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Today's Special: four decades of street photography reveal how New York has changed

Born and raised in Brooklyn and now living in Manhattan, Jeff Rothstein is a quintessential New York photographer who has tirelessly chronicled the evolving city's life on the streets.

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Man wearing glasses and a patterned vest walks past a storefront on a New York street, captured in black and white

To celebrate four decades of his work, a new book, Today's Special, has been published, featuring photos of people going about their lives – some famous, most anonymous – as well as a cityscape of littered sidewalks and dilapidated buildings set against modern skyscrapers.

The shots were taken between 1969 and 2006. "'Reading' the photos in Today's Special, I sense an almost fictional account assembled after the actual times when these photographs were shot," writes art critic Robert C. Morgan in his essay in the photobook. "But the story these photographs tell is imposed on a powerful history, beginning with the escalation of the Vietnam War and concluding with the tragic aftermath of the Iraqi invasion.

"None of this we see directly, only perhaps glimpsing in the faces and gestures of his subjects. They tell a more authentic story at any given time as they move from their solitary living spaces into the public space of crowded anonymity – the streets of New York."

Speaking of his work, Jeff says: "Wandering the streets with my 35mm cameras loaded with b&w film, I consider myself an urban observer. I try to capture the city's environment – structures, signs and, most of all, the fleeting moments of people on the streets that will soon disappear into thin air."

Today's Special: New York City Images 1969-2006 is available via jeffrothsteinphotos.com. All images courtesy of Jeff Rothstein.

Children playing on a street with a parking meter marked "No Parking Sunday" in front of a brick building, New York, 1969-2006
Black and white photograph of a man in an Adidas t-shirt with his fist raised, standing in front of a crowd at what appears to be a boxing event
Two men on a New York street, one carrying a "Disco Sucks" bag, captured in Jeff Rothstein's black and white street photography from the 1970s
A child balances on a large industrial spool lying on its side on a New York street, with stone buildings and metal gates visible behind them
Two silhouetted figures sit by the waterfront beneath the Queensboro Bridge, with Manhattan's skyline visible across the East River in this black and white photograph by Jeff Rothstein
Three children playing baseball in a bare outdoor field with bare trees and fencing visible behind them in black and white
Black and white photograph of a bicycle leaning against metal stairs covered with multilingual signs including Hebrew text and street names like "Sex St
White tape strips radiating outward on a grimy window pane, with blurred figures visible outside on a New York street
Children play in a flooded area of a New York street whilst onlookers watch from behind a fence, captured in black and white by Jeff Rothstein
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