What was it like to live in  New York in the 1980s
https://flashbak.com/new-york-1982-1983-before-big-money-buried-the-citys-character-363152/
New York 1982 / 1983: Before Big Money Buried The City's Character - Flashbak
2016-08-19
Paul Sorene
<div><div>
 <p>In many ways New York City is a very different place to how it was in the 1970s and early 1980s, writes Paul Wright, whose album <a href="https://flashbak.com/cum-on-feel-the-noize-paul-wrights-seventies-scrapbook-362318/">Come Feel The Noize</a> harks back to the 1070s.  I first visited Manhattan in 1982 when parts of the city looked semi-derelict. It was edgy and sometimes dangerous, but the city also had a character that has been buried by property developers and chain stores.</p>
<p>Hanging-out in Greenwich Village record stores, braving the subway, not making eye contact with anyone and watching movies at St. Marks Cinema are all in the past. But great cities like New York and London never stand still for long, they are constantly changing.</p>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/mugging-New-York.jpg"></a></p><p>This is a photograph of my friend Kim in a New York City subway station, in November 1982. It was risky taking photographs in the subway back then because there was a good chance you would get mugged and have your camera stolen. In the background is a poster with the words: ‘Scuse me, while you’re standin’ there… here’s 5 ways not to get mugged. Only three examples are left on the poster, the other two have been ripped off by vandals!</p>
</div>
<div><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/7858385204_d4835bd112_o.jpg">
</a><p>A photograph of my friend Paul in Room 818 at the Chelsea Hotel, New York City, November 1983.<br />Hotel Chelsea<br />222 W 23rd St<br />New York<br />NY 10011</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/7858378826_d23f40f28d_o.jpg"></a></p><p>A photograph of me at the Hotel Earle, Room 708, New York, November 1983. The Earle was a run-down, cheap hotel in Greenwich Village when I stayed there during my second visit to New York City in 1983.<br />The Hotel Earle was built in 1902 and Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel for a few weeks in 1914. In the 1950s Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin stayed at the Earle.<br />By the 1960s and early 1970s it had become a seedy apartment hotel and musicians, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, made it their temporary home.<br />John Sebastian, Bill Cosby, Barbra Streisand, the B-52’s, Maynard Ferguson, Bo Diddley and the Ramones have all stayed at the Earle.<br />The hotel changed its name from the Hotel Earle to the Washington Square Hotel in 1986.<br />Hotel Earle<br />103 Waverly Place<br />New York City<br />NY 10011</p></div>
<div><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/New-York-matchbook-.jpg">
</a><p>Book of matches from Cozy Soup &amp; Burger, New York City (1982)<br />Book of matches from Cozy Soup &amp; Burger on Broadway, New York City.<br />739 Broadway<br />New York<br />NY 10003<br />at Astor Pl.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/maps-of-new-york.jpg"></a></p><p><br />My friend Paul at the Hotel Earle, Room 708, New York City, November 1983.<br />The Hotel Earle was built in 1902 and Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel for a few weeks in 1914. In the 1950s Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin stayed at the Earle.<br />By the 1960s and early 1970s it had become a seedy apartment hotel and musicians, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, made it their temporary home.<br />John Sebastian, Bill Cosby, Barbra Streisand, the B-52’s, Maynard Ferguson, Bo Diddley and the Ramones have all stayed at the Earle.<br />The hotel changed its name from the Hotel Earle to the Washington Square Hotel in 1986.<br />Hotel Earle<br />103 Waverly Place<br />New York City<br />NY 10011</p></div>
<div><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/New-York-Iran.jpg">
</a><p>A protest against Iranian’s religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini, New York City, November 1983.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Statue-of-liberty.jpg"></a></p><p>I took this photograph from the ferry to Liberty Island. It was the first time that I had seen the Statue of Liberty and I was awe-struck. I just couldn’t stop taking photos of it and by the time I reached the island I didn’t have many shots left on my 36 exposure film.</p></div>
<div><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Blue-Guide-New-York.jpg">
</a><p>“Blue Guide to New York” book, published in 1983. New York was a different place in the late 1970s and early 1980s to how it is now. It was an edgy and sometimes dangerous place to be. When I first visited New York City in 1982 I only used the Subway once. When I returned the following year I used buses to get around the city, because I wasn’t comfortable using the Subway.</p>
</div>
<p>There is some advice on travelling by subway in this 1983 Blue Guide:</p>
<blockquote><p>“SUBWAY SAFETY: The New York subway system has a reputation for crime and filth which is not undeserved. Stations have been vandalised, cars sprayed with graffiti, platforms are smelly and filthy in many stations. In 1981 there were 15,812 felonies in the transit system including 13 murders, but it is also true that more than three million travellers ride the system daily and survive. Use common sense; be alert to your surroundings; stay with other people; don’t go down empty stairwells or ride in empty cars; don’t lean over the edge of the platform; if in doubt stay near the conductor who has a telephone, as does the attendant at the toll booth.”</p></blockquote>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Guggenheim-NY.jpg"></a></p><p>The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, November 1982. I went to as many art galleries and museums as I could when I first visited New York.<br />Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum<br />1071 5th Avenue (at 89th Street)<br />New York<br />NY 10128</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Ny-City.jpg"></a></p><p>Large parts of New York City looked semi-derelict back in 1982. This a typical street scene but I can’t remember where I took this photo. Please let me know if you recognise this street.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/NY-snapshots.jpg"></a></p><p>A photograph of me at the Empire State Building, New York City, November 1983.<br />Empire State Building<br />350 5th Ave<br />New York<br />NY 10001</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/City-Diner-NY.jpg"></a></p><p>A diner in Chelsea in the early 1980s. I think the Malibu Diner is now located here.<br />City Diner<br />163 W 23rd St<br />New York<br />NY10011</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Surf-Maid-NY.jpg"></a></p><p>The Back Fence music bar on Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, New York, November 1983.<br />Next door is Kenny’s Castaways, a club where many bands have played over the last 45 years including the New York Dolls, Blondie, Kiss and Patti Smith. It was where Joey and DeeDee Ramone first met, and in 1973 Bruce Springsteen played here, his New York City debut with the E Street Band.<br />Sadly Kenny’s Castaways will be closing after 45 years on 30 September 2012.<br />Across the street is the Surf Maid, which hosted live jazz music. This is now the Red Lion, a live music bar.<br /><strong>The Back Fence</strong><br />155 Bleecker Street (at Thompson St.)<br />New York<br />NY 10012<br /><strong>Kenny’s Castaways</strong><br />157 Bleecker Street<br />New York<br />NY 10012<br /><strong>Surf Maid</strong><br />151 Bleecker Street (between Laguardia Pl &amp; Thompson St)<br />New York<br />NY 10012</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Valencia-Hotel-NY.jpg"></a></p><p>This is Saint Marks Place as it looked in November 1982. The shop with dresses hanging up in the window is Trash and Vaudeville, which is famous for supplying stars like The Ramones and Debbie Harry of Blondie with clothing during the golden age of punk rock in the 1970s and 80s. The store opened in 1975 and is still in its original location.<br />Next door is the Valencia Hotel which was home to beat writer William S. Burroughs in the early 1970s. In the 1980s punk rock singer-songwriter GG Allin lived there. The hotel is now the St. Mark’s Hotel.<br />Trash and Vaudeville<br />4 Saint Marks Place<br />New York<br />NY 10003</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Empire-State-1982.jpg"></a></p><p>Entrance to the Empire State Building, New York City, November 1983.<br />Empire State Building<br />350 5th Ave<br />New York<br />NY 10001</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/NY-downtown.jpg"></a></p><p>Reflected buildings, New York City, November 1983.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Hotel-Chelsea-NY.jpg"></a></p><p>A photograph of me outside one of my favourite places, the Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street.<br />New York City, November 1983.<br />Hotel Chelsea<br />222 W 23rd St<br />New York<br />NY 10011</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Yum-Yum-Yoghurt.jpg"></a></p><p>New York City street scene, November 1982.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/new-york-crossing.jpg"></a></p><p>New York City, November 1983.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Twin-Towers.jpg"></a></p><p>I took this photograph from the street, looking up at the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.<br />New York City, November 1982.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Marquee-NY.jpg"></a></p><p><br />This is St. Marks Cinema in Manhattan’s East Village, on the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue. In the 1980’s the cinema showed films at discount prices and would run double bills and midnight screenings.<br />When I took this photograph the 1979 romantic comedy “Chilly Scenes of Winter” and the 1981 thriller “Cutter’s Way“ were showing, as well a midnight screening of “Bloopers”.<br />St. Marks Cinema is now Cohen’s Fashion Optical with the Theatre Condos above.<br />St. Marks Cinema<br />133 Second Avenue (near St. Mark’s Place)<br />New York<br />NY 10003</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/New-York-dog.jpg"></a></p><p>I was walking in New York City one day when a dog rushed past me and jumped up onto a fire hydrant in the street. The dog perched there for a short time and seemed quite comfortable up there. It was an unusual sight but there was a saying at that time: “only in New York” which summed it up. Nothing seemed that unusual in New York in the early 1980s.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Traffic-NY.jpg"></a></p><p>New York City street scene, November 1982.<br />East 17th Street &amp; Broadway.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/NY-views.jpg"></a></p><p>I took this photograph from the ferry as it docked at Liberty Island. Straight ahead is the familiar Manhattan skyline, with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on the left hand side.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Lush-Life.jpg"></a></p><p>Lush Life was a restaurant and jazz club on Thompson Street at Bleecker Street, in Greenwich Village.<br />I took this photograph in November 1983.<br />Lush Life<br />184 Thompson Street<br />New York<br />NY 10012</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/NY-cab.jpg"></a></p><p>Yellow Cab driver, New York City, November 1982.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Subway-NY.jpg"></a></p><p>Kim at the entrance to a New York City subway station, November 1982.</p></div>
<div><p><a href="https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/NY-buildings.jpg"></a></p><p>The Dakota, New York City (1982)<br />© photo by Paul Wright<br />The Dakota apartment building in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.<br />The building was the home of former Beatle John Lennon from 1973 up until when he was fatally shot on December 8, 1980. I took this photograph of the Dakota entrance two years after John Lennon was murdered there.<br />The Dakota<br />1 West 72nd Street<br />New York<br />NY 10023</p></div>
 
 
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 By Paul Sorene on August 19, 2016
 2
 Post Views: 6,454
 1980s Travel And Places 1982 1983 New York New York City snapshots

 New York 1982 / 1983: Before Big Money Buried The City’s Character

 In many ways New York City is a very different place to how it was in the 1970s and early 1980s, writes Paul Wright, whose album Come Feel The Noize harks back to the 1070s. I first visited Manhattan in 1982 when parts of the city looked semi-derelict. It was edgy and sometimes dangerous, but the city also had a character that has been buried by property developers and chain stores.

 Hanging-out in Greenwich Village record stores, braving the subway, not making eye contact with anyone and watching movies at St. Marks Cinema are all in the past. But great cities like New York and London never stand still for long, they are constantly changing.

 This is a photograph of my friend Kim in a New York City subway station, in November 1982. It was risky taking photographs in the subway back then because there was a good chance you would get mugged and have your camera stolen. In the background is a poster with the words: ‘Scuse me, while you’re standin’ there… here’s 5 ways not to get mugged. Only three examples are left on the poster, the other two have been ripped off by vandals!

 A photograph of my friend Paul in Room 818 at the Chelsea Hotel, New York City, November 1983.
 Hotel Chelsea
 222 W 23rd St
 New York
 NY 10011

 A photograph of me at the Hotel Earle, Room 708, New York, November 1983. The Earle was a run-down, cheap hotel in Greenwich Village when I stayed there during my second visit to New York City in 1983.
 The Hotel Earle was built in 1902 and Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel for a few weeks in 1914. In the 1950s Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin stayed at the Earle.
 By the 1960s and early 1970s it had become a seedy apartment hotel and musicians, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, made it their temporary home.
 John Sebastian, Bill Cosby, Barbra Streisand, the B-52’s, Maynard Ferguson, Bo Diddley and the Ramones have all stayed at the Earle.
 The hotel changed its name from the Hotel Earle to the Washington Square Hotel in 1986.
 Hotel Earle
 103 Waverly Place
 New York City
 NY 10011

 Book of matches from Cozy Soup & Burger, New York City (1982)
 Book of matches from Cozy Soup & Burger on Broadway, New York City.
 739 Broadway
 New York
 NY 10003
 at Astor Pl.


 My friend Paul at the Hotel Earle, Room 708, New York City, November 1983.
 The Hotel Earle was built in 1902 and Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel for a few weeks in 1914. In the 1950s Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin stayed at the Earle.
 By the 1960s and early 1970s it had become a seedy apartment hotel and musicians, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, made it their temporary home.
 John Sebastian, Bill Cosby, Barbra Streisand, the B-52’s, Maynard Ferguson, Bo Diddley and the Ramones have all stayed at the Earle.
 The hotel changed its name from the Hotel Earle to the Washington Square Hotel in 1986.
 Hotel Earle
 103 Waverly Place
 New York City
 NY 10011

 A protest against Iranian’s religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini, New York City, November 1983.

 I took this photograph from the ferry to Liberty Island. It was the first time that I had seen the Statue of Liberty and I was awe-struck. I just couldn’t stop taking photos of it and by the time I reached the island I didn’t have many shots left on my 36 exposure film.

 “Blue Guide to New York” book, published in 1983. New York was a different place in the late 1970s and early 1980s to how it is now. It was an edgy and sometimes dangerous place to be. When I first visited New York City in 1982 I only used the Subway once. When I returned the following year I used buses to get around the city, because I wasn’t comfortable using the Subway.

 There is some advice on travelling by subway in this 1983 Blue Guide:

 “SUBWAY SAFETY: The New York subway system has a reputation for crime and filth which is not undeserved. Stations have been vandalised, cars sprayed with graffiti, platforms are smelly and filthy in many stations. In 1981 there were 15,812 felonies in the transit system including 13 murders, but it is also true that more than three million travellers ride the system daily and survive. Use common sense; be alert to your surroundings; stay with other people; don’t go down empty stairwells or ride in empty cars; don’t lean over the edge of the platform; if in doubt stay near the conductor who has a telephone, as does the attendant at the toll booth.”

 The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, November 1982. I went to as many art galleries and museums as I could when I first visited New York.
 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
 1071 5th Avenue (at 89th Street)
 New York
 NY 10128

 Large parts of New York City looked semi-derelict back in 1982. This a typical street scene but I can’t remember where I took this photo. Please let me know if you recognise this street.

 A photograph of me at the Empire State Building, New York City, November 1983.
 Empire State Building
 350 5th Ave
 New York
 NY 10001

 A diner in Chelsea in the early 1980s. I think the Malibu Diner is now located here.
 City Diner
 163 W 23rd St
 New York
 NY10011

 The Back Fence music bar on Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, New York, November 1983.
 Next door is Kenny’s Castaways, a club where many bands have played over the last 45 years including the New York Dolls, Blondie, Kiss and Patti Smith. It was where Joey and DeeDee Ramone first met, and in 1973 Bruce Springsteen played here, his New York City debut with the E Street Band.
 Sadly Kenny’s Castaways will be closing after 45 years on 30 September 2012.
 Across the street is the Surf Maid, which hosted live jazz music. This is now the Red Lion, a live music bar.
 The Back Fence
 155 Bleecker Street (at Thompson St.)
 New York
 NY 10012
 Kenny’s Castaways
 157 Bleecker Street
 New York
 NY 10012
 Surf Maid
 151 Bleecker Street (between Laguardia Pl & Thompson St)
 New York
 NY 10012

 This is Saint Marks Place as it looked in November 1982. The shop with dresses hanging up in the window is Trash and Vaudeville, which is famous for supplying stars like The Ramones and Debbie Harry of Blondie with clothing during the golden age of punk rock in the 1970s and 80s. The store opened in 1975 and is still in its original location.
 Next door is the Valencia Hotel which was home to beat writer William S. Burroughs in the early 1970s. In the 1980s punk rock singer-songwriter GG Allin lived there. The hotel is now the St. Mark’s Hotel.
 Trash and Vaudeville
 4 Saint Marks Place
 New York
 NY 10003

 Entrance to the Empire State Building, New York City, November 1983.
 Empire State Building
 350 5th Ave
 New York
 NY 10001

 Reflected buildings, New York City, November 1983.

 A photograph of me outside one of my favourite places, the Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street.
 New York City, November 1983.
 Hotel Chelsea
 222 W 23rd St
 New York
 NY 10011

 New York City street scene, November 1982.

 New York City, November 1983.

 I took this photograph from the street, looking up at the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.
 New York City, November 1982.


 This is St. Marks Cinema in Manhattan’s East Village, on the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue. In the 1980’s the cinema showed films at discount prices and would run double bills and midnight screenings.
 When I took this photograph the 1979 romantic comedy “Chilly Scenes of Winter” and the 1981 thriller “Cutter’s Way“ were showing, as well a midnight screening of “Bloopers”.
 St. Marks Cinema is now Cohen’s Fashion Optical with the Theatre Condos above.
 St. Marks Cinema
 133 Second Avenue (near St. Mark’s Place)
 New York
 NY 10003

 I was walking in New York City one day when a dog rushed past me and jumped up onto a fire hydrant in the street. The dog perched there for a short time and seemed quite comfortable up there. It was an unusual sight but there was a saying at that time: “only in New York” which summed it up. Nothing seemed that unusual in New York in the early 1980s.

 New York City street scene, November 1982.
 East 17th Street & Broadway.

 I took this photograph from the ferry as it docked at Liberty Island. Straight ahead is the familiar Manhattan skyline, with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on the left hand side.

 Lush Life was a restaurant and jazz club on Thompson Street at Bleecker Street, in Greenwich Village.
 I took this photograph in November 1983.
 Lush Life
 184 Thompson Street
 New York
 NY 10012

 Yellow Cab driver, New York City, November 1982.

 Kim at the entrance to a New York City subway station, November 1982.

 The Dakota, New York City (1982)
 © photo by Paul Wright
 The Dakota apartment building in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.
 The building was the home of former Beatle John Lennon from 1973 up until when he was fatally shot on December 8, 1980. I took this photograph of the Dakota entrance two years after John Lennon was murdered there.
 The Dakota
 1 West 72nd Street
 New York
 NY 10023

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In many ways New York City is a very different place to how it was in the 1970s and early 1980s, writes Paul Wright, whose album Come Feel The Noize harks back to the 1070s.  I first visited Manhattan in 1982 when parts of the city looked semi-derelict. It was edgy and sometimes dangerous, but the city also had a character that has been buried by property developers and chain stores.
Hanging-out in Greenwich Village record stores, braving the subway, not making eye contact with anyone and watching movies at St. Marks Cinema are all in the past. But great cities like New York and London never stand still for long, they are constantly changing.
     This is a photograph of my friend Kim in a New York City subway station, in November 1982. It was risky taking photographs in the subway back then because there was a good chance you would get mugged and have your camera stolen. In the background is a poster with the words: ‘Scuse me, while you’re standin’ there… here’s 5 ways not to get mugged. Only three examples are left on the poster, the other two have been ripped off by vandals!
 
 A photograph of my friend Paul in Room 818 at the Chelsea Hotel, New York City, November 1983.Hotel Chelsea222 W 23rd StNew YorkNY 10011 
     A photograph of me at the Hotel Earle, Room 708, New York, November 1983. The Earle was a run-down, cheap hotel in Greenwich Village when I stayed there during my second visit to New York City in 1983.The Hotel Earle was built in 1902 and Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel for a few weeks in 1914. In the 1950s Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin stayed at the Earle.By the 1960s and early 1970s it had become a seedy apartment hotel and musicians, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, made it their temporary home.John Sebastian, Bill Cosby, Barbra Streisand, the B-52’s, Maynard Ferguson, Bo Diddley and the Ramones have all stayed at the Earle.The hotel changed its name from the Hotel Earle to the Washington Square Hotel in 1986.Hotel Earle103 Waverly PlaceNew York CityNY 10011 
 
 Book of matches from Cozy Soup &amp; Burger, New York City (1982)Book of matches from Cozy Soup &amp; Burger on Broadway, New York City.739 BroadwayNew YorkNY 10003at Astor Pl. 
      My friend Paul at the Hotel Earle, Room 708, New York City, November 1983.The Hotel Earle was built in 1902 and Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel for a few weeks in 1914. In the 1950s Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin stayed at the Earle.By the 1960s and early 1970s it had become a seedy apartment hotel and musicians, including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, made it their temporary home.John Sebastian, Bill Cosby, Barbra Streisand, the B-52’s, Maynard Ferguson, Bo Diddley and the Ramones have all stayed at the Earle.The hotel changed its name from the Hotel Earle to the Washington Square Hotel in 1986.Hotel Earle103 Waverly PlaceNew York CityNY 10011 
 
 A protest against Iranian’s religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini, New York City, November 1983. 
     I took this photograph from the ferry to Liberty Island. It was the first time that I had seen the Statue of Liberty and I was awe-struck. I just couldn’t stop taking photos of it and by the time I reached the island I didn’t have many shots left on my 36 exposure film. 
 
