In his project, Photo Booth Without Borders – Building Communities through Personal Stories, Carlos A. Martinez stops at laundromats throughout Queens to ask Jackson Heights locals and passersby to share their thoughts on how they can make Queens, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, a more livable community. In exchange for sharing, each participant receives a portrait of themselves taken by Martinez.


The Photo Booth Without Borders participated in Park(ing) Day – an annual, day-long, global event features artists, activists and citizens collaborating to temporarily transform metered parking spots into "PARK(ing)" spaces or temporary public parks – on September 18th, 2009 in front of the Aqua Clara Laundromat in Jackson Heights, Queens.


All photographs courtesy of Hrag Vartanian