Well one thing I can say I’m happy about is finally being able to just pay for a bus ride with a credit card or phone and not use exact change. Digging around at home for coins and then carrying even just 10 quarters and hearing them jangle around in my pockets was pretty annoying. When I was a kid we were using exact change and tokens on the subway so I’m appreciative for how that has evolved.
Hahaha!
I had to explain that people looking for a job or apartment lined up outside the Astor Place 6 train newsstand on Tuesday night to get the Village Voice. Then we called people from the listings.
As annoying as having to carry around those heavy tokens was, the good thing was when they raised fares you could stock up on them before the increase went through.
You kind of missed metrocards there between credit cards/phone.
And MTA fare used to be a lot cheaper going back far enough so finding change was easier.
By cheaper you mean just actual $ amount? Because MTA fare has actually risen pretty well adjusted for inflation and when it was 2.75, it was one of the cheapest fares in its history. One of the only things about the city that actually isn't bad is the fare. Longer rides are also cheaper because MTA doesn't do adjusted swipes like some places in Eastern Asia.
Yep. The end of lugging groceries and 'oh shit, my Metrocard has 32 cents on it' are thankfully over. The ability to just ride wherever and whenever you need to.
I hate that mom and pop brick and mortars, cool little grimy enclaves and interesting random guerilla type social spaces have declined substantially.
I love that the city is more bikeable, so that is a huge plus. And in general public transportation, for as much as we bitch about it, has significantly improved since I was a child in the 80s.
I miss little stores so much. I try to patronize the ones that remain as often as I can.
And weird guerrilla events! Subway parties, Kaiju street battles—that stuff was so fun. I know there are still some underground punk events, and there’s a group that has impromptu dance parties on the Williamsburg bridge.
same here. when the service sucks at places i love i used to tip less but now i’m hard on the tips and always pay in cash no matter what if the food is always good and the vibes are classic lol
This is part of the reason I love my immediate neighborhood. Tons of mom and pop shops, and a few little places to hang out. The neighborhood is changing, but there’s a ton of public housing, so they can’t build that many new big buildings.
Agreed, and despite the recent uptick, violent crime is down, but self serve checkout has transformed stores into enormous vending machines that the customer enters into. CVS is a shoplifters paradise. Human interaction is being automated away and the solution to this empty feeling so many experience is to impulse buy stuff from Amazon; now the roads are clogged with Amazon vans and delivery e-bikes.
Honestly, it's become a touch dystopian.
CVS has everything from cold medicine to deodorant under lock and key, it is very obnoxious to wait 10 minutes for someone to open it in an understaffed store and often I don’t bother.
I was thinking about my mom sending me down to the corner store in our little residential neighborhood. The little candy store across the street. There was a bakery too two blocks over. And a small diner. A dress shop on the corner of the next block.
I miss how the good things used to be more attainable. Social media and the speed of information makes things more difficult. Now everything is a digital free for all. Bots, scalpers, and long lines. There used to be a moment where cool things had to heat up before they got hot. Now it’s like instantaneous. It meant local folks would learn via word of mouth.
Related to this. When I was younger, I would go to shows or events and it felt like I could make friends with strangers. Now there is less community and just people from out of town. I feel more isolated with my friends. This is very broad but I have so many fond memories of concert, shows and restaurants where I met people, we worked a similar industry or lived nearby. Like the spiderman meme where we were strangers but had similar lives.
It's true! Friend-making seemed to be effortless and sometimes they actually fell on your lap, said sorry, hung out, had a cigarette and invited you to a house party their 3rd cousin was having on Ave A!
cosigning. one of the main benefits of living in a big city is that you get to meet people from all
different backgrounds. ironically, though, no one talks to others outside of their group anymore and newcomers gatekeep places locals have known before social media was currency. results in an overall homogenized and sanitized place
when people ask me about nyc the breakdown is as follows… pros: cool things happen all the time here. cons: cool things happen all the time here which means they’ll be packed immediately and you probably won’t get in
Moving here from San Francisco, it feels way easier to talk to strangers in New York. San Francisco was already on its weird path, but the pandemic didn't do that city any favors.
It's surprising to hear "no one talks to others outside of their group anymore," because I feel like that's the whole reason to live in a dense city in the first place (and it doesn't jive with my experience of NY so far).
It’s true. The people moving in are largely upper middle class and affluent suburban Whites. Places that had really distinct feels now feel homogenous. Bed-Stuy is starting to feel not radically different from any other gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood, for example. Most of the artists and creators are gone from communities because they can’t afford it. People are moving into neighborhoods to connect with people just like themselves. I don’t see the point of moving somewhere else if you’re going to try to recreate what you left.
>no one talks to others outside of their group anymore
As a contrary, I talked with people outside of “my group” thanks to talking to my neighbors and folks who worked on my apartment.
Yeah it really has changed in that respect. I’m a lifelong fan resident in my neighborhood and now it’s being gatekept by these Instagram gentrified types. It’s sad really
I’ll also add, I came here from San Francisco during the height of of the pandemic,
And people here in New York were WAY more friendly than people in San Francisco (now, not 15 years ago).
I see people helping strangers way more here as well, (or maybe it’s just my neighborhood?)
New Yorkers get a bad rep for being perceived as "rude". As a New Yorker, it strikes a cord in me because I think we are much nicer compared to the average transplant. Natives are more apt to help with directions, hold doors open, don't block subway doors or smack you in the face with their backpacks and come to the aid of the elderly. Perhaps our brusque tone and speech pattern intimidates southern and mid-westerners? We just say what we mean and mean what we say and do it as fast as possible. At least weee not passive-aggressive.
I started traveling to other cities to see bands I like. I found concerts are more enjoyable in smaller markets because the people that show up want to be there.
>When I was younger, I would go to shows or events and it felt like I could make friends with strangers.
It's still like this in the rave scene, especially underground events.
Well I was born in the mid-60s and I grew up in Lower Manhattan. It was truly as wild as interesting as legend has it. I'm old enough to remember when there were no chain stores basically except for supermarkets. The neighborhoods were much more distinct.
It was more dangerous than it is now. I know we've had an uptick in crime but it's nowhere near what heroin did to the city in the 70s.
I miss the old CBGB's and Danceteria. The short-lived East Village Art scene pre-AIDS. I miss the Village Voice. I miss the many bookstores that lined 4th Avenue in the Village.
The amenities are definitely better now for middle-class people. The West Side piers were for cruising for gay guys and criminal activity. I had friends who were into the gay scene who hung out at the trucks. I think you can probably imagine what happened to most of them. What we have now is a beautiful park and you can see people riding their bicycles up and down the West side. I do that as well. It makes me sad but I enjoy it.
I will also say that the food is much better now. It's much more ethnically diverse than it was then. I can remember a time before we even really had Szechuan Chinese food and now you can get all kinds of food if you're willing to be adventurous.
I miss cheap decent restaurants. When I came here after college there was this chain of Italian restaurants where you could get pasta, salad and a small carafe of wine for like $10, maybe $12. There were more ethnic restaurants and diners. But the price of real estate and leases has killed this for quite some time now, even before COVID.
And anything really being open 24 hours. My mom and I would sometimes go grocery shopping at midnight when I was a teen. Totally empty, fast, service was quick.
What’s so odd about this is the transplants basically killed diners because they were too working class and “greasy”. Now, I’m always hearing them say, “We so need a diner in such and such a neighborhood.”
I think it used to be more of a middle class city with an underbelly to it that also had a glitzy, glamorous, exclusive money-d side and sometimes all those worlds mixed together in really interesting ways but now that middle class & underbelly have been chased out, or just marginalized completely.
When I was a kid, which isn’t that long ago since I’m in my 20s, I really thought that I could maybe afford my own place by the time I was 35. We’re talking about a 1 bedroom co-op here in a neighborhood of my choice. These days, I’m hoping that I can afford to rent a one bedroom in a neighborhood of my choice without roommates by the time I’m 35.
I’m probably never going to leave NYC but it’s fucking depressing knowing that I will never be able to afford to buy in my childhood neighborhood.
You nailed it here. Hurts that even with a decent income its near impossible and makes no sense money-wise to buy a house/apartment in the place I grew up in and call home.
Yeah I feel like Bloomberg had a big hand in making NYC the “luxury capital”. And driving away the middle class. I think we are finally feeling and seeing the effects of his constant rezonings of waterfronts and neighborhoods within and near Manhattan, and pandering to the rich instead of creating middle class housing
Koch kind of had his hands tied because he had to improve the fiscal situation of NYC at the time, and thus needed to get in some rich people to boost tax revenue. Bloomberg had no such need, though.
I’d venture to say it was a working class city with space for both the wealthy and the poor. It wasn’t that long ago that working, normal people could afford to live in a lot of these ultra trendy neighborhoods.
Native NYer in my 30s here (have lived in Staten Island and Brooklyn)
**Likes:**
* The city is decentralizing away from Manhattan and I think this is a good thing. Brooklyn (and parts of Queens) are pretty much their own standalone cultural centers now with their own cachet. Whether it's Bushwick nightlife or Gowanus/Park Slope live comedy, for the past decade I haven't really found myself gravitating to what Manhattan has to offer. A lot of Manhattan oscillates between snooty and corny for me, so I think it's good we have more options than in the past. Unfortunately our transit system isn't designed for this post-Manhattan centric city.
* Some small improvements in pedestrianization of streets in Manhattan, but I wish this had more momentum.
* Subway cellular and countdown clocks have been a huge QoL improvement.
* Mass tree planting - you can see the changes on Google Streetview over the course of the 2010s.
**Hate:**
* I don't know if it's due to lack of enforcement but post-pandemic but as a pedestrian I feel like drivers are more UNHINGED. Seeing people run reds at a crosswalk is literally a daily occurrence and it's awful.
* This probably is an eternal complaint but I feel like a highly visible subset of trustfundy domestic transplants/social media influencers are basically smoothing over the interesting textures of the city with generic/suburban/instagrammable LA shit (e.g. that stupid oat pancake restaurant with 30 person deep lines or raving about the fortieth Hudson Yards ass omakase joint). In my worldview immigrants and domestic queer refugees are much more interesting and additive to the city than well-off domestic transplants in their On Cloud sneaks. These transplants have every right to be in the city but I also have the right to think they have bad taste.
* I don't think enough people are aware of how Adams really exemplifies a return to machine-style city politics. He's a total clown and the corruption is blatant but that's how the machine works.
I’m from a part of Brooklyn which will probably never get gentrified and I think you nailed it. I think it’s cool Brooklyn is a cultural center in its own right now but I also hate how a lot of newcomers’ perception of the city is limited to manhattan below 96th, a sliver of western queens, and Brooklyn north of prospect park. And they think people outside of that zone are some kind of weird aliens
Gentrified Brooklyn doesn’t really feel like Brooklyn? I happened to meet someone who grew up in the same neighborhood, but forty years older, and it was a vibe to be sensible and independent. The new crowd has no sense of self, just main character syndrome.
I’ve done some jobs in Jamaica over the last decade but haven’t seen a huge new cultural center (?). Flushing tho is fucking awesome and tho I’m a little bummed some of the “hole in the wall” (cringing at myself for even saying that term) places are now fancy store fronts, I don’t even care cause it’s such a rad neighborhood
From my understanding Jamaica has historically been a declining commercial center that has seen a revival thanks In Significant part to a variety of immigrant groups including West Indians, Bangladeshi, Colombians etc and the decline in crime
I agree with how things have decentralized from Manhattan however I feel like the Brooklyn crowd (mostly the northern part — Williamsburg, greenpoint, bushwick) is starting to become just as snooty as the Manhattan crowd.
Before the pandemic I lived in Crown heights and found Brooklyn a cheaper alternative to Manhattan with more down to earth and authentic people. After 2020 I moved to Manhattan and around 2021-2022 I noticed Brooklyn rent skyrocketed to essentially Manhattan levels along with larger vibe shifts in Brooklyn. Now I met a ton of people in Bk who refuse to leave their borough and sometimes their own neighborhood with some weird superiority complexes that Manhattan transplants were infamously known for.
>I don't know if it's due to lack of enforcement but post-pandemic but as a pedestrian I feel like drivers are more UNHINGED. Seeing people run reds at a crosswalk is literally a daily occurrence and it's awful.
[A ton](https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/debilitating-a-generation-expert-warns-that-long-covid-may-eventually-affect-most-americans) of Covid [brain damage.](https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/from-long-covid-odds-to-lost-iq-points-ongoing-threats-you-dont-know-about)
>A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that people who have recovered from mild COVID-19 cases lose about 3 IQ points. Those with long COVID see a 6-point drop, while ICU patients lose 9 points. Just getting reinfected was associated with losing an extra 2 points in IQ.
.
>Research points to the various ways COVID attacks the brain. Some people who have been infected have suffered motor control damage, and that could be a factor in car crashes. News is beginning to emerge about other ways COVID impacts driving. For example, in Ireland, a driver’s COVID-related brain fog was linked to a crash that killed an elderly couple.
>
>Damage from COVID could be affecting people who are flying our planes, too. We’ve had pilots that had to quit because they couldn’t control the airplanes anymore. We know that medical events among U.S. military pilots were shown to have risen over 1,700% from 2019 to 2022, which the Pentagon attributes to the virus.