 “Blue Guide to New York” book, published in 1983. New York was a different place in the late 1970s and early 1980s to how it is now. It was an edgy and sometimes dangerous place to be. When I first visited New York City in 1982 I only used the Subway once. When I returned the following year I used buses to get around the city, because I wasn’t comfortable using the Subway.
There is some advice on travelling by subway in this 1983 Blue Guide:
 “SUBWAY SAFETY: The New York subway system has a reputation for crime and filth which is not undeserved. Stations have been vandalised, cars sprayed with graffiti, platforms are smelly and filthy in many stations. In 1981 there were 15,812 felonies in the transit system including 13 murders, but it is also true that more than three million travellers ride the system daily and survive. Use common sense; be alert to your surroundings; stay with other people; don’t go down empty stairwells or ride in empty cars; don’t lean over the edge of the platform; if in doubt stay near the conductor who has a telephone, as does the attendant at the toll booth.” 
     The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, November 1982. I went to as many art galleries and museums as I could when I first visited New York.Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum1071 5th Avenue (at 89th Street)New YorkNY 10128 
     Large parts of New York City looked semi-derelict back in 1982. This a typical street scene but I can’t remember where I took this photo. Please let me know if you recognise this street. 
     A photograph of me at the Empire State Building, New York City, November 1983.Empire State Building350 5th AveNew YorkNY 10001 
     A diner in Chelsea in the early 1980s. I think the Malibu Diner is now located here.City Diner163 W 23rd StNew YorkNY10011 
     The Back Fence music bar on Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, New York, November 1983.Next door is Kenny’s Castaways, a club where many bands have played over the last 45 years including the New York Dolls, Blondie, Kiss and Patti Smith. It was where Joey and DeeDee Ramone first met, and in 1973 Bruce Springsteen played here, his New York City debut with the E Street Band.Sadly Kenny’s Castaways will be closing after 45 years on 30 September 2012.Across the street is the Surf Maid, which hosted live jazz music. This is now the Red Lion, a live music bar. The Back Fence 155 Bleecker Street (at Thompson St.)New YorkNY 10012 Kenny’s Castaways 157 Bleecker StreetNew YorkNY 10012 Surf Maid 151 Bleecker Street (between Laguardia Pl &amp; Thompson St)New YorkNY 10012 
     This is Saint Marks Place as it looked in November 1982. The shop with dresses hanging up in the window is Trash and Vaudeville, which is famous for supplying stars like The Ramones and Debbie Harry of Blondie with clothing during the golden age of punk rock in the 1970s and 80s. The store opened in 1975 and is still in its original location.Next door is the Valencia Hotel which was home to beat writer William S. Burroughs in the early 1970s. In the 1980s punk rock singer-songwriter GG Allin lived there. The hotel is now the St. Mark’s Hotel.Trash and Vaudeville4 Saint Marks PlaceNew YorkNY 10003 
     Entrance to the Empire State Building, New York City, November 1983.Empire State Building350 5th AveNew YorkNY 10001 
     Reflected buildings, New York City, November 1983. 
     A photograph of me outside one of my favourite places, the Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street.New York City, November 1983.Hotel Chelsea222 W 23rd StNew YorkNY 10011 
     New York City street scene, November 1982. 
     New York City, November 1983. 
     I took this photograph from the street, looking up at the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.New York City, November 1982. 
      This is St. Marks Cinema in Manhattan’s East Village, on the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue. In the 1980’s the cinema showed films at discount prices and would run double bills and midnight screenings.When I took this photograph the 1979 romantic comedy “Chilly Scenes of Winter” and the 1981 thriller “Cutter’s Way“ were showing, as well a midnight screening of “Bloopers”.St. Marks Cinema is now Cohen’s Fashion Optical with the Theatre Condos above.St. Marks Cinema133 Second Avenue (near St. Mark’s Place)New YorkNY 10003 
     I was walking in New York City one day when a dog rushed past me and jumped up onto a fire hydrant in the street. The dog perched there for a short time and seemed quite comfortable up there. It was an unusual sight but there was a saying at that time: “only in New York” which summed it up. Nothing seemed that unusual in New York in the early 1980s. 
     New York City street scene, November 1982.East 17th Street &amp; Broadway. 
     I took this photograph from the ferry as it docked at Liberty Island. Straight ahead is the familiar Manhattan skyline, with the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on the left hand side. 
     Lush Life was a restaurant and jazz club on Thompson Street at Bleecker Street, in Greenwich Village.I took this photograph in November 1983.Lush Life184 Thompson StreetNew YorkNY 10012 
     Yellow Cab driver, New York City, November 1982. 
     Kim at the entrance to a New York City subway station, November 1982. 
     The Dakota, New York City (1982)© photo by Paul WrightThe Dakota apartment building in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.The building was the home of former Beatle John Lennon from 1973 up until when he was fatally shot on December 8, 1980. I took this photograph of the Dakota entrance two years after John Lennon was murdered there.The Dakota1 West 72nd StreetNew YorkNY 10023
New York 1982 / 1983: Before Big Money Buried The City's Character - Flashbak
https://flashbak.com/new-york-1982-1983-before-big-money-buried-the-citys-character-363152/?utm_content=buffer7056c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
https://observer.com/2017/05/video-1980s-new-york-youtube-nbcnews/
This Glorious Video of 1980s New York Is the Best Thing You’ll Watch Today
2017-05-16
Lawrence Lewitinn
<div><div>
	
<p>If you miss New York in the 1980s, you’re in luck. There’s a wonderful hour-long video of the Big Apple you can view right now on YouTube. [Or you can watch it in its entirety above.]
</p><p>It’s a compilation from the NBC News archives made up of B-roll footage used during newscasts. No one wants to see a newsreader speak the entire time—TV is a visual medium, after all. When you say “New York,” people want to see what they think New York is and think they know what New York is because of B-roll played during newscasts. This video has a lot of such footage—so much it’s almost exhausting. Yet, for a native New Yorker, it could be as meaningful a film of that era as anything Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese ever did—except, maybe, <em>After Hours.</em></p>
<p>In case, you should happen to forget who shot it, there’s a giant watermark covering the middle of the screen yelling “NBC NEWS” at you. After a while, though, you don’t even notice it’s there.
</p><figure><figcaption>O.K., it’s the 1980s, and we’re talking about New York City now. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>There’s the requisite shot of skyscrapers, including the Twin Towers, which defined the city’s skyline during the era. Some of it looks like the opening of <em>Saturday Night Live</em>. There’s even a glimpse of Battery Park City back when it was just a pile of sand atop landfill from the World Trade Center’s construction. A whole section is dedicated to the Statue of Liberty shortly after her centennial cleaning, with nary a tall building behind her in pre-Schundler Jersey City. The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges span the East River, anchored on land before developers figured out how to condo everything. Meanwhile, miserable pedestrians stroll the Williamsburg Bridge, unaware that those same ‘80s clothes would be worn ironically on that same bridge a few decades later.
</p><figure><figcaption>You can practically hear him whistle along to “Macho Man.” NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>No New York City video compilation is complete without street scenes and there are quite a few of those here. At about 12:28, there’s a shot of a mustachioed traffic cop wearing the old brown Transit Police uniform, a fixture at busy intersections prior to the 1995 merger with the NYPD. Chrysler K cars and other long-forgotten models flood the streets like a river in a small Midwest town after a big storm.</p>
<figure><figcaption>Where’s the rest of the Brat Pack? NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>But then at about 14 minutes in, we get to see the scenes that defined the soul of city itself. Interspersed between helicopter shots and that’s where those of us who remember the era will get all misty-eyed. There’s a guy playing a saxophone in front of a wall plastered with posters advertising Rosemary Clooney and Lily Tomlin. If you ever wondered what happened to Rob Lowe’s character after the credits rolled in <em>St. Elmo’s Fire</em>, there’s your answer. More street performers, people arguing with hot dog vendors, piles of tourists, unattended children dodging cars as they run in front of open fire hydrants…all are here.
</p><figure><figcaption>People just being themselves. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>What makes this particular video so enthralling isn’t just the visual, but it’s also the audial. These days, when you see ‘80s stock footage, there’s music in the background to remind you, “Hey! You’re looking at something from the Reagan Era!” Instead, this has natural sound—“nats” as the video professionals say—and in some way, it’s a more powerful tug on whatever engram deals with nostalgia.
</p><p>We catch doors slamming, cars honking horns as their undercarriages scrape the road, gum snapping, shoes peeling from the concrete, conversations starting, all as if they are happening in real time and yet now 30 years later. They are awkward and imperfect, the way life as we remember it is, and the way that is purposely avoided in video editing rooms when we watch films and shows from that time.</p>
<figure><figcaption>Another night at the Limelight. The guy in the white shirt is everything. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>Sadly, the shots from inside the Limelight have no sound. From this writer’s recollection, the music was rather forgettable anyway. But the dance floor banter—the exchanges as sloppy as the patrons simultaneously trying to get down to Chaka Khan and keep their vodka tonics from spilling—that’s missing from this video. The glittered masses are there with cigarettes legally blazing at the bar and dancing side by side with people who look like they mistook the converted church for an accounting conference, but we don’t hear it. We are robbed of the complete experience.
</p><p>Other parts of the video are aural witnesses to a disappearing New York accent that has lingered on in the public imagination. At 26 minutes and 26 seconds, a group of very 1980s New Yorkers stand behind a velvet rope when a male friend wearing too-short white shorts strolls by. “So what’s this faw?” he asks the NBC cameraman. “News Faw?”
</p><figure><figcaption>The only other place where you’ll see this many dinosaurs in New York is the American Museum of Natural History. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>For the markets-minded, there’s another element of a bygone era: traders at the New York Stock Exchange. Nowadays, the floor is primarily used by financial news shows to say, “We’re live at the exchange” as they report on today’s market but really, it’s there’s not much going on. That’s because most trades are conducted electronically on servers based across the Hudson in Mahwah, New Jersey, and no one wants to see reporters standing in front of computer equipment. The guys you see on the NYSE floor in 2017 are the straggling remains of the open outcry system which may well go away when the last of these men hang up their blue jackets.</p>
<figure><figcaption>If you’re a millennial seeing this, those numbers are called fractions. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>However, in this footage, the term “stock market” is a real place that has the look and feel of a Middle Eastern souk, replete with men with ill-fitting colorful jackets and paper order slips littering the floor. The exchange is practically a ghost town now, but we can watch it packed in 1980s splendor as monitors on the NYSE floor and trading desks elsewhere on Wall Street flash green numbers in quarters and eighths and 16ths, relics of how medieval Spanish traders counted their gold coins. All of those machines together have the same computing power as what’s currently in a child’s pocket. And all of those men (and occasionally, women) wearing all of those suits shouting all of those orders are now redundant, replaced by chips and wires. Yet here they are for us to gawk at their adrenalin rushes, unaware that the 1987 crash will wipe them out financially and the impending technological revolution will wipe out the meaning of their existence.
</p><figure><figcaption>This guy now controls atomic weapons but in the 1980s, he was just a well-known New Yorker. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>Speaking of which, at precisely 33 minutes and 7 seconds, we find the future 45th president of the United States of America, then in his mid-to-late 30s, dozens of pounds thinner with normal skin tones and darker hair. We then see a montage of his buildings and planes just before he appears again, now in his white leather-upholstered helicopter overlooking the city he loved but that wants nothing to do with him. We are spared his voice in this video, in case you were wondering.
</p><p>We get plenty of views of Gotham’s fabled restaurants from that time. The “21” Club’s menu prices look like something out of Chipotle to our 21st Century eyes. Tavern on the Green, Le Cirque, the Palm’s 837 Club, the Russian Tea Room, Lutèce, La Grenouille…names that danced on gossip pages that now mean nothing in the Kardashian Age.</p>
<figure><figcaption>This isn’t Arby’s. Why am I dressed like this? NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>And there’s a montage of New York’s Finest. When the city’s social structure began unraveling in the 1970s, it was thought the police force should appear friendlier. What’s more approachable than a guy with a gun wearing a powder-blue shirt? Once the Giuliani administration began, it was decided police officers should look like they mean business and those shirts got a lot darker but you can watch them trying to enforce laws dressed as if they are about to flip a burger.
</p><figure><figcaption>You would think this was all there was to the Bronx. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>The last part of the video is downright depressing. There are shots of Koch-period graffitied subways shuttling gloomy riders on elevated trains. A pre-refurbished Apollo Theatre has a loudspeaker shouting that you’re at a world-famous venue. The rest of Harlem is a dismal jumble of garbage, untrusting people and liquor stores. The South Bronx still hasn’t recovered from 1977 and bears some resemblance to Aleppo now. The only sounds we hear are sirens.
</p><p>And then we are robbed of sound again.</p>
<figure><figcaption>We never get to hear them. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>We don’t hear the children as they poke their heads through windows laughing. We don’t hear women shouting across the street to their friends. We don’t hear the young people singing their rhymes as they skip rope or leave church or play with puppies. We don’t hear the music the young man is moving to as he teaches himself how to breakdance. Instead, silence. The people don’t have a voice in this part of New York. We are to look at them solely with pity instead of recognize them as familiar neighbors going about their lives with all the same routines and joys as the rest of the world.
</p><p>Nor do we hear them in the other outer boroughs that are relegated to the last few minutes of the video. In Queens, we hear a dog bark. The camera quickly drives fast through residential neighborhoods with the windows turned up. In Bed Stuy, splattered blood on the curb and bullet casings are held up. Again, also silence. We finally hear something as the Cyclone roars through a gritty Coney Island and then we just hear the screams of passengers. It cuts to silence again as a group of young men breakdance on cardboard on the boardwalk. These guys are now reading AARP Magazine.
</p><figure><figcaption>Not much fun in Stalingrad, either. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube</figcaption></figure>
<p>We do get sound toward the final couple of minutes as we visit the Russians of Brighton Beach. Then it’s only Russian music. It’s winter. The people are all old. They wear long coats and hats. Nobody smiles. Few people talk. It was called Little Odessa for a reason. It wasn’t a compliment.</p>
<p>There’s a rather strange tendency among transplanted New Yorkers to romanticize the city’s darker moments of the 1970s and ‘80s. “This city used to be amazing,” you’d hear from ex-Ohioan trustifarians mimicking nostalgia to ex-Illinoisan in a Brooklyn café. In reality, it was more complex. It was still a vibrant, thriving city but one with crumbling infrastructure and social unrest. It was where dreams were born only to be mugged. It was a place where the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan were ignored by anyone south of 96th Street.
</p><p>New York has come a long way since then but some of its most severe problems linger. Still, for a brief moment, you can take yourself back to that time. They weren’t halcyon days but they are shaping the world we are in now far more than we ever imagined.
	</p></div>||||I|||| Search for: Submit
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 This Glorious Video of 1980s New York Is the Best Thing You’ll Watch Today

 For a native New Yorker, it could be as meaningful a film of that era as anything Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese ever did except, maybe, 'After Hours'

 By Lawrence Lewitinn • 05/16/17 12:51pm
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 


 Play

 If you miss New York in the 1980s, you’re in luck. There’s a wonderful hour-long video of the Big Apple you can view right now on YouTube. [Or you can watch it in its entirety above.]

 It’s a compilation from the NBC News archives made up of B-roll footage used during newscasts. No one wants to see a newsreader speak the entire time—TV is a visual medium, after all. When you say “New York,” people want to see what they think New York is and think they know what New York is because of B-roll played during newscasts. This video has a lot of such footage—so much it’s almost exhausting. Yet, for a native New Yorker, it could be as meaningful a film of that era as anything Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese ever did—except, maybe, After Hours.

 In case, you should happen to forget who shot it, there’s a giant watermark covering the middle of the screen yelling “NBC NEWS” at you. After a while, though, you don’t even notice it’s there.

 O.K., it’s the 1980s, and we’re talking about New York City now. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 There’s the requisite shot of skyscrapers, including the Twin Towers, which defined the city’s skyline during the era. Some of it looks like the opening of Saturday Night Live. There’s even a glimpse of Battery Park City back when it was just a pile of sand atop landfill from the World Trade Center’s construction. A whole section is dedicated to the Statue of Liberty shortly after her centennial cleaning, with nary a tall building behind her in pre-Schundler Jersey City. The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges span the East River, anchored on land before developers figured out how to condo everything. Meanwhile, miserable pedestrians stroll the Williamsburg Bridge, unaware that those same ‘80s clothes would be worn ironically on that same bridge a few decades later.

 You can practically hear him whistle along to “Macho Man.” NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 No New York City video compilation is complete without street scenes and there are quite a few of those here. At about 12:28, there’s a shot of a mustachioed traffic cop wearing the old brown Transit Police uniform, a fixture at busy intersections prior to the 1995 merger with the NYPD. Chrysler K cars and other long-forgotten models flood the streets like a river in a small Midwest town after a big storm.

 Where’s the rest of the Brat Pack? NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 But then at about 14 minutes in, we get to see the scenes that defined the soul of city itself. Interspersed between helicopter shots and that’s where those of us who remember the era will get all misty-eyed. There’s a guy playing a saxophone in front of a wall plastered with posters advertising Rosemary Clooney and Lily Tomlin. If you ever wondered what happened to Rob Lowe’s character after the credits rolled in St. Elmo’s Fire, there’s your answer. More street performers, people arguing with hot dog vendors, piles of tourists, unattended children dodging cars as they run in front of open fire hydrants…all are here.

 People just being themselves. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 What makes this particular video so enthralling isn’t just the visual, but it’s also the audial. These days, when you see ‘80s stock footage, there’s music in the background to remind you, “Hey! You’re looking at something from the Reagan Era!” Instead, this has natural sound—“nats” as the video professionals say—and in some way, it’s a more powerful tug on whatever engram deals with nostalgia.

 We catch doors slamming, cars honking horns as their undercarriages scrape the road, gum snapping, shoes peeling from the concrete, conversations starting, all as if they are happening in real time and yet now 30 years later. They are awkward and imperfect, the way life as we remember it is, and the way that is purposely avoided in video editing rooms when we watch films and shows from that time.

 Another night at the Limelight. The guy in the white shirt is everything. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 Sadly, the shots from inside the Limelight have no sound. From this writer’s recollection, the music was rather forgettable anyway. But the dance floor banter—the exchanges as sloppy as the patrons simultaneously trying to get down to Chaka Khan and keep their vodka tonics from spilling—that’s missing from this video. The glittered masses are there with cigarettes legally blazing at the bar and dancing side by side with people who look like they mistook the converted church for an accounting conference, but we don’t hear it. We are robbed of the complete experience.

 Other parts of the video are aural witnesses to a disappearing New York accent that has lingered on in the public imagination. At 26 minutes and 26 seconds, a group of very 1980s New Yorkers stand behind a velvet rope when a male friend wearing too-short white shorts strolls by. “So what’s this faw?” he asks the NBC cameraman. “News Faw?”

 The only other place where you’ll see this many dinosaurs in New York is the American Museum of Natural History. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 For the markets-minded, there’s another element of a bygone era: traders at the New York Stock Exchange. Nowadays, the floor is primarily used by financial news shows to say, “We’re live at the exchange” as they report on today’s market but really, it’s there’s not much going on. That’s because most trades are conducted electronically on servers based across the Hudson in Mahwah, New Jersey, and no one wants to see reporters standing in front of computer equipment. The guys you see on the NYSE floor in 2017 are the straggling remains of the open outcry system which may well go away when the last of these men hang up their blue jackets.

 If you’re a millennial seeing this, those numbers are called fractions. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 However, in this footage, the term “stock market” is a real place that has the look and feel of a Middle Eastern souk, replete with men with ill-fitting colorful jackets and paper order slips littering the floor. The exchange is practically a ghost town now, but we can watch it packed in 1980s splendor as monitors on the NYSE floor and trading desks elsewhere on Wall Street flash green numbers in quarters and eighths and 16ths, relics of how medieval Spanish traders counted their gold coins. All of those machines together have the same computing power as what’s currently in a child’s pocket. And all of those men (and occasionally, women) wearing all of those suits shouting all of those orders are now redundant, replaced by chips and wires. Yet here they are for us to gawk at their adrenalin rushes, unaware that the 1987 crash will wipe them out financially and the impending technological revolution will wipe out the meaning of their existence.

 This guy now controls atomic weapons but in the 1980s, he was just a well-known New Yorker. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 Speaking of which, at precisely 33 minutes and 7 seconds, we find the future 45th president of the United States of America, then in his mid-to-late 30s, dozens of pounds thinner with normal skin tones and darker hair. We then see a montage of his buildings and planes just before he appears again, now in his white leather-upholstered helicopter overlooking the city he loved but that wants nothing to do with him. We are spared his voice in this video, in case you were wondering.

 We get plenty of views of Gotham’s fabled restaurants from that time. The “21” Club’s menu prices look like something out of Chipotle to our 21st Century eyes. Tavern on the Green, Le Cirque, the Palm’s 837 Club, the Russian Tea Room, Lutèce, La Grenouille…names that danced on gossip pages that now mean nothing in the Kardashian Age.

 This isn’t Arby’s. Why am I dressed like this? NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 And there’s a montage of New York’s Finest. When the city’s social structure began unraveling in the 1970s, it was thought the police force should appear friendlier. What’s more approachable than a guy with a gun wearing a powder-blue shirt? Once the Giuliani administration began, it was decided police officers should look like they mean business and those shirts got a lot darker but you can watch them trying to enforce laws dressed as if they are about to flip a burger.

