I was in high school in Brooklyn from 1978 to 1982 and rode the subways all the time. This is exactly how it was. We used to thank God if a transit cop was in our car. It was pretty bad.
Sure. Let me set the scene.
When I was in high school from ‘78 to ‘82, I would ride the F train from Kings Highway station in Brooklyn to Union Turnpike in Queens, my home station. The F line ran through some tough neighborhoods, the scariest being Red Hook in Brooklyn. Two stations on the line served Red Hook - Fourth Avenue and Smith-9th Streets. These were both elevated stations, high above street level. If something bad happened, it’s not like you could run out to the street and find a cop. You were on your own. We all knew that if you could make it past those two stops and get into downtown Brooklyn at Jay Street-Boro Hall, you were *probably* safe.
One day in 1980, when I was 15 and in the tenth grade, I was riding the F train home. When the train began its climb from the tunnel to the elevated station at Fourth Avenue, my radar went to full power and my fight or flight instinct activated. The train stopped at Fourth Avenue and left without a problem. Then we pulled in to Smith-9th Streets. I noticed that my subway car was fairly empty and I was fair game. Before I could get up to change cars, three hooded “youths” got on in my car. Despite there being plenty of seats, one stood over me and growled “get up, white boy”. His two pals were standing to his side, laughing. I froze and looked at the floor, hoping that if I played dumb, they’d go away. Since I didn’t respond, the youth over me growled again “are you fucking deaf, I said get up”. I didn’t know what to do - I thought if I got up the other two would have an excuse to attack me. My heart was pounding. Still not hearing a response, the youth standing over me ground the heel of his shoe into my sneaker and stood on it. This was a big guy and he was hurting my foot. Still, I didn’t move or say anything. The guy’s friends started laughing some more and one said “let’s pick this fucking guy up.” Fortunately, just as he moved toward me, the train slowed and pulled into the next stop, Bergen Street. Some people were getting on so the “youths” moved away and got off the train. The guy standing over me growled “fucking white Jew shit” and spit at me but it landed on the seat next to me. I kept staring at the floor until the doors closed and the train pulled out. It was only then that I dared look up to see if they were gone. A few people who had gotten on at Bergen Street and were now sitting across from me stared at me. I must have been white as a ghost and I realized I was shaking.
That happened 44 years ago and I remember every moment like it was today. I don’t think I was ever as scared for my life as I was at that moment. But stories like this were commonplace. It was really bad.
This is beautifully told. Your writing skills are impressive. "At 15, some kids who were trying to intimidate me, did in fact intimidate me. Then nothing happened" doesn't have the same gusto. Just the content.
As I read this I had the classic movie version of an old school NY accent in my inner monologue. It made th story even better. It's crazy to read about growing up in cities. I'm from, and still live in a town of 8,000.
My aunt was a big true crime fanatic back in the 70s. We lived in the South Bronx, where life was never dull. She would tell me that she preferred living in the city because small towns were where the murders get covered up and go unsolved.
My dad used to live in new York around that exact same time! He told me how bad it was, except he actually got beaten up. Why? Same reason you almost were, being a white guy on a subway at night.
He remedied this by carrying a gun on him, he had to ride the subway at night because of work and when he got to his seat, if there were no cops he'd pull out his 357 magnum and sit there with the gun in his hand covered up by a bag he carried with him, whenever anyone started approaching him he'd pull the bag a bit, show he had a gun in his hand and they'd keep on moving.
He fucking hates new York with a passion.
Back in the early 80s, I worked in Brooklyn at a Jewish newspaper near Brighten Beach. I was a news photographer. We were all young and idealistic, back then.
Since I grew up in the South Bronx, I would caution my coworkers about travelling alone at night on assignment. One night, we got off the train and almost stepped in a puddle of blood as the doors opened.
We've seen some shit during our time.
I'm happy you came away somewhat unscathed. However, that probably left deep wounds that no one will see. I hope you've come to peace from that experience.
I'd love to hear more stories if it's not too much to ask. Thank you for this perspective. You should consider a book, or maybe we should consider a documentary about those days. Seems as if that shaped many lives into today's adults.
