WHAT I MISS ABOUT OLD NY!!!!
I miss the old New York that I grew up in. So many fond memories. I grew up in Harlem but was all over the city growing up. This city was our playground!!! Harlem has changed. I miss going to breakfast at Copeland's and watching the horrible lounge singer they had in there at one point. He was funny and horrible all at the same time. I miss running in there to pick up dinner when I didn't feel like cooking. I miss Ms. Ruthie's. She didn't even start cooking until you ordered and then you had to be patient and wait. My goodness it was worth the wait. She would pull out her cast iron pan and fry up some fish or chicken depending on your order. All the while with a cigarette dangling from her mouth. The good Lord only knows how many ashes we ate. I miss Wimp's. You could get whatever your sweet tooth desired, banana pudding, sweet potato pies, coconut cake and on and on. I miss Georgie's which was located right across the street from Wimp's. Those doughnuts would have you giving up the nuclear code. And, then there was, Ms. Marion's bakery, You could smell the yeast rolls for blocks. Every day when I dropped my son off at school, I just had to have one with coffee for breakfast. I miss M&G's, Wells Chicken & Waffles, Sherman's BBQ, Wilson's and so many more that are no longer open.
I lived right
across the street from Rucker Park. The park was known for it's
basketball tournaments during the summer, but we took advantage of the
park all year round. You could listen to music from a live D.J.coming from the park. Somebody would inevitable get tired of hearing the loud music and call the police. LOL!!!
How many times did my father yell out of that window because I was moving too slow to go home!!I had to be in by dark and as soon as the sky started to slightly darken, my father would be in the window watching to see if we were coming in. He had no shame hanging out the window and yelling your entire name reminding you that you better "Get your ass upstairs now."
I miss my cousin's living here and visiting them regularly. Growing up my cousins were our play dates. My parents would pile us all in the car and head to Brooklyn to my Aunt Jean's & Uncle Nathaniel's place where we would hang out with our cousins on Sunday's after church. My cousins were pretty much the only black family in a predominantly Hasidic neighborhood. So for a good chunk of my childhood, I hung out in a Hasidic neighborhood just about every Sunday with my cousins. I loved every minute of it.
How many times where we on Decatur Avenue in the Bronx at my Aunt Penny's house hanging out with our cousins, I would look forward to going to the Italian Deli on the corner for a great sandwich or walking to the White Castle on Fordham Road. At the time she moved in the neighborhood was still predominantly Irish and Italian. It was so unlike Harlem that was mostly black and hispanic. Fordham Road was and still is a major shopping hub. We didn't do much shopping but we loved being out there in the crowd. The only time I would really shop in the area is when my parents would bring us there to shop.
We knew the subway system like the back of our hand growing up. No school buses here!!!Growing up in NYC, you have to learn how to get around and learn the bus and subway system. I was riding the subway to school by the time I was 11 so I had to know where I was going. It just seemed so normal to me, I didn't even give it much thought.
During the 80's there probably is not a club in Manhattan that we didn't show up at dancing the night away. All of us skinny as pencils. There was no shortage of places to dance the night away, Bentley's, Silver Shadow, Paradise Garage, Constellation, Hotel Diplomat, Savage, Bonds, Leviticus, The Red Parrot, Danceteria, etc, They did not search you, so it was nothing for me and my friends to carry a flask in our purses with our own liquor in it. We were also allowed to come and go as often as we liked. They just stamped your hand before you left and it gave you the ability to come and go at will. Not anymore, once you enter, you must stay until you're ready to leave. We would come after work, get our hand stamped, go home, take a nap, take a shower, get dressed, get back to the club around midnight and dance the rest of the night away.
I didn't need to line up 2 days in advance to watch the ball drop in Times Square. We would show up around 10:30pm or so and wait for the ball to drop. No need to freeze, be searched, stand in one place or any of the madness that takes place today to watch this 10 second event happen.
I even miss the old Times Square. I know it was sleazy and needed an update, but something about it gave the city a little more character and hutzpah. Now it's just a generic landmark occupied by the same restaurants and stores you can find anywhere in the USA. They just sit under the lights of Times Square. Its the only difference. Kind of makes you miss the old days of sleazy theaters and hookers. They were way more interesting to watch than the average tourists fumbling around down there now!!! I won't even get started on all the characters that show up there just to jerk the tourist around!!! Tourist have also taken over 5th & 6th Avenue's as well. Alas but this is supposed to be progress.
A few other things I miss;
Reasonable rent. My first apartment was a 2 bedroom in Harlem near City College and I paid less than $500 a month for rent. So many people today of all ages live with roommates because they cannot afford an apartment of their own.
Affordable Cab rides. You could pretty much go from midtown to Harlem for about $10.
Real Broadway Shows. Most of Broadway these days seem like one big Disney musical. What happened to originality?
Most of all I miss the Family and Friends I have lost over the years. Growing up I have the fondest memories of my parents, family and friends. It's not to say things were perfect because they weren't, but we had it pretty good. We grew up in an era where we were held accountable for what we did and just as importantly, we had expectations placed on us we were expected to meet if not surpass. I can truly say that I am glad I grew up during the time I did and had the parents, family and friends that I did. They made my life interesting and they all taught me something. As I have matured and moved on with life like everyone else, I continue to meet some of the most interesting and dynamic people in this city. I wouldn't trade my time here for anything in the world. I don't know if I will always live here because you never know what life has in store for you and where it will take you, but I know this, because I grew up here in NYC, I can handle just about anything that life brings my way. I will always love this city and I will never regret being raised here!!!! A piece of my heart will always be here!!!