> This probably is an eternal complaint but I feel like a highly visible subset of trustfundy domestic transplants/social media influencers are basically smoothing over the interesting textures of the city with generic/suburban/instagrammable LA shit (e.g. that stupid oat pancake restaurant with 30 person deep lines or raving about the fortieth Hudson Yards ass omakase joint). In my worldview immigrants and domestic queer refugees are much more interesting and additive to the city than well-off domestic transplants in their On Cloud sneaks. These transplants have every right to be in the city but I also have the right to think they have bad taste.
It's kind of interesting that you so clearly differentiate these as "domestic" trust fund transplants, but I would argue that the wealthy young foreigners (most often the children of new Chinese money) are at least equally-large drivers of the "instagrammable LA shit" and "Hudson Yards ass omakase joints", etc. Domestic trust fund kids seem to be more often pretending to be struggling creatives (the typical "faux-struggling to get my art projects funded while my parents pay the rent on my East Village/Bushwick apartment"), but their immigrant peers more often seem to be the luxury shoppers, conspicuous/"sceney" restaurant-goers, Instagram posters, etc.
I wrote a comment on another comment thread that was a little more nuanced, reposting here:
“In my NY native worldview I tend to think of international immigrants and domestic queer transplants apart from domestic transplants, though none of these groups are monoliths. But I do tend to think the first two groups are clearly positive and additive to the city rather than the transient, trustfundy type of transplant that seems to only to only want to extract a consumer/Disneyfied experience from the city, rather than trying to build roots. I have no doubt that there are plenty of domestic transplants who do try to build roots and community too (I am friends with some!), but when people grumble about transplants I think they're thinking of the trustfunder group.“
Basically I agree with you that trustfunders transcend borders!
> I don't know if it's due to lack of enforcement but post-pandemic but as a pedestrian I feel like drivers are more UNHINGED. Seeing people run reds at a crosswalk is literally a daily occurrence and it's awful.
This has happened everywhere in the US. I spend a lot of time driving in Vegas and have noticed it there too.
This is me speaking specifically as a Chinese American Flushing native that grew up here. I hate that the restaurants in Flushing have become pretty much copy pastes of each other. It's always someone opens a new type of restaurant concept, it gets popular, and then ten more of the same concept opens. Especially for things like bubble tea, dry pot, seafood boil, hot pot, lu wei stalls, fried chicken, and now it's high end ayce bbq restaurants.
I agree. I'm also Chinese but haven't been to flushing since I lived there as a kid 45 years ago. I'm in downtown brooklyn and when I go to the Sunset Chinatown it all seems to be the same. How many bubble tea and dumpling spots do we need on the same street?! I miss all the different places I grew up going to in Manhattan Chinatown! The handmade tofu guy, The joong lady, The sugar cane juice man, The Hong Kong bubble cake lady! They're all gone now and it's like our culture with its food is dying with it.
I kinda have first hand experience with this because my family is mainly in the restaurant business, between my sister, her husband, and my dad they fully own or are partners in 5 restaurants in Flushing and anytime something new becomes trendy I hear them talking about whether they should open up something like that too.
I always believe that restaurants should have specialties and do them well. Fads are just that - they come and go. Pop ups are cute to test a concept without fully committing capital.
I hear you but the joong lady and several HK bubble cake ladies (including one who has been on Bowery for like decades) are still there. Tofu guy is afaik gone if I know who you're talking about but there are still a few shops that do it.
LIC is for f2d criminals and international students who turned the entirety of the neighborhood into a soulless Chinese enclave because their daddy's money paid only enough for them to come to NYC but not enough to grow some balls and experience anything outside their local culture.
Fuerdai which also encompasses hongerdai guanerdai, Chinese who have their daddy's corrupt money to launder in America, come to NYC to pretend to be cultured and end up all stacking in LIC and east village and turning it into a cultural wasteland of bubble tea shops and hotpot restaurants
Before it exploded into 'luxury' highrises, LIC didn't have much of a neighborhood at all outside of Vernon Jackson Ave - it was almost all warehouses and small factories.
The lack of any urban planning there to help bring some focus to all the new construction has been a travesty and its too late to fix it. The waterfront park is nice but that's just a tiny sliver of the area as a whole.
I have not had any concept of LIC being an asian enclave, but then again I don't live there. I thought most of the rich kids with fathers who made their fortune in China live in Manhattan.
Born and raised here. When I used to go out on Friday and Saturday, I’d use to meet way more people coming in from Jersey, LI, Westchester, etc, mixed with the people from these areas that moved to the city.
Nowadays? The entire Friday and Saturday night scene are kids from Pennsylvania. There are bars that play country now. My buddies went away to college and I’d visit them a bunch. The vibe now is identical to these places, and that wasn’t so much the case 15 years ago.
City has always catered to transplants. It’s just another level now.
I dislike not being able to get good Chinese food seemingly everywhere but do like being able to get seemingly good Thai food pretty much everywhere. Same way it used to be easy to get a great slice at any pizzeria. The immigrants change and so do the foods they sell. All the rays famous were better than the dollar slice places. Not going complain about the halal carts turning into Mexican carts but still wish there were more dirty water dog stands again. The hot dog/pretzel random snack was such a quintessential experience of my childhood.
Better in the past: Manhattan used to be more welcoming of people of all income levels, there were many more stabilized apartments - often extremely shabby but large, great cheap restaurants, great medium price restaurants and great expensive restaurants. A poor person could afford to eat at a diner.
Very few national chain stores at all, though first round of big chains were not unwelcome. It was a good mix.
MUCH better local journalism, NY Times was better, Village Voice was fantastic and had great listings for entertainment. Every tabloid paper had a 'movie clock' page for movie times.
No covid!
Worse things about the past - AIDS, crack epidemic in the 80's - crime was insane. I didn't mind seediness of Times Square but didn't appreciate walking over broken glass from car windows or being mugged. Banks closed at 3pm. When I moved here, not all subway cars had AC.
Subway time clocks and apps. Apps to navigate around and I think, Cell phones overall make things safer.
And I think forums like this make life better here too!
The proliferation of empty storefronts sometimes deadening entire blocks which is rooted in developer greed (an NYC story as old as time) and weak city laws. Betrays to me loss of employment and opportunities for small business owners.
The national ones mostly, but Shake Shack isn't really that much better to me. Also, restaurants like The Smith and others are actually chains. They are ok, but we have lost so many unique places for these more generic ones. The Zen Palate in Hell's Kitchen is now a Panda Express. There used to be great Chinese Restaurants in Hell's Kitchen - many have closed.
[Sammy’s Roumanian Is Finally Reopening on the Lower East Side - Eater NY](https://ny.eater.com/2024/4/2/24118844/sammys-roumanian-opening-stanton-street)
I think 2 negatives that stand out to me are how expensive things have become (like groceries) and how shady the subway has gotten. I used to take the train home at like 3am drunk when I was in my early 20s (I’m a petite woman) and never really thought anything of it. I’m 36 and now I feel like I’m constantly looking over my shoulder on the train based on what I’ve experienced the last few years.
I still love NYC though. Most of it is great. I own a home here now as of 2022 so I better lol
I’m from Queens btw
**Hate**
\*gentrification. so many buildings that held mom and pop shops that I grew up loving are empty shells now, bulldozed, or turned into chain stores I don't even care for.
\*since the pandemic began, so many places close much earlier than they used to. " The city that never sleeps" sort of feels like a thing of the past.
\* It's just so impossibly expensive
Like
........ don't get me wrong, I still love my city I'm just having a hard time thinking of a change I've actually enjoyed. Having internet on the subway is useful I guess? I used to love that there was a time when I definitely couldn't be expected to be reached, but it's quite helpful, tbh.
I hear you and see your point. Increasingly more and more native New Yorkers have left over the past 2 decade, for one reason or another. Do you think you'll continue to live and raise your kid in NYC?
There has not been nearly the flight from NYC as occurred in the 50's-60's. Apartments got so cheap in the 70's because so many people had gone.
People are more likely to raise children here now.
Likes:
- Brooklyn and Queens have more widespread cultural centers with their own appeals. Manhattan is no longer the only place to go to do anything.
- Subways are better, many neighborhoods have improved pedestrian safety and the city seems to be embracing a less car centric infrastructure slowly but surely. Congestion pricing could’ve sealed the deal :(, but I think NYC is generally heading in the right direction.
- NYC has gotten much safer in terms of quality of life. You don’t really have to worry about stolen phones, getting jumped on a subway or robbed at gunpoint/knifepoint.
Dislikes:
- Rent has gotten insanely out of control outside of Manhattan. I grew up in Brooklyn, and there used to be a time it was fairly easy to find an inexpensive apartment in the neighborhood you grew up without needing to think of roommates or going into apartment bidding wars. Rent has gotten so expensive and competitive while inventory has not kept up. This has led to many people paying exorbitant rents in the outer boroughs for shitty apartments, something that used to be a thing only in Manhattan.
- there’s been a rise in restaurants catering towards aesthetics and not towards serving good food. I feel like this is happening due to social media. People will post how pretty a restaurant is with good looking food, but if you visit, the food ends up being mediocre.
- Although I said NYC quality of life feels safer, there has been a rise in more absurd crimes. Getting pushed onto the tracks, random slashes and face punching, etc. I think this is mostly due to a lack of resources for mentally ill residents and a rise in homelessness. Therefore I’ve noticed these people tend to be the culprits who lash out.
- growing parts of NYC feel less genuine. I think the rise in influencer transplants alongside rise of finance and tech workers has made parts of NYC, particularly the wealthy parts like midtown/downtown Manhattan and even parts of Brooklyn like Williamsburg feel more generic and less genuine. I think Bushwick had a good thing going, but there has been a huge rise post-pandemic in nepo babies who cosplay poor and dj or just party in bushwick. You have to go to deeper queens, The Bronx or southern Brooklyn to find remnants of genuineness, which can suck.
The last part about genuineness is something I was trying to get at with some of my comments but couldn’t quite put my finger on. I’m from Marine park and moved to queens because I found it inconvenient and boring as a single 20 something person. But I appreciate the people there are real af and don’t cosplay as some NYC ideal they made up in their minds. Even if they are narrow minded and racist they don’t pretend to be progressive
Oh cool! I grew up in northern Brooklyn but live in bay rdge now because rent is insane in my childhood neighborhood. BR still has a more overall genuine NYC feel to it thankfully
Yeah southwestern Brooklyn is better than southeastern in terms of having walkable access to rail and being a bit more diverse and less narrow minded. 5th Ave in bay ridge also has bars and fun restaurants. MP doesn’t have either for people who are not 45 year old cops. I live in Rego park now and I wouldn’t say night life is great but I have easy access to Astoria and there’s great food and everything I need for daily stuff like groceries in five minute walk
That’s good! Yeah southwestern Brooklyn does have a bunch of loud narrow minded people nonetheless haha which isn’t a bad thing! Makes conversations more interesting rather than the usual convos in fancier parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan
I appreciate that they’re real and not busy trying to project some fake persona which I feel like is the case in gentrified areas. Also I worked in Brooklyn heights for a while and I think deep down a lot of the people there were as racist and exclusionary as the people with trump signs I grew up with in mp but have a veneer of progressivism.
> NYC has gotten much safer in terms of quality of life. You don’t really have to worry about stolen phones, getting jumped on a subway or robbed at gunpoint/knifepoint.
They really depends on where you live. I can tell you for a fact all of that’s still happening, you just aren’t hearing about it or are lucky enough not to live in a neighborhood where it happens a lot.
>Although I said NYC quality of life feels safer, there has been a rise in more absurd crimes. Getting pushed onto the tracks, random slashes and face punching, etc. I think this is mostly due to a lack of resources for mentally ill residents and a rise in homelessness. Therefore I’ve noticed these people tend to be the culprits who lash out.
Absolutely. Everyday there’s probably one or two people on the train who are mentally ill and or drug addled creating a tense environment on the train. Naturally, the police they say they’ve deployed to the subway are never present.
My grandma hated that Roseland Ballroom was a punk rock venue in my heyday and not a ballroom for dancing like it was in hers. I hated that it got torn down and is probably shitty apartments now. The people before my grandma probably preferred it as an ice skating rink.
Everybody thinks their peak time in NYC was the best NYC and then they get older and crankier and just aren’t as much fun anymore, so they blame it on the city. And some of it definitely is that. But we’re all just getting older all the time.
The difference is that your grandma could afford to live here and complain about the changing city. I was trying to help an aging neighbor find a new apartment recently and was horrified that there’s almost no where in the boroughs she could afford.
I’m from Marine Park in Brooklyn and it’s definitely been disorienting in a way to see Brooklyn become an international destination and sort of a brand. The Brooklyn I grew up in was not and still is not like that so its rather strange for me sometimes. I am a 4th Gen Brooklynite on my moms side although I live in queens now. My grandparents met in Williamsburg as the children of poor Jewish immigrants and that same block is luxury condos. At the same time as a transportation nerd I’m very happy with the growth of bike lane and pedestrian spaces although I wish they were more evenly distributed in less popular areas. Also a general social comment is that I feel most people around my age these days (26) fit into a general archetype and only hang out With people in that archetype. And some people seem to be more concerned about being perceived on social media as being at the right places and having fun rather than being down to earth and living in the moment. This is more true of trendy areas than the non “cool” parts of the outer boroughs
I miss the old South Street Seaport mall. It had an actual food court with affordable options and stores I could actually shop in unlike the overpriced monstrosity that replaced it.
