homeless

just a few days ago i lived in new york...but, not anymore....an early morning phone call woke me up here in Rajasthan and i found out that i now have no place to live...not exactly what i wanted to hear even before i had my first cup of coffee....not exactly what i wanted to learn, period...disconcerting, disturbing, disorienting....

my whole building has been evacuated....indefinitely......a fire threat in the basement caused the new york city fire department to close down my building for fire code reasons....all tenants had two days to remove their belongings.....imagine....i am in India and suddenly  my precious original negatives, slides, hard drives, and books  are  being boxed and  hauled out the door  to  various  "safe" locations....to  the  homes of friends, to  Magnum  and  who knows where  else....no  time to  really remove the furniture, clothing etc., but i cannot even think about those  things...i do  not care about those things........i only care about my "originals".......thankfully, i am blessed with good friends  who have come to rescue my negatives, hard drives etc and are carrying out the evacuation process while i am sitting under a full moon by a campfire with my eight students on the other side of the world...very strange....

this represents  a "change in plans" to be sure....i cannot imagine now all that this really means...yet, i can only feel fortunate....everyone in the building is safe.....my negatives etc. are fine...no damage.....i do not even want to think what i would be thinking now if there had actually been a catastrophic fire....and i love my friends now more than ever and cannot imagine how i will repay them for what they are doing for me right now....

my workshop here in India ends in five days.....my original schedule had me flying straight back home this coming  monday....now i have no home...no place to go .. i quite literally have no plan...this is just a bit more serendipity than i really like .....does anyone out there have an extra sofa for me to sleep??? 

Comments

[David McGowan]

What a nightmare. You can crash here in Michigan if you want to, but I'm sure someone will hook you up. Let us know what you need.

[Jonathan Auch]

wow... i cannot believe this has happened to you. I am so sorry. Losing a home, no roots, no place, can be scary thing. You are always welcome in east harlem at my apartment it is plenty large.

let me know if you need help storing or moving something. and i am not just offering to be polite.

best of luck
jonathan auch

[Kelly Lynn James]

There's a whole room for you at our place in Austin if you need it. Better yet, meet us in New Orleans next week.

There was an article about this in the NYT. I can't believe the way they handled it. I couldn't stop thinking about the little girl next door to you. But thank god it wasn't a fire in the middle of the night instead. Hang in there. Home is where the heart is.

[Marie]

You can stay with Rob and Lai when you get back in to town. They have offered.

[Rafal Pruszynski]

Hey David,

that sucks..Im glad your originals and back ups are safe. Clothes, firniture can all be replaced, but your work cannot. What a tragedy that would be. Im sure you will find a new home, and I hope you do.

Been away from the computer for a while because of vacation so had no chance to participate in the discussions about the chosen work. Ill just sau it looks great and the website is good though VERY slow to load. Seeing all the plans for the future makes me want to get out there and shoot.

[Joni Karanka]

My mum does have my old room free in the south of Spain if needed. Well, at least the worst didn't happen (negs and people). Sounds to me like a common nightmare, like that of being chased or your teeth falling off.

[Paul Treacy]

Have you ever been to Inwood? It's right on the top of Manhattan and is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Entirely magical. http://inwoodpix.blogspot.com You're welcome here. We have the space. We all love to have visitors and entertain regularly.

I'm sure you'll be spoiled for choice for a resting place lower down in Manhattan, however.

Your situation is a total head fuck. You poor man. Rather scary.

[Andrew Sullivan]

Hey David,

Sorry to hear about the Kibbutz. You're welcome in Stamford with Jen and I or at her mom's house in Greenwich. Just a short train ride to and from the city if you need shelter. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Andrew

[cathy scholl]

SO sorry to hear this news. I guess that's why Marie and Michael were looking for you yesterday. With the kind of friends you have I'm sure opportunities will open up. Perhaps someone who is away for a long time will need a "housesitter"?

Once we get "this old house" (it definitely could have been on the TV show) in Santa Fe finished there will be room for you. Unfortunately that won't be till May. At least we now have a roof...comes in handy in the winter at 7000 feet! In the meantime there is only a blow up mattress on the living room floor in San Diego which is not suitable for you!!!

