New York City fears return to 1970s

Reuters ^ | 1/27/09 | Joan Gralla

[xtinct]

While many U.S. cities worry that their economies are deteriorating to the level of the 1930s Great Depression, New York City fears reliving a more recent decade that features strongly in city lore.

The 1970s were a low point in city history as a fiscal crisis almost pushed it into bankruptcy, crime rates soared, and homeless people crowded sidewalks as public services crumbled.

Almost a million people fled New York's Mean Streets during the decade for the safer, more stable suburbs, a population decline that took more than 20 years to reverse.

When discussing the current crisis, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, now seeking a third term, promises that he will not allow the city to return to the darkness of those days, although he stresses that it faces "giant financial problems."

"I know some are concerned that city services will erode," he recently told reporters. "Let me remind you that the city went down that road in the 1970s ... I can just tell you that we are not going to make that mistake again."

[xtinct]

Bloomberg's Fault (Democrats suck at business.)

[arealconservativeforachange]

Funny, I just watched the original Death Wish the other night.

[Beowulf9]

I lived there in the 70’s. Yup, the Democrats ran it right into the ground.

Only good thing was the disco scene, and the pizza.

[Clemenza]

And 80% of the pizza now s-cks thanks to the fact that the Pakis/Mexicans/Arabs who own the pizzerias now buy the same sh-t that they use for Dominoes.

[libh8er]

I don’t understand why so many big businesses are still headquartered in New York. What does New York have to offer ?

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Great films and TV shows were made in the 70s about New York though.

[Red in Blue PA]

I watched it not too long ago too.

Usually, I love to go into NYC, but with all of the financial shenanigans, I say screw em. That and their anti-2nd A attitude.

2008 was the first year they haven’t gotten a dollar from me and 2009 isn’t looking any better for them.

[Clemenza]

Round up the usual suspects!

[SiVisPacemParaBellum]

"Only good thing was the disco scene, and the pizza."

Well, I'll agree with that.....the pizza was good. ;>)

[wtc911]

I just watched the original Death Wish the other night.

______________________________________

I saw it in the Bronx (Fordham Rd and Grand Concourse) when it came out. The mostly PR crowd went wild everytime Bronson pulled the trigger.In the mid seventies the NYPD was so depleted (6,000 layoffs) that in '76 there were entire precincts (such as the 6-2 in Bklyn) where there were no more than two radio cars on the street...two cars, four cops, a couple hundred thousand citizens.

The stick-up kids and other assorted bad guys knew that nobody was watching and they ran free.

An upshot was that any black kids or adult males who strayed into the wrong zip code got dealt with by the white thugs on the street. I saw a couple of 30-ish West Indian guys who were obviously house painters get jacked just for walking into a Burger King on Kings Highway in the middle of the day. This was common and led to the Howard Beach killing.

[Clintons Are White Trash]

But they had Disco, so there’s that.....

[Clemenza]

Though Wall Street's misdeeds pushed the global economy to the brink, the mayor says the city needs its talent. So he aims to help these workers become entrepreneurs or learn green jobs. That will increase employment faster than pouring money into infrastructure, which is unlikely to offer openings to office workers and clerks, he said.

BWAHAAAA!!!!

[stanz]

You got that right! I phoned in a pizza order and asked for extra mozzarella. The guy on the other end asked “What’s that?” .....REAL Italian...

[wtc911]

Already on board, two posts down from this...

[Clemenza]

Great films and TV shows were made in the 70s about New York though.

Taxi Driver being the best.

Check out the book "Celluloid Skyline" sometime. You'll thank me for it.

The 1970s was the last time Philadelphia could claim to be a "safer" and "cleaner" city than New York.

[Clemenza]

An upshot was that any black kids or adult males who strayed into the wrong zip code got dealt with by the white thugs on the street.

Not too many white thug nabes left. We'll see how the Ecuadorians and Bangladeshis react to the wave that is coming.

I recommend that everyone stay far away from the Puerto Rican day parade this year, INCLUDING the Boricua themselves...

[conivorous]

Yup. The pizza is horrible now. Except in Brooklyn, of course.

[Bogey78O]

New York is a “worldy intelligent city” that can’t freaking figure out that they’ve been electing the same tired Democrats persistently and that’s why they continue to flail.

I’m against Democrats and other lefty types not because of my own self-interests but because I hate seeing a society crumble and people suffer.

[conivorous]

“I don’t understand why so many big businesses are still headquartered in New York. What does New York have to offer ?”

New York is, in fact, the greatest city in the world.
You must never have been here.

[Clemenza]

WTF do you mean "In Brooklyn?" Brooklyn Pizzerias (with a few notable exceptions) are owned by the same type of folks who now own the pizzerias in Manhattan! Brooklyn is now filled with yuppie and hipster transplant douchebags in the areas close to Manhattan, and new immigrants/ethnics (non-Italian) elsewhere. The only Eye-Ties left in Brooklyn are collecting social security.

You can get better Bangladeshi, Mexican, Polish, and Middle Eastern food in Brooklyn these days than Italian or Kosher.