A love letter to Northport: The enduring mystery and personal stories of “Still in Love”

Two years ago today, the Northport Journal published an article about three words memorialized in spraypaint on a Northport Village sidewalk, a declaration of love that has stood the test of time. In the article, the Journal dated the “Still in Love” street art on Bayview Avenue to 1964 when, according to an account on social media, a newlywed wrote the words for his wife in celebration of their first wedding anniversary.

Over the past two years, the Journal has been contacted by people with different stories about how and when the street art came to be; we have not been able to confirm with certainty any one story.

The mystery of the Still in Love graffiti is currently being explored in a new documentary by 1994 and 1996 Northport High School graduates Storm Choi and Fred Beteille. A teaser for the film, “Still in Love,” was presented last Friday, February 7, to a crowd gathered at the Northport Historical Society and Museum’s opening reception for an exhibit also focused on the iconic street art.  

“Northport is such an important part of all my core memories,” Choi, who grew up around the corner on Bluff Point Road, told the Journal after the reception. He and friends, who lived on Highland Avenue and Lewis Road, would often use that exact square of sidewalk as a meeting spot. As an adult, Choi brought his fiancé there before he proposed and again after their 20th wedding anniversary.

Now, it’s what brings the Brooklyn resident, photographer, visual artist, and film and TV editor back to Northport Village – and quite often. 

“The actual process of shooting the documentary has been a real joy,” Choi said. “Visually capturing this beautiful place really makes me feel connected to Northport in a way I never have before.” Choi is using a cinema camera as well as shooting on VHS, Super 8 film and an iPhone “to try and make the film feel authentic because that’s how memory works for me – it reflects what visual medium I was seeing at the time.”

Filming for the documentary is expected to continue through Cow Harbor Day, with a possible film premiere in January 2026, Choi said.

When first setting out to make the documentary, Choi wanted to know the love story behind the words “Still in Love” – what could have inspired someone to “make this bold proclamation so publicly?” he asked. When he began speaking to Northporters, however, he was met with the stories and anecdotes of various individuals, each memory meaningful to the person that shared it. In the film, Choi not only explores the street art, but delves into what love means to each individual he speaks with, revealing stories and experiences of love, loss, regret, resilience and community.

As far as the origins of the street art, Choi said, “I don’t think that mystery could ever fully be solved.” But maybe attaching one person to the “Still in Love” proclamation isn’t the point.

“It’s clear to me now how lucky we are as a village to have these three words on our sidewalk, because love spreads. It grows and is passed on, and meeting people in the community and hearing their stories of love and Northport has been the most rewarding part of returning to my hometown and making this film,” Choi said.

“What I didn’t expect was how this film would grow into a love letter to Northport and the people who live here. I've already interviewed dozens of people and by the time I’m finished, it’ll be in the hundreds – asking them not just about the sidewalk, but also about Northport and who and what they love. So much of the film will be an intimate and honest look into the lives of the people in our community.”