is New York City dead?

NYC seems genuinely out of fashion for the first time in my life, and maybe its history? Williamsburg is a punchline, Manhattan both above and below 14th St is just rich fuxors, seems like everything that used to happen in only NYC or LA now happens in LA or some other ascendant metropolis. I am not particularly worldly or sophisticated or mobile these days so I can't offer much more evidence, this is just my lay observation. What u think?

New York isn't dead.
There are still lots of great things about this city.
The things I value might not be the same things others value, of course.

https://saysomethingvague.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/lcd-soundsystem-t-shirt-losing-my-edge.jpg

no you're dead

okay

I mean, IDK, I was out in bushwick recently on a saturday night and it still seemed happening and teeming with young artsy cutting edge types brimming with energy. However it's been rough for a good amount of time now as far as being a city that young people without a bankroll or a professional job can live in, and that definitely cuts into the creative energy of the city some. I mean I don't even think the bronx offers the kinds of rents today that could be had 20 years ago in brooklyn.

like if you mean "dead" as in "no longer can birth a 'scene' the way it could in the 60s/70s/80s/90s, that might be true just because rents are so high.

I think that is what I mean. Although "scene" sounds a little tinny/reductive, scenes kind of matter. A city births a scene which creates stuff that matters.

Is Paris dead? How about London? Those cities are pretty expensive too, and have been for some time. New York is still a place that attracts ambitious young people, including artists, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

well yeah, I mean a scene as in the beats or the greenwich village folk scene or disco or no wave or whatever. Like the combination of cheap living and high density and educational and arts institutions and economic activity that allows for a scene that actually produces something of worth. Like I just don't think there are many corners of the city left where a bunch of musicians could live close to one another and work more or less full time on their music and pay rent waiting tables part time or whatever. And to the extent such pockets exist, they're scattered at the edges of the city instead of centralized.

All cities are dead because culture travels faster through the Internet than it ever could geographically.

Rising rents making it hard for young people to live there unless they're being bankrolled is basically true for all major international cities now. Even Berlin's getting expensive these days.

But hey, there are always aspiring artists with trust funds, so the city will never die

i don't know the deal w/rents in NYC but i find it funny when people come out to L.A. from there and rhapsodize about how comparatively inexpensive the rent is here.

I don't go out much anymore, so maybe there's some lively cheap shit I'm missing out on.

It's also really hard for some people in late middle age (w/out a LUCRATIVE CAREER) to live here.

I'm also old and have a family and work a lot, and I just don't really know what's happening anymore. When we went out in Bushwick, we saw some local DJs/electronic artists in a little club and it was absurdly packed and seemed pretty alive.

I guess another thing I've noticed is that galleries tend to show artists from all over the US and world, and I'm guessing that's more true than it used to be. But that's also an internet-erasing-borders thing.

All cities are dead because culture travels faster through the Internet than it ever could geographically.

― treeship 2, Tuesday, February 6, 2018 3:28 PM (thirteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is pretty otm

it's all about the rust belt, my friend

we eat the cheeses here too

they are artisanal

our cities are the envy of all, their livability is primo

Here's how I think about New York, after my last visit there last summer:

New York is good and the only actual large city in America on the metric of everything existing there. Big cities are the ones where there is everything; you can tell Seattle is a small city because there are things that are not here.

New York is bad in that it smells of garbage. In the summer, hot garbage.

If more American cities grow to populations in the millions, New York will be more dead by comparison due declining uniqueness. Is this going to happen? Who knows.

i kinda want to leave, but i have a job i like okay and an unusually fortuitous living situation. there's no real reason for me to be here; i don't partake of the cultural opportunities available

it'll probably be the subway that finally drives me away

NYC: where if you can make it there as a successful artist, you can also have a successful time crowdfunding your medical bills.

Telecommuting will finish it off.

Less of a joke, not as dead as San Francisco?