Maybe with your very full schedule you will decide to stay on the road and just be a vagabond for a while? I can think of worse things to do...If it were me I'd just stay on in India indefinitely. Head into the mountains as the weather heats up....

That's one great thing about India...no matter how bad things get all you have to do is look around and you realize how much you have on every level compared to most of the people there and when you see how well they do with NOTHING it's pretty inspirational.

Not to negate how much of a bummer it is for you to lose your home but as you say...at least all your stuff is safe as are you.
Thank goodness!!!

[Eric Espinosa]

Unbelievable! I was worried that "something" had happened after seeing this urgent message that Marie and Michael had posted yesterday.... Well, life is a bitch sometimes....At least I am glad that all your slides, negatives are safe...Things could always be worse although this certainly sucks big time! Well, even though I am sure that you would need to be in an even worse situation to ever consider moving to the mid-West (even temporarily), rest assured that you can always come to our house in Cincinnaty any time.... (it would have be total despair I am sure!). Hope your return to NY is not too painful and that you rapidly find a place to stay and move to... You have great friends who I am sure will be by your side when you return as it seems they have already been busy in your absence, watching after your important belongings.... Good luck David. Eric

[Lance Rosenfield]

the kibbutz! wtf?? something doesn't smell quite right about this..

david, you are a man with hundreds of homes 'with the light on' all over this blue dot.. and incredible friends in new york doing what friends do.. you've kept your door open for so many just as doors are open for you now, (including this one like kelly said) .. rest easy and make the most of your time in india.. when you return your friends will be 'at home' to help..

[Matt Kim]

Hi David,

Sorry to hear. You're welcome to crash at my place in Oakland, CA. No loud parties tho.

Matt

[Herve]

I had to remove all my belongings from my San Francisco studio 5 years ago, and also plumbing, sink, oven, fridge, shower, gutted out carpet, etc... had 2 weeks to do it. But I was in Thailand. A friend stepped in, moved evrything out of it, and hmmm... Moved back everything after, save the utilities. Since then, I have showered and cooked upstairs in my other old friend's appt, the one I have to take care of these days.

When the system and regulation start screwing with your life and tells you what, your friends really show you what really matters in life. David, yes, you could also come to SF, and eat with me on thai and chinese and cafe food take-outs for a while, and listen to my 2500 classical CD collection, albeit showering upstairs....:-)

Gee, D.A. Harvey homeless, in India. You holy beggar!

[Michael A Shapiro]

DAVID
Come to my farm in South Dakota. Big House, good coffee, internet, Mac.

Fly to Minneapolis; I'll come pick you up. This is a real offer.

Ciao

Michael

[martin (marcin luczkowski)]

David

I have extra sofa for you, and you will be between friends here :)

I think when you are traveler and you are often somewhere on the globe your Kibbutz it is more than just apartment, more than home. The human need the place called “my home” for return.
I’m sorry for your lost.

Remember you are not homeless!!... you have friends equal home!!!

Martin

[Subhrajit Basu]

i am really sorry to hear this. it is however heartening to note that no damage has been done and in any case, your precious belongings are being taken care of by your friends. it is always hard to hear this kind of a news and when you are so far away from your home, it is indeed most disturbing. at your heart you may be longing to be in new york at this very moment to personally supervise the moving of the things because it involves your life's works. now that you have chosen to give preference to your duty over anything else even under such circumstances is something very important to take note of here. there is something to learn from that, surely. i hope everything will come out fine in the end and you will get back your home.

ps. in case you choose to stay back for sometime in india, you are always welcome to stay at our humble place at calcutta and to watch how a bengali household goes on through its daily duties...

[Aleksander Nowak]

The horror, the horror... It's really hard to believe 8-o

(If I move my negatives closer to wall, tidy up the corner and put the chair atop the table, there will be a perfect spot for you to sleep. You're always welcome in Dublin, David, if you don't mind the weather :-))

Good luck. Loads and loads of good luck.

