Stanton - Humans of New York: Stories

To Brian DeFiore,
youre a mensch.

HUMANS OF NEW YORK: STORIES . Copyright 2015 by Brandon Stanton. All rights
reserved. Printed in China. For information, address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth
Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

Designed by Jonathan Bennett

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The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-1-4668-8696-4 (e-book)

First Edition: October 2015

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

www.stmartins.com

Occasionally Im invited to colleges and seminars to explain the story
behind Humans of New York. I bring along a very amateurish PowerPoint
presentation, which Im constantly tweaking because I never quite know
where to begin the story. Thats because Humans of New York did not result
from a flash of inspiration. Instead, it grew from five years of experimenting,
tinkering, and messing up. I always say that if Id waited until I had the idea
for Humans of New York, Id never have begun Humans of New York.

The simplest way to describe the development of HONY over the past five
years is this: its evolved from a photography blog to a storytelling blog. In its
early years, HONY represented an effort to photograph thousands of people
on the streets of New York City10,000, to be exact. But after cataloguing
thousands of people, I stumbled upon the idea of including quotes from my
subjects alongside their photographs. The quotes grew longer and longer,
until eventually I was spending fifteen to twenty minutes interviewing each
person I photographed. These interviews, and the stories that resulted from
them, became the new purpose of Humans of New York. The blog became
dedicated to telling the stories of strangers on the street.

The first Humans of New York book was published in the midst of this
transformation. The book included some quotes and stories, but largely it
represented the photographic origins of HONY. It provided an exhaustive
visual catalogue of life on the streets of the city. But soon after it went to
print, it became obvious that another book was waiting to be madeone that
includes the in-depth storytelling that the blog is known for today. This is
that book.

For those of you who may have picked up this book on a whim, I want to
address one last element of Humans of New York. There are more than 15
million people who follow the blog every day on social media. If you are one
of those peoplethank you. Thank you for the positivity and kindness you
bring to the comments section. Thank you for every time youve said hello to
me on the street, and told me how much the blog means to you. Thank you
for every time youve shared a post or told a friend about HONY. Thanks for
all the money youve donated to the causes weve supported. Im always asked
in interviews how such a positive and uplifting community was created.
The truth is that Im not exactly sure. But the greatest group of people in the
world seems to follow Humans of New York. And thank you so much for
being a part of it.

Brandon

I worry that one
day shell get
separated from
me, and nobody
will understand
that shes deaf.

Shes always been very accepting and patient with my trust issues.
Ive always had a hard time getting close. But no matter how many
times I doubted, she just kept saying: Im not going anywhere.

Ive sort of had an
arrogant demeanor
my entire life, and
Im learning that
Im going to have to
change that if I want
to succeed. I realized
that it doesnt matter
how clever you are
if nobody wants to
work with you.

I have trouble at school with things like maintenance and organization.
Those are my weaknesses.

So what are your strengths?

Raw intelligence. Not sure how else to say it.

Im trying to be more confident, I guess... yeah.

Im just waiting for summer.

What do you feel most guilty about in life?
Lying about my eating disorder. Telling my parents I was fine when I really wasnt.

He always says
Im just like my
mother. He hates
my mother.