NYCity Snapshot: Video Vox Pop on the Recession

Some 80 students from the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, home of the NYCity News Service, hit the streets armed with Flip Video recorders, and asked scores of New Yorkers: "Tell us one way the recession has changed your life."

The answers were as diverse as the city itself.

For some people, even food has become a luxury: "There have been times when we literally would have a chicken breast to share for our dinner," said Carolin Wood, 30, an artist from Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Others have scaled down their extravagances. "I don't drink my regular Champagne ... Now I go to Spumante, which goes only to like $12 a bottle." said Arturo Hernandez, 49, a dental tool technician from Kensington, Brooklyn.

A lucky few have found new opportunities in the recession, like Steve Stathis, 48, owner of Boarders Surf Shop at Rockaway Beach. "It's increased our business," he said. "We've had different customers – people who would normally travel out to the Hamptons and spend lots of money – now stay local."

The videos are plotted on a Google map of the city. Click on the individual portraits to learn how the recession has affected various New Yorkers.