NY IN THE 80′S BY STEVEN SIEGEL
There are so many times when I wish I were born in a different (wrong) era. So many times have I wished I could have checked out Jimi Hendrix in his prime, or see Kurt Cobain on the streets of Seattle, just kickin’ it! Or even just been some part of Heavy Metal Parking lot in the mid eighties, as a glam metal lord. Aspirational right? No, seriously though, imagine living and breathing the chaotic smoke filled rioting streets of the Lower East Side of New York in the 80′s? Or growing up in the brutal dilapidated streets of Bushwick, Brooklyn? Well, for those of us that didn’t, one man by the name of Steven Siegel has been capturing the rawer side of the rotten apple’s five boroughs for over 30 years. You could say he’s seen some shit!
I’ve been photographing the streets and subways of New York for the past 30 years. When young people today look at my shots from the 1980’s, they are aghast. To them, New York of the 1980’s is almost unrecognizable. And they are right.
Some older people are nostalgic for “the good old days.” For example, they remember the Times Square of the 80’s… And what they remember is not so much the danger but the grittiness and (for lack of a better word) the authenticity. Yes, there was sleaze, but there were also video arcades, cheap movies, restaurants, and weird places. These older people also longingly remember the subway art; which was a central part of most New Yorkers’ everyday experience. One day—in about 1987—the subway art just disappeared from the trains… never to return.
These same people resent the “Disney-ification” of Times Square and the gentrification of virtually all of Manhattan and many areas of the boroughs, and the loss of cheap housing and local stores everywhere.
Some young people—who weren’t even born when these photos were taken—express astonishment over what New York looked like in the 80’s. Some feel they had been born too late, and fervently express the wish; that they had been around to experience the “romance” and “adventure” of pre-Guliani New York.
(By the way, many people refer to the New York of the 80’s as the “pre-Guiliani era.” I’m not sure how much credit to give to Guiliani or Bloomberg for the City’s transformation, but—in any event—it’s a handy way to refer to different time periods in the City’s history. On the other hand, using Guiliani’s name immediately ratchets up the emotions and the controversy. Maybe it’s a shorthand description that’s best avoided.)
Of course, others’ reactions to these same photos could not be more different. If they’re over a certain age, they remember the high crime, the twin crises of AIDS and crack, the racial tension, the lurid tabloid headlines about the latest street crime. They say: It was a nightmare, and thank God it’s over. And for people in their twenties who have a negative reaction to these old photos, their reaction is often expressed as: How (or why) would people live here (assuming they had a choice)?
Of course, both views are right.
Old mate
Bro’s.
Green-wood Cemetery
Brooklyn Bridge circa the 1980s
Coney Island Thunderbolt
1985, Statue of Liberty getting overhauled in the background
Destination: World Trade Center
South, south Bronx!
Junkyard subway in 1980
Just an 80′s baby fraternizing with some OG pimps
War veterans
Bushwick in 1982 featuring World Trade Center in the background
Eleventh Avenue and 31st Street, 1987
Check out TONS MORE photos on his Flickr page
If you want to really hear some cool stories about New York in the early 80′s/Late 70′s, then try some from the view of hardcore punk rocker John Joseph from the legendary band Cro-Mags. He tells his trials and tribulations of growing up in all of the above areas. Shit was rough! He tells it in this 4 part audiobook. Amazing shit.
