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During several months, I photographed the young people who have decided to call New York City home to reflect the true spirit of this city. When looking at these photos, I can imagine what the future of the city will look like. The people selected all reflect unique character and are part of what makes New York one of the most creative cities in the world.

The goal of this photo essay is to capture the essence of the young people that compose New York City and show the creative spirit New Yorkers carry. A place where people feel free to be who they have always wanted to be, without inhibitions or fear.

Mac at the Park. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz at Washington Square Park

Platinum blonde girl at the Park. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz at Washington Square Park

Iman with Puerto Rican flag tote at Union Square. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz in Union Square Park

Hannah and Rachel with skateboards on 5th ave. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz on 5th Ave. and East 8th St.

Adrian with mask. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz at Washington Square Park

Alex and his “friends” at the Park. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz at Washington Square Park

Obie in The Village. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz on 6th Ave. and West 4th St.

Brenna registers voters at the Park. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz at Washington Square Park

HAIR. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz at Washington Square Park

“Don’t like my attitude?” Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz at Washington Square Park

Desi in Coney Island. Photo by Paola Michelle Ortiz at Coney Island

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Pablo Veracoechea, an East Village local, and seasoned voter, decided to head into a polling station at East 4th Street on Tuesday to cast his vote. After voting, his wife took a photo of him to document it.

After a first attempt at early voting went bad, Max Sklar said that his best option was to wait until election day and head out during the early hours of the morning to vote and went to Cardozo Law School on 5th Avenue.

For Colin Boyle, Election Day is his birthday. To celebrate the day, he voted in person in a public school in the East Village on East 4th street that was doubling as a polling site for the day.

Beth Gladstone and Julia Kimmel made it to the polls together on  East 4th street. Gladstone was driven by her disapproval of President Trump’s policies and the need for reform in the country. For Julia Kimmel, it made her feel safe that she could see her vote being counted immediately, instead of waiting for a mail in ballot or early vote to be accounted for. 

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“My mother had a health complication and my dad who was living in Florida, in Orlando, he got us a ticket for our entire family to leave the island,” said Nava Alsina. “We couldn’t stay in the island if my mom was not able to get the medicine she needed.”

Nava Aslina still remembers the day Trump visited the island and threw rolls of paper towels to hurricane survivors, an action that has snowballed along with the various negative comments Trump has said about the island, which left many Puerto Ricans unhappy with the Trump administration.  

“For us, it was a complete lack of respect to the people,” said Nava Alsina “It’s just something that you don’t do. I wasn’t expecting him to go that low.” 

The Category 5 hurricane tore through the island leaving it without electricity or water for months and an estimated death toll of 1,427.  But Hurricane Maria was just one of the many disasters the island has confronted in the past years. In 2019, the island was hit by governmental corruption and underwent a tumultuous transition in  after people took to the streets to protest against then governor Ricardo Roselló. Throughout the beginning of 2020, earthquakes began shaking different parts of the island, destroying homes and damaging an already fragile power grid.

With the Puerto Rican population on the island shrinking dramatically since the landfall of Maria, Florida has become a key battleground state for the 2020 presidential election. Both candidates have been competing to win over the Latino vote in the state and Puerto Ricans have proven to be a key demographic there, making up 27% of the overall eligible Latino voters in the state.  

Nava Alsina has been working with the Florida Democratic Party to mobilize the Puerto Rican vote in the state. As part of a group called Boricuas con Biden, Nava Alsina has helped make over 60,000 calls to Puerto Rican voters. The group, which is led by volunteers, has also relied on text messaging initiatives, zoom calls and Puerto Rican artists to motivate voters. 

While working on this initiative, Nava Alsina has had the chance to listen to what many Puerto Ricans have to say about Hurricane Maria and  the Trump administration handled the aftermath of the storm on the island. 

Natascha Otero, founder of Boricuas con Biden, said  that Florida is a key state for the Puerto Rican vote because most  have close ties to the island. Some have  family members who still live on the island or they fled to the state  after the hurricane. Otero said  these Puerto Ricans still recall what the island went through the past four years.

As part of the  group’s initiative, Puerto Rican voters speak with fellow Puerto Ricans who are still on the island over the phone. This process has been a key element when campaigning. Especially now that their efforts are limited to social media, texts and phone calls due to Covid-19. 

“As opposed to other groups, we know what Puerto Rico has suffered because of the Trump administration,” said Otero. “We don’t want four more years of that for the island.” 

But there’s still a group that favors president Trump’s reelection. Among them are top officials that form part of Puerto Rico’s local government.  The island’s appointed governor, Wanda Vázquez Garced, endorsed Trump during an interview with Telemundo. Nayda Venegas Brown, a conservative senator who’s a member of the New Progressive Party (PNP) on the island, participated in a caravan to support president Trump in Puerto Rico. 