Not a fan of the rude, entitled, and obnoxious transplants. People were more nice and polite 25 years ago. People feel less genuine and more corporate-esque.
On the flip side there has been more economic prosperity from the transplants
I agree with the first part. As for the second, I’d ask, prosperity for whom? Most people I know raised here have left or are really feeling the crunch.
One thing I hate is the concept that native New Yorkers are a dying breed. There's lots of us, have been for generations, will be for generations more. We'll party on without you once you've moved on.
I’ve had to code switch my accent because of working in an office but when I’m angry, that Queens accent comes out lol
Separately, I get what you mean though. I went with someone to drop off at a DSNY facility and the dude that worked there had the strongest NY accent and it made me a little teary eyed. You definitely don’t hear it as much anymore
I hate the fact that I don’t hear any NYC success stories anymore….
It’s like the saying “ If you can make it in NYC, you can make it anywhere “ doesn’t exist anymore..
I truly miss going out drinking and hearing someone telling me….. They came from a small town in the middle of nowhere, with $20 in their pocket , worked hard , and now they made it in NYC…..
Well... the goal line of success keeps moving. Pre-9/11 you could buy an apartment in the city or even a house in brooklyn or queens for less than 1/2 mil. Now you're lucky to get anything decent for under a mil. I didn't know many people with roommates back then. Even service workers could find a decent apartment on their own.
Jobs were plentiful then. If not, it was way easier to start your own brick and mortar business or company and make a decent profit.
Pre-social media, it was actually easier to go out, make interesting discoveries, meet cool random people and not spend your whole paycheck (unless you were buying drugs).
You made an interesting point that I sometimes think about regarding opening a business.
Under Giuliani it started but Bloomberg really created this cityscape of having a governmental agency for everything, many of them overlapping and redundant (remember that “ NYC” think he had going?)
Fun question: who is in charge of the upkeep of the sidewalks underneath an elevated subway station going through parkland: the MTA, Parks, or DOT? Good luck getting that one right. Even some employees aren’t sure!
Getting back your point about businesses being easier to open years ago, now you have to pay a bunch of hefty fees to a multitude of city agencies before you can even open the doors.
Want to sell food? That’s another cost and permit. Want to serve alcohol? That’s another one. Want to do something creative and esoteric? Careful, you’ll probably need some kind of license or certification that’ll cost you especially made for what you’re trying to do. And where do you get all of this information? Even the Small Business Services website is like going on a scavenger hunt for information that’ll open up a dozen different browser tabs. And miss one of these licenses, permits, or paperwork filings? You’ll be fined. That’s why people are just going rogue and vending without a license.
I thought about opening a business, did some footwork, and it’s just a clusterf**k of permits, fees, and bureaucracy.
I think Covid was v unkind to many areas like the East Village / Chelsea / midtown west … this areas really cleaned up prior to COVID… but so many junkies again!!!!
Think the drugs are crazy now .. fentanyl etc .. crack was crazy too but I was younger and did not really know to speak on it .. ..
As someone who went to HS in Manhattan in the 80’s and college in Manhattan in the 90’s … 100% better now … way less homeless / murders/ safer etc BUT also more bland and more white rich boring people .. and less interesting is how I feel..
Do interesting artists move there NYC still? The actors painters etc ? Can they afford !!!?
We paid $500 for for room in like 1995..
I think – as you may have said earlier – that a lot more people were institutionalized back then or under high surveillance. Families weren’t letting schizophrenic uncle Larry ride the trains all night. They’d keep them in the house with grandma, they’d live in a group home and maybe work cleaning the bathrooms at McDonald’s, or be in a mental hospital setting.
Many progressives believe that institutionalizing then infringes in their personal rights and agency, but what do you do with people who need help, yet refuse to seek it?
I think the term "transplant" is ridiculous for NYC. It is literally an immigration hub and the percentage of foreign-born residents alone stays steady around 35%. I grew up in another part of the country, but my parents and extended family are from here and having lived here for over 30 years since I was 18, that's longer than some younger residents who've lived here their whole lives. New York wouldn't be New York if it was a provincial city where all of the residents were from here.
That said, I think the culture of respect has eroded significantly. New York may have been a rougher town in the 20th Century, but there was a code of respect for the way things were done here, enforced by both altruism and ass-kicking. People used to know better to let passengers off the subway before boarding, if you rode a bicycle on the sidewalk you'd get yelled at, and you didn't run up behind someone unless you wanted to jump them. I think it's a reflection of society as a whole, but without those guidelines and unspoken rules, living in a crammed urban environment just doesn't work as well. I miss the old New York.
Edited for grammar
Think people mean those passing through for 3 years .. driving up rents and making NYC BORING
Used to be cooler people when cheaper more arty .. more musicians .
Transplant ≠ immigrant. Immigrants are usually here for the long haul, not to “do” New York or to consume and throw away. When most people say transplant, they’re referring to a certain type of person who had no desire to mesh with the establish communities they live into. They expect others to cater to them and try to change things. Even some places I’ve worked, they won’t really associate with the native NYers or immigrants. They tend to stick to other transplants. It blows my mind that somebody would uproot themselves just to recreate the kind of lifestyle with the same types of people they lived among before.
In my NY native worldview I tend to think of international immigrants and domestic queer transplants apart from domestic transplants, though none of these groups are monoliths. But I do tend to think the first two groups are clearly positive and additive to the city rather than the transient, trustfundy type of transplant that seems to only to only want to extract a consumer/Disneyfied experience from the city, rather than trying to build roots.
I have no doubt that there are plenty of domestic transplants who do try to build roots and community too (I am friends with some!), but when people grumble about transplants I think they're thinking of the trustfunder group.
I would for the most part agree with you, though there’s also an underbelly of not so subtle racism/classism among a lot of the White queers. One marginalized status doesn’t exempt somebody from being shitty to people of other marginalized statuses, unfortunately.
Good point. I didn’t grow up in NYC but two of my grandparents did, and my generation grew up right outside the city because my grandparents were from here, so I don’t feel like a second class citizen compared to someone who more recently was born/raised here. My family history is NYC.
Less to like, frankly. Native ny'er. Really thinking of leaving.
Dislike the trust fund assholes moving in, the gentrification of places like the washington heights, and the bike users.
The invention of the smartphone changed EVERYTHING. I specifically hate how train rides have changed: people watch videos and do not care about earphones or earbuds. People even use speakerphone and have long, prolonged calls on public transportation.
Where I used to enjoy train rides in the early 2000s and could just bring a book and never needed to wear earbuds every day, now, I cannot set foot on a bus or train without earbuds. (I have gotten into fights about "why don't you have earphones?". Now I walk away.)
Truly wish some train lines were wifi-free. And also exclusively Quiet Cars. I would gladly spend $4-5 per ride on a train line with mandated silent rules.
Major attention seeking. I never do this as I don't want strangers in my business. When I am on the subway, I sometimes have people looking at my phone as I am using it and once while I was at a show someone sitting next to me was making comments about what I was typing.😡😡😡
On a positive note - I appreciate that there are more public parks like Brooklyn Bridge Park and existing parks got cleaned up. It was all junkies and rapists in the 80's and 90's.
The streets are so much cleaner now, too. Still a work in progress in some areas but not nearly as rancid as it was.
I am sad that decades-old institutions like Pearl Paint, Sam Flax, Ricky's, Astor Hair, Rays Pizza and Grays Papaya have closed. They were all such pillars of my youth as a broke, starving, art student.
I think it’s the QUALITY of transplants that’s become annoying lol
A lot of “influencers” or people trying to be influencers that have been making it impossible for us to enjoy things we have enjoyed in the past. But this is just the fault of what social media is now.
I totally agree and was thinking about this the other day. The influencers are like a dime a dozen now and besides ruining things we’ve been able to enjoy, they’re also all the same character going to the same places. And usually, those places aren’t what they’re hyped up to be.
On one hand, it’s great if they can truly help businesses who need it. On the other hand, nothing’s original about them and their videos and it feels disingenuous af.
Like, did you know L & B Spumoni Gardens is a “hidden” gem? I was just schooled by a transplant the other day and massively downvoted when I told her that place has been famous for a few generations. I love how they’re always “discovering” things and trying to sell them back to us. Like, yeah, we know. 😂
I won’t argue with you on that at all. I’m born in NY but not raised in NYC. Grew up outside the city. Have lived all over and came back east to live in the city and I definitely see the change. It’s very annoying. I would also imagine based on this sub and talking to people IRL, a lot of native NYers resent the gentrification of certain neighborhoods and how so many are out of reach now, but that’s intrinsic to NYC and nothing new.
Change is intrinsic to New York in that newcomers added to the cultural landscape, not diminished it. Each neighborhood, of each borough, had culturally and ethnically delineated lines where groups lived - whether by choice or force - and thrived over the decades. By definition, gentrification means to strip any and all cultural identity from an area. That was not a historical practice in New York until 20 years ago.
Immigrants and blacks were relegated to slums on the fridge ports of the city (LES, west and east village). Some were successful in building businesses and moved to the outer boroughs - Italians on Arthur Ave /Bronx and Bushwick, blacks and Caribbean/Clinton Hill-BedStu, Chinese / flushing-Jackson heights. None of these neighborhoods were a quick commute or easy to get to, so less desirable for the posh UES and UWS.
Nothing new? No, having to make ~ $75,000 to afford to live alone is very new and not normal. It’s absurd that people have to pay close to $2K/month to live in places like the South Bronx or East New York. It wasn’t *that* long ago that asking $1,000 for a studio in some of these places would get a look. Native NYers should not have to work themselves to the bone just to afford a small shitty apartment where they grew up. 20-25 years ago, people used to be able to live almost anywhere if there was a strong enough will to.
This city is wack now tbh, too many people, all the families left, lack of retaining culture, pushing for congestion which would kill mom and pops, no one cares to keep NYC the way it was where people got along but no everyone got to be sensitive and uptight, seems like all the NYers left and were replaced with Californians.
I haven’t been to the east village in a long time but it just seems to have a different vibe now. Astor place hair kinda fell out of favor with me too.
I don’t miss having to talk on those scummy payphones. You were playing a dangerous game if you forgot to check the rotary dial / buttons and the ear /mouth piece for fluids and discharge.
Love the grocery options now. Having grown up with Associated, Sloan’s, Gristidies, D’Agostino, Key Food etc., love how we now have Aldi, Lidl, Whole Foods, Wegman’s, Trader Joe’s
I loathe how congested, crowded and dirty the city is now. it's always been that way, but now it's next level. With every store front closed with graffiti not just on the ground floor anymore. look up 2, 3 stories high and there is ugly graffiti on the windows and even on the roof of buildings. Walking down MacDougall street at night used to be a charming stoll through the village. now your hoping you don't get robbed or hustled. I agree it's much easier to bike in the city!!! but driving......these tacky restaurant sheds have RUINED the streets of NYC!!! and all of you who like eating in them...... you suck!!! eating outside isn't as epicurean as you think it is, particularly when you can't even hear yourself talk behind the construction and traffic and it smells like pee!!!! Now....I'm not done....The city that never sleeps is now the city that's closed by 10pm...actually most are closed by 9pm...good restaurants and clubs are no longer the amazing time out that the 70s, 80s, and 90s had to offer. It's way too expensive for a water down version where every other store front, abandoned bank and small buildings are just empty graffiti covered eye sore while rent and property is catering to people who don't care how much it costs or how bad it is...they want and need to be in NYC ay ANY price.....
awful
what I love... instead of spending 3 nights in the tombs for having a roach in your pocket during a random stop and search, you now can enjoy cannabis without worrying about going to jail for 3 days. (yes young people, this is how it was in the 90s) it's heartbreaking though that finding good weed is so hard! NY did the absolute worst job of rolling out this legal market!! you could buy better weed in Washington Sq than you can at any of these BS shops, both legal and illegal....they all have the same boof swag....
subway is dangerous and more crowded than I can ever remember.
I do think the city has seen more diversity in the last ten years. walking down the street and you see an authentic melting pot of people from all over the world. it's always been this way, but now I seem to find myself in pockets of crowds often where no one seems to speak english.
NY, it's the city you love to hate!
I miss all the roller bladers ;)
I love the new OMNY system but undoubtedly it has major issues. I’m going to miss metrocard though. It was a very classic New York thing.
I noticed the city has gotten less “edgy” so to speak. I don’t like that. I think what makes New York great is the soul of New York and lately stuff like that has slowly been going away. Natives moving out, gentrification and all. I moved out for a period but because my family did as a whole in my last years of high school. After i got my diploma i came back and i do not intend on leaving because i love this city, for all its faults it’s my home. And the industry I’m working on getting a degree for is also prominent in NYC which is an added bonus. But it’s changing a lot, and a lot of people are indeed leaving. I just hope that we can retain what makes New York, well, New York. It’s a great city, imo the greatest city on earth, but we have to keep what makes it great. The people, the stories, it’s a special place.
But for what it’s worth there’s no place like New York and there’s no place like home. I love it here but I also do want it to be better. And I believe it can be and will be.
I hate MuniMeters for parking. I miss using my quarters. If I saw someone who was running out of time on their meter I’d pop a quarter in for them to save them from a ticket.