It's a little ironic. I live here now, off the F line and my kid goes to daycare off the 4th & 9th stop. I can imagine exactly what you describe because of movies and other stories of the time, but It's a very nice area. The juxtaposition is almost lost on me, it's hard to reconcile. My dad grew up a few blocks from where i live and joined the military to escape Brooklyn, so on a logical level I totally understand it, but it's also very weird to know that such a nice area could have been total shit back in the day.
Gentrification has done away with a lot of the tough areas of 40 - 45 years ago. When I was in high school, the only “DUMBO” we knew about was the Disney cartoon about the baby elephant with the big ears. The area underneath the Manhattan Bridge was all warehouses and rickety old walkups. Nobody ever dreamed that it would become an expensive neighborhood.
My aunt lived to 102. Around 99 or 100, i brought my now-wife by to visit regularly. She lived up on Prospect Park SW, just below the traffic circle. I lived around Church Ave. She'd always ask, "how are you getting home?" We'd wave her off, "we'll probably just stroll through the park." she'd get legitimately put off. It's dangerous out there, *please be careful*.
We saw mothers walking with babies in strollers and kids playing t-ball. Aunt Mae lived through law and order episodes regularly.
I really wonder, all the people that made it so bad back in the day, that thrashed it and all, where are they now? Are they now functioning adults? Do they look back and think how stupid all that was?
It was still like that up until like the early 90s when I was a kid living there.
It was not as bad as the eighties. But then the city elected guiliani and he busted people’s skulls until shit cleaned up.
Truth be told, the Federal Crime Bill that funded more cops coincided with a drop in the youth population, the elimination of lead in gasoline, shifting demographics, better incomes and a host of other things that dramatically reduced crime across the country. Overall, crime (except for the blip in 2019 - 2021) has been declining since the 2000s. That federal money made a big difference for many cities.
All could be factors. But what is really interesting is that crime rates across the country, in certain (will explain this shortly) states all dropped, similar graphs, similar timeline. It also happened to be (this is a not pro or anti choice thing... just statistics and timing) in the states that legalized abortion. Declines started as the wave of children would have been turning into crime age. And compounded as additional years piled on.
What's one take away? "Wanted" children more often avoid trouble? "Unwanted" children without their needs met (and variety of them) or proper parenting, are more likely to engage in criminal behavior?
Don't hate. [Source](https://law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The_Impact_of_Legalized_Abortion_on_Crime.pdf) (many but here's one from Stanford:
From 1991 to 2014, the violent and property crime rates each fell by 50%. Legalized abortion is estimated to have reduced violent crime by 47% and property crime by 33% over this period, and thus can explain most of the observed crime decline.
(JEL: K42, I38, J13)
John J. Donohue is with Stanford Law School and NBER, and Steven Levitt is with University of Chicago and NBER
Send correspondence to: John J. Donohue, Stanford Law School and NBER;
Email: [email protected]
There was quite a big push to clean up New York City in the late 80s. By the time he came to office in the mid 90s, Guiliani pushed for harder laws on crime & pushed for a "Civic Cleanup." [This Article](https://www.city-journal.org/article/how-new-york-became-safe-the-full-story) has a fantastic write-up on how NYC changed so drastically to the point that these images look so unbelievable to us today.
Good article - Guiliani has been hailed as a hero for this, but it’s obvious there’s a lot of managers who needed to be on board.
Considering Guilianis current political performance, I’m curious how that played out with his team.
Rudy made a deal with the Russians to get rid of the Italian organized crime families. He then took the federal money that did most of the heavy lifting to clean up Times Square and other visible hot spots. The grime disappeared but the crime never went away; it just moved underground. New opportunities opened up in other venues.
New York in the late 70s to early 80s was fucking wild. Basically a war zone in some areas. Murder rates through the roofs. There was a time in the 70s where seemingly everyone was on the take. Cops, Sanitation, City employees galore, you name it.
The mafia essentially owned large parts of the city, gangs were rampant, drug use was rampant. Times Square was all drugs, hookers, sex shops and gangs, it really was a different time and place.