[Max Fox]

David, if ever you were to find yourself desperate or masochistic enough to live in the DC suburbs again (screaming children included), you are more than welcome here. We're pretty close to the metro, and not to worry, we shut down our basement matzo factory long ago.

Max

[Glenn]

Shit Dude, Thats hard to take , at least you have good mates to look after the things that matter, time for all the good vibes you put out to come back to you..in spades I hope - Allways a place for you in the top end , Unfortunately you'd have to share a room with a cranky 2 year old.
Cheers and good luck
Glenn

[Joost Burger]

David,
This sounds like a nightmare to me. It must be horrible to be in it.

I live a bit out of the way (the Netherlands), and our place is already packed, and it's too cold to stay in our garden house outside the city, so I can only offer you mental support at the moment, but if you are ever in Holland drop me a mail.

Good luck and lots of strength with this horrible situation,

Joost

[wrobertangell]

NIGHTMARE!!
man, so sorry. you must have been f..king panicking.
good job for your friends and back up.
negs.....oh my god...so f..king precious.
thank you Jesus, Allah, Buddha, I love you all!

[joerg kassuehlke]

Im very sorry about what has happened to you. And also about the other people who lived in this house.

Germany is no good idea? Here's a sofa for you all time
:D

Good luck and all my best...

[Harry]

That looks like your going to out of that home for a 6 months or a year, shame. Poor people who have nowhere else to go. We've got a bottom bunk if you're desperate. I hope it all works out.

[iori De Windt]

David, that is realy sad news.
It's like the worst horror-scenario what can happen for a photographer.
Hope everything will come 2 a good end.
"Lucky" thing is that you have a lot of friends and people who wants to help you.

Good luck, keep strong, always think positive.

iori

[Jerome]

DAVID,

I have an empty apartment (including furniture) in Berlin suburb until End of February if you need, as I now live by my girlfriend (in center of Berlin, before moving to South China) -)

I had been wondering many times, in case my apartment takes fire, which things I would like to save?
Very little finally: original films and some data on dvd or hard-drive. That's what keep best my memories. And the rest, well, it wouldn't be too bad. And finally I'm coming to this end as I must decide now what I bring with me to China, and what I sell / give away to friends.

Years ago, after having spent 1 month in Poland for university, far away from France my homecountry, I was saying goodbye to my colleagues who were heading back to France. I had decided to stay 1 or 2 months more to backpack around the country. I didn't know yet where I would sleep the evening, where I would spend the next weeks, an so on. Strong feeling of freedom. Strong feeling of being homeless. Great feeling, but not only positive... Freedom has a high cost.

I think I've always been missing this feeling since then. I get a bit of it now that i've quitted my job in Germany to move to China, and am looking for a job there... Enthousiasm towards the coming new experiences, and stress because of all the uncertainity.

QUESTION TO ALL:

I imagine freelance photographers have to carry this feeling with them their whole life? How do you feel about that? How do you deal with this unsecure/unstable situation?

[Stephen Turner]

Nightmare! I'm working in London at the moment, so my place in Barcelona is free for FEB. But I'm sure you're keener to get to NY to make sure everything is safe.
S

[Yan]

Doesn't sound nice but could be worst... If you plan Switzerland as a safe place and that you provide me a free workshop in my home town you are welcome :) Hope that everything will be back to normal soon...

[Phil Brown]

There's a sofa bed at my place here in London - although I only just moved in and can't figure out how it works yet... still better than NYC streets in 24F weather.

[carlos manuel]

I only have an extra hammock,
but I can assure you is very comfortable
the only thing is the fridge… empty…
so you can go to the market and then right to my place
I hope you find something soon…
saludos,

[Rene Braun]

wow. that totally blows. David, come to Maine,and stay at our place. I'll pick you up at any of the airports from NYC to Maine.

This begs a question: As a member of Magnum wouldn't it be safer to have all your originals somewhere in safe storage at Magnum?

I would have thought that would be the way to go for film and slides and similarly for RAW's at some sort of Magnum Intranet server backed up regularly.

