22 Pics from Back When NYC Was a Total Trash Dump

Daniel Bonfiglio Published Yesterday in wow

New York gets a lot of flack for being dirty and dangerous, but compared to many cities around the country right now, it's actually in pretty good shape. Especially if you remember how things used to be.

Anyone who lived here in the '70s and '80s will gladly tell you about the "Old New York," and how the grit you needed to survive back then isn't necessary from today's gentrified youths.

Here are 22 pics of New York City, back when it was a total trash dump.

List View
Player View
Grid View

1. Mousey’s Bar
On East 13th Street and Avenue C, Lower East Side, New York City in 1976. Photo by George Cohen.
2. Houston Street
Between Ave C and D, 1980, New York.
3. Riding the Subway
Car in 1986.
4. 170th Street
The Bronx, New York 1980s.
5. West Side Highway
Manhattan, 1977.
6. Makeshift Playground
Manhattan, 1980s.
7. Business Suit
And newspaper trash, 1980s.
8. Run Down Lot
The 1980s.
9. Subway Car
Graffiti in the 1980s.
10. A Tagged Ice Cream Truck
Still sweet, in the 1980s.
11. Closed Down Stores
A stoop in the 1980s.
12. Love and Disgust
The New York Subway.
13. Doing Business
In the 1980s.
14. Kids Playing Basketball
While firefighters behind them battle an apartment building engulfed in flames in Harlem, New York 1970s.
15. Just Like Today
But with more graffiti.
16. The Crown Heights Riot
An overturned cop car, 1991.
17. The Elevated Subway
38th and 13th.
18. Out of Commission
A tagged subway car, late 1980s.
19. West Side Highway
After a truck fell through the elevated section, 1973.
20. Patted Down
What stop and frisk looked like in the ‘80s.
21. The West Side Highway
Late 1970s.
22. Children Playing
A wrecked Chrysler Windsor, New York, 1970s.

1. Mousey’s Bar
On East 13th Street and Avenue C, Lower East Side, New York City in 1976. Photo by George Cohen.
2. Houston Street
Between Ave C and D, 1980, New York.
3. Riding the Subway
Car in 1986.
4. 170th Street
The Bronx, New York 1980s.
5. West Side Highway
Manhattan, 1977.
6. Makeshift Playground
Manhattan, 1980s.
7. Business Suit
And newspaper trash, 1980s.
8. Run Down Lot
The 1980s.
9. Subway Car
Graffiti in the 1980s.
10. A Tagged Ice Cream Truck
Still sweet, in the 1980s.
11. Closed Down Stores
A stoop in the 1980s.
12. Love and Disgust
The New York Subway.
13. Doing Business
In the 1980s.
14. Kids Playing Basketball
While firefighters behind them battle an apartment building engulfed in flames in Harlem, New York 1970s.
15. Just Like Today
But with more graffiti.
16. The Crown Heights Riot
An overturned cop car, 1991.
17. The Elevated Subway
38th and 13th.
18. Out of Commission
A tagged subway car, late 1980s.
19. West Side Highway
After a truck fell through the elevated section, 1973.
20. Patted Down
What stop and frisk looked like in the ‘80s.
21. The West Side Highway
Late 1970s.
22. Children Playing
A wrecked Chrysler Windsor, New York, 1970s.