Wasn't New York City More Grimey In The 80s & 90s In Constrast To Now

[T Lo Sweater]

Yeah man.

Decepticons running around
Lo boys
Gettin robbed on trains and crowded buses

**** was grime as hell

 

[7thave btn 31stn33rd st]

I believe most of the out of towners will weed themselves out eventually. A lot of people have a dream to make it here, but this is the most competitive city on the planet.

 

[rell826]

A lot of these cats do. In my building alone, I can't count how many people from out of town didn't even last a year here.

 

[ksteezy]

Like ninja said, you'd like to experience grimmey nyc, walk into the Bronx, neighborhoods like east tremont, Fordham rd, 149th and 3rd ave, all of crotona Ave lol...gentrification is NEVER reaching these areas, if you consider the hood as part of NYCs culture, these will be the last true standing neighborhoods in NY with that "culture"

 

[160jordansdeep]

Seems like these threads get made on the regular.

No these kids growing up now would have had it harder then. There would be no camping out overnight at stores and you were more likely to get tested for your gear. Most recent example I could think of is how the city is transforming Downtown Brooklyn into a shopping area that appeals to white people. For those that know, Fulton was no joke up until a few years ago. Used to see plenty of beatdowns and police like militarization of the strip.

Is it something to be proud of? No, but it gave the city an edge that it doesn't have anymore and with the gentrification that's going on thanks to Bloomberg, the city is losing its culture and what made NYC NYC.

this dudes 100% correct

the city has become sanitized

but there are still ruff pockets in the city even where gentrification has pushed people out
i want to see the vultures eat the hipster

 

[160jordansdeep]

90's

The 80's when the crack era hit and soft gun laws down south was far worse

70's were bad too, because they had a gang problem

Things started changing in New York in 92/93

when giuliani came into office thats when stop and frisk started

 

[7thave btn 31stn33rd st]

Like ninja said, you'd like to experience grimmey nyc, walk into the Bronx, neighborhoods like east tremont, Fordham rd, 149th and 3rd ave, all of crotona Ave lol...gentrification is NEVER reaching these areas, if you consider the hood as part of NYCs culture, these will be the last true standing neighborhoods in NY with that "culture"

East tremont. :x

 

[obeahmyal7]

this dudes 100% correct

the city has become sanitized

but there are still ruff pockets in the city even where gentrification has pushed people out
i want to see the vultures eat the hipster

You want to see the "vultures eat the hipster"? You think violence against artists and recent college grads will stop the process of gentrification?

 

[160jordansdeep]

You want to see the "vultures eat the hipster"? You think violence against artists and recent college grads will stop the process of gentrification?

no but it would make me feel better for the hipsters pricing people out my neighborhood that i knew for 20 or so years

 

[ksteezy]

East tremont. :x

Hey watch your mouf....that's my hood

East Tremont & Hughes ave STAND UP!!

 

[obeahmyal7]

no but it would make me feel better for the hipsters pricing people out my neighborhood that i knew for 20 or so years

I have no comment about your condoning violence against innocent people.

But the suggestion that hipsters are responsible for displacing long-time residents from a neighborhood is a total misunderstanding of how or why gentrification happens. Since the 1980s gentrification has become a policy strategy promoted by city bureaucrats, elected officials, banks, real estate firms, and redevelopers. Hipsters, just like Yuppies, are merely the most visible sign of institutional investors trying to reap short-term capital gains in a disinvested neighborhood.  

 

[ksteezy]

Honestly what is this pride people have in bad neighborhoods?...I wish my beloved BX wasn't half the dump it is.....wish some of that Brooklyn Gentrification would somehow reach my borough.....dudes taking pride in the ghetto make no sense...nothing to be proud of bros...lol

 

[7thave btn 31stn33rd st]

Hey watch your mouf....that's my hood

East Tremont & Hughes ave STAND UP!!

I think some of ya'll are taking this too seriously. This is all cyclical. We've all seen a lot of changes throughout the years, some for good, and some for bad. Are a lot of these people annoying? Not debating that.

