These striking photographs from the 1970s show a city undergoing an unprecedented shift, propelled by economic collapse and rampant crime. In the 1970s, New York was reeling from a decade of social unrest, which was exacerbated by the flight of the middle class to the suburbs and a statewide economic crisis that hit the city’s industrial sector particularly hard.
Crime and financial catastrophe became the prominent themes of the decade, with significant cuts in law enforcement and urban unemployment surpassing 10%.
Between 1969 and 1974, the city lost over 500,000 manufacturing jobs, resulting in over one million households relying on aid by 1975. Rapes and burglaries tripled, car thefts and felony assaults doubled, and murders increased from 681 to 1690 per year in about the same time period.
Depopulation and arson also had a significant impact on the city: abandoned blocks peppered the landscape, producing large expanses devoid of urban cohesiveness and life itself. Today, we look at 41 devastating photographs that depict a New York City on the verge of implosion:
Overall, the decade was momentous for New York, reshaping the economic and social reality of America’s most important city. Over a million people had departed the city by the end of the 1970s.
The Deuce, HBO’s latest drama, depicts New York City in the 1970s, a turbulent decade that saw crime increase, a blackout darken the city, and the president of the United States tell the city (in so many words) to die. From the X-rated movie theatres in Times Square to the artists and daily inhabitants who gave the city a unique vibrancy, these 25 photographs offer an insight into the city and the people who lived there during this turbulent era.
1 LATIN YOUTHS AT LYNCH PARK IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY, 1974.
2 MANY SUBWAY CARS IN NEW YORK CITY HAVE BEEN SPRAY-PAINTED BY VANDALS, 1973.
3 MANHATTAN BRIDGE TOWER IN BROOKLYN
4 SUBWAY PASSENGERS AND GRAFFITI SCRAWLED ON THE WALLS.
5 BLOCK OF BROWNSTONE RESIDENCES IN PARK SLOPE OF BROOKLYN NEW YORK CITY, 1974.
6 TYPICAL HOT DOG STAND AT LAKE GEORGE, NEW YORK.
7 THREE BOYS AND “A TRAIN” GRAFFITI IN BROOKLYN’S LYNCH PARK IN NEW YORK CITY.
8 Magazine Stand in New York, 1970.
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9 42nd Street, just west of Seventh Avenue, New York, 1973.
10 A SIDEWALK IN THE BRONX BECOMES A PLAYGROUND FOR THESE YOUNGSTERS
11 TOWERS OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN LOWER MANHATTAN
12 Lineup of yellow cabs (led by a Dodge Polara) seeking fares on Lexington avenue and 61st Street
13 Passengers and Graffiti in a NY Subway.
14 ILLEGAL DUMPING AREA OFF THE NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE
15 TWO LATIN GIRLS POSE IN FRONT OF A WALL OF GRAFFITI IN LYNCH PARK IN BROOKLYN
16 New York Central’s Aerotrain
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17 APARTMENT HOUSE ACROSS FROM FORT GREEN PARK IN BROOKLYN NEW YORK CITY.
18 MIDSUMMER EVENING QUILTING BEE IN CENTRAL PARK
19 TRAFFIC IN THE HERALD SQUARE AREA OF MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, 1973.
20 CAB BLOCKS TRAFFIC IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN
21 MUNICIPAL DUMP IN THE BRONX REACHES ALMOST TO THE DOORSTEP OF NY, 1973.
22 Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, 1973.
23 UPPER NEW YORK BAY WITH THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
24 SUBWAY PASSENGERS RIDE ESCALATORS
25 HAMBURGER STAND OFFERS CUSTOMERS A QUICK BITE WHILE WAITING FOR THEIR SUBWAY TRAIN 
All Image Source : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYSoImOFCJo
