How Bad was New York City during the crack epidemic? (Brighton: to rent, houses)
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I visited Philly twice now and I swear I told someone the same thing. I don't know if it was the bumb sleeping in the middle of the side walk, the crack heads by the abandoned building that gave me that feeling.
It's just general neglect. Even having grown up there, there are many places where I could never picture myself living. I could see, for example, how most of Harlem and certain areas of the Bronx could be desirable if the right investments are made. You could picture hipsters and yuppies invading Sugar Hill or Mott Haven because the architecture and easy access to train lines are appealing. The "Badlands," on the other hand, is a completely different story. I don't think all the ***** eyes in the world could make that place aesthetically appealing.
For those who were adults (or older teenagers) during that time, what's your theory on crime in the 80s?
Did crack cause higher crime?
In my experience, crack drove crime to sky high levels -- introducing types of crime that had never been seen before.
Also, who brought crack to NYC? Hindsight has us blaming drug dealers and users but it was trafficked here by others.
Thoughts anyone?
Asided from the drug trafficking and gang wars and crime that crack caused, it was a particularly insidious drug for another big, big reason that I still don't think people quite realize. It really messed with women.
Before crack came most addicts (coke, H, booze) had traditionally been men. But for whatever reason, crack disporportionately hooked a lot of women and the results were disastrous.
There was an accelerated decline of family life because it had been the women who'd held things together before, when men got on drugs. BUt now with so many more women drugged out too, many kids ended up in foster care. It was the time when we started to see so many grandparents taking care of little kids because Mommy was always strung out or in jail.. or worse. Without mothers, older kids increasingly ran the streets unsupervised, getting into all sorts of trouble. And if the husbands/boyfriends were in the picture, they'd often just kick the women out and go on about their business as best they could. And lots of women had to turn to prostitution to support thier habits --this was the time "crackhead ho" entered the vocabulary.
Whoever brought this stuff to NYC screwed up a good part of a whole generation of desperate, poor, unhappy women. And in some ways we're still paying for it.
You could just take a trip to Philadelphia. It's probably very similar to how NYC felt during the 70s and 80s.
1. Abandoned buildings galore
2. Trash everywhere
3. Stray dogs
4. Lawlessness
5. Murder
6. Poor artists and musicians
And as a resident of Philadelphia who adores NYC, I simply can't wrap my head around why so many fools on this board would want NYC to revert back to this???
And as a resident of Philadelphia who adores NYC, I simply can't wrap my head around why so many fools on this board would want NYC to revert back to this???
I don't get the sense that people want things to be the way they were from a crime/safety perspective. Like my earlier post said, depending upon what you were exposed to, the times were different for everyone.
My only wish would be for housing to be as affordable as it was back then.
Asided from the drug trafficking and gang wars and crime that crack caused, it was a particularly insidious drug for another big, big reason that I still don't think people quite realize. It really messed with women.
Before crack came most addicts (coke, H, booze) had traditionally been men. But for whatever reason, crack disporportionately hooked a lot of women and the results were disastrous.
There was an accelerated decline of family life because it had been the women who'd held things together before, when men got on drugs. BUt now with so many more women drugged out too, many kids ended up in foster care. It was the time when we started to see so many grandparents taking care of little kids because Mommy was always strung out or in jail.. or worse. Without mothers, older kids increasingly ran the streets unsupervised, getting into all sorts of trouble. And if the husbands/boyfriends were in the picture, they'd often just kick the women out and go on about their business as best they could. And lots of women had to turn to prostitution to support thier habits --this was the time "crackhead ho" entered the vocabulary.
Whoever brought this stuff to NYC screwed up a good part of a whole generation of desperate, poor, unhappy women. And in some ways we're still paying for it.
ABSOLUTELY. I have heard stories of drug dealers (feeling guilty for stringing out women) who brought food for their kids when selling them drugs.
OP here im interested about the city in thoses time and how wacky it was. And for the rest of you a video will be back some memories of the subway how messed up and colorful and dirty it was. Stations Of The Elevated (Part 2) - YouTube
Location: Vinings/Cumberland in the evil county of Cobb
1,317 posts, read 1,509,141 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by queensgrl
I'm curious: How was the Lower East Side in the 80s?
The Lower East Side was a dump and it was dangerous. Back in the 80's, Delancey St and Orchard were the places to shop for (hip-hop/b-boy) clothes. As a young teen traveling from Queens to Delancy street to go school shopping was always an adventure, especially once you starting spending your money out there. There was a tailor shop above street level where they would send you try your clothes on, and I've heard stories where some the neighborhood guys would rob everyone in there while they were in the fitting rooms...the crazy 80's
Location: Vinings/Cumberland in the evil county of Cobb
1,317 posts, read 1,509,141 times
Reputation: 1551
Quote:
Originally Posted by queensgrl
For those who were adults (or older teenagers) during that time, what's your theory on crime in the 80s?
Did crack cause higher crime?
In my experience, crack drove crime to sky high levels -- introducing types of crime that had never been seen before.
Also, who brought crack to NYC? Hindsight has us blaming drug dealers and users but it was trafficked here by others.
Thoughts anyone?
This may sound strange, but crack drove some type of crimes up but other crimes down (stay with me). As a (pre/young)teenager in a high-crime neighborhood in the early 80's, everyday you left the house you worried about being stuck-up by the older tough guys in the neighborhood. They would steal your sneakers (adidas), glasses (cazals), coats (sheepskins or leather goose), shoes (british walkers, playboys, ballys), money or whatever else. But once these older tough guys in the neighborhood started making money off of selling crack, it was beneath them to remain petty stick-up kids and purse snatchers so that daily threat of being robbed subsided. Now the crack-heads became the petty thieves, and there was no way I was gonna let a crack-head rob me , cause they were weak from the drugs and most of the time unarmed. If they were on cracks and had a gun, most of the time the gun was the first thing they sold for crack money.
Murders definitely shot up, especially amongst teenagers. The 5 years I was away at college, by the time I move back home it seemed like almost half the guys I grew up in the neighborhood had been murdered (1985-1990). When I returned home in 1990, I seemed to be going to funerals every couple of weeks. Thats the year NYC recorded almost 2300 murders.
In terms of who brought the crack to NY? We know now how and why the streets were flooded with cheap cocaine (Iran Contras, etc). There's enough blame to go around from the Gov't to the dealers to the idiots who actually smoked the crack.
The Lower East Side was a dump and it was dangerous. Back in the 80's, Delancey St and Orchard were the places to shop for (hip-hop/b-boy) clothes. As a young teen traveling from Queens to Delancy street to go school shopping was always an adventure, especially once you starting spending your money out there. There was a tailor shop above street level where they would send you try your clothes on, and I've heard stories where some the neighborhood guys would rob everyone in there while they were in the fitting rooms...the crazy 80's
THE WEST side was desolate, all the mega clubs were there and the piers and what was left of them were fun to lay out in the sun with all the boys. I did the clubs to death !!!, and then some.......
ahh, so much fun, NY while I know it is nicer now, it was fun then.....yeah baby !!!
trains were never a/c, ever.....
I am glad I lived through it, I had a blast !!
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, cause they were weak from the drugs and most of the time unarmed. If they were on cracks and had a gun, most of the time the gun was the first thing they sold for crack money.
I did the clubs to death !!!, and then some.......
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