The Top 50 New York Eccentrics

Being an eccentric in New York City was once much easier. In the 1970s, the city was crumbling into bankruptcy and awash in crime, and rents were cheap. Painters, performance artists and other quirky types could afford lofts in SoHo. They could take off their clothes in nightclubs and feel perfectly at ease. Today, an increasingly bourgeois New York is comfortable mainly for the polished and the well-to-do. Precious few real eccentrics can afford to remain in the city, even if they wanted to be surrounded by so many squares. Those still here remain a fascination for New Yorkers who pine for the old city even as it disappears. So last month we asked Gawker readers to help us track down some of the most bizarre characters remaining in New York. And you found plenty! With the weekend and Gay Pride parade nearly upon us, the time seems right to show you the results (not that gays are eccentric or anything!). Here are Gotham's 50 greatest modern eccentrics — people like Black Cherokee, the Time Keeper and Toth. Cat-Head Couple, Versace Liberace and Earth Angel. Half before the jump, half after. More »