[Michael Rawcliffe]

Bad news David! At least your originals are safe and so are your neighbors. It's at times like this that you find true friends - and you have a lot of friends. I imagine that you could find at least a sofa in just about any part of the world judging by these posts. But a sofa isn't home and I hope you get sorted in NY soon. Enjoy India; everyone here is wishing you well.

Mike.

[jay nowakowski]

you are welcome here in ct about 10 miles out of hartford. your own room, double bed and bath. my son lives in long island city-- you could possibly crash there short term.

[Bruno Stevens]

David,
my friend, this is the ultimate nightmare, hopefully all the vitals (archives, originals etc) will be safe, thanks to your friends.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to help, from Brussels or elsewhere!
Good luck for the IPW!
See you soon.

[Liam Lynch]

Really sorry to hear about this David; we are currently in the process of moving to a new house, and my parents also just moved to the other side of the country (and had to return all my backup disks and the like)... all the stress associated with my scenario, all my files in one temporary place, and now I cannot imagine how amplified it must be in your case...

If you are still on the move in March, and ever in need of a sofa bed in South Africa, you are welcome here... I just hope soon you actually have a place to put a sofa of your own rather.

Good luck, hope you get sorted by the time you return,
L.

[Bobblack]

David:

i am so sorry to hear about this. Listen, if you need a place to stay in NYC, please let me know. I will send out notes to folks i know in Brooklyn who have space.

I am so sorry to hear about this. please, if there is anything i can do, drop me a line.

My thoughts are with you.

hugs
bob

[Velibor Bozovic]

sorry to hear david... this must have been a nightmare, even more so because you are far away... however, something good is going to come out of this mess. it must...

[Joan Gummels]

Glad that you are safe, and your good friends are safekeeping the most important things. A crappy situation to deal with under any circumstances, but especially when you are half a world away. My sofa is in St. Louis, but the dog will always make room. Seriously, please let this community know if there is anything we can collectively do to help.

Joan

[Preston]

Wow, the unfortunate end of an era. David, your place was like Gertrude Stein's salon in Paris in the 1930s.

And, to switch metaphors, I'm sure you'll find that like George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life," with regard to your need for hospitality, you are the richest man in town.

[anne henning]

Dear David. There was an eerie urgency in Marie's email...made me scared. Thankfully you, your neighbors, and your photo history are safe. I had a house fire...whole house burned...fortunately i woke up to screaming flames and a blizzard of ash...was able to save my young daughter and me, but the house was gone in the middle of the night...along with kid drawings, photos, furniture. all that stuff.
I still remember the horror of trying to get us out and thinking we would not make it. Knowing your building ...god. emotionally, i'm so sad for you; Your opendoor policy will give all those who have found a haven with you an opportunity to do something for you.
so sorry. love, anne

[Mike Halminski]

David,
Of course, this is the photographer's ultimate nightmare.... well almost. You are lucky to have your archive saved. I cannot imagine loosing a lifetime of work in an instant, but we are all so vulnerable. Most of the time, we take things for granted. This incident should make all of us think and put this in perspective.

I truly hope that you can return to your building very soon. Then of course, you can always come to the Outer Banks........

Mike

[Harry]

Mike its not something that should be a problem with digital stuff just copy every thing on to a separate hard drive(s) and store it somewhere else. My archive is a terrible mess but it is backed up and stored at my wife's office.

[Bj A. Patiño]

"i do not even want to think what i would be thinking now if there had actually been a catastrophic fire"

you're so right david. it's one thing to lose a place to stay, it's another thing to lose a place and all the valuable things in it. then you'd truly lose "home."

still, the gravity of what happened to you remains. which only makes what you said --"and i love my friends now more than ever"--all the more powerful.

be safe david

bj

[erica mcdonald]

It's only an air mattress in the kitchen, but of course you are welcome to it anytime in Park Slope. Or if you need somewhere to put some personal items, they will be safe here, I can arrange to meet Marie.

