NEW YORK AND NOT NEW YORK

A Love Letter in Photos and Essays to the People Who Bring Meaning to the Places We Gather

New York And Not New York is a celebration of the places that shape us and the people who give those places meaning. Over the past five years, with her iPhone camera in hand, Nicole Freezer Rubens has roamed her city's five boroughs and visited many other destinations across our 250-year-old nation. In this beautiful collection of photos and essays, she transports us to twenty distinct places from Coney Island's Mermaid Parade that signals the start of summer, to Ray's Candy Store, the East Village deli with a cult following; from the sun‑washed glamour of Palm Springs framed by the San Jacinto Mountains, to the historic charm of Austin, Texas, and the character‑rich streets of Portland, Maine.

 As a native New Yorker, she has always been fascinated by New York City's neighborhoods, places, and events steeped in tradition. As her travels have taken her across America, she has discovered the uniqueness of each place she and her camera meander. As she describes it, "Investigating an area unfamiliar to me is as exciting as opening an unexpected gift and discovering exactly what I wanted but didn't know I needed."

What you will find throughout these photo essays is that they all share a common thread. They celebrate gathering and the unity of people coming together through rituals, customs, and values. They make a big city feel small, and a small corner feel big.

May the wonder, connection, and goodness in these pages fuel your own journey.

It is not about the wander, but about the gather.