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i remember my first boss took us out to a gourmet Italian place on W 47th street just off 8th Avenue(I think its now the Carve sandwich place) back in early 1980
The restaurant owner was telling us how his business fell off because of its proximity to 8th Avenue and how the 8th Avenue atmosphere intimidated visitors and even friends from coming to the restaurant. he spoke of being accosted when opening up the restaurant and of being harassed by prostitutes
at that time i remember feeling so excited just being there because of all the talk of the risks and dangers of that location. what did I know, I was only 18 at the time. I thought it was exciting
all i can say is that now i never feel excited in that way about being in the TImes Square area at any hour.
No right or wrong answers here. I am just curious to hear some opinions on this. I fully realize that the city had a LOT of problems in the 70s but there is still a certain amount of nostalgia for that time period.
A little about myself. I was born in Queens in 1967 and moved to South Carolina in 1974. I am close to my family in Queens and over the years I have spent many months back in the city sometimes just visiting and sometimes working. My last job in the city was in 2002 in an office overlooking 26th St and Madison Ave.
Here is my list of some things that created the image of NYC in the 70s for better or worse. Feel free to add to it.
2 great movies that showed how NYC looked in the 70s-The French Connection and the 7 UPs
Ford to City: Drop Dead - President Ford denies the city federal assistance to avoid going broke ,October 1975
The original Saturday Night Live group
The Son of Sam
The Blackout of 1977
The Bronx Zoo Yankees of the late 70s
Been here for 50 years straight. Best, most accurate films depicting the city in the 1970s and its personality/dysfunction would be Dog Day afternoon and the Taking of Pelham 123. Nighthawks captured the late 70s/early 80s vibe well also.
Our society tends to look back on the 70s, always in a romantic light. They romanticize those years, yet how many would choose living in those days over today? Not many. That's because things are convenient in NYC now. Things are easier. Especially with the internet and websites like Vimbly: Things To Do In NYC: Classes, Activities & Date Ideas | Vimbly. Sites like Vimbly make it extremely easy to book classes and activities and things to do. So while people reflect and reminisce about the 70s and 80s, in the now is where I rather be. Because, after all, the now is the future.
[quote=MKrau90;33949377]Things are easier. Especially with the internet and websites like Vimbly: Things To Do In NYC: Classes, Activities & Date Ideas | Vimbly. Sites like Vimbly make it extremely easy to book classes and activities and things to do.
{Quote}
I know isn't it adorable how things are pre packaged for you and ready to go ? So easy...it's just like calling the concierge to walk your dog for you.
Contrived activities that need enrolling and pre payment are well...contrived and pre packaged. Most people complaining about NYC want a more liberal approach to life. Sort of a " Let it happen naturally" sort of thing.
I don't want to be poked into buying tickets or forced into a class because that's the only way to meet people. Can't you see people have contrived this style of living to make money off of you and people (mainly from out of state) are buying into it.
It's a silly little scene that's going on here. During the 70's people were ORIGINAL they had VISIONS and acted upon them.
Interesting is an interesting word. It means different things to different people. I would say that it was more interesting then but it is more liveable now.
IMHO NYC at least Manhattan was more interesting because the place still had a sense of neighborhoods. I mean you knew where you were in the West Village, Bowery, Mid-Town, Chelsea ,etc.... The period probably along with much of the 1980's was the last "hurrah" of what could be called the "working classes" in the borough. You still had what would be called affordable housing in many areas even if mostly it was because others shunned the places as unsafe.
Another thing about the 1970's in Manhattan was you still had lots of small shops and stores where one could find almost everything from imported French copper cookware to quirky antiques and vintage items (that didn't cost a fortune).
NYC produced some amazing contributions to the arts globally from the 70's- early 2000's (9-11)
Quote:
Originally Posted by BugsyPal
IMHO NYC at least Manhattan was more interesting because the place still had a sense of neighborhoods. I mean you knew where you were in the West Village, Bowery, Mid-Town, Chelsea ,etc.... The period probably along with much of the 1980's was the last "hurrah" of what could be called the "working classes" in the borough. You still had what would be called affordable housing in many areas even if mostly it was because others shunned the places as unsafe.
Another thing about the 1970's in Manhattan was you still had lots of small shops and stores where one could find almost everything from imported French copper cookware to quirky antiques and vintage items (that didn't cost a fortune).
What one thinks many newcomers or whatever don't appreciate is that persons were born and lived in Manhattan throughout the years including the 1970's.
By this I mean the kids of subway workers, teachers, nurses, shop owners, businessmen, secretaries, actors, etc... Not everyone moved to the suburbs or Queens, Brooklyn or SI after they married and had babies.
As such neighborhoods had the same and usual services you'd find anywhere else. Schools, houses of worship, local dive bars, diners, family restaurants, corner stores, etc...
Yes, the place was often gritty and dirty with of course crime, but if you were born and raised here that was nothing new and you learned how to roll.
Never forget as a young teen from SI going into "the City" during the 1970's and 1980's meeting kids who grew up in Manhattan. To me it seemed "odd" that persons lived in a place without private homes with backyards, was dirty and so forth, but those kids *forgot* more about life at that age than I took years to learn.
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