 You would think this was all there was to the Bronx. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 The last part of the video is downright depressing. There are shots of Koch-period graffitied subways shuttling gloomy riders on elevated trains. A pre-refurbished Apollo Theatre has a loudspeaker shouting that you’re at a world-famous venue. The rest of Harlem is a dismal jumble of garbage, untrusting people and liquor stores. The South Bronx still hasn’t recovered from 1977 and bears some resemblance to Aleppo now. The only sounds we hear are sirens.

 And then we are robbed of sound again.

 We never get to hear them. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 We don’t hear the children as they poke their heads through windows laughing. We don’t hear women shouting across the street to their friends. We don’t hear the young people singing their rhymes as they skip rope or leave church or play with puppies. We don’t hear the music the young man is moving to as he teaches himself how to breakdance. Instead, silence. The people don’t have a voice in this part of New York. We are to look at them solely with pity instead of recognize them as familiar neighbors going about their lives with all the same routines and joys as the rest of the world.

 Nor do we hear them in the other outer boroughs that are relegated to the last few minutes of the video. In Queens, we hear a dog bark. The camera quickly drives fast through residential neighborhoods with the windows turned up. In Bed Stuy, splattered blood on the curb and bullet casings are held up. Again, also silence. We finally hear something as the Cyclone roars through a gritty Coney Island and then we just hear the screams of passengers. It cuts to silence again as a group of young men breakdance on cardboard on the boardwalk. These guys are now reading AARP Magazine.

 Not much fun in Stalingrad, either. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube

 We do get sound toward the final couple of minutes as we visit the Russians of Brighton Beach. Then it’s only Russian music. It’s winter. The people are all old. They wear long coats and hats. Nobody smiles. Few people talk. It was called Little Odessa for a reason. It wasn’t a compliment.

 There’s a rather strange tendency among transplanted New Yorkers to romanticize the city’s darker moments of the 1970s and ‘80s. “This city used to be amazing,” you’d hear from ex-Ohioan trustifarians mimicking nostalgia to ex-Illinoisan in a Brooklyn café. In reality, it was more complex. It was still a vibrant, thriving city but one with crumbling infrastructure and social unrest. It was where dreams were born only to be mugged. It was a place where the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan were ignored by anyone south of 96th Street.

 New York has come a long way since then but some of its most severe problems linger. Still, for a brief moment, you can take yourself back to that time. They weren’t halcyon days but they are shaping the world we are in now far more than we ever imagined.

 Filed Under: Business, Digital Media, Nostalgia, 1980s, subways, The Bronx, Ed Koch, YouTube, Manhattan, New York, Brooklyn, Donald Trump, New York City, New York
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If you miss New York in the 1980s, you’re in luck. There’s a wonderful hour-long video of the Big Apple you can view right now on YouTube. [Or you can watch it in its entirety above.]
 It’s a compilation from the NBC News archives made up of B-roll footage used during newscasts. No one wants to see a newsreader speak the entire time—TV is a visual medium, after all. When you say “New York,” people want to see what they think New York is and think they know what New York is because of B-roll played during newscasts. This video has a lot of such footage—so much it’s almost exhausting. Yet, for a native New Yorker, it could be as meaningful a film of that era as anything Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese ever did—except, maybe, After Hours. 
In case, you should happen to forget who shot it, there’s a giant watermark covering the middle of the screen yelling “NBC NEWS” at you. After a while, though, you don’t even notice it’s there.
  O.K., it’s the 1980s, and we’re talking about New York City now. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
There’s the requisite shot of skyscrapers, including the Twin Towers, which defined the city’s skyline during the era. Some of it looks like the opening of Saturday Night Live. There’s even a glimpse of Battery Park City back when it was just a pile of sand atop landfill from the World Trade Center’s construction. A whole section is dedicated to the Statue of Liberty shortly after her centennial cleaning, with nary a tall building behind her in pre-Schundler Jersey City. The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges span the East River, anchored on land before developers figured out how to condo everything. Meanwhile, miserable pedestrians stroll the Williamsburg Bridge, unaware that those same ‘80s clothes would be worn ironically on that same bridge a few decades later.
  You can practically hear him whistle along to “Macho Man.” NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
No New York City video compilation is complete without street scenes and there are quite a few of those here. At about 12:28, there’s a shot of a mustachioed traffic cop wearing the old brown Transit Police uniform, a fixture at busy intersections prior to the 1995 merger with the NYPD. Chrysler K cars and other long-forgotten models flood the streets like a river in a small Midwest town after a big storm.
 Where’s the rest of the Brat Pack? NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
But then at about 14 minutes in, we get to see the scenes that defined the soul of city itself. Interspersed between helicopter shots and that’s where those of us who remember the era will get all misty-eyed. There’s a guy playing a saxophone in front of a wall plastered with posters advertising Rosemary Clooney and Lily Tomlin. If you ever wondered what happened to Rob Lowe’s character after the credits rolled in St. Elmo’s Fire, there’s your answer. More street performers, people arguing with hot dog vendors, piles of tourists, unattended children dodging cars as they run in front of open fire hydrants…all are here.
  People just being themselves. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
What makes this particular video so enthralling isn’t just the visual, but it’s also the audial. These days, when you see ‘80s stock footage, there’s music in the background to remind you, “Hey! You’re looking at something from the Reagan Era!” Instead, this has natural sound—“nats” as the video professionals say—and in some way, it’s a more powerful tug on whatever engram deals with nostalgia.
 We catch doors slamming, cars honking horns as their undercarriages scrape the road, gum snapping, shoes peeling from the concrete, conversations starting, all as if they are happening in real time and yet now 30 years later. They are awkward and imperfect, the way life as we remember it is, and the way that is purposely avoided in video editing rooms when we watch films and shows from that time.
 Another night at the Limelight. The guy in the white shirt is everything. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
Sadly, the shots from inside the Limelight have no sound. From this writer’s recollection, the music was rather forgettable anyway. But the dance floor banter—the exchanges as sloppy as the patrons simultaneously trying to get down to Chaka Khan and keep their vodka tonics from spilling—that’s missing from this video. The glittered masses are there with cigarettes legally blazing at the bar and dancing side by side with people who look like they mistook the converted church for an accounting conference, but we don’t hear it. We are robbed of the complete experience.
 Other parts of the video are aural witnesses to a disappearing New York accent that has lingered on in the public imagination. At 26 minutes and 26 seconds, a group of very 1980s New Yorkers stand behind a velvet rope when a male friend wearing too-short white shorts strolls by. “So what’s this faw?” he asks the NBC cameraman. “News Faw?”
  The only other place where you’ll see this many dinosaurs in New York is the American Museum of Natural History. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
For the markets-minded, there’s another element of a bygone era: traders at the New York Stock Exchange. Nowadays, the floor is primarily used by financial news shows to say, “We’re live at the exchange” as they report on today’s market but really, it’s there’s not much going on. That’s because most trades are conducted electronically on servers based across the Hudson in Mahwah, New Jersey, and no one wants to see reporters standing in front of computer equipment. The guys you see on the NYSE floor in 2017 are the straggling remains of the open outcry system which may well go away when the last of these men hang up their blue jackets.
 If you’re a millennial seeing this, those numbers are called fractions. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
However, in this footage, the term “stock market” is a real place that has the look and feel of a Middle Eastern souk, replete with men with ill-fitting colorful jackets and paper order slips littering the floor. The exchange is practically a ghost town now, but we can watch it packed in 1980s splendor as monitors on the NYSE floor and trading desks elsewhere on Wall Street flash green numbers in quarters and eighths and 16ths, relics of how medieval Spanish traders counted their gold coins. All of those machines together have the same computing power as what’s currently in a child’s pocket. And all of those men (and occasionally, women) wearing all of those suits shouting all of those orders are now redundant, replaced by chips and wires. Yet here they are for us to gawk at their adrenalin rushes, unaware that the 1987 crash will wipe them out financially and the impending technological revolution will wipe out the meaning of their existence.
  This guy now controls atomic weapons but in the 1980s, he was just a well-known New Yorker. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
Speaking of which, at precisely 33 minutes and 7 seconds, we find the future 45th president of the United States of America, then in his mid-to-late 30s, dozens of pounds thinner with normal skin tones and darker hair. We then see a montage of his buildings and planes just before he appears again, now in his white leather-upholstered helicopter overlooking the city he loved but that wants nothing to do with him. We are spared his voice in this video, in case you were wondering.
 We get plenty of views of Gotham’s fabled restaurants from that time. The “21” Club’s menu prices look like something out of Chipotle to our 21st Century eyes. Tavern on the Green, Le Cirque, the Palm’s 837 Club, the Russian Tea Room, Lutèce, La Grenouille…names that danced on gossip pages that now mean nothing in the Kardashian Age.
 This isn’t Arby’s. Why am I dressed like this? NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
And there’s a montage of New York’s Finest. When the city’s social structure began unraveling in the 1970s, it was thought the police force should appear friendlier. What’s more approachable than a guy with a gun wearing a powder-blue shirt? Once the Giuliani administration began, it was decided police officers should look like they mean business and those shirts got a lot darker but you can watch them trying to enforce laws dressed as if they are about to flip a burger.
  You would think this was all there was to the Bronx. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
The last part of the video is downright depressing. There are shots of Koch-period graffitied subways shuttling gloomy riders on elevated trains. A pre-refurbished Apollo Theatre has a loudspeaker shouting that you’re at a world-famous venue. The rest of Harlem is a dismal jumble of garbage, untrusting people and liquor stores. The South Bronx still hasn’t recovered from 1977 and bears some resemblance to Aleppo now. The only sounds we hear are sirens.
 And then we are robbed of sound again.
 We never get to hear them. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
We don’t hear the children as they poke their heads through windows laughing. We don’t hear women shouting across the street to their friends. We don’t hear the young people singing their rhymes as they skip rope or leave church or play with puppies. We don’t hear the music the young man is moving to as he teaches himself how to breakdance. Instead, silence. The people don’t have a voice in this part of New York. We are to look at them solely with pity instead of recognize them as familiar neighbors going about their lives with all the same routines and joys as the rest of the world.
 Nor do we hear them in the other outer boroughs that are relegated to the last few minutes of the video. In Queens, we hear a dog bark. The camera quickly drives fast through residential neighborhoods with the windows turned up. In Bed Stuy, splattered blood on the curb and bullet casings are held up. Again, also silence. We finally hear something as the Cyclone roars through a gritty Coney Island and then we just hear the screams of passengers. It cuts to silence again as a group of young men breakdance on cardboard on the boardwalk. These guys are now reading AARP Magazine.
  Not much fun in Stalingrad, either. NBCUniversal Archives via YouTube 
We do get sound toward the final couple of minutes as we visit the Russians of Brighton Beach. Then it’s only Russian music. It’s winter. The people are all old. They wear long coats and hats. Nobody smiles. Few people talk. It was called Little Odessa for a reason. It wasn’t a compliment.
There’s a rather strange tendency among transplanted New Yorkers to romanticize the city’s darker moments of the 1970s and ‘80s. “This city used to be amazing,” you’d hear from ex-Ohioan trustifarians mimicking nostalgia to ex-Illinoisan in a Brooklyn café. In reality, it was more complex. It was still a vibrant, thriving city but one with crumbling infrastructure and social unrest. It was where dreams were born only to be mugged. It was a place where the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan were ignored by anyone south of 96th Street.
 New York has come a long way since then but some of its most severe problems linger. Still, for a brief moment, you can take yourself back to that time. They weren’t halcyon days but they are shaping the world we are in now far more than we ever imagined.
This Glorious Video of 1980s New York Is the Best Thing You’ll Watch Today
https://observer.com/2017/05/video-1980s-new-york-youtube-nbcnews/?utm_content=business&utm_campaign=social+flow&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social+
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/17/t-magazine/new-york-1980s-culture.html
New York City, 1981-1983: 36 Months That Changed the Culture (Published 2018)
2018-04-17
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 New York City, 1981-1983: 36 Months That Changed the Culture

 APRIL 17, 2018

 In the early '80s, everything seemed to be happening at once — and from this blur emerged a culture forever changed.

 Source photographs: Henny Garfunkel, PYMCA/UIG/Getty Images; Getty Images; Roxanne Lowit; Barbara Alper/Getty Images; Getty Images; Henny Garfunkel; Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images; Barbara Alper/Getty Images; Martha Cooper; Gary Gershoff/Getty Images; Getty Images; Andre Grossman.

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New York City, 1981-1983: 36 Months That Changed the Culture (Published 2018)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/17/t-magazine/new-york-1980s-culture.html
https://allthatsinteresting.com/new-york-1990s-photos
1990s New York Photos: 51 Images Of A City On The Brink
2016-10-19
John Kuroski
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 Back From The Brink: 1990s New York In 51 Intense Photos

 By John Kuroski
 Published October 19, 2016
 Updated September 20, 2018

 The 1990s in New York started as the city's worst decade yet ended far better than expected. These surprising photos reveal how.

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 1 of 52
 The tone of crime and unrest that marked the early 1990s was defined by the Crown Heights riots of 1991.

 The trouble started on August 19, 1991, when a car driven by a Jewish man named Yosef Lifsh and part of a police-escorted motorcade for noted Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson struck two black children, killing one (Gavin Cato) in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. John Roca/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
 2 of 52
 Accounts vary as to exactly what happened at the scene of the crash, but it ultimately didn't matter. The event sparked a devastating three-day riot that pitted the neighborhood's Jewish population, its black population, and the NYPD all against each other. Eli Reed/Magnum Photos
 3 of 52
 Immediately following the crash, the neighborhood's black residents became enraged that police had Lifsh removed from the scene before Cato had even been loaded into the ambulance. Many black residents believed this was indicative of the preferential place that Jews were taking in the neighborhood and the treatment that black residents received from the city. NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
 4 of 52
 Enraged by this police response, just three hours after the crash, a group of black men walked several streets over and found a Jewish man named Yankel Rosenbaum, who they stabbed and beat, injuries which he would die from later that night. Eli Reed/Magnum Photos
 5 of 52
 With two deaths in the span of a few hours, the riot quickly hit full swing and continued on for the next two days. Ultimately, there were nearly 200 injuries, well over 100 arrests, 27 vehicles destroyed, seven stores looted, 225 cases of robbery and burglary committed, and $1 million worth of property damage. Eli Reed/Magnum Photos
 6 of 52
 But beyond the numbers, the riot became a symbol of the crime, racial strife and questionable police tactics that marked much of the early 1990s in New York. Eli Reed/Magnum Photos
 7 of 52
 In fact, many credit the Crown Heights riot with costing Mayor David Dinkins (right) a second term in 1993.

 At the beginning of the decade, Dinkins made history as he was sworn in as New York City's first black mayor. However -- in a turn emblematic of the early 1990s in New York -- the hope of Dinkins took a significant hit after the riot, when many accused him of contributing to what they perceived to be the poor police response. CHRIS WILKINS/AFP/Getty Images
 8 of 52
 The summer before the riot, Dinkins (second from left) and New York's black community were in high spirits upon the historic first-ever visit of Nelson Mandela (center) to the United States. Mandela's first destinations in the country, in fact, were the predominantly black neighborhoods of Brooklyn, much like Crown Heights.

 "Tens of thousands of people in the black Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New York and Fort Greene lined the sidewalks, wildly cheering the honored guest's motorcade and brandishing clenched fists," wrote The New York Times . "For the city's blacks it was a particularly compelling moment." MARIA BASTONE/AFP/Getty Images
 9 of 52
 The summer after Mandela's visit, the riot changed the city's racial politics in ways that would reverberate throughout the rest of the decade.

 And in 1992, just one year after the riot, demonstrators in New York once again rose up (pictured here near Penn Station) in response to police handling of a violent incident with an African-American citizen.

 In this case, it was after police officers in Los Angeles were acquitted on all charges of beating Rodney King. Gilles Peress/Magnum Photos
 10 of 52
 Police arrest a man protesting the Rodney King verdict on 7th Avenue in Manhattan. Gilles Peress/Magnum Photos
 11 of 52
 Several years later, on August 9, 1997, a black man named Abner Louima intervened in a fight between two women at a Brooklyn bar. When police reached the scene, one officer claimed that Louima hit him. The police then beat Louima on the way to the station and again at the station, where they also sexually assaulted him with a broomstick.

 The incident quickly sparked outrage city- and nationwide, and on August 29, approximately 7,000 demonstrators marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to both city hall and the precinct where the assault took place.

 Ultimately, Louima won an $8.75 million settlement from the city and his primary attacker, Justin Volpe, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. BOB STRONG/AFP/Getty Images
 12 of 52
 Less than two years after the assault of Abner Louima, the city once again faced an incident of racially motivated police brutality.

 On February 4, 1999, four NYPD officers in the Bronx opened fire on an unarmed black man named Amadou Diallo discharging 41 bullets and striking him 19 times. He was killed instantly and accounts of the shooting vary, with some saying that the officers first took notice of Diallo because he matched the description of a serial rapist in the area.

 In a tragic echo of the Louima incident two years before, thousands of protestors marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on April 15.

 In the end, Diallo's family won a $3 million settlement from the city, but all four officers were acquitted of their second-degree murder charges. MATT CAMPBELL/AFP/Getty Images
 13 of 52
 Racial tensions reached another boiling point near decade's end with the Million Youth March on September 5, 1998.

 Held by organizers as an expression of black unity and protest against systemic racism, the city publicly dismissed it as a hate march and aired concerns that it would turn violent.

 Sadly, that's exactly what almost happened. When the 6,000 marchers who'd gathered in Harlem didn't disperse at 4 PM, police in riot gear threatened to move in. Marchers held their ground, with some throwing chairs, trash cans, and bottles at the police.

 Ultimately, however, tensions were quickly defused and the incident resulted in "just" 17 injuries. STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images
 14 of 52
 The other major problem that plagued New York City for much of the 1990s was crime.

 While many instinctively think of either the 1970s or 1980s as the city's most violent years, the four deadliest years in the city's modern history were in fact the four that kicked off the 1990s.

 Of course, New York wasn't alone in recording record high murder rates during that era, but it was nevertheless the principal American symbol of murder at the time. Thus, on December 29, 1993, an anti-gun activist group unveiled an enormous "Death Clock" in Times Square. As it continuously displayed the ever-growing number of murders by guns in the U.S., it became a grim fixture in the city. HAI DO/AFP/Getty Images
 15 of 52
 One of the prevailing explanations for New York's record-setting crime was the simple notion that many neighborhoods had, by the early 1990s, fallen into varying states of disrepair.

 The city government began acting on a theory that argued that the way to address the serious crimes like murder and rape was to first address these small crimes of disrepair, like vandalism and theft... Laser Burners/Flickr
 16 of 52
 This idea was called the broken windows theory. Developed by criminologists/social scientists James Wilson and George Kelling in 1982, the theory argued that the authorities' tolerance of small crimes of public disrepair like vandalism signaled to people that this was an area without consequences and left the door open for more serious crimes to be committed. Bill Barvin/New York Public Library
 17 of 52
 As Wilson and Kelling wrote in their landmark 1982 article on the matter in The Atlantic : "Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside." Laser Burners/Flickr
 18 of 52
 What some city authorities took from this controversial theory is that by treating small problems like the graffiti that had taken over much of the city, they could ultimately help mitigate far more serious issues like the record-setting murder rate. Laser Burners/Flickr
 19 of 52
 In 1990, the city made William J. Bratton, a self-professed disciple of broken windows author George Kelling, the head of its Transit Police. Bratton quickly began putting the broken windows theory to the test, going to work on crimes like vandalism that had often previously gone ignored. Raymond Depardon/Magnum Photos
 20 of 52
 An even bigger shift came in 1994 when brand new mayor Rudolph Giuliani (pictured holding the newspaper proclaiming his election victory on November 3, 1993) made Bratton his police commissioner for the expressed purpose of implementing broken windows policing.

 Many believe that the city elected Giuliani, a former United States Attorney, because he was perceived to be tough on crime, while his opponent David Dinkins was often blamed for his response to the Crown Heights riot.

 Immediately after the election, Giuliani put his tough-on-crime policies into action and had his police force significantly increase their "quality of life" arrests for petty crimes. New York's crime rate then shrunk to nearly a third of its early 1990s highs by the end of the decade. HAI DO/AFP/Getty Images
 21 of 52
 Many have criticized the broken windows theory and the kind of policing it encourages, specifically in New York in the 1990s.

 For one, some critics argue that ramping up "quality of life arrests" can give police officers implicit license to abuse their power (Bratton, for example, is widely credited with pioneering the now controversial stop-and-frisk policing ) and that using police resources for crimes like, say, popping a fire hydrant (pictured, in the beleaguered South Bronx, 1995), is wasteful and irresponsible. JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images
 22 of 52
 Regardless, the Giuliani administration put broken windows policing into action and set about cleaning up the embattled, decaying, semi-vacated areas of the city... Ferdinando Scianna/Magnum Photos
 23 of 52
 ...Including many in Brooklyn (pictured, 1992)... Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos
 24 of 52
 ...As well as the Bronx (pictured, 1992)... Camilo José Vergara/Library of Congress
 25 of 52
 ...And even formerly beloved tourist and recreation areas like Coney Island (pictured) that had fallen into neglect. Onasill ~ Bill Badzo/Flickr
 26 of 52
 The borough of Staten Island, on the other hand, remained neglected enough to vote for an actual secession from New York City in late 1993.