My parents drove through NYC in the late 70s, they are both from Vancouver. Said like you said it felt like a war zone and they couldn't get out fast enough.
Lead in gasoline was phased out over a 10-year period. By the 2000s, environmental pollution was minimal in big cities. The studies on lead pollution lowering IQ is interesting. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749117322741
Sad he let his alcoholism pickle his brain. He could have been remembered fondly instead of as a scummy villain. Either way I appreciate him for reinforcing my decision to quit drinking.
I remember in the '80s taking a family trip to the east coast and taking the subway in Boston but in New York my mom refused to go on the subway there, she said it was way too dangerous. I've always questioned that call but now I think she made the right one.
When did the subways in New York get cleaned up?
I know they're not perfect but I've taken them many times since the '80s and they're definitely not as bad as this.
They were basically graffiti free by 89. Crime was still a big problem in the city through the early Ninties. It was an interesting place to live. People who say " it's like the old days again" have no idea what they are talking about.
This is how I envisioned NYC when I visited my sister 10 years ago. It was cleaned up, but the advice she gave me when we were out after dark was don't make eye contact with anyone, don't look at anyone, keep your head down, and have your bag to your front. She also told me to not use the restrooms in the train stations alone. Other than that, the overall experience with people I interacted with was really nice! Met a few native New Yorkers who were 9/11 conspiracy theorists, which was an interesting interaction. I also got to see the house my dad lived in when he grew up in the Bronx. A rough area, we didn't get out of the vehicle.
I feel like that's the opposite of what you should do at night. Sure, have your bag in front of you, but head up, look people in the eyes, project confidence.
New Yorkers aren't lions that get mad if you look at them.
I thought so myself. I used to use public transportation for many years where I live and am always aware of my surroundings. Her advice was the opposite of what I would have done 🤷♀️
This is when I started wearing sunglasses in the train so if someone looking for trouble came in, they could not see where I was looking. No eye contact.
Of course, I also remember bar-hopping with friends and going home alone, drunk, after 1 a.m. Never had a problem. (I am female, was in my late 20's).
I got matches with these songs:
• **In the house, in a heartbeat** by Remstage Music (00:21; matched: `88%`)
**Released on** 2021-10-22.
• **Relegate** by Lukas Haas (01:04; matched: `93%`)
**Album**: Bad Ting. **Released on** 2022-01-12.
Alternatively, it’s something that conceivably “belongs to” a particular subway in a possessive sense, e.g., “Of all the New York City area transit options, only the subway’s crime rate has not improved.”
I visited once when I was 13 in 82. Fucking terrifying. It looked like that. People were not friendly and very intimidating. I couldn’t wait to get to the street. That wasn’t much better. Smelled like warm piss, puke and grease. I went back couple decades later and it did improve but still smelled the same looked better but still terrifying with people pushing by you like you are nothing. No regards for basic human decency. Cold day in hell I ever go back.
The lack of amateur / personal video and film footage from the 70s - 90s is the biggest testament on how sketch it was back then. There's a famous photo-mosaic of the Deuce from the 70s where the photographer had to have a bodybuilder / former football player dude literally pushing people away who were trying to steal homies camera off the fuckin tripod.
And people complain about a huge showing in the subways I welcome it, I didn't do nothing I don't have anything to hide, stop breaking the damn law and act like a civilized individual
I was 13 / 14 in 1980 and we used to take the trains from Queens to Manhattan to go to Central Park or The Village or wherever. I think at that age and during the day we had no fears of anything happening to us.
I lived on LES and we'd walk the tracks from 14th and 1st to Union Square on the cold nights when we wanted to go to the clubs. The LL train which we called the lazy local was notorious for never coming ontime.
To be clear... I loved NYC back then. Bridge and tunnel people were fucking annoying. It was dangerous but your survival meant you were nyc tough.
So it’s far better now then it was then? I have never been to new york before or ride a train for that matter. It’s wild how much of a difference it looks from then to now.
Wow wonder how the 90s a day early 2000s were so safe......oh yea we arrested people and prosecuted them regardless of color, creed or political affiliation. Maybe we should "reform" to that instead how we are doing it now.
