New York City might be one of America's dream cities today, but in the 1970s it was a very different place. Before Wall Street came in and took over, landlords burned down their buildings to grab insurance money. Before Times Square was the place to be on New Year's Eve, illegal street workers crowded the sidewalks and people actively avoided the area.
Check out these photos of a completely different New York City from the 1970s and read about how the city was close to being completely destroyed by crime and debt.
Landlords Couldn't Even Afford Their Buildings
While there was growth on Wall Street and with the World Trade Center, anyone who traveled deeper into Manhattan found destruction. Without having tenants who could pay the bills, landlords increasingly had trouble affording to maintain and pay taxes on their own buildings.
As a result, many landlords actually burned down their own real estate in order to collect insurance money. These kids have to climb over the rubble of a building just to get home.
Arson Became A Serious Issue Everywhere
It wasn't just landlords burning down their own buildings. In the 1960s, only one percent of fires in New York City were the result of arson. In the 1970s, that number rose to nearly eight percent.
The top spot for arson in the 1970s was the Bronx. Thanks to arson, the Bronx lost 97% of their original buildings in the decade. There's even incredible footage for a World Series game where you can see a massive fire burning in the background.
Blackouts Encouraged Crime
In order to stop the city from going completely bankrupt, Mayor Beame had to implement rolling blackouts to save money and energy. The rolling blackouts ended up encouraging looting and vandalism.
It also didn't help that cuts to firefighters and police meant that New York City was unable to combat the crime. A majority of the crime and arson that happened in the late 1970s happened during these rolling blackouts.
Night Walkers Were A City-Wide Issues
The 1970s marked the moment when prostitution stopped being only in the underbelly of New York City. Tourists could go anywhere in New York and see these escorts walking the streets. In 1976 alone, 2,400 arrests were made for prostitution.
One of the most common, and some might find surprising, places for prostitutes to walk the streets was along Broadway, Wall Street, and Times Square. Is it really surprising they'd frequent the few places with money though?
The City That Never Sleeps
It wasn't just escorts that were a troubling problem for New York City. Many adult-themed shops and peeps shows were front and center along the streets of New York. Many people saw the open flaunting of infidelity as a symbol of New York's decline.
Times Square became known for peep shows, burlesque theaters, and go-go bars. The New York Times even officially labeled 42nd Street as the "worst block in town."
Racial Tensions Were As Strong As Ever
Even though the Civil Rights Act had passed a decade earlier, race tensions were still prominent in New York City thanks to the obvious wealth gap.
Here, a group of young African-Americans are seen protesting the Panther 21 trial. New York City accused 21 members of the Black Panther organization with attempted arson, murder, and planned bombings. The trial eventually collapsed on itself and all 21 were fully acquitted of the charges.
People Took Justice Into Their Own Hands
Many New Yorkers didn't believe they could rely on the police to keep them safe and turned to vigilante justice and protection groups. Pictured here is a team of "Guardian Angels." The Guardian Angels were young adults who patrolled the subway system in groups to protect each other.
They were originally trained to make citizen arrests, but extended to running workshops and in-school activities. The group still exists today and even has a cyber-safety division.
Arriving In New York Could Be Pretty Scary
These two young men make phone calls by Grand Central Station after arriving in New York City in 1975. In the summer of that year, tourists and newcomers to the city were greeted with pamphlets that said: "Welcome To Fear City."
The homemade handouts included nine survival tips for navigating New York City. It advised people to avoid taking the subway after 6pm or walking alone anytime after sundown. Once again, New Yorkers were taking it upon themselves to stay safe.
Heat Waves And Blackouts Meant Taking What You Could Get
These two children drink water from a busted fire hydrant on a hot summer day. The 1972 heat wave in New York and all along the North Eastern United States was so severe that 900 people died from heat-related causes.
This, combined with rolling blackouts, meant that it wasn't just children desperate for a drink of water. It was common at the time to see people filling up their kettles and water jugs from the fire hydrants.
A Card Shark Tries To Avoid Penalties On The Street
While card sharks and street tricksters might still be around today, they were even more common and greedy back in the 1970s. With fewer police officers patrolling the streets, it was a card shark's paradise.
Many desperate New Yorkers were also willing to take more risks if it meant more money for rent or groceries. Gambling and lottery had long been banned in New York but the late 1960s legalized gambling and casinos.
The Subways Were The Most Dangerous Parts Of New York
It didn't matter who you were or where you were going, taking the subway was a risk every time. In the 1970s, the New York City subways lines jokingly began to be referred to as "the muggers express."
By the end of the decade, police calculated that more than 250 felonies on the New York City subways were reported every week. Compared to other underground transportation systems, New York's was the most dangerous in the world.
The Rivers Quickly Became Sewers
It wasn't long until the rivers running through and around Manhattan Island began to look more like sewers. The few industrial factories that were still up and running let out waste directly into the Bronx River. This little boy looks at two cars piled against the river banks.
In fact, it took until 2007 for Westchester and the Bronx to agree to stop dumping human sewage and waste in the river.
Religion Tried Its Best To Combat Seedy New York
Near Times Square, a Christian mission buys storefront space beside a peep show in the hope of attracting a different type of crowd. Despite the apparent decline of New York City in the 1970s, religion was on the rise. Christianity and Judaism were, and still are, the biggest religions in the city.
Especially in Brooklyn, Judaism and crime clashed as more than half a million Jewish residents called the Borough home.
The Oil Crisis Hit New York City Hard
The second oil crisis on the 1970s came as a result of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and left New Yorkers in a panic. While things had slowly begun to get better towards the end of the decade, the oil crisis left New York City and the rest of America in a public panic about gas shortages.