 Ultimately, the state government blocked the referendum, but the move was enough to ensure that at least the borough's two biggest demands -- free service for the ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan and closure of the Fresh Kills Landfill (pictured) -- were met. MATT CAMPBELL/AFP/Getty Images
 27 of 52
 Times Square received the decades biggest face lift.

 The very symbol of New York's decay in the 1970s and 1980s, Times Square, like the city itself, experienced a phenomenal rebirth in the 1990s. Nevertheless, as late as 1997 (pictured), you could still find erotic dancers performing in private viewing booths.
 28 of 52
 By the late 1990s (pictured), following rezoning and policing initiatives, Times Square was once again a thriving tourist destination for people of all ages -- and the quintessence of the city's 1990s revival. Leo-setä/Wikimedia Commons
 29 of 52
 As the 1990s drew to a close, other locales began experiencing an extraordinary revitalization.

 Chief among those neighborhoods is Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where the first steps of the area's gentrification began in the mid-1990s.

 Today, the Williamsburg of 1991 (pictured, foreground) -- a neighborhood of old factories, few people, and no waterfront high-rises -- is all but unrecognizable. Jet Lowe/Library of Congress
 30 of 52
 Similar gentrification began occurring in other neighborhoods like Manhattan's East Village (pictured, in the early 1990s). Bill Barvin/New York Public Library
 31 of 52
 But at the dawn of the 1990s, the East Village still retained the seediness of a now bygone era.

 Pictured: The early 1990s interior of the East Village's infamous The World nightclub, a haven for the area's transgressive arts scene. However, the club closed in 1991 after its owner was found dead on the premises. It has since been demolished and replaced by a luxury apartment building. Kcboling/Wikimedia Commons
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 Like the East Village and Williamsburg, the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick, now a thriving community with skyrocketing real estate costs, was a very different place in the early and mid-1990s.

 Pictured: The largely empty streets and partially shuttered buildings at the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Melrose Street in 1995. Bill Barvin/New York Public Library
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 About ten blocks away, the empty environs of Bushwick's Dekalb Avenue and Broadway, circa the mid-1990s.

 It's precisely areas like this -- once beset by poverty, vacancy, and crime -- that were entirely different after the 1990s. Bill Barvin/New York Public Library
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 In one of the decade's deadliest incidents, Colin Ferguson (pictured, arriving in court) killed six and wounded 19 after opening fire inside a train car on December 7, 1993.

 The shooting quickly sparked a nationwide discussion on gun control, the death penalty, and racial unrest. On the one hand, predominantly white leaders like Mayor Giuliani took this opportunity to make the case for capital punishment in New York.

 On the other hand, Ferguson's lawyers offered the defense that their client -- whose actions suggested that his crimes were motivated by his anger at perceived white oppression -- suffered from "black rage" and thus could not be held criminally liable for his actions.

 Ultimately, Ferguson actually dismissed his lawyers, finished the trial by representing himself, and was sentenced to 315 years in prison. POOL/AFP/Getty Images
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 Thankfully less deadly than the Ferguson attack was the February 23, 1997 shooting at the Empire State Building. Palestinian gunman Ali Hassan Abu Kamal, outraged at the continued U.S. support for Israel, killed one and wounded six on the 86th floor observation deck before shooting himself in the head.

 Pictured: A police officer stands guard at the door of the Empire State Building just after the incident. JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images
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 While it involved just one victim, perhaps the most devastating of all violent crimes in 1990s New York was the murder of "Baby Hope."

 After she was found decomposing in a cooler alongside a highway in Manhattan on July 23, 1991, her case quickly attracted widespread attention. Starved, raped, killed, and unable to even be identified, four-year-old "Baby Hope" became a symbol of the depths to which New York had fallen.

 The girl went unidentified and the crime went unsolved all the way until 2013, when detectives were able to identify her as Anjelica Castillo and arrest her uncle, Conrado Juarez, for the crime. EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
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 Yet another high-profile murder that grabbed the attention of the country was that of famous Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) on March 9, 1997.

 Nine days later, scores of fans took to the streets of the rapper's old neighborhood of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn to pay their respects as the funeral procession passed by. JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images
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 Perhaps the single incident that stands above all others from the New York of the 1990s is the bombing of the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993.

 That afternoon, Al Qaeda terrorists detonated a truck bomb in the underground parking structure (pictured, two days after the attack) of the North Tower, hoping to cause that tower to collapse onto the South Tower, bringing down both and killing thousands.

 However, that didn't occur and the casualties ended up being far less than the perpetrators had hoped... MARK D.PHILLIPS/AFP/Getty Images
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 In the end, the bombing killed six and injured a little more than 1,000, with many suffering from severe smoke inhalation (pictured). TIM CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
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 Within a few years, most of the perpetrators were caught. However, the same senior al Qaeda operative who planned the bombing, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would go on to execute the September 11th attacks. Karl Döringer/Wikimedia Commons
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 Nevertheless, with the Twin Towers restored shortly after the bombing and intact throughout the rest of the 1990s, New York drew in an increasing number of tourists, far more than those wary of visiting during the decade's crime-plagued early years.

 Pictured: Tourists on the Circle Line boat tour gaze out at Lower Manhattan. Alessio Nastro Siniscalchi/Wikimedia Commons
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 Indeed, throughout the late 1990s, New York increasingly played host to more high-profile tourist events and attractions, including British skier Eddie Edwards' 1996 ski jump near the foot of the World Trade Center.

 Overall, annual tourism increased by 7 million people and $5 billion over the course of the 1990s. GEORGES SCHNEIDER/AFP/Getty Images
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 Riding high in the 1990s' latter half, New York also enjoyed four championships in five years for its favorite sons, the Yankees, beginning in 1996. Al Bello/Allsport
 44 of 52
 As the city's fortunes looked up and the crime numbers trended down, New York began to grapple with other societal issues.

 Among these was gay rights. In 1997, Mayor Giuliani signed a law recognizing municipal domestic partnerships for homosexuals.

 Pictured: Members of the Stonewall Veterans Association participate in the 30th Annual Lesbian and Gay Pride March on June 27, 1999 that commerated the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall Riot. STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images
 45 of 52
 Yet another pivotal social issue for New York in the 1990s was homelessness. Because the crack epidemic of the mid-1980s had pushed more into homelessness, the issue became a hotly debated one at the dawn of the 1990s.

 During the mayoral race of late 1989, David Dinkins attacked incumbent Ed Koch for not providing adequate housing for the homeless, vowing to take up the cause himself.

 While Dinkins, after his election, quickly shelved some of his more ambitious plans to deal with homelessness, he did allow for more housing, a move that some critics said overburdened the system with the "Dinkins Deluge." JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images
 46 of 52
 In fact, some critics claimed that Dinkins' homelessness policy kept more homeless on the streets. This attitude helped paved the way for the tougher policies of the Giuliani administration, which saw homeless people arrested for sleeping in public.

 Pictured: Donald Trump (right) walks past a beggar on Fifth Avenue following a press conference on November 16, 1990. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
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 Regardless of the approach, the homelessness issue captured the attention of the city.

 Pictured: Two children from the Covenant House homeless shelter listen to speeches during the fourth annual Nationwide Candlelight Vigil for Homeless Kids in Times Square on December 6, 1994. Some 500 children and supporters rallied to bring attention to the problem of homeless children across America. JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images
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 Beyond systemic social issues like homelessness, New York faced its share of acts of god during the 1990s as well.

 Pictured: Smoke engulfs buildings in Midtown Manhattan as a six-alarm fire rages out of control on March 1, 1996. More than 200 fighters were ultimately needed to extinguish the massive blaze. JON LEVY/AFP/Getty Images
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 Some of New York's 1990s calamities were underpinned by the decay into which much of the city had fallen in the first half of the decade.

 Pictured: A bystander looks into a hole formed in the collapse of a Brooklyn street after a water main broke, sending water cascading into homes and streets on January 21, 1994. The break forced the evacuation of about 200 residents and the closing of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, a main connection to Manhattan. MARK D. PHILLIPS/AFP/Getty Images
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 And perhaps one of the most hyped acts of god for New York in the 1990s was the "1993 Storm of the Century."

 While its 318 fatalities nationwide made it one of the deadliest weather events of the 20th century, New York got off relatively light with "only" a foot. TIM CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
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 Throughout the 1990s, New York City weathered nearly all the storms it faced and ended the decade (and the millennium) in Times Square on December 31, 1999 with a luminous New Year's Eve celebration befitting a city now back on top of the world. MATT CAMPBELL/AFP/Getty Images
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 Back From The Brink: 1990s New York In 51 Intense Photos
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 At the dawn of the 1990s, New York City was in an unremittingly bleak state.

 Following two decades of continuous decay, 1990 brought yet another all-time record high in violent crime and to this day, 1990 and the three years that followed remain the most homicide-plagued stretch in the city's last five decades. The 1990s had quickly positioned itself to become the city's worst decade yet.

 Yet something unprecedented occurred in the latter half of the decade: The crime rate fell by half and the murder rate by a third, with each year better than the last. By the time the decade was over, New York was a safer place than it had been at any point since the 1960s.

 And it showed. By the time the 1990s ended, the city was pulling in 7 million more tourists a year while the city's population began to grow for the first time in decades.

 The 1990s in New York City was an improbable success story on a level seldom seen before. What at first looked like a new nadir for America's biggest city instead became one of the greatest urban revitalizations in American history.

 In fact, we're still witnessing today the forces set in motion during the 1990s. As we enjoy these current halcyon days in New York City, we look back at the not-so-distant yet oh-so-different miracle decade when everything looked like it was about to fall apart forever — and then didn't.

 Next, travel back in time to 1970s and 1980s Brooklyn, before it was invaded by hipsters and when the New York subway was the most dangerous place on Earth.

