Pictures of NYC in the 80's

[ninjahood]

lemme add that time move ALOT SLOWER back in da 80's and 90's...i mean think about how LONG an eternity 1990-2000 felt compared to

2003 to 2013.

and da best era to me was da 90's...da City was STILL grimey, but it was getting alot safer so da GOOD parts of lawlessness was active (block parties

loud music, drinking in public was still legal, parades were HUGE, street BBQs, maaad outdoor merchants) but at da same time more people started

getting jobs and girls would still approachable on da street, no one was acting like a diva.

 

[sircharles2ol3]

What a great thread. My 2nd cousin was actually one of the original founders of Savage Skulls (seen in OP's post). The Bronx in the 70/80s was really no joke so I'm kind of glad I grew up in the post drug/gang era. Some of the damage done to each other was just crazy. But from a culture stand point we was on point. Everybody had an individuality to them bc you had to be able stand for something it seems. Like to be Nuyorican back then must have been something bc I barely see dudes on they rican pride **** anymore.

 

[supermanblue79]

Incredible thread. These are the images that influenced my childhood. I remember trying to dress like NY and even carried a Sanyo boombox on my ear. I was in the South so that tells you how influential NY was on the rest of the country. One of my favorite memories is my Dad taking e to Caster Knots to see a group of breakers from NY. Those were amazing times.

 

[stayblunted]

Growing up in Bushwick, I know first-hand what the 80's left in terms of an aftermath for the 90's but my parent's always tried to shelter me from the nonsense. The Blackout of 1977 left Bushwick in complete turmoil as people looted the streets and devastation was widespread. Ironically the gentrification of the city has made it's way into my hood as of recent 

“Bushwick looked like a ghost town war zone,” 

After the blackout, residents who could afford to leave abandoned the area. But new immigrants were coming into the area during the late 1960s, early 1970s and 1980s, many of whom were from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and more recently Central America. However, apartment renovation and new construction did not keep pace with the demolition of unsafe buildings, forcing overcrowded conditions at first. As buildings came down, the vacant lots made parts of the neighborhood look and feel desolate, and more residents left. The neighborhood was a hotbed of poverty and crime through the 1980s. During this period, the Knickerbocker Ave shopping district was nicknamed “The Well” for its seemingly unending supply of drugs.In the 1990s, it remained a poor and relatively dangerous area, with 77 murders, 80 rapes, and 2,242 robberies in 1990.

 

 

[Hank Scorpio]

For anyone saying they "miss" this era either has never lived in NYC during the 80's or has very short-term memory.

NYC in the 80's were HORRIBLE and unsafe. I didn't know anyone who never got mugged on the street or on the train. It was so dirty and unsafe. The police literally had very little control over the drugs and gangs. Some parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx was totally unapproachable because of how dangerous it was to walk through the neighborhoods.

I miss the 90's more than the 80's though. Everything Ninjahood has said in this thread is 100% correct. I agree with him.

 

[beh235]

For anyone saying they "miss" this era either has never lived in NYC during the 80's or has very short-term memory.

NYC in the 80's were HORRIBLE and unsafe. I didn't know anyone who never got mugged on the street or on the train. It was so dirty and unsafe. The police literally had very little control over the drugs and gangs. Some parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx was totally unapproachable because of how dangerous it was to walk through the neighborhoods.

I miss the 90's more than the 80's though. Everything Ninjahood has said in this thread is 100% correct. I agree with him.

I said this EXACT thing to my brother last night while looking through the thread. He was born in '92 and I told him it was easy to say you miss it when you never lived it. 

 

[omgitswes]

This just reminded me that I've never finished watching Warriors

 

[rell826]

As already mentioned, the gangs actually inspired the outfits worn in the Warriors. They were heavy in the Bronx. My dad had a lot of stories about them. The job Giuliani did is that much greater when seeing how fast the city transformed during his reign.

 

[space doodoo pistols]

This just reminded me that I've never finished watching Warriors

bro.

 

[beh235]

As already mentioned, the gangs actually inspired the outfits worn in the Warriors. They were heavy in the Bronx. My dad had a lot of stories about them. The job Giuliani did is that much greater when seeing how fast the city transformed during his reign.

It came at a cost, but appreciated in the long run.

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

This just reminded me that I've never finished watching Warriors

What the......

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

Looking through the thread making me wanna watch Taxi Driver.

 

[diego]

it was rough but it was dope. ny was destroyed as far as graffiti. It was everywhere. Nothing nowadays comes close except Detroit where the cops have no control

It was nothing to get robbed and stripped down to your boxers in broad daylight.

The Bronx was off limits unless you lived there. Any fam or friends had to meet you in manhattan or take the train to your borough if you didn't live in manhattan...or you met at the train station and didn't go up the stairs.

That clown Diego or whatever from the coat thread talking about queens is soft but it was nothing to hear gunshots everyday like clockwork and walk by nickel, dime bags, syringes and crack viles on the street.

Nothing to see ****** get robbed in broad daylight. Nothing to see bums laid out, fiends strung out, etc.

Seen chases through the street, shootouts, etc. F is son talking about????

NY isn't even NY anymore when you think about how life was in those pics. We had nothing yet we had everything. We were poor as far as money but rich in culture.

Present day queens dudes is soft. Ain't nobody was talking bout the 80s in that thread.
Pull your skirt down.



