New York

Eating tacos in Sunset Park /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Sunset Park, NY
September 2014

Our taco club walked a route of Sunset Park to eat tacos this summer. It was Mexican independence day and Fifth ave was dense with people, corn grills and stalls. 

Don Pepe Tortas & Jugos (This place gets top marks for ambience - it's crazy in there. Great al pastor tacos and candy selection, as well as an extensive and amazing juice menu).

Taqueria El Maguey (Pictured above. This place has seating for about 10 people and is really home style and great. Excellent al pastor tacos here).

Tacos El Bronco (This is a food truck at the moment because the restaurant caught fire a while back. I had the vege taco here - it was so so, but the condiments were good). 

Tacos Matamoros (This is a sit down restaurant with a huge menu. Great chorizo taco here and the back room has awesome wall murals). 

Ricos Tacos (The music here is loud loud loud, and the al pastor taco was probably my least favorite. My friends ordered the pork skin taco and it was seriously blubbery).

Joy and Dan /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Joy and Dan
Sunny’s, Red Hook, NY
October 2013

I have been friends with these two since I was 17, when I was in my first year of university. We met because we were equally obsessed with British bands, and we were equally socially isolated in the suburbs of Brisbane. They had been dating for about a year. Throughout the years since we met we have never gone more than a couple of weeks without emailing or calling or hanging out. Our friendship is the longest relationship of my life. I love them with all my heart. 

One Year Old /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Manhattan, NY October 2013 Today this blog turned one. This year passed faster than it should have. But that’s how things go. My friends sometimes tell me they are inspired by how much I do (work hard at my day job, make art, play music, travel ofte…

Manhattan, NY
October 2013

Today this blog turned one. This year passed faster than it should have. But that’s how things go. My friends sometimes tell me they are inspired by how much I do (work hard at my day job, make art, play music, travel often) and how driven I am. Funny to other people how my life looks - but I want to do more, more, more.

Monique paid me a compliment this week: she said that I make things happen for myself. She said that I decide what I want to do and I work until I get it. I guess I have my parents to thank for this perseverance. Really, sticking to my guns is probably the number one skill I’ve needed to make headway with my art practice.

Bravery is maybe equally important. When my friends are making a difficult decision, I tell them: it’s better to regret something you did, than something you didn’t do. I truly believe this. Fortune favors the brave is something I tell myself when I am feeling terrified by pushing myself forward.

I moved to New York nearly two years ago, alone, and heartbroken from a recent ending. People say New York is tough and it chips away at you with its size and bustle. Every day I work hard and I do feel a little beat up by it. Every couple of months this feeling builds up in me that literally explodes in a massive crying fit. Really truly serious sobbing. I cry about leaving Melbourne, and missing my friends, I cry that I haven’t met two of my three nephews, and I tell myself my art career would be so much more established if I had stayed in Australia. And then after I’ve stopped crying I ask myself if I would still make the same decision and I know that I would.

Fort Tryon Park /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Fort Tryon Park, ManhattanJuly 2013In the height of summer, we went to the top of Manhattan to visit the cloisters of the Met. It must have been in the high 80s this day, and I remember I bought a soft serve ice cream and it started melting all over…

Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
July 2013

In the height of summer, we went to the top of Manhattan to visit the cloisters of the Met. It must have been in the high 80s this day, and I remember I bought a soft serve ice cream and it started melting all over my hands faster than I could eat it. 

Subway /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Subway, New York
July 2013

This could have been at night, or maybe we were just inside a tunnel. I don’t recall taking this photo, but there it was when I developed the film. I wonder where I was going.

Rockaway Beach /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Rockaway Beach, NY
July 2013

I love this beach. It is crowded, and there is no surf, and it backs on to a bunch of ugly high rises, but the water is clear and the people you see here are truly characters of the highest order. Best people watching in New York City. 

Easter /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Brooklyn, NY
March, 2013

This was Easter in New York. I made pancakes and my roommates and I sat on the roof with champagne and looked at Manhattan. All of us are not from here, all of us temporary, some more so than others. We come from Australia, Canada and South Africa. We feel lighter when we look at Manhattan from this far away. Pepper is tiny, so Monique lifted her up so she could see the city. 

Knickerbocker ave /  by Liesl Pfeffer

Knickerbocker Ave, Bushwick
Brooklyn, NY
June 2013

These are two of my favorite store fronts on Knickerbocker. In fact all of Knickerbocker is an amazing feast of awkward sign writing and well-preserved neon. I can’t decide what I love the most: the kitsch patriotism of Tony’s Heros or the faded glamor of Circo’s pastry shop. Whenever I pass by, I wonder why Tony made the decision to juxtapose a happy frog with a proud American eagle. Maybe the yellow memorial ribbon is a clue, although I believe the yellow ribbon signifies support for America’s troops. Tony, you’re a mystery. 

Ferry /  by Liesl Pfeffer

On the ferry to Governor’s Island
New York
June 2013

We went back in time for a day to the Jazz age. We drank cocktails made from elderflower liquor and champagne. We wore white shoes that grew grassy from wet picnic blankets. Our make up wore off, from dancing the charleston in the sun. We were among the last to leave the island at the magic hour, and we looked at New York city across the water and we felt glad in our hearts that we moved here, even though we are so far from everyone we know and love, because we have made a new home here together.