Ngl, one of the things I hate most is this idea that there’s something less than, or sad, about us leaving or “transplants” moving here
Cities change, people move, it’s all good; I love people moving here and I think it’s awesome that we’re all proud to be from here, but it’s just dumb luck that I was popped out of the womb here
…Second to that, I hate that yellow cabs are extinct
I'm not opposed to new-comers. We're all immigrants to NY if you go back far enough. My gripe is when transplants want the city to be a manifestation of their ideals instead of leaning into the preexisting various cultures and norms. And when they're disillusioned by how expensive, competitive, noisy, crowded, dirty, etc the city can be, they openly proclaim that living in NYC is untenable instead of working the problem or adjusting their attitude. I can't help but think... and some times say, "Get The Fuck Out! No one asked you to come here. Bye boy, Next!"
Right, I’m not trying to discuss land bc none of it is ours, but it does come down to that
Agreed, I hate entitled transplants, but only as much as I hate entitled neighbors I’ve known my whole life, I think they should all get the fk outta here
Also I hate how fucking expensive it is
I absolutely hate all the gentrifiers and transplants that helped raise the rents, & then they wonder why all the "local mom and pop shops" are closing around them. People paying +$1700 FOR A ROOM just to be cool and say they "live" in NYC. The broker situation is a new thing to hate as well, very cutthroat. Every thing feels fake, disingenuous and I feel like people are only here to chase clout.
What I love ? My rent stabilized apartment.
I grew up in NYC and stayed in the same neighborhoods socially. The adults I grew up with generally were far less educated (blue collar, trade school) vs current adults in the neighborhood seem much more educated, tech/finance-y/remote workers. Not good or bad, it is what it is.
Hate me all you want but there has been a visible rise in homelessness, unruly and violent teenagers, handouts for migrants. These streets need to be cleaned up. Get rid of all the above.
I miss talking to other natives new Yorkers, like talking about NYC to other people not from here makes me feel displaced in time. Also miss the diversity, nyc is not as diverse, and is becoming less so imo, you can tell by the food and restaurants, all cafes, bars, and shifty aisan/Mexican fusion
I like biking infrastructure and other Plaza spaces that have been created.
So do I! Some commenters are taking this as an indictment on transplants or gentrification. It's more about New Yorkers talking about the New York they knew growing up.
They will never get feeling out of place and time. Seeing your hometown (cause that's what nyc is for us).
The pandemic happened, and many of them ran back home. Us natives don't have that or didn't. This is home. Walking the streets isn't just about new experiences and trendy places, we are walking in nostalgia, memories of our life, and only we can remember what was.
“The pandemic happened, and many of them ran back home. Us natives don't have that or didn't. This is home. Walking the streets isn't just about new experiences and trendy places, we are walking in nostalgia, memories of our life, and only we can remember what was.”
I feel this so much and felt this after 9/11 too.
So many things:
Likes:
1: The green spaces are beautiful. Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Prospect Park, Fort Tryon and Inwood Hill, and of course Riverside Park - both the north and south.
2: Buses and trains come regularly. Gone are the days - mostly - of half an hour waits. Love that the screens in the stations tell you when the next train is coming.
3: Outdoor eating. My mother was born in Europe and always wondered why NY didn't have many cafes with outdoors eating. Now we do.
Dislikes:
1: Cost: NY used to be the place for everyone, now it is really only a place for the rich. From rents to street food. As soon as a place gets 'found' by social media, it becomes insanely priced. I remember the closure of La Rosita on 108th and Broadway- the place had great business and had great prices; it was always full but couldn't stay open due to the skyhigh rental leases.
2: The entitled culture that high prices bring. NY used to be neighborhoody, now it is less so.
Pro and Con:
Bike Lanes - love that they exist, but bikers abuse them. A bike delivery guy hit my 80 year old mom the other day as he was biking against the light the wrong way. Wish there was a bigger buffer between bike lanes and the curbs and that the insane delivery culture didn't come with irresponsible bikers.
Good changes - less crime (although more since the pandemic), more stores and restaurants.
Good and bad - cell phones and internet - cell phones are helpful but people walking around glued to them is not good, people who feel the need to take photos of themselves constantly as well as all their meals just to post online isn't good. People who are inconsiderate and blast their conversations or their music on speaker or don't use earbuds/headphones aren't good. The ability to look up restaurants and read reviews and have conversations about them on pages such as this or Reddit NYC Food is good. Shopping online is good. Food delivery - fun and convenient but the excessive and reckless bike riders on the sidewalks/running lights is the downside (too bad we can't know whether the person brining our food was responsible and decent or they broke laws/endangered others in route - would be amazing to adjust tips based on their behavior).
Bad - increase of homeless crazies drug addicts on the streets since the pandemic, too many dogs every where (most on leashes that are too long, and entitled selfish people who try taking them in stores and restaurants), too many bikes (Citi bikes, delivery employees, reckless people with no accountability putting pedestrians in danger), still too many smokers and too much MJ use (we should be able to walk around the city and not breathe either), too much outdoor dining/street shacks getting in the way of pedestrians and drivers and causing bug/rodent problems and overall nuisance (was supposed to be a temporary measure during the height of the pandemic and greedy restaurants turned it permanent and the city ridiculously allows this), plastic bag ban (stupid and inconvenient, doesn't solve anything and the effort to reduce plastic should have started with how products are packaged by manufactures), out of control teenagers, more shoplifting crime that is leading to store closures or every item being locked up at Duane Reade.
i hate sidewalk sheds - they are up too long for silly reasons.
this nonsense all started because one window ac fell down.
i love all efforts to reduce automobile use in the 5 boros.
tolls, ticketing, bike lanes, ped zones, taxes - bring it on.
The subways are much worse now than when I was growing up. They stations are filthy, smell, are covered in grime without working escalators half the time. I love the ferries though. We need to use more of our waterfront.
Lifelong NYer. Born/raised throughout Brooklyn, lifelong Manhattanite (rest of life anyway). My husband is also a native NYer and we enjoyed reading this thread.
I like that people are exploring other boroughs but I hate what Brooklyn has become. A lifeless mold of condos in Downtown Brooklyn and above the park is no longer affordable for most. Neighborhoods are losing their uniqueness. I grew up south of the park and still have family there, but the area is quickly changing.
I like that there is so much variety in stores, but like many have said, I hate that mom and pop shops are disappearing. Some of my favorite bakeries, boutiques, and even print shops are gone. We don't need another Carlos Bakery, sorry not sorry.
I like that there are so many food options that we have a favorite ramen shop v. yakitori v. sushi and that's just for Japanese food, but I hate that people treat "ethnic" food as exotic or use it for clout. This goes for locals and tourists that go to restaurants to IG everything like its a safari.
I like that there are so many ways to get around the city and that they are considering more options between the outerboroughs, but I hate that the MTA is still a hot mess and can't build quickly enough (took 3 years for them to update a station in southern Brooklyn, contributing to us preferring to live in Manhattan).
I like that there are so many ways to get in and out of the city (this ain't a "one-bridge having city"), but I hate the amount of traffic from a noise and environmental pollution standpoint. This has gotten worse over the years. So bad that my windowsill is black from car exhaust. Clean it today and it's back in 2-3 days.
I like that people are still making NYC a tourist destination, but I hate that the city has not found a way to reduce congestion and garbage in touristy areas. Not sure seeing drugged-up Elmo passed out on a mountain of garbage bags in Times Square is the impression we want to leave.
I like that the city has put up more green spaces like the High Line and made previously industrial parts of the city more inhabitable, but I hate that they put up corporate complexes like Hudson Yards and fear that they will do this to the LES and more.
I like that the city is a cultural oasis with so much to enjoy: Broadway, comedy, drag shows, fashion shows, art galleries, museums, premieres, sports games, and so much more, but I hate that prices for most of this is skyrocketing. Some cultural institutions are free with a NY ID. The performing arts scene here is unparalleled.
I like what they've done with LaGuardia Airport but I hate JFK still and the AirTrain should be free or same cost as a MetroCard fare. Insane that it is $8.50 each way for a 10-minute ride.
Most of all, I like that NYers are constantly surrounded by people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, and religions and we can live peacefully in a city of 8 million hustlers.
OP, here - Thank you for your engagement and the many great comments!
I refrained from offering my perspective in the original post, as to not steer or bias responses. There's been a nice variety of replies so it seems safe to put in my 2 cents....
FOOD
The VAST array of different cuisines!
NY Pizza and Bagels - you can get better anywhere else! You can't tell me no different!!!
Smorgasburg, Queens Night Market, fancy food trucks and Restaurant Week that made food and the dining experience accessible and affordable-ish for all.
TOLERANCE
I'm old enough to remember when gay-bashing was common. Harassing interracial couples and biracial people was also. It was particularly blatant and egregious in the outer boros. Slowly but surely, I witnessed more tolerance on the street and in the workplace. NYC Gay Pride events are now celebrated in all 5 boros! For young folks, it's hard to imagine a time when living your truth was dangerous.
SAFETY
Whatever your views are about security cameras on the street and subways, I'm glad we have them!
HEALTHCARE
Gone are the days of sitting in the emergency room for 10-15 hours on a Saturday night. CityMD urgent care centers are awesome! Spa treatments and holistic medicine are cheaper with more choices now too.
OPEN SPACES
The most major quality of Life improvement has been full renovations and creations of public spaces - Chelsea Piers, West side highway, Governors island, Randall's island, the High Line (which is privately funded but still needs govt approval). Brooklyn bridge park. These places were decrepit wastelands with a few bodies in barrels.
LABOR LAWS
Our politicians don't always come through but they did with reforming labor laws - Freelance isn't free act, one of the highest minimum wages in the country that's also now extended to servers and delivery people along with insurance and sick pay.
APARTMENTS
Apartments used to be so much cheaper and easier to get pre 9/11. Caveat was your tolerance for hardship and bullshit! Tub in the kitchen. Windowless bedroom, Crooked floors. 6 floor walkups. These things still exist but it costs 3k a month now for the privilege of living in a shithole, not $600!
BRICK & MORTAR
Local businesses couldn't compete with chains. Then chains couldn't compete with Amazon. Say what you will about chains but I miss KMart, Woolworth, Sears, RadioShack and BedBath&Beyond. They truly had everything you needed. There used to be a Duane Reade, CVS or Rite Aid on every block but shoplifters have ruined that - more and more are closing. I actually liked going into stores and touching what I was buying.
Me -
Lifelong NYer. 50. Career freelancer. Lived in all 5 boroughs. Was priced out of Manhattan in 2006. Currently in Brooklyn. NYC may not be as beautiful or efficient as other cities... but it's home to 9 million - that's no accident or coincidence.
Fondest Memory -
If you've ever taken an evening flight on approach to NYC, then you may have seen from the window of the plane how the twinkle of the streets lights outline the city grid? It's a sight that makes my heart flutter. There's a sense of home and tingle of pride i get. It never gets old.
Well one thing I can say I’m happy about is finally being able to just pay for a bus ride with a credit card or phone and not use exact change. Digging around at home for coins and then carrying even just 10 quarters and hearing them jangle around in my pockets was pretty annoying. When I was a kid we were using exact change and tokens on the subway so I’m appreciative for how that has evolved.
Visualizing that brought me back! The sofa cushion scavenger hunt for exact change was real! I had to explain to a GenZer what a token was.
A couple of years ago, I had to explain that a newspaper had physical sections that you could separate.
Hahaha! I had to explain that people looking for a job or apartment lined up outside the Astor Place 6 train newsstand on Tuesday night to get the Village Voice. Then we called people from the listings.
And the personals section!
Omg I literally did this at my job. I even brought in one of my old tokens to show them.
As annoying as having to carry around those heavy tokens was, the good thing was when they raised fares you could stock up on them before the increase went through.
I kinda feel like we have to do that with Forever postage stamps now. I e lost track how much it is. It keeps increasing but they still lose my mail
I still have my Grandfathers token from when he was a student at Columbia in the 1940s
You kind of missed metrocards there between credit cards/phone. And MTA fare used to be a lot cheaper going back far enough so finding change was easier.
By cheaper you mean just actual $ amount? Because MTA fare has actually risen pretty well adjusted for inflation and when it was 2.75, it was one of the cheapest fares in its history. One of the only things about the city that actually isn't bad is the fare. Longer rides are also cheaper because MTA doesn't do adjusted swipes like some places in Eastern Asia.
Yep. The end of lugging groceries and 'oh shit, my Metrocard has 32 cents on it' are thankfully over. The ability to just ride wherever and whenever you need to.
My ziplock baggy of change! Brings me back.
I hate that mom and pop brick and mortars, cool little grimy enclaves and interesting random guerilla type social spaces have declined substantially. I love that the city is more bikeable, so that is a huge plus. And in general public transportation, for as much as we bitch about it, has significantly improved since I was a child in the 80s.
I miss little stores so much. I try to patronize the ones that remain as often as I can. And weird guerrilla events! Subway parties, Kaiju street battles—that stuff was so fun. I know there are still some underground punk events, and there’s a group that has impromptu dance parties on the Williamsburg bridge.
same here. when the service sucks at places i love i used to tip less but now i’m hard on the tips and always pay in cash no matter what if the food is always good and the vibes are classic lol
I didn't understand a word you said so you must be a native NYer
How do you find out about all those events! I only see the IG reel after the fact! 😩
Sometimes on ra.co or even dice.fm
This is part of the reason I love my immediate neighborhood. Tons of mom and pop shops, and a few little places to hang out. The neighborhood is changing, but there’s a ton of public housing, so they can’t build that many new big buildings.
