Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > New York City
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 04-29-2012, 11:29 AM
 
900 posts, read 2,364,787 times
Reputation: 681

Advertisements

I got my first real view of New York in the 70's and being a mid-western kid my face was like this . I saw prostitutes in Manhattan with hot pants and afro puffs, I saw a business woman whistle for a taxi like the guys in my neighborhood with two fingers in their mouth, I even saw the junkies strung out in the park. With all that what I took away from it was the business woman, that represented to me most how free you could be in New York. My hometown was conservative and you dare not step out of what was expected of you.

Now being that I said all that I also remember some New York of old which being a fan of Mad Men brings some of it all back. So I wonder what I missed or didn't know about so you old time New Yorkers can help tell about the old New York you knew.

For instance I remember that old billboard advertisement (was it camels?) advertising cigarettes that actually blew smoke on Times Square, I remember the Piccadilly Hotel which has since been town down. What I didn't know was that Madison Square Gardens had 4 or 5 different locations and was rebuilt in the 60's tearing down the Madison Square Gardens of old.

So tell us about the old time New York.

Last edited by luvnyc; 04-29-2012 at 11:42 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-29-2012, 03:07 PM
 
11,565 posts, read 12,583,757 times
Reputation: 15674
If you really like NY history, rent/buy/take out from the library Ric Burns's documentary series or David Hartman and Barry Lewis's Walk About NY series which covers many of the neighborhoods in great detail.

I never thought of a businesswoman whistling by using her fingers in her mouth as daring or "free" behavior before. I've only seen out of towners do that, imitating TV or a movie. Duh, do you really think a cab driver in a moving cab in Manhattan is going to hear a whistle and stop because of the whistle sound?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-29-2012, 07:55 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
80 posts, read 343,820 times
Reputation: 40
Well NYC past was gritty times square wasnt disney land full of hookers drug addicts porn shops crack epidemic was coming in and as well as aids graffiti trains also i have thread i made which you see the graffitied trains, crime was bad police was really bad so bad gunshots were common every night and police didnt deal with it . In those days never walk alone at night unless you wanna get mugged by a crack head. Crack vials everywhere Bronx was a mess looked like a complete warzone. NYC back then was scary but fun times.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-29-2012, 08:02 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
80 posts, read 343,820 times
Reputation: 40
Heres one of the trains
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-30-2012, 12:37 PM
 
900 posts, read 2,364,787 times
Reputation: 681
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coney View Post
If you really like NY history, rent/buy/take out from the library Ric Burns's documentary series or David Hartman and Barry Lewis's Walk About NY series which covers many of the neighborhoods in great detail.

I never thought of a businesswoman whistling by using her fingers in her mouth as daring or "free" behavior before. I've only seen out of towners do that, imitating TV or a movie. Duh, do you really think a cab driver in a moving cab in Manhattan is going to hear a whistle and stop because of the whistle sound?
Thanks. I do remember coming across a book of nostalgic Brooklyn neighborhoods, mainly East New York when it was a predominately white. I'll have to look for those books the next trip to the library.

Hey, as a 12 year old I was impressed. She didn't look the type that would do that and back home this was something that wasn't ladylike. You want to bet she got a taxi, one pulled up right away--this was in the Times Square area. I've never seen this done since neither by a man or woman.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NYmasters View Post
Well NYC past was gritty times square wasnt disney land full of hookers drug addicts porn shops crack epidemic was coming in and as well as aids graffiti trains also i have thread i made which you see the graffitied trains, crime was bad police was really bad so bad gunshots were common every night and police didnt deal with it . In those days never walk alone at night unless you wanna get mugged by a crack head. Crack vials everywhere Bronx was a mess looked like a complete warzone. NYC back then was scary but fun times.
I was here during those times, I stayed in a woman's hotel in Manhattan and each morning going to work I had to wade through the crack vials and used condoms. Yuk! I also remember the crackheads hanging around everywhere just looking for an opportunity to steal. My poor cheap little Sentra had been broken in twice.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NYmasters View Post
Heres one of the trains
The only time I like those graffiti trains were when they passed on a el through the Bronx but I hated the graffiti inside the cars and how nasty the cars were then. You're probably thinking "The cars are clean now?" lol Well I think they're a little bit cleaner than they used to be.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-30-2012, 01:19 PM
 
Location: USA
8,012 posts, read 11,357,752 times
Reputation: 3454
it was a beautiful mess back then.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-30-2012, 01:28 PM
 
Location: Manhattan
25,345 posts, read 36,873,455 times
Reputation: 12738
Quote:
I saw prostitutes in Manhattan with hot pants and afro puffs, I saw a business woman whistle for a taxi like the guys in my neighborhood with two fingers in their mouth, I even saw the junkies strung out in the park.
And there was far more charm in all that compared to today's world of worker bees scurrying back home for a few hours sleep in the high rise hive before again reporting to mind-deadening work.

"Oh goody, I got a studio apartment for only a third of my salary AND I'm near a Duane Reade and a Starbucks...ain't New York GRAND?"

New York has become sterilized, not unlike many cities whose only claim to fame is they surround A MALL and all the sameness that implies.

It was better then!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:



Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > New York City
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top