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 author
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 John Kuroski
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 John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
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 Kuroski, John. "Back From The Brink: 1990s New York In 51 Intense Photos." AllThatsInteresting.com, October 19, 2016, https://allthatsinteresting.com/new-york-1990s-photos. Accessed April 30, 2024.
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1990s New York Photos: 51 Images Of A City On The Brink
https://allthatsinteresting.com/new-york-1990s-photos
https://www.vintag.es/2021/10/new-york-city-1990s.html
50 Amazing Photos Capture Street Scenes of New York City in the 1990s
2021-10-14
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<article>
<a></a>
<div><p>
At the dawn of the 1990s, New York City was in an unremittingly bleak state. Following two decades of continuous decay, 1990 brought yet another all-time record high in violent crime and to this day, 1990 and the three years that followed remain the most homicide-plagued stretch in the city's last five decades. The 1990s had quickly positioned itself to become the city's worst decade yet.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkAHkCJILNsn86U99W5S0_R4JfTlXe3Xd_9kp-4u2QO5zSfZYlL4SFmIMbqnISgpVkjQrUKTToDgRTcXQ4w2A8CRaZyQRILD-7wCfDuLGNc6oFfnnf3LwJVyGcJBH-Ui-fuFxBTuL2AhU5qtsAiefD27vPPmQpBEjRv1onMAAauS2AedUSOIQ3lyM6-g=s1100"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York City in the 1990s</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Yet something unprecedented occurred in the latter half of the decade: The crime rate fell by half and the murder rate by a third, with each year better than the last. By the time the decade was over, New York was a safer place than it had been at any point since the 1960s.</p><p>And it showed. By the time the 1990s ended, the city was pulling in 7 million more tourists a year while the city's population began to grow for the first time in decades.</p><p>The 1990s in New York City was an improbable success story on a level seldom seen before. What at first looked like a new nadir for America's biggest city instead became one of the greatest urban revitalizations in American history.</p><p>These amazing photos were taken by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensiegel/">Steven Siegel</a> that show what New York City looked like from the 1990s.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHXW7HI7OPV4QIxc3upaPE7bgYtb1gi7r1So7US-wkBp8fwd9AP539U24ZvcSc11TYdrWoTJHshJJHWylxzZL3iDmxSENnSSD9NC_Hb5bV0HyJ5UeC91pNJbUvkZUtWSjnCQ6y__GxKgI-2TVfnVna88LBWEAJI6XE-eQUEOuifbn-tzknf-6KyKu5yw=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>View from Liberty State Park, 1991</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgsTBv5y2UsWD7RZAYlKrdVIsV1-nOI57Y8oEWd2w9Sgy7502uFoopTSAuxLaU87bjOPUauLbVTs9-msF9Z3yDivFVjCAfI8oVJLhWQs46SjDrmV06WLOWiIgtoIqHsAcfIJGsIvT1H2j5zuOaod17A82KN-u039BM2TnWMrx2QE1KZeqk6SnADHdWAJA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>WTC, 1991</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbhVL7cgLNP-RsftTTH2brzwA9Q_JY0A2NMh569JjbkcXx69AjeLS1GoZkdIvumybxA28DJJuMe5S34uwZi0UUMzytDtLpN-0sOOjdf_J5YCL4fjGIRB8MRCaxTlm3Ym76UkVoVHrjh_9Uf3w5VTqKuX7svxHc_GGbeGqV0hPM3GDSPojm6nFsxUTZaA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>WTC, 1992</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHnZd0XLlWl_NDX4FcS8NzdzzsnQ3MV2PJMyIpjXBsDSKwYmKJfO-Prq3fs9lCrIM61vb8NGsbVHiweoLh349x6PUO2Tpw1P6BUaPm1ycFb5Sk7tMlKreI636-kAy_fx8pP5ANZzkFA2hSbNbtkdO3YU1aWo32q5eeXuosU7J6VwHUlXPuvUsZsMTPPQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Marlboro billboard, circa 1993</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh9etKNlcxpJR0mMrm-RkXh77dkybrccLGJ639v9neM0MPsxcL7KVgfU34p_KcgXG_uTKNvkyvT0c-Otsdax16isWy9MaEmdqIsBUirCkUzUiktmgQpd8GM9JIviH7lWvIcnIBAtcVOltp1SuQ1Ja3ZzEKEvlIV6jRG1rN11SW7GNarx3QPaNz0op2IA=s735"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Upper West Side, Manhattan, 1993</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjC1WO2qbj_xl9Jfh-2PgK_sW4OXS4CA0dEGebNpWYW-zoreYVb-Gt0SdO1y6gIbgdHldUjOYkqvm7geZU-vnlsPJNW8OZY7mKIPzi2kiAlWZWepd5z5MwZv7T9ETeWKaN-8CM7Nqjkxt11QTTqpdbWWr1KMHyyB7hVN9QS1xYwoZDxsr2V6rj4xB4_PQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>View from Jersey City, 1993</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhc4b6lLrFXcPOQpRhn5pj3uHbsKKSqRzhrna6hURgBYN37wcP5RhuUbCZmerlbZl5rsp88rm3tg9-srHbDNJczRYyK74CsY-MEuHt9wjYnLpvUkChMknSdkwbGeIVIWzF25JuwjEgh3stK5aSGaYOk1xwV5075S0JT5JnHLGbShNwgOoZEgkhIA4Q2UQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Cigarette billboard, Long Island City, 1994</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLt3GjnYtLZA2dmt0SkGmsbUyYIkNcAkfrpiPn8PqnzaZokbm51mrdGPE2ykhh9DJZu-Dbi_K5M7vGftOdRa_zBe6HMUkc1Wr6cb4qLvjNzon6jx5X1taLvVaoSyeb0SH79_C8Gh4el2AuCjWeD31q-62ZRoPu7sfFEWAxhzypC_YlU1_T6x0Dr_JTnQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York skyline, 1994</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNbYnAV-xSf0UVN6Unl-cC-6Xv1mf5a1u15KN8md1iQ3jclw9wALVJD_d097IUjGOElPSr90QbOyi9txpKrPzdd8P2HbG5dGB_djSpkY4lKl6FfaY6xEoeD41y7DX1W2s1nkMPYG7GcPZcxQj3jGVc36tnskQqZ84phMAIxtZCtE2kZOQNSHMaX_cylQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York street portrait, 1994</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbpv7xfD1vVm71Tn-1ORGPkws_dipLXOUgonYWL3blxI3uE75ID_NrIml29OSNPSIAAazWhLKPLmVOgTWRLLXcI2E1flbH-mMly3vMy9tW8Ay5MM6eAye4_tHepqqrmWPBsP1g812ypQSE0qkE-_GNygL3hzONcVGIqRejEKVaOC_zxFrAfjARcFO0hQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York street portrait, 1994</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhopesF34uTCuBM4pY43nksnK4cg24skcnCT8OISvDX4rU_Lj5M4uF0wSMz40Mq4l_7b7SlorzouTFHo6uo4Xlg5mJXkguomkEWTP0TF6BYTJkYA9Z7Tmw9FRfo5swAZGww4W_5ta8VKDt5M6G6jsfi-RyXkwCrPLgWrEkgqsnCu05KNaikFJt7D6yKiA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Statue of Liberty, 1994</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_4Z2x14dCqPjeiBkCr2-hwViLU23XW9Y1CVToaXN4O6AedZxE5giF7-FB-UKhRp_hHrUOiCc8Si5XsP8sS_5WLQzbGuqydlTBlVd0rLb7r6VTljOt7uIQWazgpFDtq6b5T4INOyqiv1pYZu1CZflJfGf5js2l27mYd94EOKx0hKrkvd4Z_IYsMopT8A=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Times Square, 1994</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVhaXPp8mwPQX6-snoG9YjRqUAWQCBP18gry_eLj0t3EtAhsicacaWBPVuFp3OFUH4kVZB-7wcNcBAHAWcngFLH5jBEcZGbJ0C1tDMZJY3y42xeMnYQLGdH27-9VHU4fjtjF2S8kyyXxX41O9t1IF05BmPKszfaSb5SfKCf85LBKSD4tNozVGdq93M-g=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>WTC, circa 1995</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYVB-VCroIgs9w0DZE_Tbo-qEN2KpYsK06nG2oIv3ZVMOyjlPqzZNSvn59vpljjXSJin5GNbFsRh41857lB1x-l7pv683gVTMSwv0iRMzudMJ1TicHpSdl5K7f12uEb63f27daNrKZWKt6Vn01Lg5DDhA47wyKpM1L-zWwoMBnvgXxmmfMcXiqwqAdtw=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2KI-0gSQS-NZrl7BURcyTchGbdBiOLclI5SBn02quFH7hF9BsinsOIKFRyGRkSbFMdtP-9RlzYu1Vd7vqa6bxQMwmMjaiTidQe2I-6FUjy7cQKzrkiYavAGHrT8lxDY95L4J3JiEp8P6lR_g0KKTOk6YiAuwRomMQs9mBEqfpPiXglUKctW623ynjnA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyRj5rCE7FPJFlYQxqeCmQLkxu5iWMEkgPvEqYiyUEc9sEhV73htdS7H-GJHZ7FWtX8RIJNdRCFSuwc11JiPVKOGXVgmien_OFRGgBJRGggd6G8miK5LS2UGwqOsKYo_aFGJMnVTeSiefjTWeWwNnbD-5y9cez7eRbQoO5QzaPzvXG9j0SOKN_sxZ9iw=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhE8W8QB0PHZd-rucU2LLIN6Bs-ImpMyFM8YtBRc9qqD-7sl3WBh9wYaQ2aIKhu1t84P3ljRCDasR_JnCzAbmKeV2LagOwglTCvYTELRDy2eJZnKpQC9oU15oPnU8aE2mNXTzCX-HnRxjeSe9IH4bEC9vhUpkX4K3X2l0FWF65O7mTiol9DHOjsM8_hWQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZj9WE5d2FksOu_VQZxuRFTXHmjYIJmGrW_C5p3WdeK1Qckzn-4gb9FQ3KUS4-Tdc9r9MI6cipIEc77WfJUEriDwBzdo8GsoR7jmKScB11PwnHdAtPVHuYY5cCPO6ZJDfCm7InkG4Abis18m8ziwIe4xyoN75QVo8PrhxIdF2_NYL_kowohCJLlOi5JA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX8zBwkdJySqsFikfREnEDbLY9_biqeK_62yYyNz4i1dsAWLWioManu3WujARLsNVc0K7NinFw-lZjjzbHOzvIIj-vwevQ8qdsItfkybjuWbbyhCBTYqwT4dZOTT58r_8fjknJfndWo_tNYyxxp8Re2gneo2zZpOPo_Cpuiuxu93YkqdmCx42BI_4qnw=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQBX7tOWPP5pd3bRPVtIjF-r96OLogYcRYqxVI81MLLUvoAhysON786HY291KaRE-LBY4sj_E199CkDzwVqdgGIG67kAJIilPz0-V34YDl0XRYTNAoTi_xYV8RIqjhKyxpPQknqcSmT0mBjh8_rLN7zHZxWNPSTHGb2Lm0FAAMMV-4k9ReJT03ugUKDA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhERQCXNBDqKZ7Kgg6LyCq8LReUV0Z2Uco1pWUJ9rgYHfqQM-QBJVEQWMEG2hbeEthrb1EhjK0GlnuFTjyRqhdPcAN0DGqZi4B-Ik7eEGm_-p30x252GWB47PJpenvMnheYeglbmEbX47lT8u4nKaCbzAgSyPTlu3m86O9ZIpPpJbWGXV3gDInJMU-MQA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7GbGQewYqDDdc8ZwUmWWi-epZBxN-oUVKCAoDCZBsU3XoQKPtkdBhNjSizffl-wvEqdeNb1NcJstTW_ozKHgPZvzRvpJ_qQMhTROtL5g-0secWioIIa3AeNnEN9JnKpuPuqei87EuD4aDEi6mKxH7XKcZtQ6cwLF-qa78GHMcACBBA1TY604uQVfvsQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>42nd Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjkqQkhv6kG0-kvxLt-7B_WBfucv_d8fskLFICz711DAeBLV4BUPGRdPV084kn_MLIOIBOypcFCGBhbP1oBHHOpWnSNrrRjkdqOpnwRWF1EcfjibIuLecUNaZ5zfIDfZR_8IWJd-MKfVbOht_zACHNMD0zxB790tTdOIvs1r9nYDRvB4kFMUx1Y0YX4Mg=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Brooklyn Bridge, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0aHmW-Ti7P0AwceZDGfUicI6xjYDLPB2O6qGYGBfhb_2SC2_241LpT7Kk3rXStJNK--Av16G6PTx02rm0xCTsUkXAoEw5gBkYG1DJFBjaacq2aQd72lWuI92Ofac1dVQgDYI9dFhClUEPDAfcaCxlto7yFJxw6ktt1VscN1ST1yAcG8RcEqV3HZ5kSQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>FDR Drive at South Street, Southport, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH6vRINjPNt_2MX7QwBDMZwaRjB9bfIwABuBvtq9mVlAEuRVH6pJHnKGI-ahtYvpqHi6dbvKF6cGgqNq4dhWwn4d2mYqyPsmPjM7uiKiov4yv3_qkT2jfLOqOGxUr8Wf4sKAprPIHca5PArkpTc3SIm0l1GCyVcYr4Z9MdDBeWirqwc8iYs8RiR13txg=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Fifth Avenue and 21st Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYUu1qrcMp4gNHLIjMMBo-8Fhf57nW9Z75XpOZF3paqP9vmXxB0zr50UmBkvSzziiNoXBl7UjnxO8zUziWFr3AydiL3oXw27vBssEMTfjT6P1WznHNaJOVIZUN4DcAuMIQnqEeSfqbjKuWOBH4K6-aE7dirzBYKKm0pLvftPGVEymUssKDFuQTcGVUMg=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York skyline, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihKDrV2CxwkgNy2GwMDnELDlJ5tMxb1REsDt6Jl4droQFvSAweEIp-_G1p7yZNFBIrnXCPTiqL7HTG4NzMHvazziV3FlZTj60hQFDHZm1KLxP1-LNjMtNAIQJJeGmzE0LUOATyvohAEUyv6zu7eL8uUq-kSs966r25Uu4rLFWG0_qJkxjfur3I3jiwMA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York skyline, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhkDfpZsdN6XVQPrBRZphAx4omjG3Ex4A_RfgFOra76RBjpnngSxLZ_DQLGG7rO5Q2Uc5wuc9CDP-sA4hEawvu0FTfWMPpq1YV40KKzgfCRNC28A5F6iSByczv-7whVmYMtiMlQZCSKyI1noN_uJiLqWzXPVVIPUB8Se7GYwD6cveZSROxY6acWvSsOnw=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York Subway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, circa 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiU9zkLV0uCVOtssBBiyGtkiaiiMdBXU58gWr-wSCoOu7ytYd2Oi5d5NkU78SazkAunvOp3yIEvQB42nScVBBJEFFQJb2q16P-3qegxQ2i6ZNPRqXV8J_mHgyvR3HuJ8h2Lw3oRRde8GJ0GFzlAEhg23w0OB9NBy5nQ6RXxMPfO__Pe_Od97cwibShB3A=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York Subway, Williamsburg, Queens, circa 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZzX_TlGhOvA91JJ9h1FDqGcFDuClkOWJFT9V1YALmOuaetzZ6ntaFBq8NHpQt40raPwv5tdq3aDpYN60eSGkSolkwCBKYVrhx1Vrrr9p8UQqK9RQDkNDf3Bq_hbHVTn-K1JLP0jlqKP4yKiZwLOvwQDIL9bWy1U97SVLi4DGJkHH9WRYiCpUJujgwOw=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Ninth Avenue and 40th Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNxBYZQdIeCsg1LQoFTXOI6wlHMo07txHgJD0kgw9LK6ngL-aQ9EzUW5NWL3JPmuakReuN_yUCQx7o_mav2-Km3xfjb2zAzYVtHVGYUYKHa9Tntf0JKofRKEDUrGBefS8FmQ3WxP_PaH0Wds4sBEZjRWrheOUFD1OZzWm_KwNd7jzB_DoOlerB2Q2ewg=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Sixth Avenue and 21st Street, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeh7cdmk18XVLhjaV27PsprDOcw_ncRqdgWT_-V6h7UJx8iklmxRu5oVQ6d1bDlE3BYj10XatgGFQEx3JvtIrLdufCzE4Aor3UvhrEnBoBrYSCXz-zPNFrbMWZ4tPlzWYxj_Bc0A7KFws04eBOJN5VrnSTfQuG7lZlJ38PVrtVLOolPXaNsNfkqW0wtw=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Times Square, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3SuRWiBqwrIG8FgSc55HXQHHTkiM59BUR3zLW9RZILYxKfOysRrNjcDFVDuFcBM85_DCj70KQkpH81FNUMiFbFcIBJdQFIenvd_iXTUIfnlU0hJnG2u2zaXGBmmlWSu-pCW9DQhmrHjOaSLZgX5dD715g37vRrUGT6huH6o5UV-Q9H_PUT-svduLieQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Times Square, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgv9lz-x4C2r79_FiLRTd1aa6DT-13HQbCuPnbJhoZjGAVmyFUcxIoIxbJW-r1UZpyFiHCOyB359U5kRHVXf7i_dv3VQvPGh-hR5BNoC49Pqep32Q8hcG5sIJ0vjYXiG5F-6AJFXQ9ld7SsSCmIp3Xpboy081PBINyac0p-E0-YjAIWdA_2cgrysXRUSg=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Times Square, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSHJlO2L6kYzydRbQXKkNhhLzcvqpwJh81mIlga4mh_LKEhIDX0wb8FHRaRiAKUxpUowZoQjNM5FDVyU0bWM9IdhSJM9jXHccMm60V6kmQuIdkgekQbzvfB4lGvzUhrlKLe8lKKHSN4nH69clGarno-YY2S2madO77DRjON_MLfFQyDpmbFkUVLSYHMA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Times Square, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsNtzaf4V3M5U-HjD1MK_OUgMaqpknQZ8kSNagilK9l50qIlH28I0lVuLQ6Lbj84q__loMoUVagePxLsqKHqbBNGs_bcwCOWxf2sCx-Xa64YbkJR5FVKfU07mZlqDF8Cc3CiSPzd6QiTX2XIJvHvFkDbtUUHtk8OSQvHPZX-vc8RPnGv_H9TLPdNaxPw=s742"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Wall Street area, 1996</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKcJ2PAoq8nOygHe2-FC4CCtRhf_HoNQ0B6E3sMAX0JYqMqBYwBTeXlghazRdtS0dQHAaHjfoWOiJuBEQFwfYOR2J4Q4T6Wx0h7FMq4AjRDskElVS4zo9dTBJpP2B7tizXCztgrH3bblMVdx-s5gcIKh_xQydsX94fgJlyzvFALaATcuZHfCoZ0QykAA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Steam train excursion, 1997</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh3_fqjWcYLUdCpZ2MSHUwFOjCqIEi3hL6Hyy25Qamycn73CtubtiBD1OIlVNhAVDq3YlPHaWWnPAcijA-6CQGmkfKgX8ccpCCFmA6ybI8-Gx03DOMvl6bouTxxNvMM9YMZ0xWhmymu9B_5YL3N6UkbYBm4ipc-fc5B-GZAumcDfo9tCKjMp_95CT05OQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Billboard, 1998</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEid0i4-ZejOE-xUgs6LPudLASX-KXFqLUeUU4I1TWJaLLnj6E09WGAAPoVeI9I7UK5IBwbMoNg4TkxQYHBC_oH1_h2cWMrnMBa2OuNJFMSYtdfFLYkn3ryyA8OGcODylTTwTpT_eY-f7qHpRppCgGyDHftDbu_BCH3YuLjKfmspAzbej_pPe8S4UzjBPA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Red Hook, Brooklyn, 1998</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8jcu04thKZRiC9KBTl2lF1wtMVUw_qFIw8f84FYzBFmLFJRqdSHSq6I_44L21rY138pQ5DwNs0hx39YnGrEtzzkc743SD1nfeK6IEEbSCn3fQqRE_vOTyeUbJDFCU9p3sN2BBascuCp1GhiS8I3i1iHyiOtV8p4Ki4yAEoqtO0uIfg42p0KfsPBh54A=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Sunset view from Eagle Rock Park, Essex County, New Jersey, 1998</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioz8pcM8eHijotJif3Sn6ACa1z47zS3CFLjVthxWoQst83M9UYAWWGkJNaLgUmGfjwu4iO0JHo5Y8Kw43owFWNBJUeCeVb6Gq40qIXdudE-mtk35x79PVg_ld9Vw6FgYFsT6TQQjqAd2QLzhLsAvPfEQi9tNQ7q9DFH5O4CjVFzPChEXhb4f1oBHSPiA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Street/Lincoln Avenue in Woodside, circa late 1990s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_edKeGP3hwqJQYAW1GCzUz2LtYX9uhk2T7bWZhOJnWFGTMmZo8AnTk-wPpg-SgWgE5z16P0GVSxIY4RLxFC3dhyFlqBaDjzbHGsYtxX6Qossa5rKo9IwOmB-JYIUQ7cxo-ix1udPLox4wgGL1FvZHK7ePqNHa3C8BriiTyr7JWn4Najv7T5aH2MXFpw=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York City from Jersey City, circa 1990s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA80FbdsR6upPP5EewAFFpZgIkVjQPYvQ4RFMj8NMObxBv3wYxiuPEwIjioKLBhmOwnLGBwS0KjQuCt5XGlLGOM0LBVZ6K5O0GcTBgJpq2Dqss7VRdsRD2seDNldOjK0rgG1Ov2-60Pru2tGO7jwKhhNF7Uk7lJgtjexEr3NsdLpeOM2v9JtmScqosoA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>Subway on Williamsburg Bridge, circa 1990s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjm8Nh2VqQis7ASwlN8inVsRLoNshOeq0VugCwt9UV9PzlalnfO18rAYa9CEF-mN1j-Y7Z5RU3ba4a70JLZ7vOiY769Cd2Zfty408NBJEiK1qra5lRCaVjL0iq3O3mlD2AV4LV3dE8I6STWiGseKLLpJCfZUwaOB3VII8LNRb9awEvqXiyC227b01BIeQ=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>View from Liberty State Park, circa 1990s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii7FmdB88HfqR9cQB-HIoRNvUqyQD0LOeHSN6c9ULdhuO3jm_g22z4o8gtDnueqkIaFCNW9zQelDUl8G_f_n6NKBJhar838aKSUeubcHYf2x6oEKaGVQmRzKdfoQdECYsgCaNzyQ2Vsy2P0i4hiRiUlTG1aZvVX-xQVHfmAYI7TVbnOPmACP82OSqF6w=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>WTC and commuter train, circa 1990s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8uVB8Ff5ZiwzTMOk1lPC72Il3ih_SXAL7l9lUE9haN73_IgXJmIWz6iszfym3O1zu0px6LCGnD9se9R1i47XE2XcmdtfN3tbnWbyIFjY_EWnHEbNS76tVX__cYJCs85xZY7E9SbYaPRvnQlVZbqzygMqJrmsneK5FRGaBfQSjNyZMYmK27pL9RQqEpA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>WTC, circa 1990s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEix3xDp5jXAdELDdXiicio3nuUFXRnwNbFPwc9LCKCfv7qmFCIj16EGAHHa6mDixBCeBeNLmJCNmA7nifKDw8_q32L69mh2da_EBIv2mHQhTQVifKv2PMzCE9udTLZ5aXrpS5iIbrz7N4GYXgLvLC8_u52GSG-bHWQVpzUVSzqFb_MVFs3x2R4Slpg0IA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>WTC, circa 1990s</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgjRLrDQvMZggQpmQV2LjLBY2eS90y0SRH1JqjUMKeHme_BIROuH_PqoUKzPBJOSKs_TKcWXwJsLnRSr0S1iiPns62IQnGW_PmlL8YS91cjFiSHMAW35UWQXFd45lfZrfdbOF795dld5PHcSQaCtqtNP4Yj8rBLQxiVUo-opX9mj0HP8TNG7XWPtplnOA=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>34th Street, 1999</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiimfKbAuqE6jt13KeYFTIrds5-IEIz6goeQhVDTCQ2WpyaaZSBHSTr3AQa5EcC9Uh5q2qqRf1gkOUIkTw5epl8CiaTuxFlO4t0Y2ks4wLMRLzsfA_9vtVIuS7vg6wQT6uwagiZ3760juU7CLnqt34yLbWmszLoCUSPDleCA-kIhgTuijjeOD5XObmL0g=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York Subway, 1999</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_f2n3KLHISR4DkwsXUbPjDB2sworElFYa41UWK0c7RtMYx6teTXJlC0CttV1dDEp8DUr7IEnWsDwab1xfEk635JC7bxWItR_04pNknF-b2STGjjULvj-d5wqdJOmhlOUlhw0xzDHxNT2H4TFrUBxaCoUhz2Uafp5g3C_BdlxQ7yC7mAhCptqosCGt_A=s800"></a></td></tr><tr><td>New York Subway, South Bronx, 1999</td></tr></tbody></table><p>(Photo © Steven Siegel)</p>
</div>
</article>
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 October 14, 2021

 50 Amazing Photos Capture Street Scenes of New York City in the 1990s

 October 14, 2021 1990s, life & culture, New York, street
 At the dawn of the 1990s, New York City was in an unremittingly bleak state. Following two decades of continuous decay, 1990 brought yet another all-time record high in violent crime and to this day, 1990 and the three years that followed remain the most homicide-plagued stretch in the city's last five decades. The 1990s had quickly positioned itself to become the city's worst decade yet.

 
 New York City in the 1990s
 

 Yet something unprecedented occurred in the latter half of the decade: The crime rate fell by half and the murder rate by a third, with each year better than the last. By the time the decade was over, New York was a safer place than it had been at any point since the 1960s.

 And it showed. By the time the 1990s ended, the city was pulling in 7 million more tourists a year while the city's population began to grow for the first time in decades.

 The 1990s in New York City was an improbable success story on a level seldom seen before. What at first looked like a new nadir for America's biggest city instead became one of the greatest urban revitalizations in American history.

 These amazing photos were taken by Steven Siegel that show what New York City looked like from the 1990s.

 
 View from Liberty State Park, 1991
 

 
 WTC, 1991
 

 
 WTC, 1992
 

 
 Marlboro billboard, circa 1993
 

  
 Upper West Side, Manhattan, 1993
 

  
 View from Jersey City, 1993
 

  
 Cigarette billboard, Long Island City, 1994
 

 
 New York skyline, 1994
 

  
 New York street portrait, 1994
 

  
 New York street portrait, 1994
 

  
 Statue of Liberty, 1994
 

  
 Times Square, 1994
 

  
 WTC, circa 1995
 

  
 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, 1996
 

  
 42nd Street, 1996
 

  
 42nd Street, 1996
 

  
 42nd Street, 1996
 

  
 42nd Street, 1996
 

  
 42nd Street, 1996
 

  
  42nd Street, 1996
  

  
  42nd Street, 1996
  

  
  42nd Street, 1996
  

  
  Brooklyn Bridge, 1996
  

  
  FDR Drive at South Street, Southport, 1996
  

  
  Fifth Avenue and 21st Street, 1996
  

  
  New York skyline, 1996
  

  
  New York skyline, 1996
  

   
  New York Subway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, circa 1996
  

   
  New York Subway, Williamsburg, Queens, circa 1996
  

  
  Ninth Avenue and 40th Street, 1996
  

  
  Sixth Avenue and 21st Street, 1996
  

  
  Times Square, 1996
  

  
  Times Square, 1996
  

  
  Times Square, 1996
  

  
  Times Square, 1996
  

  
  Wall Street area, 1996
  

  
  Steam train excursion, 1997
  

  
  Billboard, 1998
  

  
  Red Hook, Brooklyn, 1998
  

   
  Sunset view from Eagle Rock Park, Essex County, New Jersey, 1998
  

   
  Street/Lincoln Avenue in Woodside, circa late 1990s
  

   
  New York City from Jersey City, circa 1990s
  

   
  Subway on Williamsburg Bridge, circa 1990s
  

   
  View from Liberty State Park, circa 1990s
  

   
  WTC and commuter train, circa 1990s
  

   
  WTC, circa 1990s
  

   
  WTC, circa 1990s
  

   
  34th Street, 1999
  

   
  New York Subway, 1999
  

   
  New York Subway, South Bronx, 1999
  

  (Photo © Steven Siegel)




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At the dawn of the 1990s, New York City was in an unremittingly bleak state. Following two decades of continuous decay, 1990 brought yet another all-time record high in violent crime and to this day, 1990 and the three years that followed remain the most homicide-plagued stretch in the city's last five decades. The 1990s had quickly positioned itself to become the city's worst decade yet.          New York City in the 1990s    Yet something unprecedented occurred in the latter half of the decade: The crime rate fell by half and the murder rate by a third, with each year better than the last. By the time the decade was over, New York was a safer place than it had been at any point since the 1960s. And it showed. By the time the 1990s ended, the city was pulling in 7 million more tourists a year while the city's population began to grow for the first time in decades. The 1990s in New York City was an improbable success story on a level seldom seen before. What at first looked like a new nadir for America's biggest city instead became one of the greatest urban revitalizations in American history. These amazing photos were taken by Steven Siegel that show what New York City looked like from the 1990s.          View from Liberty State Park, 1991              WTC, 1991              WTC, 1992              Marlboro billboard, circa 1993              Upper West Side, Manhattan, 1993              View from Jersey City, 1993              Cigarette billboard, Long Island City, 1994              New York skyline, 1994              New York street portrait, 1994              New York street portrait, 1994              Statue of Liberty, 1994              Times Square, 1994              WTC, circa 1995              42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, 1996              42nd Street, 1996              42nd Street, 1996              42nd Street, 1996              42nd Street, 1996              42nd Street, 1996              42nd Street, 1996              42nd Street, 1996              42nd Street, 1996              Brooklyn Bridge, 1996              FDR Drive at South Street, Southport, 1996              Fifth Avenue and 21st Street, 1996              New York skyline, 1996              New York skyline, 1996              New York Subway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, circa 1996              New York Subway, Williamsburg, Queens, circa 1996              Ninth Avenue and 40th Street, 1996              Sixth Avenue and 21st Street, 1996              Times Square, 1996              Times Square, 1996              Times Square, 1996              Times Square, 1996              Wall Street area, 1996              Steam train excursion, 1997              Billboard, 1998              Red Hook, Brooklyn, 1998              Sunset view from Eagle Rock Park, Essex County, New Jersey, 1998              Street/Lincoln Avenue in Woodside, circa late 1990s              New York City from Jersey City, circa 1990s              Subway on Williamsburg Bridge, circa 1990s              View from Liberty State Park, circa 1990s              WTC and commuter train, circa 1990s              WTC, circa 1990s              WTC, circa 1990s              34th Street, 1999              New York Subway, 1999              New York Subway, South Bronx, 1999    (Photo © Steven Siegel)
50 Amazing Photos Capture Street Scenes of New York City in the 1990s
https://www.vintag.es/2021/10/new-york-city-1990s.html
https://www.quora.com/What-was-it-like-to-live-in-1980s-Los-Angeles
What was it like to live in 1980s Los Angeles?
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 John Hagerman
 Lived in Los Angeles · Author has 106 answers and 311.4K answer views
 · 6y

 I move to LA in 1989 to become a student at the American Film Institute and lived there until 1993. For the most part, living in the LA area was wonderful. The weather was usually nice and there was tons to do, both in LA and within easy drive. We had a garden growing fresh produce 11 months of the year. During winter, we could literally drive an hour West and go surfing or scuba diving, or we could drive an hour East and go snow skiing. We could actually golf in the morning and ski in the afternoon!

 As a film student, it was fun to constantly see celebrities whether we were driving, shopping,
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 I move to LA in 1989 to become a student at the American Film Institute and lived there until 1993. For the most part, living in the LA area was wonderful. The weather was usually nice and there was tons to do, both in LA and within easy drive. We had a garden growing fresh produce 11 months of the year. During winter, we could literally drive an hour West and go surfing or scuba diving, or we could drive an hour East and go snow skiing. We could actually golf in the morning and ski in the afternoon!

 As a film student, it was fun to constantly see celebrities whether we were driving, shopping, dining out, or simply going for a walk. It was great to see Broadway Shows (when we could afford them), great museums, and world class amusement parks. And as a lover of food cooked outside, it was nice to be able to grill year around without having to fight the blizzards of my native Minnesota.

