Living in the East Village just a block away from Tompkins Square Park, I spend a lot of time there sitting on the benches, eating, and watching people. It's one of my favorite parks in the city and still has an interesting mix of people, despite all the strollers and stay-at-home moms who've moved here in the last few years.

powerHOUSE books releases Tompkins Square Park photos by Q. Sakamaki on 08.06.08. The pics hark back to a much different time for the park, the one that we all know from the stories that have passed down, but may not have any visual imagery for until now.

"As New York City’s Lower East Side faced drastic gentrification in the late 1980s and mid-1990s, photographer Q. Sakamaki was documenting the community’s resistance and literal struggle to exist. It is the subject of his latest book, Tompkins Square Park. Focusing on the eponymous park as a symbol and stronghold of the anti-gentrification movement, Sakamaki, an area resident, witnessed the neighborhood’s change from the beginning to the end. With striking black-and-white images, he captures the scene of one of the most political and avant-garde movements in New York."

Don't forget to checkout this bio and these pics by Sakamaki and additional info and pics on Redux Pictures' blog.