Downtown Express photo by Clayton Patterson

Marlene aka Hotdog in 1988
Marlene Bailey, known to some by her nickname “Hot Dog,” has been an East Village fixture for years. She’s had a very tough life and it’s taken a physical toll on her, but in the photo above, taken in Tompkins Square Park back in 1988, she was in fine form. “I think it’s great to see her looking like that,” said photographer Clayton Patterson. “I think it’s a good example of the difficulties and hard life of living on the street. She’s a neighborhood icon to some — a reprobate to others. I think she’s one of the last of the real survivors out there on the street — one of the street warriors.”