“What? You wanna go back to '70s New York?”
If that catchphrase sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the end of nearly every conversation here about the Fed and the financial industry. The '70s saw the city near-bankruptcy, spurred by a demolished Wall Street, and further trashed by sharp spikes in crime, poverty, rioting, and general filthiness. In short, the city was then as your relatives from Wichita imagine it to be today.
Yes we can—go back to New York in the ‘70s, that is—because like an old “Welcome Back Kotter” rerun, some places from then are still kicking around. Even if you’re too young to remember '70s New York, you can still travel back via classic movies like
Taxi Driver,
Manhattan,
Serpico, and
The French Connection. Wonder where Gene Hackman would have stopped in for a brew after a shoot-out? Here’s where to channel the spirit of old New York.
~Samantha E. Tringali
