After being kicked out of her apartment in Brooklyn in 1992, and unable to afford rent anywhere near her school, young art student Ash Thayer found herself with few options to keep a roof over her head. Luckily for Thayer, she was soon welcomed as a guest in what was quickly becoming a new squat in New York's East Village. New York City in the '90s saw the streets of the East Village overun with derelict buildings, junkies huddled in dark corners, and dealers packing guns hawking cheap heroin on its corners. Artists and punks flocked to the area to snatch up abandoned and unwanted real estate, some with a lease, some on a hand shake, and others simply by hopping a fence or climbing through a broken window. Squatters took over entire buildings in Alphabet City and claimed them for their own, however, these structures were hardly habitable for humans and were incredibly dangerous. Overrun with vermin, lacking plumbing, electricity, let alone walls, floors, and a roof - here began an epic rebuilding project run by punks, outcasts, and rebels brave enough to tackle a gargantuan undertaking to create homes for themselves and others. The squatters were forced to be secretive and exclusive as a result of their poor legal standing in the buildings and few outsiders were welcome and fewer photographers or journalists. Ash observed them training each other in these necessary crafts and finding much of their materials in the overflowing bounty that is New York City's refuse and trash. Thayer's camera accompanied her everywhere and she photographed as much as possible, whenever possible. Living as a student by day and scraping by on part-time jobs to play her role in this fascinating, underground world which unfolded around her, Thayer lived at the squats and worked alongside other residents. The trust earned from her subjects was unique and her access intimate. Kill City is a true untold story of a New York legend - East Village's squatters.
