How photos of chasidic Brooklyn ended up in Grand Central Terminal
When Abe Kugielsky first began photographing the chasidic Jewish community in Borough Park, Brooklyn, in 2010, he was an outsider with a camera, met with resistance from a community unaccustomed to being documented.
But by 2017, he had amassed a bank of roughly 50,000 photographs and decided it was time to start posting his images to an Instagram account he called “Hasidim In USA.”
Today, his account has drawn 80,000 followers curious for a glimpse inside a traditionally private world. And this month, it has also landed him a place in Humans of New York’s “Dear New York” exhibition in Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall. The free exhibition, curated by Brandon Stanton of the online photo sensation Humans of New York and including dozens of local photographers, runs until October. 19.
By day, Kugielsky, who is 45 and identifies as modern Orthodox, runs a Judaica antique auction house in Cedarhurst, on Long Island. But his photography, and his efforts to gain inroads in the chasidic community, have become his true passion.
“Judaica is my full-time job, but I will close shop whenever I feel like I need a day off to go,” Kugielsky said. “It’s very therapeutic to me when I go out to shoot, I’m in my own little bubble, my own zone.”
Jewish Telegraphic Agency