Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Summertime in New York City: The East Village 1991

In honor of the first official day of summer... a video titled "Summertime in New York City: The East Village 1991."



Here's the description via YouTube:

The Lower East side, 1991, NYC. I weep when I see this. I used to live here. 13th street between B and C. With Khusenaton, on flute. I see him step right in here, he used to do that when I read. Intense, beautiful fantastic. Dead. He died that winter. I can remember the way he used to say, "here comes James." "Hardcore. too deep." A beautiful human being. He told the truth, and was my friend. It seems long ago, and like yesterday.

H/T to Neighborhoodr for first posting this video several weeks ago.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is when I moved to NYC! Ahhh, nostalgia.

Anonymous said...

BEAUTIFUL..tears are falling..TO ALL THE UNSUNG HEROS OUT THERE..YOU MATTER AND MATTER TO ME!!!!
MELANIE NEICHIN

Joe Jusko said...

Just beautiful.

blue glass said...

a rougher yet gentler time
harmonious yet dangerous

Anonymous said...

Funny how she's blantantly mocking the neighborhood poors to their face in the first song:

http://www.lyricstime.com/alan-price-poor-people-lyrics.html

One review called it "a manual for the ruthless go-getter, with a sneer of despair". Stay classy lady. Don't change East Village.

Jill said...

I love this. 1991 feels like yesterday but looks like 100 years ago. But 13th Street past Ave B is where the projects start. Think Copper Building. There aren't any stoops there. I'm confused about where this is.

Fipper said...

that was beautiful. to think that was how it use to be... so weird, looking at it now, it doesn't seem real, it looks like it's from a Hollywood studio, with actors perfectly placed and on cure.

Fipper said...

@ Jill, you're right. I think that's between A & B.

Marty Wombacher said...

Loved this video, reminds me of when I first moved here, thanks for posting it!

Caleo said...

To all of the suburbanites and nouveau riche who have invaded and displaced old NYC... this is what you helped to destroy... and nothing you can do or say will ever replace it or recreate it.
The easy grace of a lazy summer day in the old EV.
Beautiful and bittersweet.

Anonymous said...

"Nobody's gonna know." Perfect. Nobody's gonna know days that fine again.

Anonymous said...

I think it could be 535-537 E 13 St.

Compare to 0:53
http://goo.gl/maps/bY2o

The stairways appear wider than on the Google view, but I think that may be an artifact of Google's camera. I checked in person and they look wider in real life.

But at 1:04, we're missing a doorway at 539 E 13. http://goo.gl/maps/fP8x It could have been removed, but it gives me some pause.

The one negative of all the trees we have now is that they obscure the view of some buildings. 1:45 should be a telling view, but there are too many trees now to see the buildings that clearly. The open area in the background of that shot could be where 525, a new building, now stands.

Where are all the cars? And no traffic whatsoever? Odd. It looks like a movie set.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the previous anon about looking like a movie set. Still love it tho.

Jill said...

Yes it does match up pretty well with 535 E 13th, there are 3 buildings to the left and then an empty lot, which now has that new brick building (which is one of the very few new buildings in the area that fits in and looks like it belongs.)

And where are the parked cars, why would there be absolutely none if it wasn't a movie shoot? It's so strange. And why are there cops in the middle of the street just standing around chatting?

After writing all this I notice the youtube description says between A&B, not B&C.

There are other videos there taken on the same street.

randall said...

I don't remember that scene from "RENT"

Shawn said...

Someone needs to sample her voice - and do a track where she drops in during the chorus - like what Eminem did with Dido.

This street singer's voice is enchanting and beautiful. It's angelic.

It's bizarre to think this was going on 3,000 miles away at the same time in Seattle... different worlds!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB3c2_UP5dc