As Is: is a mythical interpretation of New York City, from the grand theater of its urban architecture to its diverse ethnic heritage. Velez reshapes and layers the urban landscape, isolating gestures and rituals — the hand signals of traders on the New York Stock Exchange, coffee taste-testers — as paradigmatic signs and symbols. In the closing sequence, he records the poses, attitudes and faces of a diverse stream of people riding down an escalator. Characteristically, Velez detects enigmatic human details within the fabric of a vast, indifferent metropolis.