 It was a hugely multi-cultural city with people from every country on earth there in large numbers. Some of you many not consider that a plus, but I usually did (though sometimes not finding people who spoke clear English could be irritating).

 There was a lot to love about Southern Cal, but it wasn’t all sweetness and light. Here are a few of the issues we dealt with:

 * Air that was so polluted you could see, smell and taste it

 * 24/7 rush hour — we could step outside at 2 am and hear loud traffic, even though we lived a mile from the closest freeway

 * Rent was outrageous

 * Food was expensive and usually poor quality (all the best produce is shipped to other parts of the country, leaving only the over-ripe and bruised for local consumers)

 * Insurance was twice as much for 1/3 the coverage

 * So many people were about showing off their cars, looks and egos that it got very tiring

 There was more, but you get the idea.

 Finally, I lived in LA during the Rodney King riots and was actually caught up in them. From the campus at AFI we could look out over the city and watch it burn. It exposed a lot of previously hidden anger and ugly racism. I’m not there now, but under current circumstances, I image that ugliness is still probably there and likely waiting for another trigger.

 Overall I loved living in LA and would probably still be there but for two reasons. First, my wife hated it. Second, we didn’t want to raise children there and be forced to send them to the public schools. We returned to Minnesota and moved to a district that has some of the best schools in the nation — a choice that we wouldn’t have had in LA.
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 Lisa Dawson
 Founder at The Penny Hoarder (2010–present)
 · Updated Apr 18
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 Take a look at some of the world
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 You’ve done it. You’ve built up a little cushion in your bank account — $1,000! It feels good, right? Those days of checking your account balance in a panic are behind you.

 Congrats! You’re on the right path. Now it’s time to think about some longer-term goals. What do you want to accomplish next with your money? Do you need to save more? Do you want to buy a home someday? Invest?

 What’s the next step to take? What are some specific things you can do to elevate your finances?

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 It takes just a minute to sign up , and you’ll immediately earn $1 just for completing your profile on the site. You’ll be that much closer to cashing out.

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 Not trying to be dramatic, but card debt is like a dark, suffocating abyss that swallows your finances and leaves you feeling trapped and helpless.

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 What was it like to live in New York City in the 1980s?

 In 1986, I moved to Park Slope with my boyfriend.

 The commute to work was a breeze. Instead of a 50 minute train trip I could now put the pedal to the metal and floor it thru the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. I was at work in 12 minutes. Oh... My... God...

 Life sure was different.

 Our landlord, Dimitri Karelas, a defendant in U.S. v. Rivieccio , pled guilty to real estate shenanigans. Rumors in the building said his license was suspended when he took cuts from unlicensed agents who found him tenants for his buildings.

 A big Palestinian family owned the corner limestone apartment building ne
 Continue Reading

 In 1986, I moved to Park Slope with my boyfriend.

 The commute to work was a breeze. Instead of a 50 minute train trip I could now put the pedal to the metal and floor it thru the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. I was at work in 12 minutes. Oh... My... God...

 Life sure was different.

 Our landlord, Dimitri Karelas, a defendant in U.S. v. Rivieccio , pled guilty to real estate shenanigans. Rumors in the building said his license was suspended when he took cuts from unlicensed agents who found him tenants for his buildings.

 A big Palestinian family owned the corner limestone apartment building next door. One of them raised pigeons on the roof. None of the adults spoke English. But the children, all born in Brooklyn, did. They stalked one another on our steps with toy Uzis.

 We moved into a 1-bedroom on the top floor of a four-story limestone walkup. From our living room window, we could contemplate the navels of aimless, unemployed Hispanic men standing across the street.


 They lined up under a red-and-orange sign in front of something else I'd never heard of, a bodega . It was summertime. They stood there all day long.

 " See those guys?" asked Daniel. "You probably think they're not doing anything, right?"

 Agree.

 " You're wrong ," said Daniel. " Those guys are busy," he said.

 Right.

 "Y'know what they're doin'?"

 No idea. They stood shuffling, smoking, saying things in Spanish. Now and then, a sedan would stop with the windows open blaring Tito Puente trumpets and bongos. What could these "busy" Spanish men be doing ?

 "They're hangin' out."

 ?

 "You don't see that? Watch 'em. See? That's hangin' out . That's a lot of work, hangin' out," said Daniel.

 I soon began to notice that lots of people in Brooklyn were hangin' out. We had a heat wave, but that didn't stop them. The hot sidewalks steamed after a summer thunderstorm.

 I wondered about these things. This New York was not the one I'd always known.

 There were tradeoffs to living 12 minutes from the office. The car battery was lifted out of the hood one winter night after we parked it on 6th Street. A few months later, on 13th street -- a drug neighborhood -- the front passenger side window was smashed. I'd left an empty pocketbook on the front seat.

 There was a witness to this crime. Around 7 a.m.., he'd watched a guy break the window and boost a small boy through. They ran off with the empty pocketbook. Stupidly, I'd assumed no one would steal it because there was nothing in it.

 Welcome to Brooklyn.

 More culture-shock: The police did not care. Don't leave things on the front seat of the car, they said.

 On Independence Day, I learned about blockbusters and other explosive devices. I dialed 9-1-1 to report children aiming bottle-rockets at my window. The police operator was unimpressed.

 "Close the window," she said.

 A few months later, I learned what a crack pipe looks like. The men nodding out on the sidewalk, sprawled on steps around the neighborhood, were heroin junkies. I also learned that anyone could become addicted to heroin and crack.

 Streetwise Daniel, who owned a thriving high-end electronics repair business, was left a "tip" one night from a grateful drug dealer. Daniel had fixed the guy's luxury stereo, and he didn't overcharge him. Daniel refused the cash gratuity. So instead, the stereo customer set a little glassine bag with white powder on the counter.

 Soon, Daniel was addicted.

 I'd invested in his business; now it all went into his arm and up his nose. He sold his grandfather's gold watch and his father's gold anchor necklace. He was spending thousands on new "equipment". He emptied my bank account to put new shock absorbers on the car every two weeks, blaming New York's potholes. I started hiding cash.

 One night, Daniel came home and demanded money for "medicine." I said no. He threatened to kill me. I could see he was not kidding.

 I ran to the phone, but he was faster. He grabbed me and yanked the cord out of the wall. I was cornered with no way out. He reached out and pushed me onto the bed. Then he laid down next to me and gripped my arm. I lay next to him, still, staring up at the ceiling, all night long. A few times, when I thought he might be sleeping, I'd carefully try to move away. It was futile. He tightened his grip. I thought I was going to die. I wondered how he would do it.


 Dawn came at last, and Daniel opened his eyes. I looked at him, and he released his grip. "Do you want coffee?" I asked quietly. "No," he said, "You've been through enough."

 He left the apartment a few minutes later and didn't come home again for 10 days.

 In a few months, the business was gone and Daniel was stealing new Mercedes-Benzs in Brooklyn Heights with a guy named Junior .

 I joined NarAnon , the support group for people whose lives are wrapped around drug addicts . I went every God Dam Day.

 I found it hard to let go. I listened to a mother from Park Avenue talk about detaching from her teenage son, cutting off his allowance, locking him out of the house when he stayed out late. A man whose wife was addicted stopped doing her favors, closed their bank account, told her he would no longer lie for her. These people loved the addicts in their lives. I could not understand how they could do this.

 Someone explained: To step over them is hell ; to pick them up is murder .

 They were never caught. But Junior was HIV+. He didn't last much longer.


 The Palladium on 14th Street was world famous.



 I never understood the appeal of a club where everyone is taking illegal drugs, sometimes in full view of everyone else, with noise masquerading as music blasting away, lines down the street to get in, a ridiculous cover charge, and a guy at the door who decides whether he'll let you in. It was the ultimate homage to shallow, self-destructive decadence.

 But that was what some people with money to burn did for fun in New York in the '80s.

 At one private function I went to there involving a gourmet food magazine and famous chefs, I stood 3 feet from Julia Child. THE Julia Child .

 Hours later, the doors were opened to the public, and certain selected people began to file in, and the music got louder, until you couldn't think. Women shared bathroom stalls -- odd, I thought, until it was explained they were conducting illegal activities, probably snorting coke together.

 God, I wish I'd talked to Julia.

 Then came AIDS .

 People I knew suddenly tested positive for HIV -- ex-junkies Daniel met in "the rooms", gay men, women married to addicts. After all they'd been through, now they faced a death sentence.

 They were heart breakingly young.

 I found their stories troubling, and moving, these young people with everything to live for. I loved them for this.

 But after a party, I threw out their glasses and utensils. Decades later, for this, I hate myself. I wish I could go back.

 Often, my friend Jeremy would meet for coffee on East 23rd Street, near his apartment. Jeremy was a photographer. Sometimes we worked together. His photographic portraits appeared, among other places, in a New York Times interview of author Peter W. Cookson. I would not let Jeremy take a picture of me.

 The day of our last meeting, we had just finished a project. Jeremy was a picture of health. It was his turn to pay. We talked for 3 hours, lunch lasting until dinnertime.

 My friend Donna, an editor, called me 9 days later: Jeremy is in the hospital. She said he had pneumonia. He was in the ICU.

 The next day Jeremy was dead.

 How ? we wondered. How could this happen ?

 It was the eighties, and Wall Street was in LBO heaven. My job required I work 75 to 90 hours a week and more. But I was obsessed about Daniel and his drugs. He was gone for days at a time, with no explanation. All I could think about was him and where he could possibly be right now. Would he be there when I got home? If not, where was he? How much money was he was spending? Will he ever stop?

 Then, suddenly, he'd be home. Like nothing had happened. He would stay hours, or days. Then he'd tell me he was out of cigarettes; he was going to run across the street. And he'd be gone again.

 If you've never spent a night with a heroin addict kicking cold turkey, you can't appreciate the torture they endure. Daniel called his friend Brian, a pharmacist. Brian came over with his own special cocktail, illegally obtained prescription drugs as a gift to help get Daniel through the 3 day "de-tox". Daniel followed Ira's advice. But even with the drugs, the cold turkey was excruciating.

 Neither of us slept. His muscles spasmed nonstop. He yelled, he screamed. By Monday night, exhausted and past the point where his body no longer gasped and roared for heroin, he fell into a deep, quiet rest.

 At work, a lawyer named Bob was addicted to coke.

 Lots of Biglaw lawyers were drug addicts back then. It was easy. Cocaine was the perfect drug, a solution for sleep deprivation, a confidence builder, and it was readily available.

 Downstairs, outside the doors to our glittery office building, dealers loitered. Bob, a strung-out Yale and NYU Law grad, finally had a psychotic break one night and threatened to kill a partner. He was arrested, institutionalized, escaped, called the partner on the phone, and was re-arrested somewhere in the snow without shoes.

 Bob practices IP law today and plays jazz in a band in the Village. And he still owes me $5. He won't connect on LinkedIn. Like this was my fault.

 I asked a social worker about the "success" rate of different rehab programs. She replied that about 90% of their clients relapsed. That sounded hopeless to me. And I said so. Her answer was one I''ll never forget: Yes, relapse is often part of recovery . It happens in Weight Watchers. It happens to people trying to quit smoking. It happens to drug addicts. Almost all the time. Eventually, either they die or they kick their habit.

 Daniel relapsed. Friends criticized me for "allowing" it. They said I must "enjoy" it because I still put up with it.

 After Bob was sent off, Daniel checked into a rehab on Staten Island . He went to 90 meetings in 90 days.

 When he was released, my clean and sober boyfriend described how he and Junior had managed to outwit the NYPD and Mercedes's state-of-the-art antitheft devices. With Junior as lookout, Daniel would crawl under a Mercedes parked on the street and disconnect the battery. Voila! No alarm .

 They two addicts would hot-wire the luxury car and drive it straight to the chop shop. Daniel said there were chop shops all over New York .


 Any movie you have ever seen about those days -- Clean and Sober , Drugstore Cowboy , Blow -- it happened but it was worse . More violent. More stressful. And very common.

 I had a week off and slept late. When I got outside, there was snow all over the front steps. It was the middle of July. Daniel, who was at work, ad no idea.

 Snow . In July .

 I'd learn that "Awakenings" had filmed in front of our apartment that morning. On the next block, they shot a brownstone. Down one block and across the street, they shot at PS 39.

 We went to see Awakenings. For a split second, I saw our building. I was very excited.



 I've learned that films are shot in New York all the time. Real New Yorkers did not get excited over this. But I did.

 On a winter night a friend of mine was walking down the street toward home and was jumped from behind.

 My friend was strong, with a tattoo and muscles. But it was dark, 8th Street was deserted, it was very late, and he panicked.

 Did the guy who attacked him have a knife? a gun? a brick? My friend didn't know. He didn't wait to find out.

 He reeled around and grabbed the attacker. Then he flung him down and jumped on top of him. Then he smashed the attacker's head into the cement until the man stopped struggling.

 And then my friend jumped up and ran.

 In the months after rehab, Daniel and his brother went for a stroll through the East Village one beautiful summer evening.

 Out of nowhere, a BMW screeched past them and the door flew open. A body was hurled from the car, and three "pops". The corpse landed hard on the sidewalk and rolled over and over limply in front of them. The BMW was gone.

 They ran.

 "Did you see that?" one said to the other finally. Drugs, Daniel told me. Business.

 Many people, most of them high paid professionals, led insulated lives during this era. They traveled in Town Cars around the city. They bought bagels and lox and caviar at Zabar's . They enjoyed cultural spectacles at the Metropolitan this and the Metropolitan that, and rendezvoused at the New York Athletic Club . They met for breakfast at Sarabeth's ; they lunched and dinnered with friends who lived that way too, sharing their theories about poverty, and crime and punishment, and the Yankees, and the best tennis racquets, and their next trip to Europe.

 I charged up a storm at Bergdorf and Bloomingdales and Saks , ate at The Four Seasons and An American Place and the River Café . We sat next to Joe Piscopo one night at the Empire Diner , which made the City's best milk shakes and Blue Plate specials. Daniel, a trumpet player, loved Jazz -- " The Village" was filled with it -- and Tito Puente.



 It was a good life. But there was so much more to know.

 I met my friend Judy for drinks at Elaines one night. But suddenly, Judy would only talk with the guy in the suit who sat next to her. So I talked to Kamran, from Lebanon. Someone flashed an Arabic newspaper with a photo of Yasser Arafat. "Ewww!" I said.

 "This is a great man. Why don't you like him?" asked Kamran.

 Look at him , I said. He's disgusting .

 Kamran scowled. "You're just like all Americans," he said. "You don't like him because he doesn't look like you." Kamran was right. That was my biggest problem with Yasser Arafat.

 I did not keep in touch with Kamran. But he gave me a wallet for my birthday.

 A few years later, one of the Palestinian mothers was my babysitter. I would drop Baby Holly off on my way to work. She would spend the morning there and they would make sure she got to playschool down the street. Holly started learning Arabic.

 The problem was, when I took her with me to go grocery shopping, Holly kept requesting fruits and vegetables in Arabic baby talk. It was frustrating for both of us. I still don't know what "barbacuties" was.

 The Palestinian children next door have grown up. One became a pharmacist. One works for a civil rights NGO. One is a film producer. There is a doctor, and a teacher. We are good friends. Their father still smokes. I would do anything for them.

 One of the boys married an Italian girl from Bay Ridge. -- not surprising really; he looks like he was born there, with his tan skin and black hair and tough guy sneer. She comes from a family that measures a cook based on her pasta skills. This new Brooklyn daughter-in-law has offered to teach the Arab mother from Jerusalem how to cook "real food". His mother of course was indignant.

 All this, thanks to New York.

 The real New York with sidewalk cracks, where squeegee men attacked cars at the red light next to the Williamsburg Bridge and drug addicts got high in the playground and John Gotti got away with murder. Where Wall Street lawyers stumbled around with white dust all over the faces and illegal graffiti cursed from the sides of subway cars, and men like Bernie Goetz imagined how good it would feel to shoot a mugger point blank on a subway.

 It was a dangerous , raw , grimy , true American city to live in back then.

 How could I not love New York ?

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 Zonneth Joanino
 Former Sr. Accounting Clerk at Working at AECOM (1989–1997) · Author has 77 answers and 31.3K answer views
 · 5y
 Related
 To those who lived in Los Angeles during the 1980s, was it really as dangerous as they made it out to be?

 Nope! I don’t think Los Angeles is a dangerous city. I even walk where the homeless people lived they are just as normal people who just been some unfortunate of what we call ‘Life’
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 Lisa Kathryn Perry
 It's a true fact, in my opinion. · Upvoted by
 Stephanie V
 , lived in New York City Author has 625 answers and 3.2M answer views
 · Updated 9y
 Related
 What was it like to live in New York City in the 1980s?

 I'm answering this question a couple years later than most of the ops. I moved to NYC in 1978 the day after I graduated from University of Michigan. I drove into the city with my ex-boyfriend Jerry in a station wagon with a mattress on the top. I wanted to be an actress/writer and he wanted to be a filmmaker.

 We found an apartment with our other college friend on 11th street and sixth avenue. Grace Paley lived in our building and I was so star-struck I nearly fainted every time we passed one another in the hallway. I worked at One Fifth Avenue as a waitress while attending acting school at t
 Continue Reading

 I'm answering this question a couple years later than most of the ops. I moved to NYC in 1978 the day after I graduated from University of Michigan. I drove into the city with my ex-boyfriend Jerry in a station wagon with a mattress on the top. I wanted to be an actress/writer and he wanted to be a filmmaker.

 We found an apartment with our other college friend on 11th street and sixth avenue. Grace Paley lived in our building and I was so star-struck I nearly fainted every time we passed one another in the hallway. I worked at One Fifth Avenue as a waitress while attending acting school at the William Esper Studio. I was 23 and filled with drive and excitement and fury and rage. I was a punk rock baby and I don't mean maybe, was that a song or did I just make that up?

 I fell in love with a punk rock drummer at the St. Mark's Bar and Grill on the corner of eighth street and first avenue. He played in five different bands and I helped him load his drum kit into huge yellow checker cabs every night to get from gig to gig. I moved to and lived at 101 St. Marks and paid $235 dollars a month for rent and in my building Ted Berrigan the activist poet and Al Goldstien, the editor of Screw Magazine lived upstairs and across the hall.

 My bathtub was in my kitchen right next to my sink with a big metal cover on it that I used as a counter. My toilet would have been in the hallway but someone who lived there before me cut a hole in the wall so I could get to it from my kitchen. I hung a pretty curtain over it. Steve Buschemi lived right down the block. It was the best of life it was the worst of life, who the hell am I quoting here? I went to every art opening: I was at Basquiat's first opening was it at Mary Boone's Gallery? Klaus Nomi performed and I went to all of the performances. Larry Gagosian tried to convince me to leave my boyfriend to go to the opera with him. Hah! Wouldn't I be rich now if I had listened to him! I did a ton of cocaine off the tops of Bic pen caps. I was at CBGB's almost every night and I got in free because I was pretty, knew all the bands and was on the "list". I most often wore a white vinyl mini skirt and a black lace camisole and little black fuck me boots and torn fishnets. I wore blood red lipstick and black nail polish and had five earrings in each ear (still do). I waded through the sewage in the bathroom at cb's with the other girls and leaned into the mirror and put on more black eyeliner. It stank to high heaven and I didn't care.

 The times when I wanted quiet I went to Fanelli's in Soho, still my all time favorite bar, and ordered cheap red wine and a five dolllar plate of spaghetti and read by candle light. Every one I knew was an artist: a musician, a writer, an actress, a painter, a filmmaker, a dancer. I was in heaven. I had grown up half in the south and then in Michigan and had NEVER felt that I had fit in. And then all of a sudden I did with all of my craziness and wild emotion. I went to the Mudd Club, Max's Kansas City, Club 57, Danceteria, the Peppermint Lounge: I saw Blondie, I saw Television, I saw Lydia Lunch, I saw James Chance and the Blacks, I saw Bush Tetras, the Ramones: I saw so many amazing bands and around the corner on Avenue A there was a drag bar where six foot tall queens danced on the stage in platform shoes with bright lipstick, blue eyeshadow and bad blonde wigs and yelled HI SWEETIE!!!! when I walked in the door.

 I lived in a loft for a while with a painter after I broke up with my musician drummer boyfriend on 34th street with a cat named Carvel who bit my ankles every time I walked past him. I reveled in dressing up and fucking with vintage fashion and wrote and wrote and wrote. I walked down the street in the East Village and men would fall down in front of me and say oH oH oH you're so beautiful and pretend to faint.

 I auditoned for every off off broadway play I could and waitressed at Orso and got to be friends, sort of, with the transvestite Puerto Rican prostitutes named Cookie and Candy on the corner of 46th and eight avenue with their puffed up bad plastic surgery enhanced cheeks and painful looking, fake breasts. I waited on Andy Warhol, and a million other famous actors, writers and artists. I learned that everybody famous is still just a person with silly little food issues.

 I walked miles every day and felt safer there, surrounded by all of those people, than I ever have felt again. I broke up with the painter and married the musician. I left him, again. Joel Steinberg beat his wife almost to death and killed his young daughter Lisa right around the block from me. That's when I started to hate it as much as I loved it. And I had lost so many beloved friends to HIV/AIDS. I stayed until I was thirty-four or five and finally moved to Chicago in 1990 because I lived in a tiny railroad tenement apartment with my cat, another lonely woman, and I couldn't bear for my story to continue like that. And then I had a new life. But it was amazing to live in New York in the eighties. I'm lucky, I kept a journal and I can read about it any time I want.
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 Anthony Madden
 Writer for Betterbuck
 · Updated Mar 1
 What are a few of the dumbest mistakes people make on the internet right now?