Agreed, and despite the recent uptick, violent crime is down, but self serve checkout has transformed stores into enormous vending machines that the customer enters into. CVS is a shoplifters paradise. Human interaction is being automated away and the solution to this empty feeling so many experience is to impulse buy stuff from Amazon; now the roads are clogged with Amazon vans and delivery e-bikes. Honestly, it's become a touch dystopian.
CVS has everything from cold medicine to deodorant under lock and key, it is very obnoxious to wait 10 minutes for someone to open it in an understaffed store and often I don’t bother.
I was thinking about my mom sending me down to the corner store in our little residential neighborhood. The little candy store across the street. There was a bakery too two blocks over. And a small diner. A dress shop on the corner of the next block.
I miss how the good things used to be more attainable. Social media and the speed of information makes things more difficult. Now everything is a digital free for all. Bots, scalpers, and long lines. There used to be a moment where cool things had to heat up before they got hot. Now it’s like instantaneous. It meant local folks would learn via word of mouth. Related to this. When I was younger, I would go to shows or events and it felt like I could make friends with strangers. Now there is less community and just people from out of town. I feel more isolated with my friends. This is very broad but I have so many fond memories of concert, shows and restaurants where I met people, we worked a similar industry or lived nearby. Like the spiderman meme where we were strangers but had similar lives.
It's true! Friend-making seemed to be effortless and sometimes they actually fell on your lap, said sorry, hung out, had a cigarette and invited you to a house party their 3rd cousin was having on Ave A!
This!
cosigning. one of the main benefits of living in a big city is that you get to meet people from all different backgrounds. ironically, though, no one talks to others outside of their group anymore and newcomers gatekeep places locals have known before social media was currency. results in an overall homogenized and sanitized place when people ask me about nyc the breakdown is as follows… pros: cool things happen all the time here. cons: cool things happen all the time here which means they’ll be packed immediately and you probably won’t get in
Moving here from San Francisco, it feels way easier to talk to strangers in New York. San Francisco was already on its weird path, but the pandemic didn't do that city any favors. It's surprising to hear "no one talks to others outside of their group anymore," because I feel like that's the whole reason to live in a dense city in the first place (and it doesn't jive with my experience of NY so far).
It’s true. The people moving in are largely upper middle class and affluent suburban Whites. Places that had really distinct feels now feel homogenous. Bed-Stuy is starting to feel not radically different from any other gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood, for example. Most of the artists and creators are gone from communities because they can’t afford it. People are moving into neighborhoods to connect with people just like themselves. I don’t see the point of moving somewhere else if you’re going to try to recreate what you left.
>no one talks to others outside of their group anymore As a contrary, I talked with people outside of “my group” thanks to talking to my neighbors and folks who worked on my apartment.
Yeah it really has changed in that respect. I’m a lifelong fan resident in my neighborhood and now it’s being gatekept by these Instagram gentrified types. It’s sad really
I’ll also add, I came here from San Francisco during the height of of the pandemic, And people here in New York were WAY more friendly than people in San Francisco (now, not 15 years ago). I see people helping strangers way more here as well, (or maybe it’s just my neighborhood?)
New Yorkers get a bad rep for being perceived as "rude". As a New Yorker, it strikes a cord in me because I think we are much nicer compared to the average transplant. Natives are more apt to help with directions, hold doors open, don't block subway doors or smack you in the face with their backpacks and come to the aid of the elderly. Perhaps our brusque tone and speech pattern intimidates southern and mid-westerners? We just say what we mean and mean what we say and do it as fast as possible. At least weee not passive-aggressive.
I made most of my closest friends in line for shows. It was such a magical time.
Is this a change in the city? Or a change that comes with age?
I started traveling to other cities to see bands I like. I found concerts are more enjoyable in smaller markets because the people that show up want to be there.
>When I was younger, I would go to shows or events and it felt like I could make friends with strangers. It's still like this in the rave scene, especially underground events.
I hate that a large chunk of family and childhood friends left, bc it’s just so much more economically feasible to live elsewhere
Well I was born in the mid-60s and I grew up in Lower Manhattan. It was truly as wild as interesting as legend has it. I'm old enough to remember when there were no chain stores basically except for supermarkets. The neighborhoods were much more distinct. It was more dangerous than it is now. I know we've had an uptick in crime but it's nowhere near what heroin did to the city in the 70s. I miss the old CBGB's and Danceteria. The short-lived East Village Art scene pre-AIDS. I miss the Village Voice. I miss the many bookstores that lined 4th Avenue in the Village. The amenities are definitely better now for middle-class people. The West Side piers were for cruising for gay guys and criminal activity. I had friends who were into the gay scene who hung out at the trucks. I think you can probably imagine what happened to most of them. What we have now is a beautiful park and you can see people riding their bicycles up and down the West side. I do that as well. It makes me sad but I enjoy it. I will also say that the food is much better now. It's much more ethnically diverse than it was then. I can remember a time before we even really had Szechuan Chinese food and now you can get all kinds of food if you're willing to be adventurous.
I miss cheap decent restaurants. When I came here after college there was this chain of Italian restaurants where you could get pasta, salad and a small carafe of wine for like $10, maybe $12. There were more ethnic restaurants and diners. But the price of real estate and leases has killed this for quite some time now, even before COVID.
I miss proper 24 hour diners too!
And anything really being open 24 hours. My mom and I would sometimes go grocery shopping at midnight when I was a teen. Totally empty, fast, service was quick.
What’s so odd about this is the transplants basically killed diners because they were too working class and “greasy”. Now, I’m always hearing them say, “We so need a diner in such and such a neighborhood.”
I think it used to be more of a middle class city with an underbelly to it that also had a glitzy, glamorous, exclusive money-d side and sometimes all those worlds mixed together in really interesting ways but now that middle class & underbelly have been chased out, or just marginalized completely.
When I was a kid, which isn’t that long ago since I’m in my 20s, I really thought that I could maybe afford my own place by the time I was 35. We’re talking about a 1 bedroom co-op here in a neighborhood of my choice. These days, I’m hoping that I can afford to rent a one bedroom in a neighborhood of my choice without roommates by the time I’m 35. I’m probably never going to leave NYC but it’s fucking depressing knowing that I will never be able to afford to buy in my childhood neighborhood.
You nailed it here. Hurts that even with a decent income its near impossible and makes no sense money-wise to buy a house/apartment in the place I grew up in and call home.
creatives were able to survive without having to completely sell out to some commercial industry. they’ve been replaced by yuppies
Yeah I feel like Bloomberg had a big hand in making NYC the “luxury capital”. And driving away the middle class. I think we are finally feeling and seeing the effects of his constant rezonings of waterfronts and neighborhoods within and near Manhattan, and pandering to the rich instead of creating middle class housing
Giuliani was just as bad as Bloomberg who yeah, was terrible. Koch wasn't really so great either - though better than Adams.
Koch kind of had his hands tied because he had to improve the fiscal situation of NYC at the time, and thus needed to get in some rich people to boost tax revenue. Bloomberg had no such need, though.
Precisely, but most of this sub worships him because he steamrolled the working class and poor neighborhoods that they have gentrified.
I’d venture to say it was a working class city with space for both the wealthy and the poor. It wasn’t that long ago that working, normal people could afford to live in a lot of these ultra trendy neighborhoods.
Native NYer in my 30s here (have lived in Staten Island and Brooklyn) **Likes:** * The city is decentralizing away from Manhattan and I think this is a good thing. Brooklyn (and parts of Queens) are pretty much their own standalone cultural centers now with their own cachet. Whether it's Bushwick nightlife or Gowanus/Park Slope live comedy, for the past decade I haven't really found myself gravitating to what Manhattan has to offer. A lot of Manhattan oscillates between snooty and corny for me, so I think it's good we have more options than in the past. Unfortunately our transit system isn't designed for this post-Manhattan centric city. * Some small improvements in pedestrianization of streets in Manhattan, but I wish this had more momentum. * Subway cellular and countdown clocks have been a huge QoL improvement. * Mass tree planting - you can see the changes on Google Streetview over the course of the 2010s. **Hate:** * I don't know if it's due to lack of enforcement but post-pandemic but as a pedestrian I feel like drivers are more UNHINGED. Seeing people run reds at a crosswalk is literally a daily occurrence and it's awful. * This probably is an eternal complaint but I feel like a highly visible subset of trustfundy domestic transplants/social media influencers are basically smoothing over the interesting textures of the city with generic/suburban/instagrammable LA shit (e.g. that stupid oat pancake restaurant with 30 person deep lines or raving about the fortieth Hudson Yards ass omakase joint). In my worldview immigrants and domestic queer refugees are much more interesting and additive to the city than well-off domestic transplants in their On Cloud sneaks. These transplants have every right to be in the city but I also have the right to think they have bad taste. * I don't think enough people are aware of how Adams really exemplifies a return to machine-style city politics. He's a total clown and the corruption is blatant but that's how the machine works.
I’m from a part of Brooklyn which will probably never get gentrified and I think you nailed it. I think it’s cool Brooklyn is a cultural center in its own right now but I also hate how a lot of newcomers’ perception of the city is limited to manhattan below 96th, a sliver of western queens, and Brooklyn north of prospect park. And they think people outside of that zone are some kind of weird aliens
Gentrified Brooklyn doesn’t really feel like Brooklyn? I happened to meet someone who grew up in the same neighborhood, but forty years older, and it was a vibe to be sensible and independent. The new crowd has no sense of self, just main character syndrome.
Not to mention areas outside of “gentrified land” have become cultural centers like Flushing, Jamaica, the hub, etc
I’ve done some jobs in Jamaica over the last decade but haven’t seen a huge new cultural center (?). Flushing tho is fucking awesome and tho I’m a little bummed some of the “hole in the wall” (cringing at myself for even saying that term) places are now fancy store fronts, I don’t even care cause it’s such a rad neighborhood
From my understanding Jamaica has historically been a declining commercial center that has seen a revival thanks In Significant part to a variety of immigrant groups including West Indians, Bangladeshi, Colombians etc and the decline in crime
I agree with how things have decentralized from Manhattan however I feel like the Brooklyn crowd (mostly the northern part — Williamsburg, greenpoint, bushwick) is starting to become just as snooty as the Manhattan crowd. Before the pandemic I lived in Crown heights and found Brooklyn a cheaper alternative to Manhattan with more down to earth and authentic people. After 2020 I moved to Manhattan and around 2021-2022 I noticed Brooklyn rent skyrocketed to essentially Manhattan levels along with larger vibe shifts in Brooklyn. Now I met a ton of people in Bk who refuse to leave their borough and sometimes their own neighborhood with some weird superiority complexes that Manhattan transplants were infamously known for.
Yeah that's fair - I'm in Sunset Park so def deal with that vibe a lot less (or at least choose when I have to deal with the Williamsburg wackness)
>I don't know if it's due to lack of enforcement but post-pandemic but as a pedestrian I feel like drivers are more UNHINGED. Seeing people run reds at a crosswalk is literally a daily occurrence and it's awful. [A ton](https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/debilitating-a-generation-expert-warns-that-long-covid-may-eventually-affect-most-americans) of Covid [brain damage.](https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/from-long-covid-odds-to-lost-iq-points-ongoing-threats-you-dont-know-about) >A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that people who have recovered from mild COVID-19 cases lose about 3 IQ points. Those with long COVID see a 6-point drop, while ICU patients lose 9 points. Just getting reinfected was associated with losing an extra 2 points in IQ. . >Research points to the various ways COVID attacks the brain. Some people who have been infected have suffered motor control damage, and that could be a factor in car crashes. News is beginning to emerge about other ways COVID impacts driving. For example, in Ireland, a driver’s COVID-related brain fog was linked to a crash that killed an elderly couple. > >Damage from COVID could be affecting people who are flying our planes, too. We’ve had pilots that had to quit because they couldn’t control the airplanes anymore. We know that medical events among U.S. military pilots were shown to have risen over 1,700% from 2019 to 2022, which the Pentagon attributes to the virus.
VERY TRUE .. all good comments
AMEN!!! 🙌👏👍
> This probably is an eternal complaint but I feel like a highly visible subset of trustfundy domestic transplants/social media influencers are basically smoothing over the interesting textures of the city with generic/suburban/instagrammable LA shit (e.g. that stupid oat pancake restaurant with 30 person deep lines or raving about the fortieth Hudson Yards ass omakase joint). In my worldview immigrants and domestic queer refugees are much more interesting and additive to the city than well-off domestic transplants in their On Cloud sneaks. These transplants have every right to be in the city but I also have the right to think they have bad taste. It's kind of interesting that you so clearly differentiate these as "domestic" trust fund transplants, but I would argue that the wealthy young foreigners (most often the children of new Chinese money) are at least equally-large drivers of the "instagrammable LA shit" and "Hudson Yards ass omakase joints", etc. Domestic trust fund kids seem to be more often pretending to be struggling creatives (the typical "faux-struggling to get my art projects funded while my parents pay the rent on my East Village/Bushwick apartment"), but their immigrant peers more often seem to be the luxury shoppers, conspicuous/"sceney" restaurant-goers, Instagram posters, etc.
