I live in Long Island now, but work in the financial district, and as much as I love this city, I fuckin hate working here. Penn station smells like homeless people and stale piss, the subways and LIRR are brutal, and the streets smell like garbage and dog piss. People are generally assholes, however, you get used to that, and Im probably an asshole myself. I have never felt unsafe here though. They have bomb sniffing dogs on broad street and army soldiers at Penn. I have driven cross country 4 times, and have visited many of the "Big" cities, and none of them even come close to the Vastness of NYC. That being said, I cant wait to not have to work here anymore.
I live in Brooklyn and work in the city. There's obviously a noticeable difference in terms of overall cleanliness, crime, etc. between NYC and suburban areas. But there are certainly quite a few positives as well. There's plenty of work available I don't have to drive to work I don't have to drive to buy food. If all of a sudden I need food in the middle of the night, I can just walk two blocks and buy it. Real estate market is through the roof. If I decide to sell my house, it won't be on the market for months, as it would be in NJ, Long Island, etc. I am also pretty sure I'll be able to sell it for more than I paid for it 2 years ago. There are all kinds of activities for kids within a 2-mile radius from my house - sports, playgrounds, etc. There's a beach within walking distance. Granted, it's worse than Long Island beaches but it's better than no beach at all Negatives: Too many people. I liked it when I was younger but as I am getting older, I'd rather have it quiet. It can be pretty filthy in some places. Traffic... I don't drive to Manhattan unless I really have to. It can be rather crazy in Brooklyn as well but at least I can find free parking most of the time. I wish my backyard was bigger.
You have to have lived in NYC during the darkest days from 1973 to about 1989 to have a real understanding of how good things are there now by comparison. I spent most of my teenage years walking around in a city where I genuinely feared for my life at the first hint of trouble. I had two friends killed on the streets before I was 17. I was a middle class kid.
compared to when i lived there the city is incrdedibly nicer, when i say its gross i am referring to the weather. i can't take that sticky gunk air with all the mosquitos, its truly gross. and if its not grisly uncomfortably sticky out then its weenie shrinking cold, i had to get the hell out of there, ill never live there again. love coming home for visits though, but after 3 days ive reached my limit and need to get back here. october is the best month in new york hands down
If you thought it was dangerous for outsiders, imagine what those of us had to deal with living there. You just had to know the ins and outs to survive. It helped to have grown up with a lot of the folks doing the "slingin" as it was called back then.
Bro... I lived in Manila and that is what the good neighborhoods in that city smell like, now just imagine it being on average 87 degrees and humidity up around 90% every single day. Even better when you would see garbage bags ripped open and yesterdays rice and chicken covered in maggots and enough 6 year olds to fill a kindergarten class digging through it to feed themselves. I don't know man... I love New York but after spending time in Hong Kong, Osaka and Tokyo it's hard to really say that New York is the greatest city in the world. I love Barcelona as well but there is a chance I'll be going to Singapore in September and I hear amazing things about SG.
That is the 42nd I liked, they make it seem sterilized now. I know it had to be done but I still miss it.
The Deuce was beat up old movie houses converted into porn shops and stripper clubs. You could smell it starting at about 45th street if you were walking down Broadway and probably all the way from 50th street on 8th Avenue. I don't miss it at all. The new 42nd sucked also, with all the plastic tourist crap but it was much better than what it replaced. The pedestrian mall is amazing right now. You can go and hang out in the middle of the city and enjoy the sights. That's the first time that's ever been true.
Are you kidding? You can get some primo corn in NYC. Those were the days. On occassion, we'd cut school (you didn't go there alone as a kid) and take the #1 B'way IRT down to Playland arcade in Times Square--what a great dive! Skeeball, shady guys making change, blowing pockets of quarters, the chicken playing tic tac toe! (although now as an adult I realize how cruel that was), and you could get fake i.d. And as for the neighborhood: the colorful hobos, the fried chicken, the hilarious XXX marquees, good times, good times.....hard to beleive Disney owns that place now. It was sleezy what with the drugs, crime and poverty but it has def lost some New York-ness appeal imho. Nowadays, it looks ridiculous.
Good thread...I live in Manhattan and have done so all my life. I can tell you right now, the surge in homeless people is the ENORMOUS right now. I see so many young couples, alot more white people that are just being bums on the street asking for money. I am not sure if this is the Tourist effect to get them to give money or they simply like being homeless in the City. I also see them by my job on Madison Ave where there are only office buildings uptown. The other issue I see is the amount of weed roaming the streets. So many places in the streets smell like weed now. It has gotten out of control. We are going backwards here, but I also do think that Penn Station and the PATH trains still feel like they are from the 1980's. I dont know why those have not been changed, but new hotels keep popping up everywhere. You guys heard about the young Jewish girl (she left her hasidic community 5 years ago) who committed suicide and jumped from the 230 Fifth rooftop? She was depressed and I saw her dead body on the streets with a white cover over it and only 2 cops hanging around waiting for medical examiner. http://gawker.com/woman-jumps-to-death-from-20th-floor-rooftop-bar-patro-1719242517 Just dont see these things happen in recent years. Reading stuff, I saw she was depressed, was getting evicted from her apartment too. The one thing I still feel good about is that Manhattan does not scare me with criminals at night or anything like that. I went to Cincinnati for the All Star Game and we were out about after 11PM and certain streets led to sketchy alley ways and there were some strange people at night that I would completely avoid. Was a little nerve-wracking.
Oh I see what you are talking about @Dierking Damn shame, ever feel like your heart sink after seeing something walking down the street? This is the second time I have seen a dead body just there in the streets of NYC. The other time was a homeless black man or just a really poor guy who went into a seizure because he suffers from severe asthma and I think he fell down and was shaking. He had no medicine and people didnt know what to do I think. I showed up seeing it when it was all over. His eyes were all open, the ambulance showed up and quickly put him inside the truck and probably tried to revive him inside. This was right near Macys on 34th street
Needless to say there was more "playing" going on at Playland than the games in the front of the store.. Went in there a few times back in my teens and it just felt kinda sleazy. Hard to describe the vibe but that place just wasn't me..
What, you don't like desperate peeps "turnin tricks" and desperate dudes in jerkoff booths at low rent peep shows? Staaaart spreeeadin tha newwwws.....
Funny, but I have more stories of this from my YOUNGER brother. As a kid the fam moved away and I went to middle school and the the 1st 2 years of high school in FL, then we moved back to LI my last 2 years of high school, then I went away to college and been gone ever since (aside from visiting fam) But essentially my bro really grew up there (and younger siblings "grow up" faster) so he was always fuckin' off in the city and going to CBGBs on the weekends... as he took all my adolescent indescrepancies to the next level. or mostly just got in trouble for them