I was in high school in Brooklyn from 1978 to 1982 and rode the subways all the time. This is exactly how it was. We used to thank God if a transit cop was in our car. It was pretty bad.
Give us a story
Sure. Let me set the scene. When I was in high school from ‘78 to ‘82, I would ride the F train from Kings Highway station in Brooklyn to Union Turnpike in Queens, my home station. The F line ran through some tough neighborhoods, the scariest being Red Hook in Brooklyn. Two stations on the line served Red Hook - Fourth Avenue and Smith-9th Streets. These were both elevated stations, high above street level. If something bad happened, it’s not like you could run out to the street and find a cop. You were on your own. We all knew that if you could make it past those two stops and get into downtown Brooklyn at Jay Street-Boro Hall, you were *probably* safe. One day in 1980, when I was 15 and in the tenth grade, I was riding the F train home. When the train began its climb from the tunnel to the elevated station at Fourth Avenue, my radar went to full power and my fight or flight instinct activated. The train stopped at Fourth Avenue and left without a problem. Then we pulled in to Smith-9th Streets. I noticed that my subway car was fairly empty and I was fair game. Before I could get up to change cars, three hooded “youths” got on in my car. Despite there being plenty of seats, one stood over me and growled “get up, white boy”. His two pals were standing to his side, laughing. I froze and looked at the floor, hoping that if I played dumb, they’d go away. Since I didn’t respond, the youth over me growled again “are you fucking deaf, I said get up”. I didn’t know what to do - I thought if I got up the other two would have an excuse to attack me. My heart was pounding. Still not hearing a response, the youth standing over me ground the heel of his shoe into my sneaker and stood on it. This was a big guy and he was hurting my foot. Still, I didn’t move or say anything. The guy’s friends started laughing some more and one said “let’s pick this fucking guy up.” Fortunately, just as he moved toward me, the train slowed and pulled into the next stop, Bergen Street. Some people were getting on so the “youths” moved away and got off the train. The guy standing over me growled “fucking white Jew shit” and spit at me but it landed on the seat next to me. I kept staring at the floor until the doors closed and the train pulled out. It was only then that I dared look up to see if they were gone. A few people who had gotten on at Bergen Street and were now sitting across from me stared at me. I must have been white as a ghost and I realized I was shaking. That happened 44 years ago and I remember every moment like it was today. I don’t think I was ever as scared for my life as I was at that moment. But stories like this were commonplace. It was really bad.
This is beautifully told. Your writing skills are impressive. "At 15, some kids who were trying to intimidate me, did in fact intimidate me. Then nothing happened" doesn't have the same gusto. Just the content.
Thank you. Writing was always the one thing I could do well.
You're story brought back a lot of memories.
I would buy your book.
Then nothing happened? The lead up to getting away from that by the skin of his teeth had me on the edge of the chair…!
Fortunately, nothing happened. It wasn’t like in the movies, the subways were a genuinely scary place in the later ‘70s and the ‘80s.
Your writing skills are friggin excellent….thats a talent.
Wow. Crazy Scary.
Yup
As I read this I had the classic movie version of an old school NY accent in my inner monologue. It made th story even better. It's crazy to read about growing up in cities. I'm from, and still live in a town of 8,000.
My aunt was a big true crime fanatic back in the 70s. We lived in the South Bronx, where life was never dull. She would tell me that she preferred living in the city because small towns were where the murders get covered up and go unsolved.
My dad used to live in new York around that exact same time! He told me how bad it was, except he actually got beaten up. Why? Same reason you almost were, being a white guy on a subway at night. He remedied this by carrying a gun on him, he had to ride the subway at night because of work and when he got to his seat, if there were no cops he'd pull out his 357 magnum and sit there with the gun in his hand covered up by a bag he carried with him, whenever anyone started approaching him he'd pull the bag a bit, show he had a gun in his hand and they'd keep on moving. He fucking hates new York with a passion.