Puerto Ricans participate in a “Puerto Ricans for Trump” rally held in Puerto Rico. Photo provided by Nelson Albino

But the efforts from the island to try and branch out to Puerto Rican voters in the diaspora has been from both sides. For the first time in 50 years, the island’s main newspaper, El Nuevo Día, endorsed a presidential candidate; it was Joe Biden. The editorial piece highlighted Biden’s plans for the island if elected and condemned the way President Trump has behaved towards the island describing the way Puerto Rico has been treated by his administration as, “an overwhelming amount of inattention, disdain and prejudice against our people.” 

But there is not much either of them can do except hope that the message gets through to Puerto Ricans who live on the mainland. Why? Because Puerto Ricans on the island cannot vote in the presidential elections due to the island’s territorial status.  However,  that  has not discouraged Puerto Ricans on the island to stand behind the candidates they support, especially in an election that puts so much at stake.

Nelson Albino, a co-founder of Puerto Ricans for Trump, has been clear in his support for president Trump’s reelection even though he cannot vote for him. Albino was also one of the organizers of the Puerto Ricans for Trump caravan in which Venegas Brown participated.

“I wanted to send a message to the political establishment in the island that there are Republicans in Puerto Rico who no longer believe the lies of the establishment and the media, and also to send a message to the national Republican leadership that there are conservatives in Puerto Rico,” said Albino.  

For Albino, the way the Trump administration managed the aftermath of Hurricane María was mostly influenced by  the island’s history with corruption, an ongoing problem. He said  that many politicians on the island have an axe to grind with president Trump because of the way he “drained the swamp” in the Puerto Rican government. Albino also believes that statehood for Puerto Rico is not an option for the island in the foreseeable future because Puerto Rico is simply not ready to become a state. 

But regardless of the opposition many Puerto Ricans have shown against the Trump administration, Albino is optimistic that president Trump will win the reelection and continue to do the work that he believes has helped the island progress and move forward. 

“I believe he will be elected,” said Albino

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“Eighty-nine percent of the families of these Latina adolescents lost their jobs because of Covid,” said Gil. “The majority of these families are undocumented, so although they lost their jobs, they cannot file for unemployment because they are not documented, they don’t have legal papers. So basically, the financial challenges of these families created by Covid is tremendous.” 

 Latinx, Black and Asian Americans have been the hardest hit throughout the pandemic. But Latinos are not only struggling with higher infection and hospitalization rates due to Covid-19, but also, economic vulnerability and uncertainty caused by the pandemic. 

A recent poll conducted by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene(DOHMH), showed that Latinx New Yorkers have more risk factors that lead to mental health issues and substance use. Among these factors are feeling distant from other people, job loss and financial stress.

In a virtual meeting hosted by the NYC Council Committee on Mental Health Disabilities and Addiction yesterday, Dr. Hillary Kunins,the DOHMH acting Executive Deputy Commissioner of Mental Hygiene, spoke about how these issues affect the mental health of members of minority communities. 

“These are factors that can lead to or be associated with mental health symptoms or outcomes,” said Kunins. 

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a press release in which Dr. Kunins spoke about the vulnerability of communities of color amidst the pandemic and ways the city is actively offering solutions to address this issue. 

“New Yorkers, and particularly communities of color, are facing unprecedented challenges that are understandably affecting their emotional and mental health,”  Kunins said in the release “We continue to provide education and support to these communities, including through our COVID-19 Community Conversations.” 

The community conversations  also focuses on  issues like structural racism and trauma and how to cope with the effect these different factors have on the mental health and stability of these communities. 

The economic unrest that has targeted minorities throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has produced triggers that potentially lead to mental health issues and substance use.

Diana Padilla, a Research Project Manager for the Northeast & Caribbean Addiction Technology Transfer Center,  has seen how, the economic uncertainty produced by the pandemic, has created additional stressors for Latinx families. 

Most minorities do not have the resources or flexibility to shelter in place or enough savings to get by if they lose their jobs which leaves them no option but to continue to go to work. 

“A lot of these folks are people who have the kind of jobs that if they don’t show they don’t get paid,” said Padilla “They go to work because they can’t afford to not go to work.”

Although the DOHMH has created different programs to provide support to those who are seeking assistance to treat mental health issues, like NYC Well, this does not ensure that all who require it have access to it. For minorities, this is a problem, now that everything has shifted to a virtual setting, it leaves them little to no choice when searching for help.

“When you think about folks who have minimal income and just enough to prioritize the food and not necessarily have an expensive phone where they can do telemedicine appointments or receive the access they need for medications for a mental health issue,” said Padilla.

These factors leave vulnerable groups little to no choice but to continue to cope with the stressors that come with their everyday lives but have been aggravated due to the pandemic, she said.

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“I think it’s a little irresponsible,” said Gutierrez. “But what’s most important here, and this should worry Biden, is that these people are willing to do that.”

Gutierrez, who is the leader of an independent group called “Latinos for Trump,” began supporting Trump’s presidential bid in 2016 after facing bankruptcy due to the market crash in 2008. For Gutierrez, Trump was the candidate he was searching for. 

“He said he was gonna bring jobs back,” said Gutierrez. “I was really disappointed in the economy and all the people and how things had been going for the last eight years with Obama.” 

