News

Laid off, rehired, laid off again, and now without a weekly $600 boost.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — After coronavirus-related lockdowns forced dining establishments in New York to close in March, Hannah Lane, 24, was laid off as a server in a popular Gramercy Park restaurant where she made about $60,000 a year. Her girlfriend, also a restaurant worker, was laid off on the same day. Both applied for unemployment benefits, and although her girlfriend began receiving them right away, Ms....
Events News

Can N.Y.C. Reopen Schools? The Whole Country Is Watching

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — I spent this past Monday evening marching with teachers of the New York City Department of Education, parents, and students as they protested their frustrations with the proposed reopening plans for public schools.  Can N.Y.C. Reopen Schools? The Whole Country Is Watching The city’s low infection rate has raised hopes that students can return to classrooms next month. But many...
Media News

Park Slope’s many Black-, Hispanic- and immigrant-owned businesses have tapped friends and family around the world.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue was a ghost town all spring, erupted with Black Lives Matter protests at the start of summer and has now been transformed into a lively outdoor dining room as restaurants and bars spill out into the street.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ The evolution is a relief to residents and businesses. But it has forced many owners to scramble for cash to build outdoor patios, buy inventory and rehire...
News

Summertime in Brooklyn

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Summertime textures and activities in "the dark side" neighborhood of Brooklyn, July 30, 2020.
Media News

“À LA UNE ANTIRACISME MODE D’EMPLOI”, Courrier international, in print, July 8, 2020.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — New work for the French publication Courrier international, in print and out on July 8, 2020.
News

This month I became a member of Diversify Photo! I'm honored to be included on such a heavy-hitting roster of photographers and visions.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — This month I became a member of Diversify Photo! I'm honored to be included on such a heavy-hitting roster of photographers and visions. Thank you to Andrea, Brent, David & Salgu for the privilege and every editor, mentor, and loved one that has supported me along the way. Diversify.Photo
News

The Perfect Ending to Our Pandemic Honeymoon Road Trip

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — The original plan was a drive through the Rust Belt. It turns out that New York City without tourists is a lot like Indianapolis or Toledo. Maybe even better. Photographed for The New York Times. The Perfect Ending to Our Pandemic Honeymoon Road Trip The original plan was a drive through the Rust Belt. It turns out that New York City without tourists is a lot like Indianapolis or Toledo....
News

Ghislaine Maxwell, Associate of Jeffrey Epstein, Is Arrested

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Audrey Strauss, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, leads a news conference in New York on Thursday, July 2, 2020, where she announced the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested Thursday on criminal charges linked to his alleged sex-trafficking operation. Photographed...
Media News

New York City Considers Testing Sewage for Coronavirus

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — New York City considers testing sewage for coronavirus, as analysis of wastewater could serve as an early detection system and get ahead of outbreaks. Photographed for The Wall Street Journal with words by Melanie Grayce West. New York City Considers Testing Sewage for Coronavirus  New York City wastewater tells a story about the health of the city, and officials are hoping to use...
News

Black Wine Professionals Demand to Be Seen

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Tammie Teclemariam, a freelance food and drinks writer in Brooklyn (who has contributed to Wirecutter, which is owned by The New York Times), calls herself a “wine unprofessional” to set herself apart from what she sees as an exclusionary industry. “Just the nature of what wine is makes it really hard to separate it from racism,” said Ms. Teclemariam, whose recent tweet...
News

A New Group of Leftist Primary Challengers Campaign Through Protests and the Coronavirus

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Jamaal Bowman, a former middle-school principal, is running to unseat the sixteen-term congressman Eliot Engel in New York’s Democratic primary, on June 23rd. A New Group of Leftist Primary Challengers Campaign Through Protests and the Coronavirus By campaigning as Democrats, a wave of candidates is adapting to the current moment by reviving an old political tradition: attempting...
News

Juneteenth - Police Brutality ​Protests in NYC

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want...
Media News

The Drinking Spills Onto the Sidewalk

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Of all the New York City businesses impatiently awaiting for official permission to reopen, bars arguably face the biggest challenges. Every aspect of their appeal — large crowds in small spaces, close contact with strangers, mouths constantly open to drink or talk — runs contrary to the watchful guidelines that frame conduct during the pandemic. My latest contribution for The New...
Media News

“WE NEED PROTEIN” — CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC DEEPENS NEW YORK’S HUNGER CRISIS

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Across the city, in neighborhoods that have been most devastated by the virus — which also happen to be the neighborhoods where poverty is greatest — hunger is emerging as the primary concern. In Canarsie, where the median household income is $26,275, the need is overwhelming. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” said Gardy Brazela, chair of the local...
News