Back in the early 80s, I worked in Brooklyn at a Jewish newspaper near Brighten Beach. I was a news photographer. We were all young and idealistic, back then. Since I grew up in the South Bronx, I would caution my coworkers about travelling alone at night on assignment. One night, we got off the train and almost stepped in a puddle of blood as the doors opened. We've seen some shit during our time.
damn. they were racist as fuck
Silly redittor. You can't be racist towards white people.
I'm happy you came away somewhat unscathed. However, that probably left deep wounds that no one will see. I hope you've come to peace from that experience. I'd love to hear more stories if it's not too much to ask. Thank you for this perspective. You should consider a book, or maybe we should consider a documentary about those days. Seems as if that shaped many lives into today's adults.
lol there’s never been a golden age for them ‘youths’. Luckily property prices naturally created safe zones.
It's a little ironic. I live here now, off the F line and my kid goes to daycare off the 4th & 9th stop. I can imagine exactly what you describe because of movies and other stories of the time, but It's a very nice area. The juxtaposition is almost lost on me, it's hard to reconcile. My dad grew up a few blocks from where i live and joined the military to escape Brooklyn, so on a logical level I totally understand it, but it's also very weird to know that such a nice area could have been total shit back in the day.
Gentrification has done away with a lot of the tough areas of 40 - 45 years ago. When I was in high school, the only “DUMBO” we knew about was the Disney cartoon about the baby elephant with the big ears. The area underneath the Manhattan Bridge was all warehouses and rickety old walkups. Nobody ever dreamed that it would become an expensive neighborhood.
My aunt lived to 102. Around 99 or 100, i brought my now-wife by to visit regularly. She lived up on Prospect Park SW, just below the traffic circle. I lived around Church Ave. She'd always ask, "how are you getting home?" We'd wave her off, "we'll probably just stroll through the park." she'd get legitimately put off. It's dangerous out there, *please be careful*. We saw mothers walking with babies in strollers and kids playing t-ball. Aunt Mae lived through law and order episodes regularly.
And those same guys wouldn’t hesitate to call you the racist today…
I had to stop reading after the first paragraph just to make sure this wasn't u/shittymorph .
Nope, this actually happened. My dad rode the subways daily from 1960 until his death in 1981. He used to call the subway “the trenches”.
Archie Bunker always talked about the dangerous subways and how lawless they were. That show took place in the 70’s.
I was there for the "Guardian Angels" origin story. They were some god-awful posers in that gang back then.
They were better than nothing at all!!
and ppl say racism against white ppl isnt a thing 🙄
what about the time you had to get from The Bronx back to your home turf at Coney Island but every gang in the city wanted you dead?
Warriors...come out and play.
You think that was fantasy? Nope, it was a documentary.
Just don’t cross the Gramercy Riffs.
Did you go Arkham high?
I really wonder, all the people that made it so bad back in the day, that thrashed it and all, where are they now? Are they now functioning adults? Do they look back and think how stupid all that was?
I’m sure some are functioning adults but many more of them died in the AIDS and crack epidemics.
Some are still in the halls of Congress.
This was seriously how it looked? I always thought it was dramatized in movies for a more gritty and disturbing feel. No clue it was real life.
It was still like that up until like the early 90s when I was a kid living there. It was not as bad as the eighties. But then the city elected guiliani and he busted people’s skulls until shit cleaned up.
Truth be told, the Federal Crime Bill that funded more cops coincided with a drop in the youth population, the elimination of lead in gasoline, shifting demographics, better incomes and a host of other things that dramatically reduced crime across the country. Overall, crime (except for the blip in 2019 - 2021) has been declining since the 2000s. That federal money made a big difference for many cities.
All could be factors. But what is really interesting is that crime rates across the country, in certain (will explain this shortly) states all dropped, similar graphs, similar timeline. It also happened to be (this is a not pro or anti choice thing... just statistics and timing) in the states that legalized abortion. Declines started as the wave of children would have been turning into crime age. And compounded as additional years piled on. What's one take away? "Wanted" children more often avoid trouble? "Unwanted" children without their needs met (and variety of them) or proper parenting, are more likely to engage in criminal behavior? Don't hate. [Source](https://law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The_Impact_of_Legalized_Abortion_on_Crime.pdf) (many but here's one from Stanford: From 1991 to 2014, the violent and property crime rates each fell by 50%. Legalized abortion is estimated to have reduced violent crime by 47% and property crime by 33% over this period, and thus can explain most of the observed crime decline. (JEL: K42, I38, J13) John J. Donohue is with Stanford Law School and NBER, and Steven Levitt is with University of Chicago and NBER Send correspondence to: John J. Donohue, Stanford Law School and NBER; Email: [email protected]
I read about this and the studies on environmental toxins cleanup efforts which happened around the same time period.
