ANIMAL posted this video of stock footage from 1970's New York. The New York of crime, graffiti, the fiscal crisis, Abe Beame, Son of Sam -- a time that those living in a clean and gentrified metropolis make the mistake of romanticizing.
The visuals of this video alone are a hoot to look at (we are HuffPostNY do love ephemera) but the production of the thing is something to marvel at, to. Set to a funky, cop show themesong, commuters shuffle in and out of graffitied subway cars and buses as well dressed citizens push each other through crowded streets, and cabbies wearing suits...whaaaa?
A narrator carries the footage along. Some highlights:
On the danger of subway travels: "You get pushed, you get shoved, sometimes you mugged...during the daylight!"
On the fading pride of our transportation: "I can remember when public transportation was one of the prides of New York. What happened!?"
On the siphoning of money from New York's suburbs: "New York is broke."
And cabbies wearing suit jackets and ties? Yeah, ok. "What I don't like about the job are the kooks" says the dapper cabbie. "I've been held up twice!"
Cue Ernie Hudson's "I love this town" line from Ghostbusters.