 There are tons (obviously), but in my mind these are the worst:

 1. Not using an adblocker.

 If you aren’t using an ad blocker yet, I am begging you to try one. I am not exaggerating when I say it will change your life.

 A good ad blocker will eliminate virtually all of the ads you’d see on the internet.

 No more YouTube ads, no more banner ads, no more pop-up ads, etc. It’s incredible.

 Most people I know use Total Adblock ( link here ) – it’s $2.42/month, but there are plenty of solid options.

 Ads also typically take a while to load, so using an ad blocker reduces loading times (typically by 50% or more)
 Continue Reading

 There are tons (obviously), but in my mind these are the worst:

 1. Not using an adblocker.

 If you aren’t using an ad blocker yet, I am begging you to try one. I am not exaggerating when I say it will change your life.

 A good ad blocker will eliminate virtually all of the ads you’d see on the internet.

 No more YouTube ads, no more banner ads, no more pop-up ads, etc. It’s incredible.

 Most people I know use Total Adblock ( link here ) – it’s $2.42/month, but there are plenty of solid options.

 Ads also typically take a while to load, so using an ad blocker reduces loading times (typically by 50% or more). They also block ad tracking pixels to protect your privacy, which is nice.

 Here’s a link to Total Adblock , if you’re interested.

 2. Overspending when online shopping.

 You might be surprised how often you’re overpaying on Amazon and elsewhere.

 Big stores like Amazon know that no one has time to price shop through dozens of sites, so there's often no incentive for them to offer bargain prices.

 I typically hate browser extensions with a fiery passion, but if you don’t have Capital One Shopping installed yet, do yourself a favor and grab it .

 When you shop online (on Amazon or elsewhere) it will:

 1. Auto-apply coupon codes for you to save you money

 2. Compare prices from other sellers to make sure you’re not missing out on a better deal

 It’s saved me a ton of money more than once. Here's a quick example:

 Savings will vary, this is just an example, of course.

 That same exact blender was $26 cheaper at another store (with 2 day shipping) when I shopped.

 Here’s a link to install Capital One Shopping , if you're interested.

 3. Overspending on auto insurance.

 Believe it or not, the average American family still overspends by $417/year on car insurance.

 Here’s how to quickly see how much you’re being overcharged (takes maybe 30 seconds):

 * Pull up Coverage – it’s a free site that will compare prices for you

 * Answer the questions on the page

 * It’ll spit out a bunch of insurance quotes for you.

 That’s literally it. You’ll likely save yourself a bunch of money.

 Here’s a link to Coverage.

 4. Not dealing with credit card debt.

 Debt can make you feel hopeless—even if you’re responsible about making payments on time, the interest sometimes prevents you from paying off the debt.

 But, believe it or not, plenty of companies ( Accredited Debt Relief , for example) are willing to help you pay off your debt.

 Here’s how it typically works:

 * You typically need $20k+ in overall debt.

 * A company like Accredited Debt Relief (there are plenty of others, too) negotiates with your credit card companies, banks etc. to try and reduce your debt.

 * If possible, they’ll consolidate all of your different sources of debt so you only have to make one monthly payment to one place.

 A lot of times you’ll end up paying significantly less than you owe. Here’s an example from Accredited’s site:

 E.g. he was $80k in debt, but only ended up paying $50kish.

 If things go well, you could be debt-free in 24-48 months or so. Here’s a calculator you can use to get a savings estimate , if you’re interested.

 5. Not getting a financial advisor.

 99% of people don’t have one, and it’s typically a huge mistake.

 Sure, you can manage things on your own if you want to, but most people don’t have the time to actually do things right. There are huge benefits to having somebody pay attention to your money all the time.

 * People with financial advisors tend to beat the market by ~3%/year (according to a 2019 Vanguard Study). That can make a huge difference over time.

 * But more important: a good advisor will handle ALL of the annoying retirement stuff & bizarro tax implications you would have never thought of.

 If you don’t know a financial advisor personally, use a comparison site (like WiserAdvisor ) and find somebody near you that has good reviews.

 Or if you want something easier, here’s a quiz you can fill out that will find an advisor/planner based on your reqs.

 6. Not investing in real estate (start with as little as $20).

 It’s no secret that millionaires and billionaires love investing in real estate, but for the rest of us, buying property has been prohibitively expensive (if not impossible, for some).

 Times have changed. There are a few amazing real estate startups that allow you to buy shares of rental homes for as little as $20/share ( Ark7 is one of our favorites).

 They take care of the property management and collect rent checks for you. Then, on the 3rd of the following month, your share of the property’s profit is distributed to your account.

 It’s an interesting way to build yourself a little rental home empire (without spending like a magnate).

 If you’re interested, take a look at Ark7’s properties here .

 7. Giving away your opinions for free.

 As a general rule I would ignore any site that says they'll pay you to fill out surveys, but there are a few that are legitimate (and pay pretty well).

 I usually use Survey Junkie ( link here ). You basically just get paid to give your opinions on different products/services, etc. Perfect for when you're watching TV.

 Here's the form I used to sign up - I think it took me maybe 1-2 minutes tops.