 

[160jordansdeep]

I have no comment about your condoning violence against innocent people.

But the suggestion that hipsters are responsible for displacing long-time residents from a neighborhood is a total misunderstanding of how or why gentrification happens. Since the 1980s gentrification has become a policy strategy promoted by city bureaucrats, elected officials, banks, real estate firms, and redevelopers. Hipsters, just like Yuppies, are merely the most visible sign of institutional investors trying to reap short-term capital gains in a disinvested neighborhood.  

what your saying is all hipster propaganda & typical passing the buck response

your right in one respect because "city bureaucrats, elected officials, banks, real estate firms, and redevelopers" want to kick the poor and disenfranchised out of manhattan and brooklyn and some pocket's of queens for your precious hipster/yuppie dollars


what about the innocent who have lived in these parts of ny all their life that have to leave because of gentrification

most of these hipsters and yuppies are using Manhattan and Brooklyn as a place to come and go from not really live


manhhattan and brooklyn are a playground for hipsters
i see gentrification all around me
i dont need another hipster bar or boutique or luxury building around me


a friends father told me this was going to happen long ago and he was 100% right

 

[mez 0ne]

Honestly what is this pride people have in bad neighborhoods?...I wish my beloved BX wasn't half the dump it is.....wish some of that Brooklyn Gentrification would somehow reach my borough.....dudes taking pride in the ghetto make no sense...nothing to be proud of bros...lol

Don't get it either.

 

[rell826]

I don't take pride in a bad neighborhood. I used to see homes get raided by SWAT teams when I was on my way to college prep before the sun rose. I like not having to repeatedly look over my shoulder while walking home from the train station. However, NYC in general is becoming too expensive and pricing out those who used to be able to afford to live here. Makes no sense as to why a 1 br in the same neighborhoods are going for over $1,000/month. People from Manhattan hated the idea of ever going to Brooklyn and would never cross that bridge because it was considered undesirable, but now Brooklyn is the new Manhattan.

 

[obeahmyal7]

There aren't enough Rikers Island interviews with bloods and crips, east coast, golden era hip hop, and stories of block parties in the world to make me want to live in the hood. Family members who lost their chains, had their car batteries stolen, and threatened with murder demystifies all of that whole "grimey" nostalgia. 

At the same time people have a right to housing. It is an absolute travesty that people are homeless in this country. It is stain on this nations fabric that those most vulnerable to displacement today--the elderly on fixed income and black and brown working class families-- have historically been uprooted. We can advocate "revitalization" and demand that those who are likely to be displaced find affordable, decent dwellings. The first step, I think, is to stop this whole nostalgia for a truly dangerous era and the bashing of hipsters who too will be soon displaced. 

 

[7thave btn 31stn33rd st]

I don't take pride in a bad neighborhood. I used to see homes get raided by SWAT teams when I was on my way to college prep before the sun rose. I like not having to repeatedly look over my shoulder while walking home from the train station. However, NYC in general is becoming too expensive and pricing out those who used to be able to afford to live here. Makes no sense as to why a 1 br in the same neighborhoods are going for over $1,000/month. People from Manhattan hated the idea of ever going to Brooklyn and would never cross that bridge because it was considered undesirable, but now Brooklyn is the new Manhattan.

Supply cant meet the demand.

 

[obeahmyal7]

what about the innocent who have lived in parts of ny all their life that have to leave

most of these hipsters and yuppies are using Manhattan and Brooklyn as a place to come and go from


manhhattan and brooklyn are a playground for hipsters
i see gentrification all around me
i dont need another hipster bar or boutique or luxury building around me


a friends father told me this was going to happen long ago and he was 100% right

I feel you, but you're choosing the wrong target. To focus on the hipsters and yuppies misses the key to the whole puzzle. Who actually owns the rental properties? Do short term capital gains through the flipping of properties outweigh the steady stream of rental income? Which real estate firms are most active in a neighborhood? What is their strategy? In what ways does tax abatement policies create incentives for capital to flow into disinvested neighborhood? 

Getting rid of the hipsters will not stop gentrification. Reforming general tax policy, controls on rent, and taxes on speculation will. 