Latinos have been a major target of the Covid-19 pandemic. A recent study done by the Center for Disease Control (CDC),  proves that this population is at a higher risk of contracting the illness and requiring hospitalization than other ethnicities and races. The same study shows that Latinos also have a high death rate related to the virus.  

Regardless, Gutierrez is unsure if the quarantining was truly worth it or not. Although he does believe CDC guidelines like wearing a mask and social distancing should be followed, he still thinks the decision to shut down entirely created an economic unrest similar to the one that affected him during the Obama administration. 

Genaro Pedroarias, a 50 year-old Cuban-American from Virginia, also believes the lockdown shouldn’t have lasted months. 

“I personally feel that the lockdown should not have lasted as long as it has,” said Pedroarias. “Especially in places where Democrat governors and mayors have control over the economy. I think that they’ve done a huge disservice and a lot of injury has been caused to people who own businesses.”   

For Pedroarias, the way President Trump managed the situation was ideal, even though the president admitted to Bob Woodward that he downplayed the virus earlier this year. Pedroarias believes the situation was taken out of context because of who it was. 

“What he is trying to say there is that he didn’t go full on berzerk,” he said. “I support the fact that he didn’t come out guns blazing and tried to scare people in order to make them submit to staying at home.”

Pedroarias also believes that there has been a double standard when it comes to coronavirus prevention measures. Pedroarias feels there should be equal handling of all social events, from political rallies to protests. He also thinks the country forgot a pandemic was happening when protests were being held across the country, but immediately expressed concern when a political rally was hosted by Trump. 

“I would respect it more If some of those regulations and rules were also applied to the people that are protesting or riding and looting,” said Pedroarias. “The media really wasn’t worried they weren’t focused on ‘this protestor isn’t wearing a mask’ it was more the ‘why are they protesting.’ The issue was bigger than the disease at that point and I think that if you’re gonna have a double standard like that it sends the wrong message to people.”

According to a poll by the Wall Street Journal, 62 percent of Latinos support Joe Biden for the presidency in 2020. Placing Trump in a disadvantage trying to gain as much as the Latino vote as possible before November 3rd.  

Latino voters like Mirella Manilla, a 23 year-old from South Carolina, the decision of the president deciding to host a rally amidst the pandemic was “irresponsible” and “selfish.”

“The scientists were telling us this is a real thing,” said Manilla. “For him to think he’s powerful enough to just ignore the rules, it looks really bad. Not just on the president but the United States as a whole.” 

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“We were not treated as children…we were both children,” she said. 

Newsome was with her then 14-year-old brother, Hawk Newsome. The pair was on their way home after picking up some groceries at their grandmother’s house when they were targeted by police, who padded down their pockets and searched their grocery bags 

Newsome, 35, of the South Bronx, said that was her first experience with law enforcement and it was traumatic.

The feelings of  fear and trauma have never left her, she said.  As a black woman in America she said she is in constant danger of a police encounter that could go wrong.

“When we get pulled over in our  SUVs it’s like ‘will I make it home?, will they shoot me?’ It’s a protocol that I’ve practiced for years.” said Newsome. “Now when I get in the car and I’m getting pulled over for a cop to give us a ticket, I make sure I’m recording. I’m making sure I’m not moving around and my hands are stationary and this is a protocol.”

Microaggressions are also the norm for her. As a former financial advisor, Newsome received various comments from her white peers complimenting how she is “so well spoken” or “so articulate” as though black women are seen only through the lens of negative stereotypes. 

“Sadly, racism is so ingrained in our society that I don’t think most of them are trying to be insulting at all,” said Newsome. 

Knowing that she had to do something to fight institutionalized racism and other issues that overwhelmed her community. Chivona and her brother decided to organize  Black Lives Matters Greater New York. 

The siblings were raised in a “militant household”  and Hawk Newsome  said  their parents, who met at a civil rights rally, taught them about the importance of standing up for their community.

 He said while growing up not everyone could see the effects of racism first hand or understand how it affected communities of color, but now for younger generations, it’s the norm to be aware about these issues.

“You see things on your cell phone before they even hit the news,” said Newsome. “Those images you see are often revolutionary, they are exposing racism, they are exposing police brutality. Now we can expose individual acts of racism and we can go after the Karens of the world, but in the past we couldn’t do that.” 

Both siblings are now dedicated activists, they have led hundreds of protests over the past five years in favor of racial equality and ending systematic racism. 

Desi Smalls, a 24 year-old from Brooklyn, who has protested in New York City with the group, says the Trayvon Martin case made him understand the dangers he faced as a young black man.

“I remember being in junior high when it happened,” he said. “I will never forget the day that my mom explained to me that whole incident and how George Zimmerman was never held accountable for his actions and ever since then, I’ve been aware of my place in this country.”

For Smalls, living in New York  City has made him  feel safe to voice his opposition to racism. He believes the marchs will lead to change.

“Something will come from all of this. I definitely don’t feel like it’s all in vain,” he said.

Newsome believes that the protests will lead to the transformation the country needs. Recalling one of the chants used during their protests, she said,  “I believe we will win.” 

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