That reminds me, I'd been meaning to ask you -
from what I've read about NYC in the '70s and '80s, it looked like a pretty scary place.
As someone who was actually there during that time, what was it really like?
There was considerably more violent crime than now, but it was mostly in certain areas. and everyone knew of these areas.
Yes, there were random muggings in nice areas, but you would NEVER see a "flash mob" robbery at a 5th avenue luxury store.
So crime was more prevalent back then, but much less brazen.
There was a certain fear among criminals back then about venturing into certain areas. That fear now seems to be gone, or at least waning.
Personally, I can tell you there is an ENORMOUS difference as far as "ladies of the evening" go.
On a Saturday night on 11th Ave on the west side, or Park Ave on the east side, there would be hundreds upon hundreds of girls working.
And when I say girls, yes, I mean many (at least 50%) of them were teens. And their pimps were in full view.
The typical fee was 100/hr if you went to a hotel, and the hotels ranges from $20 to $30.
This eventually came to a halt once Rudy was elected mayor.
And that was when I switched from streetwalkers to escort agencies.
So for people who like to associate Rudy with what they feel are negative things, I would ask that you consider he ALONE was responsible for completely dismantling the Manhattan streetwalker scene and the parasitic pimps who abused and exploited these girls.
Hypocritical of me to say this, given that I participated as a customer?
Perhaps.
But I did care about and show concern to the regulars I had back then. They seemed not to care much about my concerns for them.
Lastly, the presence of peep shows and live sex shows was very common back then, especially in Times Square.
There were just so many.
Those days are long gone.
Now you have "The Lion King", "Ripley's", "Dave and Busters", "BB Kings", and "Madame Toussads".
The edge is gone on 42nd St.
I miss the old days.
I knew the risks and went in prepared.
It's now a "family friendly fun land", and TBH, not so much fun anymore...