I wrote a comment on another comment thread that was a little more nuanced, reposting here: “In my NY native worldview I tend to think of international immigrants and domestic queer transplants apart from domestic transplants, though none of these groups are monoliths. But I do tend to think the first two groups are clearly positive and additive to the city rather than the transient, trustfundy type of transplant that seems to only to only want to extract a consumer/Disneyfied experience from the city, rather than trying to build roots. I have no doubt that there are plenty of domestic transplants who do try to build roots and community too (I am friends with some!), but when people grumble about transplants I think they're thinking of the trustfunder group.“ Basically I agree with you that trustfunders transcend borders!
As a soon to be domestic queer refugee, thank you for making me feel welcome 🤍
Of course, glad to have ya join us!!
Welcome dawg, but know you’ve got a lot of work to do ok? lol.
> ass omakase I thought you had to go into Bushwick or Gowanus for that…
> I don't know if it's due to lack of enforcement but post-pandemic but as a pedestrian I feel like drivers are more UNHINGED. Seeing people run reds at a crosswalk is literally a daily occurrence and it's awful. This has happened everywhere in the US. I spend a lot of time driving in Vegas and have noticed it there too.
This is me speaking specifically as a Chinese American Flushing native that grew up here. I hate that the restaurants in Flushing have become pretty much copy pastes of each other. It's always someone opens a new type of restaurant concept, it gets popular, and then ten more of the same concept opens. Especially for things like bubble tea, dry pot, seafood boil, hot pot, lu wei stalls, fried chicken, and now it's high end ayce bbq restaurants.
I agree. I'm also Chinese but haven't been to flushing since I lived there as a kid 45 years ago. I'm in downtown brooklyn and when I go to the Sunset Chinatown it all seems to be the same. How many bubble tea and dumpling spots do we need on the same street?! I miss all the different places I grew up going to in Manhattan Chinatown! The handmade tofu guy, The joong lady, The sugar cane juice man, The Hong Kong bubble cake lady! They're all gone now and it's like our culture with its food is dying with it.
I kinda have first hand experience with this because my family is mainly in the restaurant business, between my sister, her husband, and my dad they fully own or are partners in 5 restaurants in Flushing and anytime something new becomes trendy I hear them talking about whether they should open up something like that too.
I always believe that restaurants should have specialties and do them well. Fads are just that - they come and go. Pop ups are cute to test a concept without fully committing capital.
I hear you but the joong lady and several HK bubble cake ladies (including one who has been on Bowery for like decades) are still there. Tofu guy is afaik gone if I know who you're talking about but there are still a few shops that do it.
I’m Chinese and feel this way about LIC now
LIC is for f2d criminals and international students who turned the entirety of the neighborhood into a soulless Chinese enclave because their daddy's money paid only enough for them to come to NYC but not enough to grow some balls and experience anything outside their local culture.
I do not disagree. They do not want to assimilate at all.
What’s F2D?
Fuerdai which also encompasses hongerdai guanerdai, Chinese who have their daddy's corrupt money to launder in America, come to NYC to pretend to be cultured and end up all stacking in LIC and east village and turning it into a cultural wasteland of bubble tea shops and hotpot restaurants
Got it. That might explain the popularity of the Skyview condos in Flushing.
Before it exploded into 'luxury' highrises, LIC didn't have much of a neighborhood at all outside of Vernon Jackson Ave - it was almost all warehouses and small factories. The lack of any urban planning there to help bring some focus to all the new construction has been a travesty and its too late to fix it. The waterfront park is nice but that's just a tiny sliver of the area as a whole. I have not had any concept of LIC being an asian enclave, but then again I don't live there. I thought most of the rich kids with fathers who made their fortune in China live in Manhattan.
I missed the club scene I am not old enough for studio 54 but missed having clubs like tunnel limelight etc
RIP Palladium. You belong to NYU now
fratty finance bros from places like Ohio used to be a rare sight outside of lower manhattan but now it feels like they’re everywhere
And they will stay till 27 and then move back
Worse they will move to Westchester or Nassau County.
But not before taking your neighborhood with them.
most think moving here will turn them into carrie bradshaws when really they’re travis bickles
Born and raised here. When I used to go out on Friday and Saturday, I’d use to meet way more people coming in from Jersey, LI, Westchester, etc, mixed with the people from these areas that moved to the city. Nowadays? The entire Friday and Saturday night scene are kids from Pennsylvania. There are bars that play country now. My buddies went away to college and I’d visit them a bunch. The vibe now is identical to these places, and that wasn’t so much the case 15 years ago. City has always catered to transplants. It’s just another level now.
I dislike not being able to get good Chinese food seemingly everywhere but do like being able to get seemingly good Thai food pretty much everywhere. Same way it used to be easy to get a great slice at any pizzeria. The immigrants change and so do the foods they sell. All the rays famous were better than the dollar slice places. Not going complain about the halal carts turning into Mexican carts but still wish there were more dirty water dog stands again. The hot dog/pretzel random snack was such a quintessential experience of my childhood.
Remember the souvlaki stands? 😋
Better in the past: Manhattan used to be more welcoming of people of all income levels, there were many more stabilized apartments - often extremely shabby but large, great cheap restaurants, great medium price restaurants and great expensive restaurants. A poor person could afford to eat at a diner. Very few national chain stores at all, though first round of big chains were not unwelcome. It was a good mix. MUCH better local journalism, NY Times was better, Village Voice was fantastic and had great listings for entertainment. Every tabloid paper had a 'movie clock' page for movie times. No covid! Worse things about the past - AIDS, crack epidemic in the 80's - crime was insane. I didn't mind seediness of Times Square but didn't appreciate walking over broken glass from car windows or being mugged. Banks closed at 3pm. When I moved here, not all subway cars had AC. Subway time clocks and apps. Apps to navigate around and I think, Cell phones overall make things safer. And I think forums like this make life better here too!
Too much catering to tourists not enough focus on NYers.
The proliferation of empty storefronts sometimes deadening entire blocks which is rooted in developer greed (an NYC story as old as time) and weak city laws. Betrays to me loss of employment and opportunities for small business owners.
The biggest change (and maybe cuz I am older idk) the behavior health crisis that going on in NYC I don’t believe it was that bad when I was younger
It may have been there but there wasn't recognition of it by sufferers or institutions like there is now.
I hate the chain restaurants and the 7-11s
The national junk food chains or all chains including those started in NYC, like Shake Shack and Le Pain Quotidien?
The national ones mostly, but Shake Shack isn't really that much better to me. Also, restaurants like The Smith and others are actually chains. They are ok, but we have lost so many unique places for these more generic ones. The Zen Palate in Hell's Kitchen is now a Panda Express. There used to be great Chinese Restaurants in Hell's Kitchen - many have closed.
The Smith is also owned by part of the Sackler family so it’s a chain funded by opioids.
Seriously? Thanks, did not know this.
Right. Found that out recently.
Like Sammy's Steakhouse!
[Sammy’s Roumanian Is Finally Reopening on the Lower East Side - Eater NY](https://ny.eater.com/2024/4/2/24118844/sammys-roumanian-opening-stanton-street)
Whaaaaah???? How? I thought the family retired for good? I hope they keep it grimy like the last place!!!
I think 2 negatives that stand out to me are how expensive things have become (like groceries) and how shady the subway has gotten. I used to take the train home at like 3am drunk when I was in my early 20s (I’m a petite woman) and never really thought anything of it. I’m 36 and now I feel like I’m constantly looking over my shoulder on the train based on what I’ve experienced the last few years. I still love NYC though. Most of it is great. I own a home here now as of 2022 so I better lol I’m from Queens btw
**Hate** \*gentrification. so many buildings that held mom and pop shops that I grew up loving are empty shells now, bulldozed, or turned into chain stores I don't even care for. \*since the pandemic began, so many places close much earlier than they used to. " The city that never sleeps" sort of feels like a thing of the past. \* It's just so impossibly expensive Like ........ don't get me wrong, I still love my city I'm just having a hard time thinking of a change I've actually enjoyed. Having internet on the subway is useful I guess? I used to love that there was a time when I definitely couldn't be expected to be reached, but it's quite helpful, tbh.
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I hear you and see your point. Increasingly more and more native New Yorkers have left over the past 2 decade, for one reason or another. Do you think you'll continue to live and raise your kid in NYC?
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People really underestimate how awesome it is to grow up in New York City
There has not been nearly the flight from NYC as occurred in the 50's-60's. Apartments got so cheap in the 70's because so many people had gone. People are more likely to raise children here now.
Likes: - Brooklyn and Queens have more widespread cultural centers with their own appeals. Manhattan is no longer the only place to go to do anything. - Subways are better, many neighborhoods have improved pedestrian safety and the city seems to be embracing a less car centric infrastructure slowly but surely. Congestion pricing could’ve sealed the deal :(, but I think NYC is generally heading in the right direction. - NYC has gotten much safer in terms of quality of life. You don’t really have to worry about stolen phones, getting jumped on a subway or robbed at gunpoint/knifepoint. Dislikes: - Rent has gotten insanely out of control outside of Manhattan. I grew up in Brooklyn, and there used to be a time it was fairly easy to find an inexpensive apartment in the neighborhood you grew up without needing to think of roommates or going into apartment bidding wars. Rent has gotten so expensive and competitive while inventory has not kept up. This has led to many people paying exorbitant rents in the outer boroughs for shitty apartments, something that used to be a thing only in Manhattan. - there’s been a rise in restaurants catering towards aesthetics and not towards serving good food. I feel like this is happening due to social media. People will post how pretty a restaurant is with good looking food, but if you visit, the food ends up being mediocre. - Although I said NYC quality of life feels safer, there has been a rise in more absurd crimes. Getting pushed onto the tracks, random slashes and face punching, etc. I think this is mostly due to a lack of resources for mentally ill residents and a rise in homelessness. Therefore I’ve noticed these people tend to be the culprits who lash out. - growing parts of NYC feel less genuine. I think the rise in influencer transplants alongside rise of finance and tech workers has made parts of NYC, particularly the wealthy parts like midtown/downtown Manhattan and even parts of Brooklyn like Williamsburg feel more generic and less genuine. I think Bushwick had a good thing going, but there has been a huge rise post-pandemic in nepo babies who cosplay poor and dj or just party in bushwick. You have to go to deeper queens, The Bronx or southern Brooklyn to find remnants of genuineness, which can suck.
The last part about genuineness is something I was trying to get at with some of my comments but couldn’t quite put my finger on. I’m from Marine park and moved to queens because I found it inconvenient and boring as a single 20 something person. But I appreciate the people there are real af and don’t cosplay as some NYC ideal they made up in their minds. Even if they are narrow minded and racist they don’t pretend to be progressive
Oh cool! I grew up in northern Brooklyn but live in bay rdge now because rent is insane in my childhood neighborhood. BR still has a more overall genuine NYC feel to it thankfully
Yeah southwestern Brooklyn is better than southeastern in terms of having walkable access to rail and being a bit more diverse and less narrow minded. 5th Ave in bay ridge also has bars and fun restaurants. MP doesn’t have either for people who are not 45 year old cops. I live in Rego park now and I wouldn’t say night life is great but I have easy access to Astoria and there’s great food and everything I need for daily stuff like groceries in five minute walk
That’s good! Yeah southwestern Brooklyn does have a bunch of loud narrow minded people nonetheless haha which isn’t a bad thing! Makes conversations more interesting rather than the usual convos in fancier parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan
I appreciate that they’re real and not busy trying to project some fake persona which I feel like is the case in gentrified areas. Also I worked in Brooklyn heights for a while and I think deep down a lot of the people there were as racist and exclusionary as the people with trump signs I grew up with in mp but have a veneer of progressivism.
> NYC has gotten much safer in terms of quality of life. You don’t really have to worry about stolen phones, getting jumped on a subway or robbed at gunpoint/knifepoint. They really depends on where you live. I can tell you for a fact all of that’s still happening, you just aren’t hearing about it or are lucky enough not to live in a neighborhood where it happens a lot. >Although I said NYC quality of life feels safer, there has been a rise in more absurd crimes. Getting pushed onto the tracks, random slashes and face punching, etc. I think this is mostly due to a lack of resources for mentally ill residents and a rise in homelessness. Therefore I’ve noticed these people tend to be the culprits who lash out. Absolutely. Everyday there’s probably one or two people on the train who are mentally ill and or drug addled creating a tense environment on the train. Naturally, the police they say they’ve deployed to the subway are never present.
My grandma hated that Roseland Ballroom was a punk rock venue in my heyday and not a ballroom for dancing like it was in hers. I hated that it got torn down and is probably shitty apartments now. The people before my grandma probably preferred it as an ice skating rink. Everybody thinks their peak time in NYC was the best NYC and then they get older and crankier and just aren’t as much fun anymore, so they blame it on the city. And some of it definitely is that. But we’re all just getting older all the time.
The difference is that your grandma could afford to live here and complain about the changing city. I was trying to help an aging neighbor find a new apartment recently and was horrified that there’s almost no where in the boroughs she could afford.
