty-Deuce, inside and out—capturing the unique street life and street style of the era, but also drawing us deeper in, to the peep shows, sex shops, backroom brothels, dimly lit arcades, and low-budget theatres where the action happened.