That's the headline for the May 28, 1984, New York magazine cover story that I recently came across. The piece begins in the early 1980s with the rotting hulk of the Christodora and the young man eager to own it, Harry Skydell.
Skydell's enthusiasm was indeed mysterious. The sixteen-story building he wanted to buy, on Avenue B facing Tompkins Square Park, was surrounded by burned-out buildings that crawled with pushers and junkies. It was boarded up, ripped out, and flooded...Early in the seventies, the city had put up the Christodora up for auction and nobody bid.
The building was eventually sold in 1975 for $62,500. (Last I saw, two-bedroom units there — roughly 1,100 square feet — average $1.6 million or so. Of course, they're rarely available.)
The article talks about the influx of chain stores, art galleries and chic cafes. "And real-estate values are exploding" as a result. Said one longtime resident on the changes: "I've lived in my rent-controlled apartment for years and pay $115 a month. I live on the Lower East Side. The young kids who just moved in upstairs and pay $700 a month for the same space — they live in the East Village."
There are so many interesting passages in the article by Craig Unger that I'd end up excerpting the whole thing. So it's below. You can click on each image to read it. Meanwhile, what do you think would be the headline for this story today?
19 comments:
"I've lived in my rent-controlled apartment for years and pay $115 a month. I live on the Lower East Side. The young kids who just moved in upstairs and pay $700 a month for the same space — they live in the East Village."
I've been saying the essentially the same thing for years—regarding the people who say they live on the Lower East Side vs. those who say they live in the East Village. But I'm waiting for a crash; it just can't go on like this.
By the way, does DiBiasio have a rent freeze in the works, or was that just a campaign promise?
Going, going, GONE!
In 2044 will 2014 seem like the perfect time in history when the EV was: cheap as in affordable, cutting edge, diverse, etc..?
This is a fascinating article for anyone, especially if you've lived here since 78 or earlier. I have a problem scrolling the article. It only moves in leaps & bounds. Thank you EV.
I used to work at Hairpower in 1988. I lived in the basement and slept on a cot. New York was wild then. I moved there to be with the kinds of people in the photos. That's the New York I miss. What's happened to the village (and the city) is tragic. The same thing is happening in London and other large cities. Everything now is covered with a homogenizing/corporate film. Doesn't matter where you go, people are obsessed with their igadgets. That's it, That's all we have now. Again, very, very sad. It's fun to look back at photos though. I'm truly thankful for my memories….
This makes me very sad. I was born in 1972 and grew up on the LES. There was so much energy there and even the very poor and down on their luck had a sense of pride in their community. I loved all of the amazing characters and one of a kind individuals I met. Drugs were a problem, but even the addicts were respected and many were very kind, just struggling. I moved to BK in 1998 and now when I return everything I loved is gone. It's horrific really, the way an entire community, and beautiful pure way of life can be sold and wiped off the face of the earth.
@ Scuba Diva: "But I'm waiting for a crash; it just can't go on like this." I don't know, but it's just been going up and up for the last 35 years. I have little hope that there'll be a trend reversal in my lifetime, short of some cataclysmic event. Most of the people I see living and entertaining themselves down here now would not have crossed Broadway when I first moved in. At that time, it was the only area where I could afford a spacious apartment, convenient to transportation. I worked the grave-yard shift, so it was of paramount importance to me to live in a first floor/basement dwelling. I pull the shades down and can't tell the difference between 1AM and 1PM. I'm rent-stabilized, but after 18 2-year leases with their bi-annual rent increases I had no choice but to look for room-mates. Fortunately I lucked out in that regard, got great people to share my space with.
I didn't live in the EV back then as I didn't arrive in NYC until 1986, but looking at these photos it reminds me of what the reality was like as I saw it at that time. There were drips and drabs of mainstream lifestyle about but overall the area still belonged to an outsider culture. Even all these years later I don't think I'm giving that the rose colored glasses treatment. That's what was really happening. Things may have been noticeably changing back then, but certainly not at the rate that they have in the last decade. In fact the majority of the culture that existed here back then has at this point been almost completely wiped out, and those that come to the EV now it seems, know little nor even really care about what was here previously. If they did they wouldn't have the demands they have and would make an effort to preserve the culture that was active here for several generations until nose-diving into the history books about 10 or so years ago.
I'd like to go back in time and specially punch that developer who moved here from Aspen to destroy our community for the sole reason that he smelled money. He wasn't from here, he didn't care about us or know anything about the community he was so eager to destroy. How would things be different if these buildings instead only went to people from within the community who cared about the neighborhood and the community?
The more things change...
- East Villager
I know I've said this before, but you really can't talk about gentrification without talking about capitalism itself, not just the capitalist real estate market. This is not a working-class neighborhood anymore because the jobs once held by people here are gone. Not just the people, but the jobs themselves -- either moved or simply eliminated. The amount of income/wealth commanded by a relatively small number of people globally is staggering. Resistance needs to be multi-pronged, focussing on the attacks on every aspect of our lives: housing, education, medical care, food, the environment... It's daunting, but it's not going to stop by itself.
New York City was founded by the Dutch for no other reason than to make money. The pursuit of money by people all over the World is what made this City great. The burned out shell of this neighborhood in the 60s and 70s was in no way authentic to the City and should be denigrated, not celebrated.
If you don't like change, then move to...
Cities have always been a way to escape the oppressiveness of small towns. That's why people move to them. New York was once a haven for misfits. Now it attracts a never-ending stream of frat boys/girls, who are the exact types one used to try and escape from.
What an ignorant/misinformed comment, to say that cities are simply all about money. And the tired/old "if you don't like it move" argument, is just that: tired and old. Gentrification has wiped out the uniqueness of New York. It's saving grace is that there are lots of people there, which offers variety, but at the same time, the city is waaaay overcrowded now. I lived there at the end of it's "golden age", before it became a police state/cupcake shop and I'm so glad I had the chance to experience it then. For those who say "get over it", you obviously weren't there when it was great. End of story.
Ahhh the 80's when shorts were short and men didn't mind showing some thigh meat.
"What an ignorant/misinformed comment, to say that cities are simply all about money."
Bingo!
I came here for the cultural and ethnic diversity.
" the 80's when shorts were short and men didn't mind showing some thigh meat."
I pretty much stopped going to Dead shows in the warmer months because Bobby's short shorts were just too unsettling. Especially with a head full of acid.
http://www.mangozeen.com/2013/09/21/east-village/why-i-miss-junkies-by-peter-nolan-smith-3.htm
I knew what was lost not from living on Ludlow and Avenue C and 9th in 83-85, but from reading what John Gruen had written 18 years before Craig Unger.
http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/john-jonas-gruen-on-the-east-village-others-manifesto/
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