 

[160jordansdeep]

There aren't enough Rikers Island interviews with bloods and crips, east coast, golden era hip hop, and stories of block parties in the world to make me want to live in the hood. Family members who lost their chains, had their car batteries stolen, and threatened with murder demystifies all of that whole "grimey" nostalgia. 

At the same time people have a right to housing. It is an absolute travesty that people are homeless in this country. It is stain on this nations fabric that those most vulnerable to displacement today--the elderly on fixed income and black and brown working class families-- have historically been uprooted. We can advocate "revitalization" and demand that those who are likely to be displaced find affordable, decent dwellings. The first step, I think, is to stop this whole nostalgia for a truly dangerous era and the bashing of hipsters who too will be soon displaced. 

if your not a hipster/yuppie without a high paying 6 figure job or your dont own a "creative agency" or your not a boutique store owner
you will see how the other side lives when your cant afford ny

 

[goldenchild9]

Remember when you worried more about getting your car/radio stolen than getting a ticket?

S_ was wild.

Bronx was a war zone. Streets were literally paved with broken crack viles, felt like you were stepping on sand at the beach.

Gun shots were my lullaby as a youth.

Me and my brother are always amazed by the dramatic change that has taken place.

 

[160jordansdeep]

I feel you, but you're choosing the wrong target. To focus on the hipsters and yuppies misses the key to the whole puzzle. Who actually owns the rental properties? Do short term capital gains through the flipping of properties outweigh the steady stream of rental income? Which real estate firms are most active in a neighborhood? What is their strategy? In what ways does tax abatement policies create incentives for capital to flow into disinvested neighborhood? 

Getting rid of the hipsters will not stop gentrification. Reforming general tax policy, controls on rent, and taxes on speculation will. 

dude the hipsters are the yuppies who rent/buy the high rise condo apts or buy the $500.000 to $750.000 co-op in manhattan

drinking at bars all night who needs this crap

i know what im talking about i live in the lower east side this all this gentrification crap started in 1997 in manhattan

 

[7thave btn 31stn33rd st]

dude the hipsters are the yuppies who rent/buy the high rise condo apts or buy the $500.000 to $750.000 co-op in manhattan

drink at bars all night

i know what im talking about i live in the lower east side this all this gentrification crap started in 1997 in manhattan

They have condos from $500-750 in LES?

 

[160jordansdeep]

They have condos from $500-750 in LES?

Not condos co-op apt's at that price

 

[obeahmyal7]

dude the hipsters are the yuppies who rent/buy the high rise condo apts or buy the $500.000 to $750.000 co-op in manhattan

drink at bars all night

i know what im talking about i live in the lower east side this all this gentrification crap started in 1997 in manhattan

First off, Hipsters are not yuppies. Both are largely cultural abstractions owning their origins to different points in time. Yuppies became all the rage in the 1980s. Yuppies reflected a demographic transformation (young, childless, professionals working in the services). They were celebrated and detested because of their role in pushing real estate values through the roof. As a cultural object, Hipsters, by contrast, were imagined, described, and seemingly seen everywhere beginning in the late 1990s. Hipsters are an amalgamation of artists, chefs, bar owners, liberals, and you name it. They "shop" at thrift stores and American Apparel. In short, Hipsters are defined by what people hate.

So when you conflate hipsters and yuppies as those renting and buying high rise condo's you miss critical differences in how each subgroup earns their income and ignore the precariousness position of hipsters who may soon be priced out after displacing previous residents. 

But lets work on your terms. The Hipster-Yuppie combination (your own doing, not mine) "drink at bars all night." So their alcohol consumption is what defines this subgroup and the process of gentrification in the LES? If so how come displacement does not occur when other demographics drink at bars all night? Again, you're missing the point by focusing in on the most conspicuous signs of a process.

And no, gentrification did not start in 1997. Read Neil Smith's the Revanchist City and you'll find that Tompkins Square became the hotbed of class conflict in the 1980s as police sought to eliminate the homeless who "deterred" the investment of capital in the area.