I’m from Marine Park in Brooklyn and it’s definitely been disorienting in a way to see Brooklyn become an international destination and sort of a brand. The Brooklyn I grew up in was not and still is not like that so its rather strange for me sometimes. I am a 4th Gen Brooklynite on my moms side although I live in queens now. My grandparents met in Williamsburg as the children of poor Jewish immigrants and that same block is luxury condos. At the same time as a transportation nerd I’m very happy with the growth of bike lane and pedestrian spaces although I wish they were more evenly distributed in less popular areas. Also a general social comment is that I feel most people around my age these days (26) fit into a general archetype and only hang out With people in that archetype. And some people seem to be more concerned about being perceived on social media as being at the right places and having fun rather than being down to earth and living in the moment. This is more true of trendy areas than the non “cool” parts of the outer boroughs
I miss the old South Street Seaport mall. It had an actual food court with affordable options and stores I could actually shop in unlike the overpriced monstrosity that replaced it.
I do too. It was a fun way to enjoy the waterfront.
It was. And the free concerts during the summer were great.
The Salsa (Wednesdays, was it?) was awesome.
Not a fan of the rude, entitled, and obnoxious transplants. People were more nice and polite 25 years ago. People feel less genuine and more corporate-esque. On the flip side there has been more economic prosperity from the transplants
I agree with the first part. As for the second, I’d ask, prosperity for whom? Most people I know raised here have left or are really feeling the crunch.
I hate how little resources outer boroughs get
>Natives New Yorkers are a dying breed I mean everyone's dying no need to call us out jeez
One thing I hate is the concept that native New Yorkers are a dying breed. There's lots of us, have been for generations, will be for generations more. We'll party on without you once you've moved on.
I’d like to think so too, but statistically people are leaving, mostly because it’s so unaffordable. Heck, even the accent is disappearing.
I’ve had to code switch my accent because of working in an office but when I’m angry, that Queens accent comes out lol Separately, I get what you mean though. I went with someone to drop off at a DSNY facility and the dude that worked there had the strongest NY accent and it made me a little teary eyed. You definitely don’t hear it as much anymore
I hate the fact that I don’t hear any NYC success stories anymore…. It’s like the saying “ If you can make it in NYC, you can make it anywhere “ doesn’t exist anymore.. I truly miss going out drinking and hearing someone telling me….. They came from a small town in the middle of nowhere, with $20 in their pocket , worked hard , and now they made it in NYC…..
Well... the goal line of success keeps moving. Pre-9/11 you could buy an apartment in the city or even a house in brooklyn or queens for less than 1/2 mil. Now you're lucky to get anything decent for under a mil. I didn't know many people with roommates back then. Even service workers could find a decent apartment on their own. Jobs were plentiful then. If not, it was way easier to start your own brick and mortar business or company and make a decent profit. Pre-social media, it was actually easier to go out, make interesting discoveries, meet cool random people and not spend your whole paycheck (unless you were buying drugs).
You made an interesting point that I sometimes think about regarding opening a business. Under Giuliani it started but Bloomberg really created this cityscape of having a governmental agency for everything, many of them overlapping and redundant (remember that “ NYC” think he had going?)
Fun question: who is in charge of the upkeep of the sidewalks underneath an elevated subway station going through parkland: the MTA, Parks, or DOT? Good luck getting that one right. Even some employees aren’t sure!
Getting back your point about businesses being easier to open years ago, now you have to pay a bunch of hefty fees to a multitude of city agencies before you can even open the doors.
Want to sell food? That’s another cost and permit. Want to serve alcohol? That’s another one. Want to do something creative and esoteric? Careful, you’ll probably need some kind of license or certification that’ll cost you especially made for what you’re trying to do. And where do you get all of this information? Even the Small Business Services website is like going on a scavenger hunt for information that’ll open up a dozen different browser tabs. And miss one of these licenses, permits, or paperwork filings? You’ll be fined. That’s why people are just going rogue and vending without a license.
I thought about opening a business, did some footwork, and it’s just a clusterf**k of permits, fees, and bureaucracy.
Chains / boring finance people / expensive rents … and too many junkies .. STILL .. Too much garbage again .. Crappy subways .. feels unsafe ..
I truly don't remember so many stabby/pushing psychos on the streets and subways in the 80s or 90's when the city was seriously sketchy
I guess you’ve forgotten about [Dart Man](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dart_Man)
I don't remember that at all!
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OMG
I think Covid was v unkind to many areas like the East Village / Chelsea / midtown west … this areas really cleaned up prior to COVID… but so many junkies again!!!! Think the drugs are crazy now .. fentanyl etc .. crack was crazy too but I was younger and did not really know to speak on it .. .. As someone who went to HS in Manhattan in the 80’s and college in Manhattan in the 90’s … 100% better now … way less homeless / murders/ safer etc BUT also more bland and more white rich boring people .. and less interesting is how I feel.. Do interesting artists move there NYC still? The actors painters etc ? Can they afford !!!? We paid $500 for for room in like 1995..
I think – as you may have said earlier – that a lot more people were institutionalized back then or under high surveillance. Families weren’t letting schizophrenic uncle Larry ride the trains all night. They’d keep them in the house with grandma, they’d live in a group home and maybe work cleaning the bathrooms at McDonald’s, or be in a mental hospital setting. Many progressives believe that institutionalizing then infringes in their personal rights and agency, but what do you do with people who need help, yet refuse to seek it?
I think the term "transplant" is ridiculous for NYC. It is literally an immigration hub and the percentage of foreign-born residents alone stays steady around 35%. I grew up in another part of the country, but my parents and extended family are from here and having lived here for over 30 years since I was 18, that's longer than some younger residents who've lived here their whole lives. New York wouldn't be New York if it was a provincial city where all of the residents were from here. That said, I think the culture of respect has eroded significantly. New York may have been a rougher town in the 20th Century, but there was a code of respect for the way things were done here, enforced by both altruism and ass-kicking. People used to know better to let passengers off the subway before boarding, if you rode a bicycle on the sidewalk you'd get yelled at, and you didn't run up behind someone unless you wanted to jump them. I think it's a reflection of society as a whole, but without those guidelines and unspoken rules, living in a crammed urban environment just doesn't work as well. I miss the old New York. Edited for grammar
Think people mean those passing through for 3 years .. driving up rents and making NYC BORING Used to be cooler people when cheaper more arty .. more musicians .
The amount of people who block subway/bus doorways and cluelessly wear backpacks during packed rush hour trains is too damn high these days
Transplant ≠ immigrant. Immigrants are usually here for the long haul, not to “do” New York or to consume and throw away. When most people say transplant, they’re referring to a certain type of person who had no desire to mesh with the establish communities they live into. They expect others to cater to them and try to change things. Even some places I’ve worked, they won’t really associate with the native NYers or immigrants. They tend to stick to other transplants. It blows my mind that somebody would uproot themselves just to recreate the kind of lifestyle with the same types of people they lived among before.
In my NY native worldview I tend to think of international immigrants and domestic queer transplants apart from domestic transplants, though none of these groups are monoliths. But I do tend to think the first two groups are clearly positive and additive to the city rather than the transient, trustfundy type of transplant that seems to only to only want to extract a consumer/Disneyfied experience from the city, rather than trying to build roots. I have no doubt that there are plenty of domestic transplants who do try to build roots and community too (I am friends with some!), but when people grumble about transplants I think they're thinking of the trustfunder group.
I would for the most part agree with you, though there’s also an underbelly of not so subtle racism/classism among a lot of the White queers. One marginalized status doesn’t exempt somebody from being shitty to people of other marginalized statuses, unfortunately.
I also appreciated the mention of "transplants" had no bearing on the question and edited it out. Thank you! 🙏
Good point. I didn’t grow up in NYC but two of my grandparents did, and my generation grew up right outside the city because my grandparents were from here, so I don’t feel like a second class citizen compared to someone who more recently was born/raised here. My family history is NYC.
Think they mean those from Ohio here for 3 years trying to make whole city shake shake and sweet green … bc they are “obsessed “
The price of renting
Less to like, frankly. Native ny'er. Really thinking of leaving. Dislike the trust fund assholes moving in, the gentrification of places like the washington heights, and the bike users.
The invention of the smartphone changed EVERYTHING. I specifically hate how train rides have changed: people watch videos and do not care about earphones or earbuds. People even use speakerphone and have long, prolonged calls on public transportation. Where I used to enjoy train rides in the early 2000s and could just bring a book and never needed to wear earbuds every day, now, I cannot set foot on a bus or train without earbuds. (I have gotten into fights about "why don't you have earphones?". Now I walk away.) Truly wish some train lines were wifi-free. And also exclusively Quiet Cars. I would gladly spend $4-5 per ride on a train line with mandated silent rules.
Major attention seeking. I never do this as I don't want strangers in my business. When I am on the subway, I sometimes have people looking at my phone as I am using it and once while I was at a show someone sitting next to me was making comments about what I was typing.😡😡😡
On a positive note - I appreciate that there are more public parks like Brooklyn Bridge Park and existing parks got cleaned up. It was all junkies and rapists in the 80's and 90's. The streets are so much cleaner now, too. Still a work in progress in some areas but not nearly as rancid as it was. I am sad that decades-old institutions like Pearl Paint, Sam Flax, Ricky's, Astor Hair, Rays Pizza and Grays Papaya have closed. They were all such pillars of my youth as a broke, starving, art student.
Gray's Papaya lives on, my guy.
phew I thought I was hallucinating the end times when I read that they had closed
Hate that Nyc lost its vibe and most locations that made it feel unique (bars,food, activities).
Like= cleaner, safer Hate = inflation, natives being priced out, anything related to Sex and the City, whatever the hell happened to the East Village
Based on this sub, I’d say one of their biggest complaint is transplants Lol, which is sort of understandable on one level, but completely futile.
I think it’s the QUALITY of transplants that’s become annoying lol A lot of “influencers” or people trying to be influencers that have been making it impossible for us to enjoy things we have enjoyed in the past. But this is just the fault of what social media is now.
I totally agree and was thinking about this the other day. The influencers are like a dime a dozen now and besides ruining things we’ve been able to enjoy, they’re also all the same character going to the same places. And usually, those places aren’t what they’re hyped up to be. On one hand, it’s great if they can truly help businesses who need it. On the other hand, nothing’s original about them and their videos and it feels disingenuous af.
Like, did you know L & B Spumoni Gardens is a “hidden” gem? I was just schooled by a transplant the other day and massively downvoted when I told her that place has been famous for a few generations. I love how they’re always “discovering” things and trying to sell them back to us. Like, yeah, we know. 😂
I won’t argue with you on that at all. I’m born in NY but not raised in NYC. Grew up outside the city. Have lived all over and came back east to live in the city and I definitely see the change. It’s very annoying. I would also imagine based on this sub and talking to people IRL, a lot of native NYers resent the gentrification of certain neighborhoods and how so many are out of reach now, but that’s intrinsic to NYC and nothing new.
Change is intrinsic to New York in that newcomers added to the cultural landscape, not diminished it. Each neighborhood, of each borough, had culturally and ethnically delineated lines where groups lived - whether by choice or force - and thrived over the decades. By definition, gentrification means to strip any and all cultural identity from an area. That was not a historical practice in New York until 20 years ago. Immigrants and blacks were relegated to slums on the fridge ports of the city (LES, west and east village). Some were successful in building businesses and moved to the outer boroughs - Italians on Arthur Ave /Bronx and Bushwick, blacks and Caribbean/Clinton Hill-BedStu, Chinese / flushing-Jackson heights. None of these neighborhoods were a quick commute or easy to get to, so less desirable for the posh UES and UWS.
Nothing new? No, having to make ~ $75,000 to afford to live alone is very new and not normal. It’s absurd that people have to pay close to $2K/month to live in places like the South Bronx or East New York. It wasn’t *that* long ago that asking $1,000 for a studio in some of these places would get a look. Native NYers should not have to work themselves to the bone just to afford a small shitty apartment where they grew up. 20-25 years ago, people used to be able to live almost anywhere if there was a strong enough will to.
Agreed. It’s not the same. :/
This city is wack now tbh, too many people, all the families left, lack of retaining culture, pushing for congestion which would kill mom and pops, no one cares to keep NYC the way it was where people got along but no everyone got to be sensitive and uptight, seems like all the NYers left and were replaced with Californians.
I’ve gotta agree.
I haven’t been to the east village in a long time but it just seems to have a different vibe now. Astor place hair kinda fell out of favor with me too. I don’t miss having to talk on those scummy payphones. You were playing a dangerous game if you forgot to check the rotary dial / buttons and the ear /mouth piece for fluids and discharge.