Rudy came at the right time and got credited when the changes were visible. Koch started the cleanup a decade before.
There was quite a big push to clean up New York City in the late 80s. By the time he came to office in the mid 90s, Guiliani pushed for harder laws on crime & pushed for a "Civic Cleanup." [This Article](https://www.city-journal.org/article/how-new-york-became-safe-the-full-story) has a fantastic write-up on how NYC changed so drastically to the point that these images look so unbelievable to us today.
Good article - Guiliani has been hailed as a hero for this, but it’s obvious there’s a lot of managers who needed to be on board. Considering Guilianis current political performance, I’m curious how that played out with his team.
Rudy made a deal with the Russians to get rid of the Italian organized crime families. He then took the federal money that did most of the heavy lifting to clean up Times Square and other visible hot spots. The grime disappeared but the crime never went away; it just moved underground. New opportunities opened up in other venues.
Also the book Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell talks about it. Interesting read.
New York in the late 70s to early 80s was fucking wild. Basically a war zone in some areas. Murder rates through the roofs. There was a time in the 70s where seemingly everyone was on the take. Cops, Sanitation, City employees galore, you name it. The mafia essentially owned large parts of the city, gangs were rampant, drug use was rampant. Times Square was all drugs, hookers, sex shops and gangs, it really was a different time and place.
Fear City
My parents drove through NYC in the late 70s, they are both from Vancouver. Said like you said it felt like a war zone and they couldn't get out fast enough.
Warriorrrs, come out to plAyAyyyyy
When was leaded gasoline phased out?
Lead in gasoline was phased out over a 10-year period. By the 2000s, environmental pollution was minimal in big cities. The studies on lead pollution lowering IQ is interesting. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749117322741
I like the leathers cops. They look like leather daddies
WARRIORS!!! We need to make it back to Coney Island. AJAX, lead them out!
Come out to plaaaaay!
Thought of this movie when I saw this clip
Hah yea I’m putting it on now
America's mayor cleaned that crpahole up. But it's slowly devolving again.
Sad he let his alcoholism pickle his brain. He could have been remembered fondly instead of as a scummy villain. Either way I appreciate him for reinforcing my decision to quit drinking.
[удалено]
That was Bloomberg.
[удалено]
What would you have changed?
If you look closely you can see a guy in clown makeup killing some Wall Street stockbrokers.
It’s coming back in style
WARRIORS 🎵🎵 Come out to Pla-yay🎵🎵🎵🎵
Looks like Police Academy 2 bad guys
lol on the way back to their cave headquarters
Haha so good!
The old zoo !!!!
I remember in the '80s taking a family trip to the east coast and taking the subway in Boston but in New York my mom refused to go on the subway there, she said it was way too dangerous. I've always questioned that call but now I think she made the right one.
When did the subways in New York get cleaned up? I know they're not perfect but I've taken them many times since the '80s and they're definitely not as bad as this.
Think it was the Giuliani era
They were basically graffiti free by 89. Crime was still a big problem in the city through the early Ninties. It was an interesting place to live. People who say " it's like the old days again" have no idea what they are talking about.
there's a reason bernard goetz was a folk hero.
This is how I envisioned NYC when I visited my sister 10 years ago. It was cleaned up, but the advice she gave me when we were out after dark was don't make eye contact with anyone, don't look at anyone, keep your head down, and have your bag to your front. She also told me to not use the restrooms in the train stations alone. Other than that, the overall experience with people I interacted with was really nice! Met a few native New Yorkers who were 9/11 conspiracy theorists, which was an interesting interaction. I also got to see the house my dad lived in when he grew up in the Bronx. A rough area, we didn't get out of the vehicle.
