The New York City Subway in the 1970s: The Photos (Poughkeepsie: crime, home)
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A blast from the past. Looking at these photos puts things into perspective. Although subway crime & filth has been on the rise lately, it is nothing like it was in the 70's! Btw, I vaguely remember some of those cars especially the swinging overhead handrails.
Okay the graffiti was worse but I don’t see a homeless person camped out in a subway car which is common today
The homeless people were even worse then b/c they were shooting up on the trains. We complain about the cleanliness of the trains but they are far better than they were in the 80s...though the rat problem is worse now.
Okay the graffiti was worse but I don’t see a homeless person camped out in a subway car which is common today
Good point.
I wonder if homelessness was prevalent in the 70's. I know it was out in the streets (the Bowery) but I wonder if they hit up the subway cars like they do now.
Good point.
I wonder if homelessness was prevalent in the 70's. I know it was out in the streets (the Bowery) but I wonder if they hit up the subway cars like they do now.
I remember a coupe of homeless people sleeping on subway grates in the winter with three limos running outside a fancy store. There were a lot of people who built tiny shelters out of cardboard boxes in abandoned doorways.
The graffiti were awful. I’m so glad NYC finally got rid of them, and prevented the spread for
many years now.
Good point.
I wonder if homelessness was prevalent in the 70's. I know it was out in the streets (the Bowery) but I wonder if they hit up the subway cars like they do now.
Two things - first, there was still manned token booths which helped keep subway platform crime down.
Second, less homelessness because NYC still had psychiatric hospital.
Quote:
The Hudson River State Hospital, a former state psychiatric hospital in Poughkeepsie, was constructed in 1871. The Hudson River State Hospital was operational from 1871 to 2003 until the 160 acres and countless buildings became too crowded and was forced to close.
Letchworth Village is a former institution for the mentally and physically disabled in Haverstraw, New York in Rockland County. Constructed in 1911 and closed in 1996.
Kings Park Psychiatric Hospital on Long Island opened its doors in 1885 as a solution to New York State’s surrounding overcrowded mental institutions and was the largest state-funded for a period of time. The 800-acre institution was a self sustaining facility with farms and railroad spurs to bring in supplies like coal. The hospital closed its doors permanently in 1996.
The Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center on Long Island was opened in 1931. The Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center remains operational today, yet drastically smaller than it once was.
The Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center, originally Harlem Valley State Hospital, opened in 1924 in the town of Dover, New York. The center gradually lost many of its patients due to the increase in psychotropic drugs, like Thorazine, and closed in 1994.
The Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital is located in Middletown, New York and was first opened in 1874. The hospital was eventually closed in 2006.
They were closed to save tax player money. At the same time, drug companies sold the idea that with new psychiatric drugs facilities weren't needed. As someone with a bipolar in-law, I'll tell you - psychiatric drugs don't work on a regular basis.
At the same time, immigration changed. In 1965, we abolished the National Origins Formula, which had been the basis of U.S. immigration policy since the 1920s. For the first time, immigration from within the Western Hemisphere was also restricted, legally capped at 120,000 annually. The old immigrants were educated Europeans. The new immigrants were less education, poorer South Americans. The new immigrants needed more welfare and social programs. IMHO, it's not a coincidence that NYC couldn't provide social programs and support psychiatric hospital at the same time.
I rode the E and F trains in the 1970's. They were overcrowded at rush hour. The stations were dirty and unsafe. I also used Penn Station and it was dirty, filled with homeless people.
and the fares kept increasing.
I rode the E and F trains in the 1970's. They were overcrowded at rush hour. The stations were dirty and unsafe. I also used Penn Station and it was dirty, filled with homeless people.
and the fares kept increasing.
I can't say what the 70s were like, but I do remember the early 80s. To a child (me), the system was genuinely scary, regardless of neighborhood. Incandescent lighting didn't help the atmosphere any. Also was trickier to figure out, due to signage and service patterns. Agree with the above re Penn Station. It and Grand Central were filthy, unsafe, dilapidated, and unpoliced. It was serious business and you had to keep your head about yourself.
Would recommend journalist Jim Dwyer's book Subway Lives to anyone interested to read more about these decades. And an article by Michael Crichton (forget the title; probably googleable).
I see in the past year or two that this type of nostalgia for that time period has become widespread. Or perhaps only a nostalgia for the aesthetic of that time. And perhaps only among those who didn't live it in person. It would be really interesting to read a considered article about why that might be. I mean, it's so strange that Esquire is running a photo series on it.
Would recommend journalist Jim Dwyer's book Subway Lives to anyone interested to read more about these decades. And an article by Michael Crichton (forget the title; probably googleable).
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