Amid Coronavirus Shutdowns, Landlords Often Determine Fate of Small Businesses

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — “I am one of the luckier ones,” said Tariq Haq, a Pintchik tenant and owner of the Corner Delhi, an Indian restaurant on Bergen Street, one half block from Fifth Avenue.  “We both agree it’s about getting through to the end of this. As long as we’re reasonable with each other, that is doable.” Amid Coronavirus Shutdowns, Landlords Often Determine...
News

Caged Bird

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still...
Covid-19 News

First self-portrait under social distancing at my apartment in Ridgewood, Queens, NYC April 10, 2020.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — First self-portrait under social distancing at my apartment in Ridgewood, Queens, NYC April 10, 2020. During these times of solitude, as a means to combat the pandemic in our city, I've used the time to reflect on why I chose photography to serve as my voice, how the artform initially inspired me, and why I continued working on stories that touch me. Who else has been working in...

Portrait of Kimba in Manhattan before the pandemic hit, March 2020

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Portrait of Kimba during golden hour in Manhattan before the pandemic forced the the city that never sleeps to pause in March 2020.
News

Portrait of Bronx native Avant-Garde musician, Jypsy Jeyfree.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Jypsy Jeyfree, the Bronx native Avant-Garde musician and member of the New York City funk band “IGBO”, in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn.
Media News

Banks Gave Richest Clients ‘Concierge Treatment’ for Pandemic Aid

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Nadeige Choplet, owner of the clay studio, Choplet Gallery and Ceramic Studio on 238 Grand Street in Brooklyn, is one of many small business owners around the country that had applied for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) but didn’t receive a loan before the program’s funds ran out, despite applying early. Photographed for  The New York Times . Words by Emily Flitter...
Media News

Once Bustling Brooklyn Street Goes Quiet

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — In today's paper 4/21/20, Greater New York Section.  Merchants close their doors and wait for aid; some subsist on pickup and delivery business, photographed for The Wall Street Journal.                                                        ...
News

“Young people have a duty to defend their country with weapons of knowledge.”

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — “Young people have a duty to defend their country with weapons of knowledge.” - Pedro Albizu Campos, September 12, 1891 - April 21, 1965; Leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. A statement that rang true when El Maestro delivered it, rings even truer for us presently and in times to come.
Media News

On a Vibrant Street in Brooklyn, Businesses Are Struggling for Survival

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Merchants close their doors and wait for aid while some subsist on pickup and delivery orders. On a Vibrant Street in Brooklyn, Businesses Are Struggling for Survival Small-business owners on a busy Brooklyn shopping stretch are struggling to keep their stores up and running. “Does it make more sense to just roll over and close?” one asks.
Events News

Diversify Photo COVID-19 Relief Print Sale

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Mi Gente! The Diversify Photo COVID-19 Relief Print Sale has been extended until April 20! All photographs sold will support photographers of color financially impacted by COVID-19. Prints are $65 each. You may also donate to artists directly via PayPal or Venmo which is listed with their photo. 100% of proceeds go directly to the artist! Thank you Diversify Photo for this incredible...
News

View out of my window, April 13, 2020.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — ...That you are here—that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse... - W.W. View out of my window, April 13, 2020.
News Spotlight

In Ponce There is a beach Without broken glass In the sand.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — “In Ponce There is a beach Without broken glass In the sand The ocean has Twenty-twenty vision Is safe to breath On this beach There are no splinters In the wind” - Pedro Pietri
News

The Little Barbershop on Suydam

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — New narrative documenting a seventy-seven-year-old Puerto Rican barber and his forty-year-old shop in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. Link below: JOSÉ A. ALVARADO JR. , The Little Barbershop on Suydam  The Little Barbershop on Suydam On a mid-July day in 2016, one of the hottest in New York City’s history, I wandered down Suydam Street in...
Media News

Thursday Briefing: Shuttered businesses in Brooklyn. The economic fallout from the pandemic is spreading beyond tourism and related industries.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Thursday Briefing: Shuttered businesses in Brooklyn. The economic fallout from the pandemic is spreading beyond tourism and related industries. Coronavirus, Jobs, Ellis Marsalis Jr.: Your Thursday Briefing Here's what you need to know.
News

Friday Briefing: New York City officials on Thursday urged residents to wear face coverings in public.

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — Friday Briefing: New York City officials on Thursday urged residents to wear face coverings in public. Coronavirus, Masks, Jobs: Your Friday Briefing Here’s what you need to know.
News

New York Was Not Designed for Emptiness

By José A. Alvarado Jr. — "The energy, the traffic, the crowds are all gone. Only the vacant streets remain, waiting for the actors to return to the stage." New York Was Not Designed for Emptiness The energy, the traffic, the crowds are all gone. Only the vacant streets remain, waiting for the actors to return to the stage.
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JOSÉ A. ALVARADO JR.

José A. Alvarado Jr. is a visual storyteller devoted to documenting cultural and social issues, as well as human interest stories in the US and Puerto Rico.
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