And I don't know why any of y'all frontin like y'all would go back to this era.
Steezy talkin bout they should've kept graffiti on the trains meanwhile he live in Westchester and hasnt seen the inside of the train in ages.
You soft too fam.


These pics cool to look at but that's where it stops.
That pic of the car in the water dope as hell.
Shorties looked good too. Seem way more down to earth than these Instagram birds.

 

[superantigen]

It's fun to look back on, but why anyone would want to relive that time period is beyond me.

I like this here modern civility and safety thing we got going on right now. It aint perfect, but it sure beats the heck outta whatever they had going on back then...



...

 

[cliffordsmith]

Looks like Detroit now.

 

[putting in work]

@LiveAction

Are these scans from Fab 5 Freddy's book "Back in the Days"?

I used to have that joint...can't find it...SMH.

NY shoulda never changed.

looks like it, that and "A Time Before Crack"

Yo the barber cutting his hair at 00:32 is my old barber Tony

it was rough but it was dope. ny was destroyed as far as graffiti. It was everywhere. Nothing nowadays comes close except Detroit where the cops have no control

It was nothing to get robbed and stripped down to your boxers in broad daylight.

The Bronx was off limits unless you lived there. Any fam or friends had to meet you in manhattan or take the train to your borough if you didn't live in manhattan...or you met at the train station and didn't go up the stairs.

That clown Diego or whatever from the coat thread talking about queens is soft but it was nothing to hear gunshots everyday like clockwork and walk by nickel, dime bags, syringes and crack viles on the street.

Nothing to see ****** get robbed in broad daylight. Nothing to see bums laid out, fiends strung out, etc.

Seen chases through the street, shootouts, etc. F is son talking about????

NY isn't even NY anymore when you think about how life was in those pics. We had nothing yet we had everything. We were poor as far as money but rich in culture.

Present day queens dudes is soft. Ain't nobody was talking bout the 80s in that thread.
Pull your skirt down.

You're basically generalizing saying all dudes from Queens is soft, present day or whatever, and that isn't the case. Still a lot of hard N's all over don't judge what you see on instagram or any of these social network sites and if that's the case then all these tight pants wearing dudes from all over the city is soft. Keep in mind that Queens is the only borough that hasn't gone through that gentrification crap yet, BX I would say also, but it started happening there over the last 2 years I believe.

Come around to any part of South Queens, Far Rock, even some parts of upper Queens and **** is still bad man. Look on Zillow and Trulia and you'll see in some parts of Queens houses are still before the real estate bubble prices because of the neighborhoods and crime. Queens and Long Island still getting that drug money just on the low.

But you're entitled to your opinion.

 

[debso]

Diego, present day NY is soft in general.

Don't just single out queens. Be honest.

 

[urbetterthenme]

pics look awesome from a reflective stand point and artistic view, however that stuff looks scary and not the kind of place I think anyone would want to live in. Crackheads, bums, robberies everyday, yall can keep that mess. The goal of lots of those people was to get the heck out that scenery or make it better. Don't nobody want to live in shambles.

Thats why when I see Detroit it makes me sad because Detroit is just like this with the day zombies and lack of opportunity. Its sickening. Pray for the world yall.

 

[ill steelo]

Yikes

 

[onewearz]

For anyone saying they "miss" this era either has never lived in NYC during the 80's or has very short-term memory.

NYC in the 80's were HORRIBLE and unsafe. I didn't know anyone who never got mugged on the street or on the train. It was so dirty and unsafe. The police literally had very little control over the drugs and gangs. Some parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx was totally unapproachable because of how dangerous it was to walk through the neighborhoods.

I miss the 90's more than the 80's though. Everything Ninjahood has said in this thread is 100% correct. I agree with him.

agreed. i was born in '76, i remember alot. there was nothing "cool" about living the way we did, i have no idea what some of u are talking about you'd love to live in those days

no matter how ninja romanticizes it , it was the worst. i remember waiting with my moms downstairs at train stations till u heard the train coming and running up the stairs to catch it just to not get raped on the platform. theres nothing cool about that, seeing crackheads EVERYWHERE. mayor koch cleaned up this city for real, he deserves alot of credit. not gettin at u ninja btw, just pointing out how u may have some of these kids seeing things the way u put things . sounds stupid to me when i see someone sayin they woulda love to live in those days .... no you wouldn't have ......

 

[brendasdeadbaby]

Nyc now>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> nyc back then. I like the feeling of strolling the streets safely might just be me though *kanye shrug*

Edit: no neighbor hood was more dangerous than da heights during the crack cowboys days of the late 80's early 90's

 

[hennessy beach]

Being 23 from NY now makes me jealous of what came before me.  Just the overall lack of culture now is extra weak.

 

[urbetterthenme]

 
Being 23 from NY now makes me jealous of what came before me.  Just the overall lack of culture now is extra weak.

you do know the lack of "culture" is because of what came before you right?

 

[SoleByThePound]

 
Being 23 from NY now makes me jealous of what came before me.  Just the overall lack of culture now is extra weak.

You clearly have no idea what culture actually is if you believe that nonsense you typed.

 

[debso]

I don't understand how some ppl don't understand how or why ppl would miss the culture that we've lost since then.

A big part of the reason we had that type of culture is because of what we went through. I don't think that anybody would rather get shot going to the store or would rather step over syringes or anything but reminiscing about how it used to be isn't a bad thing IMO. We've lost a lot of culture since then.