The crisis was particularly bad for many New Yorkers who drove into Manhattan for work and didn't feel safe taking the subway.
Central Park Was The Wild, Wild West
Two police officers are seen here escorting a group of young men out of Central Park. They were accused of attacking gays in the Central Park Rambles. In the 1970s, The Rambles—a wooded area of the park—was known as the place to go if you wanted to meet up for a sexual encounter.
Gay men were attacked in the area nearly every night. Many didn't go to the police for fear of repercussion, so this arrest is rare.
Homelessness Was A Problem In The Bowery
This view of fire-damaged buildings and cars in the Bowery show just how little available housing there was. While people might know the Bowery today for its famous bars and clubs, in the 1970s it was known for holding the highest homelessness population in New York City.
Rather than helping the homeless population, New York officers were ordered to police the abandoned buildings simply to make sure there were no squatters.
Onlookers Do Nothing About A Passed Out Man On The Street
The belief in the 1970s was that if you mind your own business and stay out of trouble, then you can survive in New York City just fine. Sadly, that meant people were far too busy looking out for themselves.
These people waiting in line for assistance in the Bronx had no idea whether helping out this collapsed man would be a good or bad thing, and for many, it wasn't worth the risk.
The Bronx Saw The "White Flight" Of The 1970s
Even though the Bronx was at one point home to many middle and upper-class families, it changed in the 1970s thanks to the "white flight." This was the choice of many affluent white families leaving the Borough thanks to forced desegregation in school districts.
As a result, many low-income families and new immigrants turned to the area. Over the course of the 1970s, the Bronx lost 30% of its original population.
Unemployment Was At An All-Time High
Men and women, along with their kids, are shown standing in long unemployment lines in the hopes of picking up assistance or being offered a potential job. The recession of the 1970s hit New York City hard in particular because of the sheer amount of people using Medicaid and welfare programs.
Before the 1970s, financial crises' were blamed on the rich banks mishandling money. Many believe that the bankruptcy of New York City in the 1970s led to the blame of poor people for financial problems.
Poverty And Sin Went Hand In Hand
Some people were so desperate for money in the 1970s that they resorted to selling their blood for a profit. Sadly, this isn't much different for college students across America today trying to pay their students loans back.
The contrast of New York City in the 1970s is seen here with an adult movie shop right beside the blood donor bank. Two men stop to look at the adult shop after leaving the blood bank.
A Uniquely Vibrant City
Despite the desolate area they grew up in, kids still managed to find a way to rejuvenate their boroughs with the spirit it was lacking. Here, three boys play in a concrete yard in Brooklyn.
It might be covered in graffiti but that was the least of their worries. In the daylight, there were no real worries, but these boys would likely be much more concerned about getting home before dark.
Entertainment For Kids Was Hard To Come By
Since many parents spent most of their hours of the day at work, many kids were left to their own devices after school let out. In area like the Bronx, that meant making your own fun in a dismal and grimy borough.
These kids here jump up and play on a broken down car. There's a good chance that within a few days, the car would be stripped of anything valuable and set ablaze.
Riots Of All Sorts Engulfed The City
It wasn't just young people who took to the streets for demonstrations. Here, a group of mostly middle-aged white construction workers is protesting on Wall Street.
No, they weren't fighting for a livable wage or union representation, they were protesting the Mayor's decision to lower the city flags to halfstaff after the Kent State Massacre. These construction workers were pro-Vietnam and disagreed with college student's protesting the war, despite the casualties.
Building The World Trade Center
The one public works project that did come to New York City in the 1970s was the World Trade Center complex. Construction on the two main towers began in 1968 and was completed in 1973. The rest of the complex was completed in the early '80s.
Building the World Trade Center had been a long discussion stemming back to the 1940s. Those who wanted to build them believed it would help stimulate economic growth, but it wasn't enough to combat the seedy '70s.
The Subways Were A Graffiti Artist's Dream
Both the interiors and the exteriors of the subways cars didn't exactly make them feels any safer. They were covered with graffiti, litter, and were known to smell like urine. With the homeless population, the subway cars were known for being a shuttle for crime.
In order to discourage crime, the police closed off the back half of subway trains from 8 PM to 4 AM to better combat crime.
The Club Scene Was Good And Bad For New York City
This photo of dancers at the second anniversary of New York City's iconic Studio 54 in 1979 show the good and bad side. The club quickly became known for bringing in a lot of money to New York City and always had a string of celebrities promoting it.
On the other hand, Studio 54 was known for its open drug use, which was an issue for a city already dealing with drug problems.
Kids Were Left To Their Own Devices
A young boy waits outside of a beauty salon for his mother on a fall day. While kids being left on their own for extended periods of time was nothing new in New York City, it increased to dangerous levels in the 1970s.
With parents having to work more to pay the bills, children were often left in dangerous situations. They might even have to walk the streets or take the subway alone.
Religion Tried To Fix All
Despite the death and destruction, you have to hand it to religious groups for fighting a long battle. Here, a group of teenagers in East Harlem stop on the way home from school to read a group of handmade signs.
Unfortunately, teenagers like this group had better things to do. Many of them likely were on their way home and off to work to help their family pay the bills.
New York's Mayor Had To Request A Bailout
If you're wondering just how bad it was in New York City in the 1970s, Mayor Abe Beame actually had to plead to the federal government for a bailout. President Ford quickly refused and New York City was left to their own devices.
Without a bailout, Mayor Beame was forced to reduce funding for things like police, firemen, and teachers. In the long run, it just made the city worse.
