WOW. You people STILL don't ever doubt politicians.

RUDY DID NOT DO ONE THING TO IMPROVE NYC. Crime exploded under Rudy, but you believed Rudy's press releases (which media parroted)???

Sheesh.

No wonder this guy is our next prez.

FACT: the only parts of NYC that got cleaned up were the result of GENTRIFICATION, not City Hall or the NYPD.

It's white artists like ME who cleaned up the East Village and Wburg and now Bushwick etc.

Wow.

Will you humans EVER use your heads?

(I doubt it.)

Guidoliani is a stupid fucking moron. Welcome to the world. Growing up in lower Manhattan in the 80s and 90s was a beautiful experience and I would never, ever, ever, ever, ever trade that experience for growing up in today's Manhattan, a suburbia-like generic city which fucking sucks balls. As soon as I can find a competitive job offer, I'm leaving.

And -- fuck America. Fuck Israel. Fuck the New York City that has no character.

Death to Zionism.

Giuliani must feel like he is the God of NYC.

@ Monster Mash:

One of the FEW outstanding things that began during Dinkins' administration waw the "Safe Streets" program (based on the "broken windows" studies). I'm sorry... I simply CAN'T give that one to Giuliani (he was after the pervasive squeegee guys & chasing after Disney's money). For whatever little else that Dinkins' did for NYC's quality of life campaigns, he, apparently, also deserves credit for looking debonair in a silver tie.

Also- by eliminating affordable housing for the middle class, and becoming a playground ONLY for the wealthy, he DE-stabilized a lot of communities. Ultimately, stability is far safer than revolving door neighborhoods. If I ever got chased, back in the "bad old days," at least I knew the names of the Mom & Pop stores (and their long-term employees) who'd provide me with refuge (and sometimes a cheese sandwich & an escort home). Can you really imagine a Starbucks employee offering me that?? Much less a smile.

It may have been a bit more dangerous, but it was also, undeniably, WAAAAAAAAAAAY more fun.

I miss new york in 19 ought 8 back before there were subways and we didn't cry about it!

i was born and raised here. i remember the 80s and 90s just fine, and still can recall some glimpses of the 70s too. yes, the trains themselves were dirty, but the stations are the same now if not worse, and the train service was infinitely better, as well as cheaper. riding the #2 train, you could actually catch up to a #1 on a consistent basis, even at night. now they seem to try their hardest to MISS connections. i have waited for a train in the morning during peak rush hours for over 30 minutes on many occasions. that almost never happened before. my best friends lived all over the city and i would ride out to the far reaches of queens on weekends and it would take less than an hour to get just about anywhere. now it can take an hour just to get downtown. the trains ran fine on weekends as opposed to now when its a complete disaster.

[9] "Jrod, you can still get a $1 slice (albeit not a very good one) on 9th Ave behind the Port Authority."

The slice may not be good, but its probably the least harmful thing you can buy for "$1 on 9th Ave behind the Port Authority."

Sorry, SP, there may have been a few things better about the city in the 90s, but the trains sure as hell weren't one of them. Maybe you don't recall the stifling, graffiti-ridden, derailing, un-airconditioned sweat boxes that I rode throughout my childhood, high-school, and postgrad life.

Yes, I don't remember the rain shutting down the trains the way they do now, but I also remember ahelluva lot more delays on a daily basis.

i miss not having a duane reade, starbucks and bank on every fucking block. i miss the trains actually running frequently and not shutting down entirely every time it rained. i miss not living in a culture of extreme ostentatious wealth. i miss going to the park and not feeling like every square inch is taken up. imiss new york having it's own identity, as opposed to the bland reality TV watered down shell of itself which it is now. i miss ratner's delicatessen. i miss the lower east side and alphabet city of old, where you had to dodge stray bullets and junkies instead of humvees, douchebag "hedge fund managers" and their trophy bimbo bitches.

You have to give him a little credit... crimestat, broken windows, etc.

I mean it was annoying to live with harassing and overly empowered cops, and it paved the way for the ridiculous amount of development and pricing out of the middle class, but he did make it safer.

Some places the general price for a plain is edging up to 2.25

you can still get a good $1.50 slice.

HECKUVA NEW YORKER

Who's next? Who'll G-man badmouth?

His earlier wives--"Those biddies"?

That faithful hero, Kerik?

How 'bout his faithless kiddies?

Jrod, you can still get a $1 slice (albeit not a very good one) on 9th Ave behind the Port Authority.

yeah, the early 90's. The hookers were cheap, the crack was cheaper and the spandex biker shorts were everywhere.

Um, maybe people just wised up? And give William Bratton most of the credit.

At least back then I knew where to score a nickel bag.

There are some aspects of 90's NYC that I miss like $1.15 subway fares, $1 pizza slices and low rents. It didn't seem too bad to me, but then again I was just a kid so maybe I didn't know any better.

i miss the NYC of the early 90s. yeah it was a bit rough, but it was a lot more fun to live here then.

"Arab terrorists slamming planes righteously into buildings"

...

"righteously"? Hardly the word I'd use...

Remember before 9/11, when Guidoliani was considered a fucking failure?

Me too.

I guess Arab terrorists slamming planes righteously into buildings makes a city better according to the little Italian.

I think so too.