The 80's in NYC (New York, York: 2013, residential, gas)
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I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about the outside influences on NYC and how it has drastically transformed our city's culture. We went from playing in the streets as kids and having our own games that were unique to NYC, our street fairs that used to showcase vendors that worked specific to the fairs and not ex store owners forced out by high rents, our neighborhoods which were once eclectic and family oriented and now turned into trendy hotspots for anyone with a big bank account, and our mom and pop stores turned into mini-malls around the city.
It's really sad for those of us who were brought up here and really love this place for that reason alone. Not because we've had some fantasy of this place and are trying desperately to turn it into something it's not. Good ol' NY.
NYC in the eighties? Diverse. Yuppies and panhandlers, Studio 54 retro upon its reopening, Nells, CBGBs, celebutantes, coke then crack, pre-OJ media whoring i.e. subway shooter Bernie Goetz, Former Miss Subway 19fortysomething Ellen of Stardust Cafe, Sukreet Gable political scandal, rape victim "the jogger," a master-of-the-universe female investment banker who's name wasn't released for what, years? (try that today!) who picked the wrong decade to decide that it was safe for a female to jog after dark through a narrow twisty shortcut near Harlem), Robert Chambers (back in the news, like OJ!), Don Johnson wannabes freezing outside velvet ropes in January, hairstyles and fashion we thought would never go out of style. Actually, Adam Sandler and Brett Easton Ellis nailed it.
It was a exciting time to grow up. It has been almost 20 years yet corporate America is still boxing up the local homegrown youth culture from that period and they sell it as a commodity worldwide...
Now the corporate/government interests have control over everything. Freedom is dead. These middle America hipsters from the suburbs are here for a gritty experience that they somehow missed growing up in the suburbs. However the gritty local left the station long ago and it only exists in memory...
In the last ten-fifteen years much of the city population has been purged. The culture has been purged.
Amen.
Man you brought back memories with the reference to Mays. I miss the old Mays and S. Klein in Union Square.
I have a great NY story. I grew up low income like a lot of people in the LES. When I was about 8 years old I lived on 6th between 1st & Ave A. There was an elderly homosexual couple that lived in the building next to mine and one of them often hung out at the window watching the kids playing in the street. One day he noticed I was one of the only kids with no roller skates. They gave me money and told me to go buy myself a pair of skates. I went to S. Klein in Union Square and bought my first pair of skates. It's been over thirty years and I haven't forgot their act of kindness and never will. Where ever you are....THANK YOU!!!! That is an example of the generosity of real New Yorkers. I am sad to leave the city and saddened by how it has changed, but I will always have my memories.
P.S. Don't miss those Crazy Eddie commercials - boy did they gave me a headache!!!!
Kick the can and man hunt! Oh $$$$ im getting old.lol.
Man Hunt!!!!!! I miss playing man hunt. I was just telling my daughter a few weeks ago about how we used to play man hunt around the neighborhood. I was telling a friend of mine from the LES that we should organize a game of man hunt for old times sake. He looked at me like I was crazy, but the crazy thing is I was only half kidding. I think he was just scared that I would out run him. It would be a bit of a challenge maneuvering around all the yuppies, but I think it is doable. All the SUV's would give more places to duck behind and ambush from though.
baylovers: I never heard of HeadOn. At first I thought you were getting frisky until I looked it up. What a name for a product! I'd love to sit in on one of their marketing meetings.
I remember driving around the 41 pct in the 80's telling the junkies over the PA system don't use tango and cash herion it will kill you did they listen hell no
Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
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This is a good song talking about what it was like to live in the ghetto in the 80s. Good video clips from them then too. I'm sure a lot of you know this song.
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It would be a bit of a challenge maneuvering around all the yuppies, but I think it is doable. All the SUV's would give more places to duck behind and ambush from though.
