There is a considerable backstory to this photo and those taken with it, and it goes back to my sophomore year at Villanova and my Psychology 101 class. It was there, in the diffused responsibility lesson, that I first learned of the Kitty Genovese story. That event always disturbed me.
Quite by chance, I showed an apartment to someone that I later found out was one of the two infamous buildings on Austin Street. I have been by the area a number of times and taken quite a few pictures- it really is a pretty area. This particular photo was taken of the very spot under the lamp post where Ms. Genovese was originally attacked. I did not know until later that I was in the photo. Sometime later I will post more photos of the block.
-J. Philip Faranda
OH, I see you… you’re under the word “Cafe”, reflected in the glass but looking like you are inside… kind of eery considering the horrific crime that occured at that lamppost decades ago. Yeah, Kitty Genovese & the dilution of personal responsibility when there are multiple standers-by, perceived or real — a standard example used by many Psych 101 textbooks. Very tragic — I grew up in nearby Rego Park.