--- description: "What's important is the next picture," says Magnum Photos' Bruce Davidson title: Inside a 1950s Brooklyn Gang image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2ba7c4f7e0d31f2/6988b573ab6d7731f36ac769/bruce-davidson-brooklyn-gang-magnum-1.jpg?branch=production ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Inside a 1950s Brooklyn Gang by [Alexandra Genova](/author/alexandra-genova/) ## Alexandra Genova Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 13, 2017 1:42 PM CUT  Coney Island,1959. Coney Island,1959.Bruce Davidson—Magnum Photos by [Alexandra Genova](/author/alexandra-genova/) ## Alexandra Genova Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 13, 2017 1:42 PM CUT They were young, poor and reckless but the very embodiment of 1950s cool. Taken in the hot New York summer of 1959, Bruce Davidson’s classic essay _Brooklyn Gang, New York,_ infiltrates a close-knit group of teenagers as they sunbathed, smoked and bloodied each other up. As Davidson tells TIME, the teens were “violent, sexual but full of life.” TIME sat down with the pioneering photographer to discuss the harsh reality of his subjects’ lives. Davidson was just 25 when he made the series and says he got the arresting pictures because he was “close and stayed longer.” Though taken nearly 60 years ago, the images offer a timeless take on the teenage ballad of desolation, love and wild passion. Davidson’s latest book _Bruce Davidson: Survey,_ published by Aperture, is a comprehensive book that includes work from _Brooklyn Gang_, _Subway_, _Central Park_ and _East 100th Street_ among others. The book is available now and can be purchased [here](http://aperture.org/shop/bruce-davidson-survey "undefined"). **_Bruce Davidson_** _is an award-winning photographer and member of Magnum Photos whose career spans nearly sixty years._ **_Paul Moakley_** _is the Deputy Director of Photography at TIME and you can follow him on_ [_Twitter_](https://twitter.com/paulmoakley "undefined")_._ **_Alexandra Genova_** _is a writer and contributor for TIME LightBox. Follow her on_ [_Twitter_](https://twitter.com/Alexandraaa%5Fcg "undefined") _and_ [_Instagram_](https://www.instagram.com/alexandraaaa%5Fcg/ "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4597194/bruce-davidson-brooklyn-gang/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4597194/bruce-davidson-brooklyn-gang/"},"headline":"Inside a 1950s Brooklyn Gang","datePublished":"2017-01-13T13:42:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:13.097Z","description":"\"What's important is the next picture,\" says Bruce Davidson","url":"https://time.com/4597194/bruce-davidson-brooklyn-gang/","keywords":["LightBox","Teenagers","New York","photography","gangs","Magnum","1950s"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2ba7c4f7e0d31f2/6988b573ab6d7731f36ac769/bruce-davidson-brooklyn-gang-magnum-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Genova","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-genova/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2ba7c4f7e0d31f2/6988b573ab6d7731f36ac769/bruce-davidson-brooklyn-gang-magnum-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"bruce-davidson-brooklyn-gang-magnum-1","caption":"USA. Coney Island, NY. 1959. Brooklyn Gang. On the boardwalk at West Thirty-third Street, Coney Island. Left to right: Junior, Bengie, Lefty.","creditText":"Bruce Davidson—Magnum Photos","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4597194/bruce-davidson-brooklyn-gang/","name":"Inside a 1950s Brooklyn Gang"}}]}] ```