Roger Jazilek

PHOTOGRAPHER, PAINTER, BARMAN, AND DOWNTOWN FIXTURE, ROGER JAZILEK TELLS US HOW TO SURVIVE IN NEW YORK CITY WITHOUT LOSING YOUR COOL. INTERVIEW BY OLIVIER ZAHM PORTRAIT BY LEO JACOB OLIVIER ZAHM — Roger, how did you end up living in New York? ROGER JAZILEK — I arrived here in 1981, from London. I was studying at the Chelsea College of Arts, and I was going to move to Paris, but friends of mine were going to New York on business, and I tagged along. And I was like, “Wow, this city is amazing.” Hundreds of yellow cabs bouncing down the street. Energy. And it’s an island, of course. So, I thought: “You know what? I think I’m going to come here.” I thought I’d come here for one year. I came at the end of ’80 and stayed at the Chelsea Hotel. And I’m still here. OLIVIER ZAHM — What…