Arlene Gottfried, a photographer par excellence of New York City’s street life, died on Tues., Aug. 8. She was 66 and a resident of Westbeth Artists Housing, at Bethune and West Sts.
The New York Times reported that her brother, the comedian Gilbert Gottfried, said she died of complications from breast cancer. Her funeral was at Riverside Memorial Chapel, at W. 76th St. and Amsterdam Ave., on Aug. 10.
The Villager profiled Gottfried in August 2011 on the occasion of the publication of a book of her photographs from the 1970s and ’80s, “Bacalitos & Fireworks,” which included many images of Alphabet City from that era. Also in the book are portraits of her good friend “Mikey,” Miguel Pinero. The legendary Loisaida writer’s “Lower East Side Poem” famously features the haunting refrain asking that his ashes be scattered throughout the Lower East Side.
Gottfried also enjoyed singing with church choirs in Harlem, hence her nickname, the “Singing Photographer.”
In her 2011 interview with The Villager, the Coney Island native reflected how much things have changed since the ’70s and ’80s. It used to be easier simply to enjoy events and a real sense of community in New York, she said.
“You would just go,” she said. “It didn’t cost a lot. It was easy to be with people then. It’s so different today, and you don’t have the mix of people. New York is becoming so homogenized. The East Village — it’s like N.Y.U., all dorms.”
Gottfried’s friend fellow photographer Tequila Minsky is working on a full obituary on her for The Villager.
Lincoln Anderson