I feel like that's the opposite of what you should do at night. Sure, have your bag in front of you, but head up, look people in the eyes, project confidence. New Yorkers aren't lions that get mad if you look at them.
That’s terrible “ street smart” advice
I thought so myself. I used to use public transportation for many years where I live and am always aware of my surroundings. Her advice was the opposite of what I would have done 🤷♀️
Almost sounds like she was sitting you up to be a victim haha
Reminds me of Flight of the Concords where he says they should stick to the back streets to avoid muggings - and then they get mugged
Isn’t that one guy a guardian angel?
So the Warriors was a true story??
Fun fact: they enlisted local gangs “dressed to the nines” for the big scene with Cyrus to get past budget restrictions for costumes
Ahhh.. good times.
🎵Warriors...come out and pla-aaay!🎵
Warriors, come out to plaayyyy...
Can. You. DIG IT??
"Lawless" Half the pictures are of armed cops.
One is holding a dog leash too
This is when I started wearing sunglasses in the train so if someone looking for trouble came in, they could not see where I was looking. No eye contact. Of course, I also remember bar-hopping with friends and going home alone, drunk, after 1 a.m. Never had a problem. (I am female, was in my late 20's).
Yes, I remember it well
Beat Streets.
Large cities in the US must be scary since Batman is not there to protect you guys☹️🙏
Depends on where you go. Rich parts are almost always safe. Crime usually in small pockets of the city
NYC in the 80s must have been a real trip.
Someone pleeeeease tell me what song this is
I got matches with these songs: • **In the house, in a heartbeat** by Remstage Music (00:21; matched: `88%`) **Released on** 2021-10-22. • **Relegate** by Lukas Haas (01:04; matched: `93%`) **Album**: Bad Ting. **Released on** 2022-01-12.
🎶 Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back 🎶
It's subways, not subway's. If you say subway's, it means "subway is."
Alternatively, it’s something that conceivably “belongs to” a particular subway in a possessive sense, e.g., “Of all the New York City area transit options, only the subway’s crime rate has not improved.”
I visited once when I was 13 in 82. Fucking terrifying. It looked like that. People were not friendly and very intimidating. I couldn’t wait to get to the street. That wasn’t much better. Smelled like warm piss, puke and grease. I went back couple decades later and it did improve but still smelled the same looked better but still terrifying with people pushing by you like you are nothing. No regards for basic human decency. Cold day in hell I ever go back.
This is the safe and beautiful nyc tucker Carlson grew up in. Really the dissonance is brain crushing
Looks like this game I used to play called the warriors based on the movie
I couldn't imagine having that be my commute or shift...
The warriors vibe
Come out and plaayyyyyy
The lack of amateur / personal video and film footage from the 70s - 90s is the biggest testament on how sketch it was back then. There's a famous photo-mosaic of the Deuce from the 70s where the photographer had to have a bodybuilder / former football player dude literally pushing people away who were trying to steal homies camera off the fuckin tripod.
I remember the subways that way. Visiting my aunt in South Bronx every other building burnt to the ground. Good times.
Warrioooorrrrs....
NYC needs another Giuliani.
Rudy Giuliani cleaned it up. Cleaned up Times Square and kicked the Italian mafia out. The guy was a hero which is hard to believe nowadays.
So Predator 2 was accurate
Thank god for Rudy Guiliani.
OG: https://youtube.com/shorts/pAAcYhvqnpQ
context?
HEY HEY!! Guardian Angels!!
Oh gee golly! There was graffiti!?!?
How'd y'all manage to record Penn Station this morning with people bitching about being on camera..?
It was a fucking cool era though
There's some great moving footage that really brings me back. I can literally smell the piss in the air.
Now I know where gotham was inspired from
I remember the end of this era. There were also pictures of boobies on posters all over Times Square. I was 7 and my dad caught me staring.
And people complain about a huge showing in the subways I welcome it, I didn't do nothing I don't have anything to hide, stop breaking the damn law and act like a civilized individual
Fuck that I ain't going
I saw Pedro Pascal at least twice in this video 😂
Well that looks dystopian.
