Wildwood NJ's Tiki motels - General Tiki

D donhonyc Tiki Socialite The Quiet EAST Village Joined: Jan 13, 2003 Posts: 1197	D donhonyc Posted posted on Thu, May 25, 2006 7:55 PM The East Village was full of punk rockers and students. Now Soho is full of chain stores like the Gap and the East Village is yuppie central. But it's too bad when some of the things that typify New York disappear (like the Checker cabs). As a 20 year resident of New York City, 13 of those years being in the East Village where I still currently reside, I always cringe when I hear people talk about the East Village as some yuppie enclave. I can tell you that it's not totally true but unfortunately it's not totally false either. The East Village hasn't quiet yet morphed into what the Upper East & West sides are like, at least not yet. Those are definitely kingdoms of yuppiedom, no question about it. When I moved to this area in '93, it was still a bit sketchy but definitely in a transition stage. Although it was cleaned up a bit around here during the Giuliani years, there was still the air of street freakiness that there always was, the only change was that there was more sidewalk cafes then there were in the 80s. Back then (the 80s) this neighborhood was pretty damn scary. But that was the attraction. The East Village was druggie-freak-ville. I remember it well and in some ways wish it was still like that. Only in the last 5 or so years has there been a dramatic change where you're really starting to see different faces ie, upwardly mobile (white) youth, moving into the area and paying about $2000 a month for the same apartment that was about $850 a month around 1997. Shame. Here's a great example of change in the area: For years there was a warehouse of some kind, maybe it was a garage, that was next to the Hell's Angels New York Headquarters on 3rd St. between 1 & 2 Ave. The Angels have been there at least 20 years or more and occupy the entire building. Just this past year the garage or whatever it was next door to them was torn down and in it's place was built a NYU Law School Dorm! On some level that kinda makes sense, on another you just look at it and go 'you hafta be kidding'. I can just hear it...."Hello Mom...thanks for getting me into NYU but...I think I wanna come home. There's a guy with a motorcycle named 'Fuzzy' that lives next door and he wants to kick my ass." The bars around here these days are a bit on the stale side, attracting mostly people that to me look like cosmopolitan versions of Spring Break partiers. But, as long as they keep the Avenue A. Flea Market in business this place will still maintain it's street cred. But as I read somewhere recently, the East Village these days is more a 'state of mind' than an actual place that physically exists. As far as Checker Cabs, wow...they were long gone, jeez..about 15 years ago (?). I'm glad I got a few years of those before they were extinct!

The East Village was full of punk rockers and students. Now Soho is full of chain stores like the Gap and the East Village is yuppie central.

But it's too bad when some of the things that typify New York disappear (like the Checker cabs).

As a 20 year resident of New York City, 13 of those years being in the East Village where I still currently reside, I always cringe when I hear people talk about the East Village as some yuppie enclave. I can tell you that it's not totally true but unfortunately it's not totally false either. The East Village hasn't quiet yet morphed into what the Upper East & West sides are like, at least not yet. Those are definitely kingdoms of yuppiedom, no question about it. When I moved to this area in '93, it was still a bit sketchy but definitely in a transition stage. Although it was cleaned up a bit around here during the Giuliani years, there was still the air of street freakiness that there always was, the only change was that there was more sidewalk cafes then there were in the 80s. Back then (the 80s) this neighborhood was pretty damn scary. But that was the attraction. The East Village was druggie-freak-ville. I remember it well and in some ways wish it was still like that. Only in the last 5 or so years has there been a dramatic change where you're really starting to see different faces ie, upwardly mobile (white) youth, moving into the area and paying about $2000 a month for the same apartment that was about $850 a month around 1997. Shame.

Here's a great example of change in the area: For years there was a warehouse of some kind, maybe it was a garage, that was next to the Hell's Angels New York Headquarters on 3rd St. between 1 & 2 Ave. The Angels have been there at least 20 years or more and occupy the entire building. Just this past year the garage or whatever it was next door to them was torn down and in it's place was built a NYU Law School Dorm! On some level that kinda makes sense, on another you just look at it and go 'you hafta be kidding'. I can just hear it...."Hello Mom...thanks for getting me into NYU but...I think I wanna come home. There's a guy with a motorcycle named 'Fuzzy' that lives next door and he wants to kick my ass."

The bars around here these days are a bit on the stale side, attracting mostly people that to me look like cosmopolitan versions of Spring Break partiers. But, as long as they keep the Avenue A. Flea Market in business this place will still maintain it's street cred. But as I read somewhere recently, the East Village these days is more a 'state of mind' than an actual place that physically exists.

As far as Checker Cabs, wow...they were long gone, jeez..about 15 years ago (?). I'm glad I got a few years of those before they were extinct!

Post #234051 by donhonyc on Thu, May 25, 2006 7:55 PM