Feels like people have been waiting for a rust belt/flyover city to take over since our traditional metropolises are more 'playground for the rich' than ever but I still don't hear kids looking to move to Columbus or Pittsburgh.

Have the media decided where the New Portland is?

There was a Tooze tweet recently, where he showed stats on how professional actors in the USA, vastly outnumber coal miners. I forgot by much, but it was significantly much.

I do hear murmurings about ppl aspiring to move to Pittsburgh, Detroit, Denver, a few others

According to @BLS_gov and @TheEconomist there are 51,200 people employed as coal miners in the US v. 785k in 1920. In 2017 there are more florists, actors and personal fitness instructors than miners. pic.twitter.com/m913tHokI2

— Adam Tooze (@adam_tooze) January 2, 2018

Less of a joke, not as dead as San Francisco?

Feels like people have been waiting for a rust belt/flyover city to take over since our traditional metropolises are more 'playground for the rich' than ever but I still don't hear kids looking to move to Columbus or Pittsburgh.

― louise ck (milo z), Tuesday, February 6, 2018 6:27 PM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I hear rumblings about Pittsburgh now and then. Also tons of my friends moved to Philly over the years and it did seem to be producing bands at a good clip for a while.

And no one talks about how many administrative assistant, secretarial and receptionist jobs were lost in NYC due to automation, because... women, a lot of woc. Breadwinners for their families. Fuck coal miners and their sooty tears.

I’m moving back to new york soon bc of my job but it’s not a nice place to live.

I still have my apartment in Astoria. But I really don't want to go back. I dread having to deal with the subway.

The subway is inexcusably unpleasant

i get more anxious/aggro in nyc in my old age. i don't know what it is. impatient. people bug me more. i think its just a case of the olds. i will always love the city though. in general. i've loved hanging out there my whole life.

it really is me being set in my ways. we stayed in brooklyn one summer with the kids and i seriously didn't want to leave the hotel room. get on a subway to go to a museum in manhattan? kill me now.

Everything here is comically more stressful than any other place.

I car commute to the suburbs now and it's glorious to not be taking the subway anymore

Why is the ceiling always dripping down there?

Second and third tier cities could attract people by just showing how messed up the MTA is in their promo material.

I haven't lived in nyc full time for almost two years now. I miss it, but I really don't miss it. Just the thought of having to take the subway to work gives me anxiety.

Part of me really regrets accepting another job here. As a teen my dream was living here but it’s not that fun.

NYC misses Yerac and Znarf

Fix the subway and get rid of GOP madness and I am there!

fuck the subway, i drive most places now. and when i do take the subway it's in the middle of the day.
sorry can't do anything about the GOP.

Do you have to go in and out of manhattan a lot or no?

I remember taking the subway maybe 1-2 times a month when I worked in Williamsburg. It was the best. My tweety truck got sold like 3 years ago.

i've honestly not experienced the subway horrors that many have, but i will say that the subway is nearly unusable on nights and weekends

just not enough trains

I want to get myself to love it again.

Not the subway—the city

The last job I had there, I almost had a breakdown every time I took the subway. I would sometimes using the plodding R so I wouldn't have to deal with the insaneness of the 4,5,6 during rush hour. That train really has the worst people to be stuck with in the tunnel.

I do drive into the city regularly. Many mornings I drive in and drop my wife off at work and then drive home. It helps that we live near the Manhattan Bridge and her office is in chinatown. We also might drive in and park for any number of special events.

watching nyc politics is like a little taste of broadway for the rest of us

Of course Adams likes Herr's instead of Utz (or Good's).

one day i shall treat you to middleswarth

Never even heard of them. Omg is that in the middle of nowhere. Two of my best friends grew up in Selinsgrove, so I bet they've had them.

From Mastodon: "The craziest part is that the Adams campaign is so out of touch with the lives of regular people, they thought that less than $200 in cash would be an effective bribe."