 So there you have it, the dumbest mistakes people make online. Don't be one of those people! Stay safe and smart out there.
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 Related questions
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 To those who lived in Los Angeles during the 1980s, was it really as dangerous as they made it out to be?
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 What was it like to live in 1980s Los Angeles?
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 John Hagerman
 Lived in Los Angeles · Author has 106 answers and 311.4K answer views
 · 6y
 I move to LA in 1989 to become a student at the American Film Institute and lived there until 1993. For the most part, living in the LA area was wonderful. The weather was usually nice and there was tons to do, both in LA and within easy drive. We had a garden growing fresh produce 11 months of the year. During winter, we could literally drive an hour West and go surfing or scuba diving, or we could drive an hour East and go snow skiing. We could actually golf in the morning and ski in the afternoon!
 As a film student, it was fun to constantly see celebrities whether we were driving, shopping,
 Continue Reading
 I move to LA in 1989 to become a student at the American Film Institute and lived there until 1993. For the most part, living in the LA area was wonderful. The weather was usually nice and there was tons to do, both in LA and within easy drive. We had a garden growing fresh produce 11 months of the year. During winter, we could literally drive an hour West and go surfing or scuba diving, or we could drive an hour East and go snow skiing. We could actually golf in the morning and ski in the afternoon!
 As a film student, it was fun to constantly see celebrities whether we were driving, shopping, dining out, or simply going for a walk. It was great to see Broadway Shows (when we could afford them), great museums, and world class amusement parks. And as a lover of food cooked outside, it was nice to be able to grill year around without having to fight the blizzards of my native Minnesota.
 It was a hugely multi-cultural city with people from every country on earth there in large numbers. Some of you many not consider that a plus, but I usually did (though sometimes not finding people who spoke clear English could be irritating).
 There was a lot to love about Southern Cal, but it wasn’t all sweetness and light. Here are a few of the issues we dealt with:
 * Air that was so polluted you could see, smell and taste it
 * 24/7 rush hour — we could step outside at 2 am and hear loud traffic, even though we lived a mile from the closest freeway
 * Rent was outrageous
 * Food was expensive and usually poor quality (all the best produce is shipped to other parts of the country, leaving only the over-ripe and bruised for local consumers)
 * Insurance was twice as much for 1/3 the coverage
 * So many people were about showing off their cars, looks and egos that it got very tiring
 There was more, but you get the idea.
 Finally, I lived in LA during the Rodney King riots and was actually caught up in them. From the campus at AFI we could look out over the city and watch it burn. It exposed a lot of previously hidden anger and ugly racism. I’m not there now, but under current circumstances, I image that ugliness is still probably there and likely waiting for another trigger.
 Overall I loved living in LA and would probably still be there but for two reasons. First, my wife hated it. Second, we didn’t want to raise children there and be forced to send them to the public schools. We returned to Minnesota and moved to a district that has some of the best schools in the nation — a choice that we wouldn’t have had in LA.
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 Lisa Dawson
 Founder at The Penny Hoarder (2010–present)
 · Updated Apr 18
 How can I make money starting with $1,000?
 You’ve done it. You’ve built up a little cushion in your bank account — $1,000! It feels good, right? Those days of checking your account balance in a panic are behind you.
 Congrats! You’re on the right path. Now it’s time to think about some longer-term goals. What do you want to accomplish next with your money? Do you need to save more? Do you want to buy a home someday? Invest?
 What’s the next step to take? What are some specific things you can do to elevate your finances?
 We’ve got some ideas for you:
 1. You Can Become a Real Estate Investor for as Little as $10
 Take a look at some of the world
 Continue Reading
 You’ve done it. You’ve built up a little cushion in your bank account — $1,000! It feels good, right? Those days of checking your account balance in a panic are behind you.
 Congrats! You’re on the right path. Now it’s time to think about some longer-term goals. What do you want to accomplish next with your money? Do you need to save more? Do you want to buy a home someday? Invest?
 What’s the next step to take? What are some specific things you can do to elevate your finances?
 We’ve got some ideas for you:
 1. You Can Become a Real Estate Investor for as Little as $10
 Take a look at some of the world’s wealthiest people. What do they have in common? Many invest in large private real estate deals. And here’s the thing: There’s no reason you can’t, too — for as little as $10.
 An investment called the Fundrise Flagship Fund lets you get started in the world of real estate by giving you access to a low-cost, diversified portfolio of private real estate. The best part? You don’t have to be the landlord. The Flagship Fund does all the heavy lifting.
 With an initial investment as low as $10, your money will be invested in the Fund, which already owns more than $1 billion worth of real estate around the country, from apartment complexes to the thriving housing rental market to larger last-mile e-commerce logistics centers.
 Want to invest more? Many investors choose to invest $1,000 or more. This is a Fund that can fit any type of investor’s needs. Once invested, you can track your performance from your phone and watch as properties are acquired, improved, and operated. As properties generate cash flow, you could earn money through quarterly dividend payments. And over time, you could earn money off the potential appreciation of the properties.
 So if you want to get started in the world of real-estate investing, it takes just a few minutes to sign up and create an account with the Fundrise Flagship Fund .
 This is a paid advertisement. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fundrise Real Estate Fund before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund’s prospectus . Read them carefully before investing.
 2. Earn as Much as $1K/Month Doing Simple Online Tasks
 Is there such a thing as easy money? If you know your way around the web, there certainly is.
 That’s because data is currency these days, and many companies are willing to pay cash for it — up to $1,000 per month.
 Finding these companies can be time-consuming on your own. But a company called Freecash has compiled all sorts of quick cash tasks from about a dozen advertisers and market research companies thirsty for more data. Freecash has paid out over $13 million to users since 2019.
 You can pick and choose your tasks and complete them at your convenience. The coins you earn from each completed task can be converted into things like Visa gift cards, Amazon gift cards, cryptocurrency or cold-hard PayPal cash.
 Signing up for a Freecash account is easy and there’s no minimum amount you need to earn before you can cash out. And if you’ve got enough free time on your hands, you can join the ranks of Freecash users making more than $1,000 a month in extra cash.
 Sign up here to see how much you could earn.
 3. Stop Paying Your Credit Card Company
 If you have credit card debt, you know . The anxiety, the interest rates, the fear you’re never going to escape…
 And the truth is, your credit card company doesn’t really care. It’s just getting rich by ripping you off with high interest rates — some up to 36%. But a website called AmOne wants to help.
 If you owe your credit card companies $100,000 or less, AmOne will match you with a low-interest loan you can use to pay off every single one of your balances.
 The benefit? You’ll be left with one bill to pay each month. And because personal loans have lower interest rates (AmOne rates start at 6.40% APR), you’ll get out of debt that much faster. Plus: No credit card payment this month.
 You don’t need a perfect credit score to get a loan — and comparing your options won’t affect your score at all. Plus, AmOne keeps your information confidential and secure, which is probably why after 20 years in business, it still has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
 It takes less than a minute and just 10 questions to see what loans you qualify for — you don’t even need to enter your Social Security number. You do need to give AmOne a real phone number in order to qualify, but don’t worry — they won’t spam you with phone calls.
 4. Add $500 to Your Wallet for Trying Out Apps
 Our smartphones are the world’s greatest time-killers. You can browse Facebook; play a game; download a new app.
 You’re doing all this anyway — why not get paid for it? With a website called KashKick , you could get paid for things like answering survey questions or downloading and playing a game — up to $500 in your first month.
 You can earn money by playing games or trying new products and services, but surveys are the main way to make money.
 Once you earn $10 in your account, you can immediately get paid via Paypal. This is an easy way to make a little extra money while you’re killing time on your couch. All you need is your phone or computer.
 It takes just a minute to sign up , and you’ll immediately earn $1 just for completing your profile on the site. You’ll be that much closer to cashing out.
 5. Ask This Company to Reduce a Big Chunk of Your Credit Card Debt
 Not trying to be dramatic, but card debt is like a dark, suffocating abyss that swallows your finances and leaves you feeling trapped and helpless.
 So, what if you could just… get rid of credit card debt that’s weighing you down?
 A company called Freedom Debt Relief could help you do just that. Its negotiators could work directly with your credit card companies to reduce your overall credit card debt.
 It’s free to talk with a Freedom Debt Relief debt consultant to determine the best strategy for your situation. You’ll need to show why you’re struggling to make your payments and tell them a little bit about your finances.
 Then, Freedom Debt Relief will work out just how much of your debt they could reduce — they’ve already helped over 850,000 people settle over $15 billion in debt.
 Once enrolled in the program, Freedom Debt Relief will negotiate a settlement with your creditor, and if you approve the offer they come back with, you’ll pay off that reduced balance though a monthly program deposit.
 It’s free to see just how much of your debt you can get rid of .
 6. Let This Free Financial Plan Save You Up to $3,500/Year
 You feel like you’ve always been on top of your investments, and you’re proud of how far you’ve come. But you may still be wondering if you’re actually doing enough to fully secure that rich retirement you know you deserve.
 That’s why having a financial plan in place is one of the smartest decisions you could make.
 With The Penny Hoarder, you can get a customized financial plan for free . Anyone is eligible for a free financial plan, but if you have $10,000 or more in investments (or $200,000 if you are retired), you could qualify to connect with a personal financial advisor to get an in-depth review of your finances and plan your next money moves together with confidence.
 All you have to do is answer a few questions, and you’ll get your free, custom financial plan.
 The best part? This could save you up to $3,500 per year. And it’s completely free — and totally anonymous. You won’t be bombarded with ads or sales pitches.
 There’s literally no catch. Just sound financial advice customized for you. Get your free financial plan here .
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 To those who lived in Los Angeles during the 1980s, was it really as dangerous as they made it out to be?
 What was Los Angeles like in the 1980's?
 Why did the 70s seem so miserable? Were they actually that unpleasant to live through?
 Was America during the 80s really the best as many would say?
 Was Los Angeles really that bad to live in during the 1990s?
 Catherine Beale
 Go ahead. Make my day. · Upvoted by
 Brian Konash
 , lives in New York City (1999-present) and
 Stephanie V
 , lived in New York City Author has 1.4K answers and 8M answer views
 · Updated 8y
 Related
 What was it like to live in New York City in the 1980s?
 In 1986, I moved to Park Slope with my boyfriend.
 The commute to work was a breeze. Instead of a 50 minute train trip I could now put the pedal to the metal and floor it thru the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. I was at work in 12 minutes. Oh... My... God...
 Life sure was different.
 Our landlord, Dimitri Karelas, a defendant in U.S. v. Rivieccio , pled guilty to real estate shenanigans. Rumors in the building said his license was suspended when he took cuts from unlicensed agents who found him tenants for his buildings.
 A big Palestinian family owned the corner limestone apartment building ne
 Continue Reading
 In 1986, I moved to Park Slope with my boyfriend.
 The commute to work was a breeze. Instead of a 50 minute train trip I could now put the pedal to the metal and floor it thru the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. I was at work in 12 minutes. Oh... My... God...
 Life sure was different.
 Our landlord, Dimitri Karelas, a defendant in U.S. v. Rivieccio , pled guilty to real estate shenanigans. Rumors in the building said his license was suspended when he took cuts from unlicensed agents who found him tenants for his buildings.
 A big Palestinian family owned the corner limestone apartment building next door. One of them raised pigeons on the roof. None of the adults spoke English. But the children, all born in Brooklyn, did. They stalked one another on our steps with toy Uzis.
 We moved into a 1-bedroom on the top floor of a four-story limestone walkup. From our living room window, we could contemplate the navels of aimless, unemployed Hispanic men standing across the street.
 They lined up under a red-and-orange sign in front of something else I'd never heard of, a bodega . It was summertime. They stood there all day long.
 " See those guys?" asked Daniel. "You probably think they're not doing anything, right?"
 Agree.
 " You're wrong ," said Daniel. " Those guys are busy," he said.
 Right.
 "Y'know what they're doin'?"
 No idea. They stood shuffling, smoking, saying things in Spanish. Now and then, a sedan would stop with the windows open blaring Tito Puente trumpets and bongos. What could these "busy" Spanish men be doing ?
 "They're hangin' out."
 ?
 "You don't see that? Watch 'em. See? That's hangin' out . That's a lot of work, hangin' out," said Daniel.
 I soon began to notice that lots of people in Brooklyn were hangin' out. We had a heat wave, but that didn't stop them. The hot sidewalks steamed after a summer thunderstorm.
 I wondered about these things. This New York was not the one I'd always known.
 There were tradeoffs to living 12 minutes from the office. The car battery was lifted out of the hood one winter night after we parked it on 6th Street. A few months later, on 13th street -- a drug neighborhood -- the front passenger side window was smashed. I'd left an empty pocketbook on the front seat.
 There was a witness to this crime. Around 7 a.m.., he'd watched a guy break the window and boost a small boy through. They ran off with the empty pocketbook. Stupidly, I'd assumed no one would steal it because there was nothing in it.
 Welcome to Brooklyn.
 More culture-shock: The police did not care. Don't leave things on the front seat of the car, they said.
 On Independence Day, I learned about blockbusters and other explosive devices. I dialed 9-1-1 to report children aiming bottle-rockets at my window. The police operator was unimpressed.
 "Close the window," she said.
 A few months later, I learned what a crack pipe looks like. The men nodding out on the sidewalk, sprawled on steps around the neighborhood, were heroin junkies. I also learned that anyone could become addicted to heroin and crack.
 Streetwise Daniel, who owned a thriving high-end electronics repair business, was left a "tip" one night from a grateful drug dealer. Daniel had fixed the guy's luxury stereo, and he didn't overcharge him. Daniel refused the cash gratuity. So instead, the stereo customer set a little glassine bag with white powder on the counter.
 Soon, Daniel was addicted.
 I'd invested in his business; now it all went into his arm and up his nose. He sold his grandfather's gold watch and his father's gold anchor necklace. He was spending thousands on new "equipment". He emptied my bank account to put new shock absorbers on the car every two weeks, blaming New York's potholes. I started hiding cash.
 One night, Daniel came home and demanded money for "medicine." I said no. He threatened to kill me. I could see he was not kidding.
 I ran to the phone, but he was faster. He grabbed me and yanked the cord out of the wall. I was cornered with no way out. He reached out and pushed me onto the bed. Then he laid down next to me and gripped my arm. I lay next to him, still, staring up at the ceiling, all night long. A few times, when I thought he might be sleeping, I'd carefully try to move away. It was futile. He tightened his grip. I thought I was going to die. I wondered how he would do it.
 Dawn came at last, and Daniel opened his eyes. I looked at him, and he released his grip. "Do you want coffee?" I asked quietly. "No," he said, "You've been through enough."
 He left the apartment a few minutes later and didn't come home again for 10 days.
 In a few months, the business was gone and Daniel was stealing new Mercedes-Benzs in Brooklyn Heights with a guy named Junior .
 I joined NarAnon , the support group for people whose lives are wrapped around drug addicts . I went every God Dam Day.
 I found it hard to let go. I listened to a mother from Park Avenue talk about detaching from her teenage son, cutting off his allowance, locking him out of the house when he stayed out late. A man whose wife was addicted stopped doing her favors, closed their bank account, told her he would no longer lie for her. These people loved the addicts in their lives. I could not understand how they could do this.
 Someone explained: To step over them is hell ; to pick them up is murder .
 They were never caught. But Junior was HIV+. He didn't last much longer.
 The Palladium on 14th Street was world famous.
 I never understood the appeal of a club where everyone is taking illegal drugs, sometimes in full view of everyone else, with noise masquerading as music blasting away, lines down the street to get in, a ridiculous cover charge, and a guy at the door who decides whether he'll let you in. It was the ultimate homage to shallow, self-destructive decadence.
 But that was what some people with money to burn did for fun in New York in the '80s.
 At one private function I went to there involving a gourmet food magazine and famous chefs, I stood 3 feet from Julia Child. THE Julia Child .
 Hours later, the doors were opened to the public, and certain selected people began to file in, and the music got louder, until you couldn't think. Women shared bathroom stalls -- odd, I thought, until it was explained they were conducting illegal activities, probably snorting coke together.
 God, I wish I'd talked to Julia.
 Then came AIDS .
 People I knew suddenly tested positive for HIV -- ex-junkies Daniel met in "the rooms", gay men, women married to addicts. After all they'd been through, now they faced a death sentence.
 They were heart breakingly young.
 I found their stories troubling, and moving, these young people with everything to live for. I loved them for this.
 But after a party, I threw out their glasses and utensils. Decades later, for this, I hate myself. I wish I could go back.
 Often, my friend Jeremy would meet for coffee on East 23rd Street, near his apartment. Jeremy was a photographer. Sometimes we worked together. His photographic portraits appeared, among other places, in a New York Times interview of author Peter W. Cookson. I would not let Jeremy take a picture of me.
 The day of our last meeting, we had just finished a project. Jeremy was a picture of health. It was his turn to pay. We talked for 3 hours, lunch lasting until dinnertime.
 My friend Donna, an editor, called me 9 days later: Jeremy is in the hospital. She said he had pneumonia. He was in the ICU.
 The next day Jeremy was dead.
 How ? we wondered. How could this happen ?
 It was the eighties, and Wall Street was in LBO heaven. My job required I work 75 to 90 hours a week and more. But I was obsessed about Daniel and his drugs. He was gone for days at a time, with no explanation. All I could think about was him and where he could possibly be right now. Would he be there when I got home? If not, where was he? How much money was he was spending? Will he ever stop?
 Then, suddenly, he'd be home. Like nothing had happened. He would stay hours, or days. Then he'd tell me he was out of cigarettes; he was going to run across the street. And he'd be gone again.
 If you've never spent a night with a heroin addict kicking cold turkey, you can't appreciate the torture they endure. Daniel called his friend Brian, a pharmacist. Brian came over with his own special cocktail, illegally obtained prescription drugs as a gift to help get Daniel through the 3 day "de-tox". Daniel followed Ira's advice. But even with the drugs, the cold turkey was excruciating.
 Neither of us slept. His muscles spasmed nonstop. He yelled, he screamed. By Monday night, exhausted and past the point where his body no longer gasped and roared for heroin, he fell into a deep, quiet rest.
 At work, a lawyer named Bob was addicted to coke.
 Lots of Biglaw lawyers were drug addicts back then. It was easy. Cocaine was the perfect drug, a solution for sleep deprivation, a confidence builder, and it was readily available.
 Downstairs, outside the doors to our glittery office building, dealers loitered. Bob, a strung-out Yale and NYU Law grad, finally had a psychotic break one night and threatened to kill a partner. He was arrested, institutionalized, escaped, called the partner on the phone, and was re-arrested somewhere in the snow without shoes.
 Bob practices IP law today and plays jazz in a band in the Village. And he still owes me $5. He won't connect on LinkedIn. Like this was my fault.
 I asked a social worker about the "success" rate of different rehab programs. She replied that about 90% of their clients relapsed. That sounded hopeless to me. And I said so. Her answer was one I''ll never forget: Yes, relapse is often part of recovery . It happens in Weight Watchers. It happens to people trying to quit smoking. It happens to drug addicts. Almost all the time. Eventually, either they die or they kick their habit.
 Daniel relapsed. Friends criticized me for "allowing" it. They said I must "enjoy" it because I still put up with it.
 After Bob was sent off, Daniel checked into a rehab on Staten Island . He went to 90 meetings in 90 days.
 When he was released, my clean and sober boyfriend described how he and Junior had managed to outwit the NYPD and Mercedes's state-of-the-art antitheft devices. With Junior as lookout, Daniel would crawl under a Mercedes parked on the street and disconnect the battery. Voila! No alarm .
 They two addicts would hot-wire the luxury car and drive it straight to the chop shop. Daniel said there were chop shops all over New York .
 Any movie you have ever seen about those days -- Clean and Sober , Drugstore Cowboy , Blow -- it happened but it was worse . More violent. More stressful. And very common.
 I had a week off and slept late. When I got outside, there was snow all over the front steps. It was the middle of July. Daniel, who was at work, ad no idea.
 Snow . In July .
 I'd learn that "Awakenings" had filmed in front of our apartment that morning. On the next block, they shot a brownstone. Down one block and across the street, they shot at PS 39.
 We went to see Awakenings. For a split second, I saw our building. I was very excited.
 I've learned that films are shot in New York all the time. Real New Yorkers did not get excited over this. But I did.
 On a winter night a friend of mine was walking down the street toward home and was jumped from behind.
 My friend was strong, with a tattoo and muscles. But it was dark, 8th Street was deserted, it was very late, and he panicked.
 Did the guy who attacked him have a knife? a gun? a brick? My friend didn't know. He didn't wait to find out.
 He reeled around and grabbed the attacker. Then he flung him down and jumped on top of him. Then he smashed the attacker's head into the cement until the man stopped struggling.
 And then my friend jumped up and ran.
 In the months after rehab, Daniel and his brother went for a stroll through the East Village one beautiful summer evening.
 Out of nowhere, a BMW screeched past them and the door flew open. A body was hurled from the car, and three "pops". The corpse landed hard on the sidewalk and rolled over and over limply in front of them. The BMW was gone.
 They ran.
 "Did you see that?" one said to the other finally. Drugs, Daniel told me. Business.
 Many people, most of them high paid professionals, led insulated lives during this era. They traveled in Town Cars around the city. They bought bagels and lox and caviar at Zabar's . They enjoyed cultural spectacles at the Metropolitan this and the Metropolitan that, and rendezvoused at the New York Athletic Club . They met for breakfast at Sarabeth's ; they lunched and dinnered with friends who lived that way too, sharing their theories about poverty, and crime and punishment, and the Yankees, and the best tennis racquets, and their next trip to Europe.
 I charged up a storm at Bergdorf and Bloomingdales and Saks , ate at The Four Seasons and An American Place and the River Café . We sat next to Joe Piscopo one night at the Empire Diner , which made the City's best milk shakes and Blue Plate specials. Daniel, a trumpet player, loved Jazz -- " The Village" was filled with it -- and Tito Puente.
 It was a good life. But there was so much more to know.
 I met my friend Judy for drinks at Elaines one night. But suddenly, Judy would only talk with the guy in the suit who sat next to her. So I talked to Kamran, from Lebanon. Someone flashed an Arabic newspaper with a photo of Yasser Arafat. "Ewww!" I said.
 "This is a great man. Why don't you like him?" asked Kamran.
 Look at him , I said. He's disgusting .
 Kamran scowled. "You're just like all Americans," he said. "You don't like him because he doesn't look like you." Kamran was right. That was my biggest problem with Yasser Arafat.
 I did not keep in touch with Kamran. But he gave me a wallet for my birthday.
 A few years later, one of the Palestinian mothers was my babysitter. I would drop Baby Holly off on my way to work. She would spend the morning there and they would make sure she got to playschool down the street. Holly started learning Arabic.
 The problem was, when I took her with me to go grocery shopping, Holly kept requesting fruits and vegetables in Arabic baby talk. It was frustrating for both of us. I still don't know what "barbacuties" was.
 The Palestinian children next door have grown up. One became a pharmacist. One works for a civil rights NGO. One is a film producer. There is a doctor, and a teacher. We are good friends. Their father still smokes. I would do anything for them.
 One of the boys married an Italian girl from Bay Ridge. -- not surprising really; he looks like he was born there, with his tan skin and black hair and tough guy sneer. She comes from a family that measures a cook based on her pasta skills. This new Brooklyn daughter-in-law has offered to teach the Arab mother from Jerusalem how to cook "real food". His mother of course was indignant.
 All this, thanks to New York.
 The real New York with sidewalk cracks, where squeegee men attacked cars at the red light next to the Williamsburg Bridge and drug addicts got high in the playground and John Gotti got away with murder. Where Wall Street lawyers stumbled around with white dust all over the faces and illegal graffiti cursed from the sides of subway cars, and men like Bernie Goetz imagined how good it would feel to shoot a mugger point blank on a subway.
 It was a dangerous , raw , grimy , true American city to live in back then.
 How could I not love New York ?
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 Zonneth Joanino
 Former Sr. Accounting Clerk at Working at AECOM (1989–1997) · Author has 77 answers and 31.3K answer views
 · 5y
 Related
 To those who lived in Los Angeles during the 1980s, was it really as dangerous as they made it out to be?
 Nope! I don’t think Los Angeles is a dangerous city. I even walk where the homeless people lived they are just as normal people who just been some unfortunate of what we call ‘Life’
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 Lisa Kathryn Perry
 It's a true fact, in my opinion. · Upvoted by
 Stephanie V
 , lived in New York City Author has 625 answers and 3.2M answer views
 · Updated 9y
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 What was it like to live in New York City in the 1980s?
 I'm answering this question a couple years later than most of the ops. I moved to NYC in 1978 the day after I graduated from University of Michigan. I drove into the city with my ex-boyfriend Jerry in a station wagon with a mattress on the top. I wanted to be an actress/writer and he wanted to be a filmmaker.
 We found an apartment with our other college friend on 11th street and sixth avenue. Grace Paley lived in our building and I was so star-struck I nearly fainted every time we passed one another in the hallway. I worked at One Fifth Avenue as a waitress while attending acting school at t
 Continue Reading
 I'm answering this question a couple years later than most of the ops. I moved to NYC in 1978 the day after I graduated from University of Michigan. I drove into the city with my ex-boyfriend Jerry in a station wagon with a mattress on the top. I wanted to be an actress/writer and he wanted to be a filmmaker.
 We found an apartment with our other college friend on 11th street and sixth avenue. Grace Paley lived in our building and I was so star-struck I nearly fainted every time we passed one another in the hallway. I worked at One Fifth Avenue as a waitress while attending acting school at the William Esper Studio. I was 23 and filled with drive and excitement and fury and rage. I was a punk rock baby and I don't mean maybe, was that a song or did I just make that up?
 I fell in love with a punk rock drummer at the St. Mark's Bar and Grill on the corner of eighth street and first avenue. He played in five different bands and I helped him load his drum kit into huge yellow checker cabs every night to get from gig to gig. I moved to and lived at 101 St. Marks and paid $235 dollars a month for rent and in my building Ted Berrigan the activist poet and Al Goldstien, the editor of Screw Magazine lived upstairs and across the hall.
 My bathtub was in my kitchen right next to my sink with a big metal cover on it that I used as a counter. My toilet would have been in the hallway but someone who lived there before me cut a hole in the wall so I could get to it from my kitchen. I hung a pretty curtain over it. Steve Buschemi lived right down the block. It was the best of life it was the worst of life, who the hell am I quoting here? I went to every art opening: I was at Basquiat's first opening was it at Mary Boone's Gallery? Klaus Nomi performed and I went to all of the performances. Larry Gagosian tried to convince me to leave my boyfriend to go to the opera with him. Hah! Wouldn't I be rich now if I had listened to him! I did a ton of cocaine off the tops of Bic pen caps. I was at CBGB's almost every night and I got in free because I was pretty, knew all the bands and was on the "list". I most often wore a white vinyl mini skirt and a black lace camisole and little black fuck me boots and torn fishnets. I wore blood red lipstick and black nail polish and had five earrings in each ear (still do). I waded through the sewage in the bathroom at cb's with the other girls and leaned into the mirror and put on more black eyeliner. It stank to high heaven and I didn't care.
 The times when I wanted quiet I went to Fanelli's in Soho, still my all time favorite bar, and ordered cheap red wine and a five dolllar plate of spaghetti and read by candle light. Every one I knew was an artist: a musician, a writer, an actress, a painter, a filmmaker, a dancer. I was in heaven. I had grown up half in the south and then in Michigan and had NEVER felt that I had fit in. And then all of a sudden I did with all of my craziness and wild emotion. I went to the Mudd Club, Max's Kansas City, Club 57, Danceteria, the Peppermint Lounge: I saw Blondie, I saw Television, I saw Lydia Lunch, I saw James Chance and the Blacks, I saw Bush Tetras, the Ramones: I saw so many amazing bands and around the corner on Avenue A there was a drag bar where six foot tall queens danced on the stage in platform shoes with bright lipstick, blue eyeshadow and bad blonde wigs and yelled HI SWEETIE!!!! when I walked in the door.
 I lived in a loft for a while with a painter after I broke up with my musician drummer boyfriend on 34th street with a cat named Carvel who bit my ankles every time I walked past him. I reveled in dressing up and fucking with vintage fashion and wrote and wrote and wrote. I walked down the street in the East Village and men would fall down in front of me and say oH oH oH you're so beautiful and pretend to faint.
 I auditoned for every off off broadway play I could and waitressed at Orso and got to be friends, sort of, with the transvestite Puerto Rican prostitutes named Cookie and Candy on the corner of 46th and eight avenue with their puffed up bad plastic surgery enhanced cheeks and painful looking, fake breasts. I waited on Andy Warhol, and a million other famous actors, writers and artists. I learned that everybody famous is still just a person with silly little food issues.
 I walked miles every day and felt safer there, surrounded by all of those people, than I ever have felt again. I broke up with the painter and married the musician. I left him, again. Joel Steinberg beat his wife almost to death and killed his young daughter Lisa right around the block from me. That's when I started to hate it as much as I loved it. And I had lost so many beloved friends to HIV/AIDS. I stayed until I was thirty-four or five and finally moved to Chicago in 1990 because I lived in a tiny railroad tenement apartment with my cat, another lonely woman, and I couldn't bear for my story to continue like that. And then I had a new life. But it was amazing to live in New York in the eighties. I'm lucky, I kept a journal and I can read about it any time I want.
 Upvote ·
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 Promoted by Betterbuck
 Anthony Madden
 Writer for Betterbuck
 · Updated Mar 1
 What are a few of the dumbest mistakes people make on the internet right now?
 There are tons (obviously), but in my mind these are the worst:
 1. Not using an adblocker.
 If you aren’t using an ad blocker yet, I am begging you to try one. I am not exaggerating when I say it will change your life.
 A good ad blocker will eliminate virtually all of the ads you’d see on the internet.
 No more YouTube ads, no more banner ads, no more pop-up ads, etc. It’s incredible.
 Most people I know use Total Adblock ( link here ) – it’s $2.42/month, but there are plenty of solid options.
 Ads also typically take a while to load, so using an ad blocker reduces loading times (typically by 50% or more)
 Continue Reading
 There are tons (obviously), but in my mind these are the worst:
 1. Not using an adblocker.
 If you aren’t using an ad blocker yet, I am begging you to try one. I am not exaggerating when I say it will change your life.
 A good ad blocker will eliminate virtually all of the ads you’d see on the internet.
 No more YouTube ads, no more banner ads, no more pop-up ads, etc. It’s incredible.
 Most people I know use Total Adblock ( link here ) – it’s $2.42/month, but there are plenty of solid options.
 Ads also typically take a while to load, so using an ad blocker reduces loading times (typically by 50% or more). They also block ad tracking pixels to protect your privacy, which is nice.
 Here’s a link to Total Adblock , if you’re interested.
 2. Overspending when online shopping.
 You might be surprised how often you’re overpaying on Amazon and elsewhere.
 Big stores like Amazon know that no one has time to price shop through dozens of sites, so there's often no incentive for them to offer bargain prices.
 I typically hate browser extensions with a fiery passion, but if you don’t have Capital One Shopping installed yet, do yourself a favor and grab it .
 When you shop online (on Amazon or elsewhere) it will:
 1. Auto-apply coupon codes for you to save you money
 2. Compare prices from other sellers to make sure you’re not missing out on a better deal
 It’s saved me a ton of money more than once. Here's a quick example:
 Savings will vary, this is just an example, of course.
 That same exact blender was $26 cheaper at another store (with 2 day shipping) when I shopped.
 Here’s a link to install Capital One Shopping , if you're interested.
 3. Overspending on auto insurance.
 Believe it or not, the average American family still overspends by $417/year on car insurance.
 Here’s how to quickly see how much you’re being overcharged (takes maybe 30 seconds):
 * Pull up Coverage – it’s a free site that will compare prices for you
 * Answer the questions on the page
 * It’ll spit out a bunch of insurance quotes for you.
 That’s literally it. You’ll likely save yourself a bunch of money.
 Here’s a link to Coverage.
 4. Not dealing with credit card debt.
 Debt can make you feel hopeless—even if you’re responsible about making payments on time, the interest sometimes prevents you from paying off the debt.
 But, believe it or not, plenty of companies ( Accredited Debt Relief , for example) are willing to help you pay off your debt.
 Here’s how it typically works:
 * You typically need $20k+ in overall debt.
 * A company like Accredited Debt Relief (there are plenty of others, too) negotiates with your credit card companies, banks etc. to try and reduce your debt.
 * If possible, they’ll consolidate all of your different sources of debt so you only have to make one monthly payment to one place.
 A lot of times you’ll end up paying significantly less than you owe. Here’s an example from Accredited’s site:
 E.g. he was $80k in debt, but only ended up paying $50kish.
 If things go well, you could be debt-free in 24-48 months or so. Here’s a calculator you can use to get a savings estimate , if you’re interested.
 5. Not getting a financial advisor.
 99% of people don’t have one, and it’s typically a huge mistake.
 Sure, you can manage things on your own if you want to, but most people don’t have the time to actually do things right. There are huge benefits to having somebody pay attention to your money all the time.
 * People with financial advisors tend to beat the market by ~3%/year (according to a 2019 Vanguard Study). That can make a huge difference over time.
 * But more important: a good advisor will handle ALL of the annoying retirement stuff & bizarro tax implications you would have never thought of.
 If you don’t know a financial advisor personally, use a comparison site (like WiserAdvisor ) and find somebody near you that has good reviews.
 Or if you want something easier, here’s a quiz you can fill out that will find an advisor/planner based on your reqs.
 6. Not investing in real estate (start with as little as $20).
 It’s no secret that millionaires and billionaires love investing in real estate, but for the rest of us, buying property has been prohibitively expensive (if not impossible, for some).
 Times have changed. There are a few amazing real estate startups that allow you to buy shares of rental homes for as little as $20/share ( Ark7 is one of our favorites).
 They take care of the property management and collect rent checks for you. Then, on the 3rd of the following month, your share of the property’s profit is distributed to your account.
 It’s an interesting way to build yourself a little rental home empire (without spending like a magnate).
 If you’re interested, take a look at Ark7’s properties here .
 7. Giving away your opinions for free.
 As a general rule I would ignore any site that says they'll pay you to fill out surveys, but there are a few that are legitimate (and pay pretty well).
 I usually use Survey Junkie ( link here ). You basically just get paid to give your opinions on different products/services, etc. Perfect for when you're watching TV.
 Here's the form I used to sign up - I think it took me maybe 1-2 minutes tops.
 So there you have it, the dumbest mistakes people make online. Don't be one of those people! Stay safe and smart out there.
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https://wjbq.com/video-shows-what-portland-looked-like-in-the-early-1980s/
Video Shows What Portland Looked Like in the Early 1980's
2016-05-04
Jeff Parsons
<div><div><p>Do you remember Canal Bank, video arcades and a time in Portland before One City Center was built? This YouTube shows what city life in Portland looked like back in the early 80's.  </p><p>The footage was posted by Reginald Groff of Groff video, who shot it on his first piece of video equipment after moving away from Super8 film.</p><p>According to his YouTube post, it was used on cable public access channel 7 in Portland and shows the city in 1980. That might be a little early, as a shot in a Portland arcade shows the video game Robotron 2064 which was released in 1982. That's the video game geek in me coming out there.</p><p>How many of these locations can you recognize?</p></div>||||I|||| Skip to main contentSkip to site footer
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 Video Shows What Portland Looked Like in the Early 1980’s

 Jeff Parsons

 Jeff ParsonsPublished: May 4, 2016
 Reginald Groff via YouTube
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 Do you remember Canal Bank, video arcades and a time in Portland before One City Center was built? This YouTube shows what city life in Portland looked like back in the early 80's.

 The footage was posted by Reginald Groff of Groff video, who shot it on his first piece of video equipment after moving away from Super8 film.

 According to his YouTube post, it was used on cable public access channel 7 in Portland and shows the city in 1980. That might be a little early, as a shot in a Portland arcade shows the video game Robotron 2064 which was released in 1982. That's the video game geek in me coming out there.

 You'll see Canal Plaza when it was still Canal Bank, Monument Square before One City Center had been built and a shot of the Elm Theater Mask on Temple Street, just a few years after it had been placed there as a monument.

 How many of these locations can you recognize?

 RELATED: I Thought This Was Just a Rock on Temple Street in Portland – Boy Was I Wrong

 Filed Under : 1980's , Downtown
 Categories : Portland
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Do you remember Canal Bank, video arcades and a time in Portland before One City Center was built? This YouTube shows what city life in Portland looked like back in the early 80's.   The footage was posted by Reginald Groff of Groff video, who shot it on his first piece of video equipment after moving away from Super8 film. According to his YouTube post, it was used on cable public access channel 7 in Portland and shows the city in 1980. That might be a little early, as a shot in a Portland arcade shows the video game Robotron 2064 which was released in 1982. That's the video game geek in me coming out there. How many of these locations can you recognize?
Video Shows What Portland Looked Like in the Early 1980's
https://wjbq.com/video-shows-what-portland-looked-like-in-the-early-1980s/