The Forgotten Borough

Staten Island is one of New York City's official boroughs but remains on the outskirts culturally, politically, and geographically. This series focuses on “The Forgotten Borough" and explores the inevitable culture clash that comes with isolation.

Staten Island has a long-held reputation as a problem child. Traditionally conservative, it is the only borough that consistently skews red, and its mostly white, working-class background seems to hinder any sociopolitical change in the opposite direction. But for many young Staten Islanders, there is community in feeling “othered.”  And on an island that only looks outwards, turning in to each other becomes the only option.

This ongoing series. shot entirely on medium format film, explores Staten Island through its isolation. Surrounded on all sides by water, it is forever looking out towards the rest of New York City. The only MTA-run subway line goes one way down, and one way back, cut off entirely from the rest of the NYC transit system. For younger Staten Islanders, the notion of escape is a huge driving factor. But the barriers in place, economically or geographically, keep them in the bubble.

Because of Staten Island’s political landscape, many younger residents feel like outsiders in stereotypical Staten Island culture. Community for them is found in the local punk/alternative music scene, or by visually rejecting the blandness and sameness of the borough. This pushback and rejection has long existed, though underground, on the island.

In recent years, Staten Island has run into issues with its treatment of the LGBTQ+ community. Miss Staten Island 2020 came out as bisexual shortly after being crowned, and was banned from marching in the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day parade, though she bravely marched anyway in protest. Even in 2023, LGBTQ+ groups were banned from participating in the parade. Though some local politicians have voiced their support for the groups in their struggle, the event itself, and young peoples’ rejection of it serves as a microcosm of the generational conflict.

This grant would give me the opportunity to delve so much deeper into Staten Island, and its tight-knit communities. I plan to further study the racial divides on the island, as well as the escalation of political conflict. I also hope to further explore micro-communities; sex workers, the remnants of organized crime syndicates, high school football teams, immigrant families, and professional wrestlers.

Thank you for your consideration.

Below is a short bio on me.

Lila Barth (b.1994 she/her) is a documentary photographer currently living in New York City. A graduate in photography from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Lila has pursued stories that have been seen in publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, & The Washington Post and in exhibitions from Austria to the Midwest and Brooklyn. In addition to the Palm Prize shortlist, she was selected for Fotofilmic's 2019 Alec Soth Workshop in Canada. She was also The New York Times Award recipient at The Eddie Adams Workshop XXXIII.