That’s like five cups of coffee here

It ain't dead, not when you're bribing reporters!

https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/20/winnie-greco-eric-adams-aide-attempted-cash-katie-honan-reporter/

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 21 August 2025 bookmarkflaglink

I don't get what the plan was here. Wtf?!

KATIE FUCKING HONAN. Unbelievable. That just...I don't know how to explain how fundamentally out of touch that is. I'm no journalist but imo she's a legend for taking no shit in her career of NYC political coverage. I mean the crew at the FAQ NYC podcast by The City, which Katie is part of, have begged Adams and his proxies to come on their show to no avail so it's extremely publicly obvious what their stance is. She's been shut out of press conferences by Adams' goons!

Honestly I can only imagine the surge of absolute GLEE she must have felt on opening that thing.

Maybe it was a very poorly executed attempt at a setup?

Everything about it seems totally on-brand for Adams: corruption + cluelessness = comedy.

I don't get what the plan was here. Wtf?!

― xyzzzz__, Thursday, August 21, 2025 2:49 AM (twelve hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Gady Epstein‬ gadyepstein.bsky.social‬

This “red envelope”’ with cash for reporters showing up at events was such standard practice in mainland Chinese media that it inspired a novel about posing as a reporter to collect red envelopes

https://bsky.app/profile/gadyepstein.bsky.social/post/3lwurapeo6c2k

i think the bribe is just for showing up

I liked the detail that it was sour cream and onion flavor chippage. My vote in the poll lol

xp: so inspiring.

Spam text just received:

"New York City is back on the rise.

Mayor Eric Adams has made mistakes-he's human. But he's also corrected course and delivered results where it matters most: 👉 (url)

✅ Crime is trending down
✅ Jobs are growing again
✅ Affordable housing is being built

Being Mayor of NYC is the 2nd toughest job in America. Only Eric Adams has proven he can take the hits, learn, and keep leading this city forward.

Don't take our word for it-watch this quick video and see the results for yourself.

NYC deserves a fighter who gets back up and keeps moving forward. That's Eric Adams.

Paid for by Empower NYC, whose CEO is Abe George. Top three donors: Scott Lynn, Etoiles Trust & Gary Barnett. Not expressly or otherwise authorized or requested by any candidate or the candidate's committee or agent. For more information, visit (url)

*vomits*

I got that too and briefly contemplated responding in some sarccy way but settled for just unsubscribing and then reporting it as spam.

I got a Gavin Newsome one right after. Same deal.

This “red envelope”’ with cash for reporters showing up at events was such standard practice in mainland Chinese media that it inspired a novel about posing as a reporter to collect red envelopes

https://bsky.app/profile/gadyepstein.bsky.social/post/3lwurapeo6c2k

Interesting. I looked this up -- the novel is almost certainly Geling Yan's The Banquet Bug (2006). From the NYT review:

"Even the novel's hero, Dan Dong, leads a double life. An unschooled emigrant from the countryside, he has just lost his job at a cannery. Gone is the fabled 'iron rice bowl,' Mao's guarantee of lifetime employment for the proletariat. But, thanks to a case of mistaken identity, Dan has stumbled onto a new career: masquerading as a journalist at state-sponsored banquets, where he is served sumptuous food and given 'money for your troubles' in exchange for the promise of favorable press."

Catch me doin tai chi in Columbus park on saturday mornings

cannot help but jinx it but god bless the weather here for the last two weeks

i mean, could be a little cooler but i will take it

https://i.imgur.com/LG1D7qc.jpeg

it was crazy nice over the weekend, amazing beach day on sunday

84yo guy commenting on the us open -- who literally played in it in 1965 -- today said the weather has never been better or kinder

if it were up to me, I would still choose to live in new york for a multitude of reasons, but the weather in LA really is like that every day, and as someone who has lived for multiple years in more than one city ranked on the “top 10 cloudiest cities”, it really can’t be overstated how nice that is

weather is for old people

i.e. us

all that k3vin said is true but there’s a massive difference in susceptibility to natural disasters. i would take a winter season over a wildfire season

