NEW YORK STORIES
Teri G.
“I grew up in NYC in the 70s and would love to see your film. My classmates were very tuned into the issues, especially since we were facing budget cuts and larger classes. As we said, we're too young to vote but our parents can.”
Terry Q.
“I was a teacher with 6 years of experience but that wasn’t good enough to keep my job. I was laid off but 2 weeks later, my 6 years seniority got me excessed from Queens to Manhattan. I remember getting my last check after losing my job. I ran to the bank and cashed it immediately for fear the city could not pay up on the checks they wrote. Troubling times for all New Yorkers.”
Anuradha S.M.
“I was thinking to myself, as I watched the archival footage interspersed between the talking heads and news pieces, how familiar NYC looked to me. A big part of my childhood years were spent in NYC, and as messy, raw, edgy and downtrodden in many ways it was, it was still my home and I had a lot of fond memories of being a newly arrived immigrant from India in 1969 and learning to be a “savvy”, streetwise and cultured NYC kid. The city offered us so many landmark tourist outings, but because we lived here- they were our gifts to share with the entire world. Everyone wanted to be in NYC, between the theater, the museums, the shopping, Central Park, the amazing restaurants, and just for people watching. Then you had all the other boroughs and their sites and attractions too! But NY was the hub, THE place to be and when our relatives came over from India to visit, it was with pride that we got to show them around town.
It made me well up with tears last night and remember, just what it is about NY that has seeped into my bones and made me who I am today . A “culture vulture”, who’ll still run into the city at the drop of a hat to indulge in anything that could be happening there, whether it’s art, film, culture, theater or an interesting talk or meet and greet.
I love NY, and it’s the greatest city in the world 💙. Unfortunately it’s a very expensive place to live and be social, so I regret how in the trade off of infrastructure improvements to businesses and housing, the cost of living in the city has become unaffordable for most people. When I lived in the city in the 1970s, early 1980s, I lived amongst regular working class people, as well as the extremely affluent and well-connected. Now as the expression goes, “NY is only for the very rich and the very young.” I wish I could still live there, and be close to the things that I love to do. Now, I’ll have to be satisfied just being a commuter.
Thank you for making this doc, it’s an important part of our city and state’s history both politically and culturally. It’s a love letter to the city and a meaningful time capsule for so many of us.”
VICTOR N
“I arrived to this country (NYC) in 1967 when I was 4years old. I grew up on Ocean Avenue (between Parkside Avenue and Lincoln Road) across the street from Prospect Park. I grew up in a poor neighborhood with families in similar situation from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Italy, Central America and Haiti. I remember 1975 so vividly, especially the crime wave of that time period. I was 12 years old. Walking to school without getting mug, staying in school all day without getting mugged or beaten up, and walking back home safely were my daily goals. I was small, skinny and a fast runner, so I was fortunate to be able to outrun most kids trying to mug me. I remember going through so many teachers in during my seventh grade. I was not learning anything and they passed me anyway. Many of my teachers were also afraid to go to school to teach because of all the violence. Prospect Park was divided up by the different gangs. I quickly learned the boundaries of where to, and where not to go, inside the park. Chinese handball and stick ball kept me away from all the negative environment and getting caught up in a situation where NYPD would arrest and detain us. The baseball fields at the Parade Grounds really saved my life back then. We created neighborhood teams and played one another. Those baseball fields were really all we had to escape from all the violence and turmoil surrounding us. I will never forget 1975.’
Tell Us Your Story
Everyone has a NYC in 1975 story. Tell us yours! (or of '74 or 76' if you must). Try to keep it clean. If we like it, we’ll post it, possibly edit it a bit, and others will read it. But first, you must read the disclaimer and check the box.