Do You Miss the Old New York City?

I live in New York City, and I haven’t noticed any changes or evidence of it being “cleaned up.” It has always been pretty dirty, as cities go.

I have mixed feelings about this. In 1989, I got into the newspaper The Village Voice because some classmates and I were attacked by a gang in the subway. It wasn’t the only time I had a run-in on the subway, but it was the most significant. I would also regularly see fights in the street. Groups of teenagers hung out on corners at night, harassing people. Playgrounds had glass-filled sandboxes overgrown with weeds, and we weren’t allowed to use them along with lots of broken benches and ripped-up fences. Violence never seemed far away. It was grimy.

NYC’s Crime Rates

That was the way things were at the time. NYC hit its historic crime peak in 1990, but it underwent a bafflingly fast reduction in crime. This reduction began under Dinkins and continued under Giuliani, until DiBlasio took over until the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic. It didn’t seem to matter who was in charge, what their party was, or what strategy they employed. Crime fell.

So that was nice. However, the New York City I grew up in had a lot more character and was a much more interesting, unusual place. It was also more affordable to live in. There were almost no chain stores and lots of little quirky independent shops. Weird record stores that sold bootleg recordings. Neighborhoods had distinct characteristics. Artists hung out in Greenwich Village. Times Square was known as smut central. There were all these out-of-the-way places one could go to find just about anything.

Local Community and Outdoor Activities

Also, kids were outside riding bikes or playing wiffle ball or stoop ball, maybe freeze tag or manhunt. Neighbors in my Brooklyn neighborhood hung out on their front stoops and talked to each other. People knew each other. There was a stronger sense of community, even if the crime rate was many times higher than it is now.

Changes and Their Impact

I think about my own kids growing up in this weirdly safe city. It looks like the one I grew up in, but it has been drained of much of its uniqueness. I am glad for the increased level of safety and I guess it’s worth the tradeoff on some level. But it doesn’t mean I don’t long for many of the characteristics that defined the city of my youth. My nostalgic longing is for the city's vibrant character, not the crime, or the glass-filled sandboxes.

In conclusion, while the safety and security in New York City are undoubtedly significant, the loss of the unique spirit and character of the city holds a certain charm that is hard to replace. Let's hope the city can retain some of its unique charm while continuing to be one of the safest places to live.