Was in NYC from last Wednesday to Monday, the weather was just amazing. Perfect for long walks everywhere and hanging out in parks.

i'm really enjoying the weather but of course the doomer in me wonders if it's because of the collapse of the arctic and inflow of arctic air into north america

if it were up to me, I would still choose to live in new york for a multitude of reasons, but the weather in LA really is like that every day, and as someone who has lived for multiple years in more than one city ranked on the “top 10 cloudiest cities”, it really can’t be overstated how nice that is

I got tired of Oakland weather— 70 degrees and sunny during the day for about 10 months out of the year gets tiresome!!

when people find out i grew up in miami they often ask me how i can deal w/ the weather in NYC but the changing of seasons is still novel and magical to me. i think often about when gr8080 moved back to chicago from hawaii and said "i just wanted to open my front door and get blasted with cold air." there's something about the forced communality of it, everyone having to shift their mentalities, activities, clothes etc at the same time that i appreciate, there's a certain unspoken bonding w/ the stranger...

My wife lived in New Orleans for a few years and said there’s a similar sense of suffering together in the summer.

yeah i spent the first 27 years of my life in LA and the last 22 in the Tri-state and i have really come to love the seasons. I do wish the winters were a little shorter because by late January and February I'm over it for sure.

as someone who has been to miami in july, i can see how somebody would not want to deal with that

everyone having to shift their mentalities, activities, clothes etc at the same time that i appreciate, there's a certain unspoken bonding w/ the stranger

I get this and I love it. But oh god if British people didn't have this sort of thing to talk about they'd have no idea what to do

wish the winters were a little shorter because by late January and February I'm over it for sure.

as someone who has lived for multiple years in more than one city ranked on the “top 10 cloudiest cities”

did you grow up in pittsburgh tho

the changing of seasons is still novel and magical to me. i think often about when gr8080 moved back to chicago from hawaii and said "i just wanted to open my front door and get blasted with cold air." there's something about the forced communality of it

otm, and ppl in nyc are honestly great. i've been part of many teams of bystanders pushing a car out of being snowed/iced in, and i've never ever seen anyone asking for directions on the subway try to fuck them over

it's a good place with good people and everyone in our government (and some of our mayoral candidates) are either terrified or pretending to be terrified of it

did you grow up in pittsburgh tho
binghamton! storrs CT and burlington VT are usually on these lists too

ok binghamton is hardcore

when people find out i grew up in miami they often ask me how i can deal w/ the weather in NYC

they cannot conceive of a world where someone doesn't want to live in 100% humidity year round?

in proximity of NYC and cannot stand our July/August representation of what it's like in the southeast more than 50% of the year.

are you bragging about having lived with humidity elsewhere?

i literally cannot tell

may I once again submit the corn belt of the midwest as the “we have the worst of all seasons” region

NYC has pretty nice weather about 9 months out of the year.

ya living in michigan must be a nightmare for people with seasonal affective disorder. the grey skies are overbearing. no direct sunshine from october until late april

i got used to it but still, those lake effect clouds are something else

as a kid i grew up in SoCal and Georgia - the climate shock when my family moved to Michigan's upper peninsula could not be overstated.

are you bragging about having lived with humidity elsewhere?

i literally cannot tell

― mookieproof, Friday, September 5, 2025 1:57 AM (eight hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i've lived pretty much all over the country over my life. now that i'm an adult with some ability to choose where i reside, there's no way i'd ever move back down to the southeast. there's lots to love but the humid weather is an absolute deal breaker for me. my parents live in the metro Atlanta region and i won't visit them unless it's around the thanksgiving/xmas season.

The Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee is nice for this - the elevation takes the temperature down a few degrees. The seasons themselves are different - trees bloom later etc

The total lack of humidity - it’s either raining or it’s not - is one of my favorite things about Montana. I was sweating through my T-shirts from April through October by the time we left NJ.