(As well as finding safe haven with friends and new friends, perhaps you can add to legend by gracing the Magnum offices with your presence for an evening if you feel up to it!)

As I was falling asleep last night, I was thinking about your situation, feeling grateful for my bed and all the other things I have come to take for granted, even though I know better; I was in a nighttime fire as a little girl that took everything..

Obviously the important thing is you and yours and your work are safe and ready for the next chapter, but how overwhelming! Seriously, if you can, get a puja done for your situation and maybe your vedic astrology read, it may offer some guidance and clarity. I was astonished at the accuracy of it for past events when I had mine done.

Above all I wish you peace of mind and the continuance of an open, receptive state, to let the next wave of goodness in...it's a comin'.

[Panos Skoulidas]

Daviddddddddd!!!!!!
You confusing me right now...I thought that we made clear plans that you are staying here in L.A with us!!!!!
Its also time for you to relocate freezing N.Y...
I got an extra long board an extra mountain bike...
just bring a point & shoot camera just in case we wanna capture the moment...
People please LIGHTEN UP... David is coming to L.A...staying with us...
It is time for you D. to learn how to eat,post,blog,have sex,photograph and do anything IN TRAFFIC....while driving!!!!!!
just like a typical Los Angelino!!!!
Peace...

[Anna Barry-Jester]

I think the serendipitous part is that you had begun to document the kibbutz those past months. I've heard it said time and time again about the place: "too good to be true"...well, no NOT too good to be true, you all made it that little village, and everyone will be happy that you've kept moments of that alive.

I really believe you will all get it back again, too much love and tlc in it not to, but in the mean time, you'll just have to keep embracing those friends of yours. What a crazy world we live in, how beautiful is the serendipity of the many friends and homes you've made along the way.

My sincere condolences though. It's obvious you appreciate all of your "friends" but that doesn't mean the uprooting isn't painful.

Suerte...

(always a couch in crowne heights if you need one!)

[Mike Halminski]

Yes Harry, I completely agree. The digital age has made it so much easier to backup our images off site. I have also heard DAH mention that he likes having archival prints stored somewhere just in case something happens to the original slides or negs. That's certainly better than a complete loss.

Six months ago I had an external hard drive crash with over 4 years of work on it. Fortunately I had another drive with duplicates, so bringing them back was easy. It made me think about how easy it is to loose digital images if one is not careful.

[Mike Morones]

David,

I'm sorry to hear of your emergency move, but I'm glad nobody was hurt or in immediate danger. Clearly you have a community of friends to help you get through this. As was mentioned earlier, your stuff can all be replaced but the work is invaluable. Good luck and know you are always welcome in FredVegas if you are passing through Virginia!

[Alex Reshuan]

Bad news indeed.
On the other hand this is the time when real friends come along physically and spiritually. I wouldn't say you are lucky for having good friends because it's clear by your post that you care about friendship . http://davidalanharvey.typepad.com/familyfriends/family_and_friends/index.html
You get what you seed.
I am also thinking about your friends Paolo Pellegrin, ,Stanley Green, chris anderson, Alex majoli, kadir van lohuizen and neighbors artists who are having the same problem. I hope they have such a good friends .
Can you imagine the amount of work and art in that building?
You have many sofas around the world David. No complain about that.
"this is my energy source....a
source of both love and pain...." DAH
Peace

Alex

[Morgan Hagar]

My god man, what a hellish mess that is. I hope this tragedy doesn't spell a permanent end for the Kibbutz. This may not help, being over 3,800 miles away from your New York, but if you need a place to sack-out in Los Angeles, you have a home.

Thankfully the FD found this problem, whatever it is, before you came home to a pile of smoking ash. I assume someone will explain, repeatedly and with due force, the need for timely upkeep of such a historic structure across the ass of your super. Excuse my swear, but this is the sort of thing that raises my hackles and brings out my vindictive side.

Anyway, I wish you, Chris, Rob and the others all the best. May you guys take over another building and keep the tradition alive.

Morgan

[Preston]

Here's the story of David's building:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/nyregion/22lofts.html