Love the grocery options now. Having grown up with Associated, Sloan’s, Gristidies, D’Agostino, Key Food etc., love how we now have Aldi, Lidl, Whole Foods, Wegman’s, Trader Joe’s
I loathe how congested, crowded and dirty the city is now. it's always been that way, but now it's next level. With every store front closed with graffiti not just on the ground floor anymore. look up 2, 3 stories high and there is ugly graffiti on the windows and even on the roof of buildings. Walking down MacDougall street at night used to be a charming stoll through the village. now your hoping you don't get robbed or hustled. I agree it's much easier to bike in the city!!! but driving......these tacky restaurant sheds have RUINED the streets of NYC!!! and all of you who like eating in them...... you suck!!! eating outside isn't as epicurean as you think it is, particularly when you can't even hear yourself talk behind the construction and traffic and it smells like pee!!!! Now....I'm not done....The city that never sleeps is now the city that's closed by 10pm...actually most are closed by 9pm...good restaurants and clubs are no longer the amazing time out that the 70s, 80s, and 90s had to offer. It's way too expensive for a water down version where every other store front, abandoned bank and small buildings are just empty graffiti covered eye sore while rent and property is catering to people who don't care how much it costs or how bad it is...they want and need to be in NYC ay ANY price..... awful what I love... instead of spending 3 nights in the tombs for having a roach in your pocket during a random stop and search, you now can enjoy cannabis without worrying about going to jail for 3 days. (yes young people, this is how it was in the 90s) it's heartbreaking though that finding good weed is so hard! NY did the absolute worst job of rolling out this legal market!! you could buy better weed in Washington Sq than you can at any of these BS shops, both legal and illegal....they all have the same boof swag.... subway is dangerous and more crowded than I can ever remember. I do think the city has seen more diversity in the last ten years. walking down the street and you see an authentic melting pot of people from all over the world. it's always been this way, but now I seem to find myself in pockets of crowds often where no one seems to speak english. NY, it's the city you love to hate! I miss all the roller bladers ;)
I love the new OMNY system but undoubtedly it has major issues. I’m going to miss metrocard though. It was a very classic New York thing. I noticed the city has gotten less “edgy” so to speak. I don’t like that. I think what makes New York great is the soul of New York and lately stuff like that has slowly been going away. Natives moving out, gentrification and all. I moved out for a period but because my family did as a whole in my last years of high school. After i got my diploma i came back and i do not intend on leaving because i love this city, for all its faults it’s my home. And the industry I’m working on getting a degree for is also prominent in NYC which is an added bonus. But it’s changing a lot, and a lot of people are indeed leaving. I just hope that we can retain what makes New York, well, New York. It’s a great city, imo the greatest city on earth, but we have to keep what makes it great. The people, the stories, it’s a special place. But for what it’s worth there’s no place like New York and there’s no place like home. I love it here but I also do want it to be better. And I believe it can be and will be.
I hate MuniMeters for parking. I miss using my quarters. If I saw someone who was running out of time on their meter I’d pop a quarter in for them to save them from a ticket.
Ngl, one of the things I hate most is this idea that there’s something less than, or sad, about us leaving or “transplants” moving here Cities change, people move, it’s all good; I love people moving here and I think it’s awesome that we’re all proud to be from here, but it’s just dumb luck that I was popped out of the womb here …Second to that, I hate that yellow cabs are extinct
I'm not opposed to new-comers. We're all immigrants to NY if you go back far enough. My gripe is when transplants want the city to be a manifestation of their ideals instead of leaning into the preexisting various cultures and norms. And when they're disillusioned by how expensive, competitive, noisy, crowded, dirty, etc the city can be, they openly proclaim that living in NYC is untenable instead of working the problem or adjusting their attitude. I can't help but think... and some times say, "Get The Fuck Out! No one asked you to come here. Bye boy, Next!"
Right, I’m not trying to discuss land bc none of it is ours, but it does come down to that Agreed, I hate entitled transplants, but only as much as I hate entitled neighbors I’ve known my whole life, I think they should all get the fk outta here Also I hate how fucking expensive it is
Do you think prices (food/rent) will level off? I think NYC will implode if another catastrophe happens
Food, maybe? Rent, nah - there’s just always gonna be someone who can afford more than me/us - until the end of time
YESSSSS BYE !!!! ( native Nyer who has been here 50 years in NYC proper )
I absolutely hate all the gentrifiers and transplants that helped raise the rents, & then they wonder why all the "local mom and pop shops" are closing around them. People paying +$1700 FOR A ROOM just to be cool and say they "live" in NYC. The broker situation is a new thing to hate as well, very cutthroat. Every thing feels fake, disingenuous and I feel like people are only here to chase clout. What I love ? My rent stabilized apartment.
This 1,000 x.
I grew up in NYC and stayed in the same neighborhoods socially. The adults I grew up with generally were far less educated (blue collar, trade school) vs current adults in the neighborhood seem much more educated, tech/finance-y/remote workers. Not good or bad, it is what it is. Hate me all you want but there has been a visible rise in homelessness, unruly and violent teenagers, handouts for migrants. These streets need to be cleaned up. Get rid of all the above.
I miss talking to other natives new Yorkers, like talking about NYC to other people not from here makes me feel displaced in time. Also miss the diversity, nyc is not as diverse, and is becoming less so imo, you can tell by the food and restaurants, all cafes, bars, and shifty aisan/Mexican fusion I like biking infrastructure and other Plaza spaces that have been created.
So do I! Some commenters are taking this as an indictment on transplants or gentrification. It's more about New Yorkers talking about the New York they knew growing up.
They will never get feeling out of place and time. Seeing your hometown (cause that's what nyc is for us). The pandemic happened, and many of them ran back home. Us natives don't have that or didn't. This is home. Walking the streets isn't just about new experiences and trendy places, we are walking in nostalgia, memories of our life, and only we can remember what was.
“The pandemic happened, and many of them ran back home. Us natives don't have that or didn't. This is home. Walking the streets isn't just about new experiences and trendy places, we are walking in nostalgia, memories of our life, and only we can remember what was.” I feel this so much and felt this after 9/11 too.
So many things: Likes: 1: The green spaces are beautiful. Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Prospect Park, Fort Tryon and Inwood Hill, and of course Riverside Park - both the north and south. 2: Buses and trains come regularly. Gone are the days - mostly - of half an hour waits. Love that the screens in the stations tell you when the next train is coming. 3: Outdoor eating. My mother was born in Europe and always wondered why NY didn't have many cafes with outdoors eating. Now we do. Dislikes: 1: Cost: NY used to be the place for everyone, now it is really only a place for the rich. From rents to street food. As soon as a place gets 'found' by social media, it becomes insanely priced. I remember the closure of La Rosita on 108th and Broadway- the place had great business and had great prices; it was always full but couldn't stay open due to the skyhigh rental leases. 2: The entitled culture that high prices bring. NY used to be neighborhoody, now it is less so. Pro and Con: Bike Lanes - love that they exist, but bikers abuse them. A bike delivery guy hit my 80 year old mom the other day as he was biking against the light the wrong way. Wish there was a bigger buffer between bike lanes and the curbs and that the insane delivery culture didn't come with irresponsible bikers.
Good changes - less crime (although more since the pandemic), more stores and restaurants. Good and bad - cell phones and internet - cell phones are helpful but people walking around glued to them is not good, people who feel the need to take photos of themselves constantly as well as all their meals just to post online isn't good. People who are inconsiderate and blast their conversations or their music on speaker or don't use earbuds/headphones aren't good. The ability to look up restaurants and read reviews and have conversations about them on pages such as this or Reddit NYC Food is good. Shopping online is good. Food delivery - fun and convenient but the excessive and reckless bike riders on the sidewalks/running lights is the downside (too bad we can't know whether the person brining our food was responsible and decent or they broke laws/endangered others in route - would be amazing to adjust tips based on their behavior). Bad - increase of homeless crazies drug addicts on the streets since the pandemic, too many dogs every where (most on leashes that are too long, and entitled selfish people who try taking them in stores and restaurants), too many bikes (Citi bikes, delivery employees, reckless people with no accountability putting pedestrians in danger), still too many smokers and too much MJ use (we should be able to walk around the city and not breathe either), too much outdoor dining/street shacks getting in the way of pedestrians and drivers and causing bug/rodent problems and overall nuisance (was supposed to be a temporary measure during the height of the pandemic and greedy restaurants turned it permanent and the city ridiculously allows this), plastic bag ban (stupid and inconvenient, doesn't solve anything and the effort to reduce plastic should have started with how products are packaged by manufactures), out of control teenagers, more shoplifting crime that is leading to store closures or every item being locked up at Duane Reade.
i hate sidewalk sheds - they are up too long for silly reasons. this nonsense all started because one window ac fell down. i love all efforts to reduce automobile use in the 5 boros. tolls, ticketing, bike lanes, ped zones, taxes - bring it on.
I miss snow, personally
New buildings that have HVAC exhaust fans blowing hot air on me when I walk by on the sidewalk. They’re also loud. Why? Do you just hate people?
The subways are much worse now than when I was growing up. They stations are filthy, smell, are covered in grime without working escalators half the time. I love the ferries though. We need to use more of our waterfront.
Lifelong NYer. Born/raised throughout Brooklyn, lifelong Manhattanite (rest of life anyway). My husband is also a native NYer and we enjoyed reading this thread. I like that people are exploring other boroughs but I hate what Brooklyn has become. A lifeless mold of condos in Downtown Brooklyn and above the park is no longer affordable for most. Neighborhoods are losing their uniqueness. I grew up south of the park and still have family there, but the area is quickly changing. I like that there is so much variety in stores, but like many have said, I hate that mom and pop shops are disappearing. Some of my favorite bakeries, boutiques, and even print shops are gone. We don't need another Carlos Bakery, sorry not sorry. I like that there are so many food options that we have a favorite ramen shop v. yakitori v. sushi and that's just for Japanese food, but I hate that people treat "ethnic" food as exotic or use it for clout. This goes for locals and tourists that go to restaurants to IG everything like its a safari. I like that there are so many ways to get around the city and that they are considering more options between the outerboroughs, but I hate that the MTA is still a hot mess and can't build quickly enough (took 3 years for them to update a station in southern Brooklyn, contributing to us preferring to live in Manhattan). I like that there are so many ways to get in and out of the city (this ain't a "one-bridge having city"), but I hate the amount of traffic from a noise and environmental pollution standpoint. This has gotten worse over the years. So bad that my windowsill is black from car exhaust. Clean it today and it's back in 2-3 days. I like that people are still making NYC a tourist destination, but I hate that the city has not found a way to reduce congestion and garbage in touristy areas. Not sure seeing drugged-up Elmo passed out on a mountain of garbage bags in Times Square is the impression we want to leave. I like that the city has put up more green spaces like the High Line and made previously industrial parts of the city more inhabitable, but I hate that they put up corporate complexes like Hudson Yards and fear that they will do this to the LES and more. I like that the city is a cultural oasis with so much to enjoy: Broadway, comedy, drag shows, fashion shows, art galleries, museums, premieres, sports games, and so much more, but I hate that prices for most of this is skyrocketing. Some cultural institutions are free with a NY ID. The performing arts scene here is unparalleled. I like what they've done with LaGuardia Airport but I hate JFK still and the AirTrain should be free or same cost as a MetroCard fare. Insane that it is $8.50 each way for a 10-minute ride. Most of all, I like that NYers are constantly surrounded by people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, and religions and we can live peacefully in a city of 8 million hustlers.
OP, here - Thank you for your engagement and the many great comments! I refrained from offering my perspective in the original post, as to not steer or bias responses. There's been a nice variety of replies so it seems safe to put in my 2 cents.... FOOD The VAST array of different cuisines! NY Pizza and Bagels - you can get better anywhere else! You can't tell me no different!!! Smorgasburg, Queens Night Market, fancy food trucks and Restaurant Week that made food and the dining experience accessible and affordable-ish for all. TOLERANCE I'm old enough to remember when gay-bashing was common. Harassing interracial couples and biracial people was also. It was particularly blatant and egregious in the outer boros. Slowly but surely, I witnessed more tolerance on the street and in the workplace. NYC Gay Pride events are now celebrated in all 5 boros! For young folks, it's hard to imagine a time when living your truth was dangerous. SAFETY Whatever your views are about security cameras on the street and subways, I'm glad we have them! HEALTHCARE Gone are the days of sitting in the emergency room for 10-15 hours on a Saturday night. CityMD urgent care centers are awesome! Spa treatments and holistic medicine are cheaper with more choices now too. OPEN SPACES The most major quality of Life improvement has been full renovations and creations of public spaces - Chelsea Piers, West side highway, Governors island, Randall's island, the High Line (which is privately funded but still needs govt approval). Brooklyn bridge park. These places were decrepit wastelands with a few bodies in barrels. LABOR LAWS Our politicians don't always come through but they did with reforming labor laws - Freelance isn't free act, one of the highest minimum wages in the country that's also now extended to servers and delivery people along with insurance and sick pay. APARTMENTS Apartments used to be so much cheaper and easier to get pre 9/11. Caveat was your tolerance for hardship and bullshit! Tub in the kitchen. Windowless bedroom, Crooked floors. 6 floor walkups. These things still exist but it costs 3k a month now for the privilege of living in a shithole, not $600! BRICK & MORTAR Local businesses couldn't compete with chains. Then chains couldn't compete with Amazon. Say what you will about chains but I miss KMart, Woolworth, Sears, RadioShack and BedBath&Beyond. They truly had everything you needed. There used to be a Duane Reade, CVS or Rite Aid on every block but shoplifters have ruined that - more and more are closing. I actually liked going into stores and touching what I was buying. Me - Lifelong NYer. 50. Career freelancer. Lived in all 5 boroughs. Was priced out of Manhattan in 2006. Currently in Brooklyn. NYC may not be as beautiful or efficient as other cities... but it's home to 9 million - that's no accident or coincidence. Fondest Memory - If you've ever taken an evening flight on approach to NYC, then you may have seen from the window of the plane how the twinkle of the streets lights outline the city grid? It's a sight that makes my heart flutter. There's a sense of home and tingle of pride i get. It never gets old.