After five months behind heavy green construction boards, VIV is back on 9th Avenue — and judging by the soft opening, Hell’s Kitchen noticed.
A bartender mixes drinks at the newly reopened VIV Thai on 9th Avenue between W48/49th Streets. Photo: Steve Hill
The longtime Thai restaurant at 717 9th Avenue (between W48/49th St) reopened earlier this month after a full redesign, relaunching with a new menu, a late-night Thai dining experience and a cocktail program created in partnership with one of Bangkok’s most acclaimed bars.
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Steve Hill shoots New York the way most of us actually experience it — messy, layered, a little contradictory, and rarely postcard-perfect. His photos skip the clichés and lean into the in-between moments: the faces in passing, the grit under the gloss, the small flashes that make the city feel human.
Before picking up the camera full time, Hill spent two decades in some of New York’s top kitchens after training at the École Culinaire du Cordon Bleu in Paris — a background that shows up in the patience and precision of his work. His images have appeared everywhere from The New York Times to New York Magazine, but the focus stays local: real people, real streets, real moments.
He lives and works right here in Hell’s Kitchen.