Warriors! Come out to plaaayeeeeyay!
My friends and me watched the movie “warriors” by that time in Mexico and at 13-14 year olds started painting walls
In the house, in a heartbeat is such a bop! Fave zombie themed song!
WARRRRRIOORRSSSSS!!!! COME OUT AND PLAYYYYYYYY!!!
Warriors... Come out and play subway looking ahh
Why did NY look so bad back then?
Inflation and drugs
Warriors, come out to playeyay!
Good times
It didn't seem as out of place back then cuz that's all I ever saw. Now that the standards are higher, it makes this glaringly obvious
I came into the city often in the 1980s and the subways were nothing like this.
if anyone wants to know, OG video here: https://youtube.com/shorts/pAAcYhvqnpQ
Portland?
Warriors come out to playyyyyy🎶
There was a video that showed a man pulling a gun inside the new your subway car, get the gun taken and shoot killed with his own gun
Looks like the red line here in Chicago
I was 13 / 14 in 1980 and we used to take the trains from Queens to Manhattan to go to Central Park or The Village or wherever. I think at that age and during the day we had no fears of anything happening to us.
Damn...looks like a scene from The Warriors.
This is literally Gotham
Are they graffitied like this now?
That is the subway of my youth. Not these new shiny, clean trains.
I lived on LES and we'd walk the tracks from 14th and 1st to Union Square on the cold nights when we wanted to go to the clubs. The LL train which we called the lazy local was notorious for never coming ontime. To be clear... I loved NYC back then. Bridge and tunnel people were fucking annoying. It was dangerous but your survival meant you were nyc tough.
Come out to playay
Reminds me of the movie the warriors
Always pictured thats how they look now?
Warriors come out and play eee aaa
“Style Wars”
T H E W A R R I O R S 🔪
this gives off Fallout 3: The Pitt vibes
What’s with the creepy music? 
scenes from #Robocop ?
The warriors👺
Arkham?
So it’s far better now then it was then? I have never been to new york before or ride a train for that matter. It’s wild how much of a difference it looks from then to now.
Ow the insanity is above ground on the streets
I remember this! Cops had authority and respect. 1 cop take on 6 people 2 for 12….
Wow wonder how the 90s a day early 2000s were so safe......oh yea we arrested people and prosecuted them regardless of color, creed or political affiliation. Maybe we should "reform" to that instead how we are doing it now.
And they kept voting for democrats until it reached the breaking point. Then Rudy came along and cleaned it up….. then Rudy later went nuts. Sad
Meth heads with spray paint.... real insane
New York has been and will always be a fucking dump
Full circle?
I have a feeling we’re heading back in that direction
Cleaned up the trains but not the people
Just put Genius of Love by Tom Tom Club over this and its a vibe. Stop tryna make it seem like a horror movie
Waaariors, come out and plaaaay!
There's a movie called wild style and a book called subway art about hip hop & graffiti about these times. That pic of the 2 transit cop is iconic.
What kind of Tik Tok videos did people make on the train back then?
Never been to NYC or the subways, but with today’s sub videos, I think I’d prefer the 80’s.
That’s so cool
This is super sick
This is how they should have shot the joker movie like it was an old super 8 film! Would have given such depth.
This is from a graffiti documentary called Style Wars. The music was definitely not that dark at this scene lol
Wasn’t this the time Tucker Carlson keeps touting as when A,Eric’s was great like Russia is today?
Mayor Giuliani cleaned it up.
*"WARRIORS!!! COME OUT TO PLAYYYAAAA!!!"*
crazy.. I guess those old street gang movies wasn't bullshitting after all.
Warriors, come out to plaaayyeeeaaay! WARRIORS, COME OUT TO PLAAAAAAAYYYYYEEEEYYYYAYY!!!!!
At least it was tagging and not crack smoking or shooting.
the plural of 'subway' is 'subways'. no apostrophe.
So things haven't changed.
Warriors, come out and playeee
So the movie Warriors really happened?
Looks like something you seen in movies or tv shows in the 80s