In 2006, a YouTube account called Artssiren uploaded a series of clips for an amateur documentary called “New York City Subculture ‘96.” The doc is set in the East Village and mostly features downtown squatters hanging out on St. Marks stoops talking about tattoos, philosophy, and love. Characters include Kia, a topless punk who confronts a pig, Bernie, a squatter who wants to convince you he doesn’t look like a squatter, and Randy, the most emo boy in America. The film was made by Nia Janeen Brown, who now goes by Chloé Le Roux. She deserves a retrospective.
