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.

I did not know that about Outerbridge. Kind of like the Holland Tunnel. I think there's a whole list of things like that.

Ellston J. Triborough...

I could unfortunately move to any of those upstate river towns with a maritime flair and any kinda arty scene very very easily; I have friends there and I am way too happy to garden and drop by people's porches to hang out. Except work won't let me bc it's too far to commute. I commuted from Beacon for 2 days last fall and it was brutal.

Beacon and Kingston and Catskill all might work for me, but I'd probably be a little bit contrary and go to Livingston Manor. Once any of those towns have as many good thai and tibetan restaurants as Woodside.

Or if things go really weird in my life maybe end up in Troy or Fall River Mass. Some kinda depressed, kinda cool city with early/mid 20th century urban buildings ready for me to gentrify.

the best nyc bridge fact is that one of chadwick boseman's last movies was a movie called 21 bridges, named after the number of bridges in/out of new york. except it was originally called 17 bridges, then they realized they miscounted and had to change the name to 21 bridges.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/chadwick-boseman-21-bridges-film-philadelphia-name-change-17-bridges/

did they count the hell gate railroad bridge?

Livingston Manor is closer to Big Pond, which works for me since proximity to bodies of water is basically my reason for existing, but otherwise I think maybe too rural even for me, Dan! I look at Waterford and Watervliet sometimes but they're REALLY quiet. Love Kingston but I think the window for getting a reasonable deal on property closed like 10 years ago.

did they count the hell gate railroad bridge?

Named after Bob Hell Gate

Or if things go really weird in my life maybe end up in Troy or Fall River Mass. Some kinda depressed, kinda cool city with early/mid 20th century urban buildings ready for me to gentrify.

― dan selzer, Tuesday, September 9, 2025 11:12 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

fall river makes worcester look like the hamptons.

if i'd been able to find work right out of college, i would have probably never left western massachusetts. just ticked off so many boxes of what i was looking for in my life going forward. midway between boston and NYC, great museums nearby, good music scene, nature a minute away.

Northampton area you mean?

And going back a bit one reason to drive to Staten Island is the Sri Lankan buffet at lakruwana

yeah, northampton/amherst/greenfield area. when i was in grad school i loved taking the 10 minute drive north to the montague bookmill and spend a few hours studying at the lady killigrew cafe as a change of pace. trips to mass moca, etc.

Yeah we’ve done a few weekends around there. Nice. I liked the record store at the book mill.

well now you’d have Gray Matter, which is undoubtedly among the best used book stores in the US.

Kingston area is crazy— prices have gone up a lot even since last summer. i mean, we’re pretty tied into our spot in Philly, but a man can dream.

adams out

Going to exile in Turkey

Are you guys worried that the federal government might try to prevent Zohran from taking office? Some bogus charges by the feds? Military?

Yes but you should be concerned about that everywhere

The lit up JP Morgan tower is a real monstrosity, ugly enough during the day

https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/stabilization-and-speculation/

Speaking of the death of New York, regarding touristy things New Yorkers never do but should...just got back from the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. My mother AND aunt both had wanted to treat my daughter for the holidays so I suggested they team up and do it together and we all went and it was pricey as all get out but not on my dime.

Anyway, other than a nativity part that got super jesus-y near the end, the whole thing was super entertaining, amazing production values, incredible dancing, singing, projection mapping, drone fairies etc. Corny as you'd expect but super entertaining.

We followed it up with dinner reservations at See No Evil pizza a block and a half away down in the subway station. Not the world's best, but for the area, which was a clusterfuck to end all clusterfucks, a novel and decent spot.

Ha, I caught the Rockettes thing last year for the first time and yeah, it's something. Extremely corny, but it's kind of charming how it revels in its Old New York origins and birthright. My qualm was that is was more kid-oriented than what I expected or hoped for (and I went to the late show!). Just thought they might have thrown a few witticisms in the narrative for adults' sake. But all the dancing-related stuff is very satisfying.

this is also the 100th anniversary so it had a classic vibe throughout. There was some stuff that any adult would appreciate, namely they did this thing where all the tin soldiers were lined up and they shot them with a fake canon and they all basically trust fell into each other's arms but in extreme slow motion. It was like Robert Wilson directing the Rockettes and an amazing physical feat.

I think that tin soldiers falling bit has been in the show since the 1930s. It is definitely a highlight.

It was amazing.

My other favorite bit were some silly things with multiple santas and their shadows which you don't realize are projections at first and then they break from what the santa is doing.

my daughter was really pissed off that the drone fairies didn't fly up to right in front of our seats.

https://airqualitynews.com/cars-freight-transport/nyc-congestion-pricing-cuts-air-pollution-by-22-in-six-months/

assuming this is a reputable source... congestion pricing has been good

It’s freezing out, we’re in midtown, my in-laws are busy and all our other friends are also busy or out of town. We need something(s) to do tomorrow and no we’re not going to wear adult diapers in Times Square so we can wait to see the ball drop IRL. Help!

Come to Queens!

You can see a band featuring somebody curmudgeon saw the other day. #onethread

Be more specific!!

Guachinangos at Terraza 7

https://www.terraza7.com/detalles-y-registro/new-years-fandango-by-guachinangos-sones-jarochos-3

Very easy to get to on the 7 train.

No cover if you stay downstairs

Upstairs almost sold out anyway

watched the inauguration livestream. it ruled!

Went there in person! Nearly froze to death!

I had thought that people were pronouncing his name incorrectly as a sign of disrespect, but after letitia james did the “mandani” thing at the inauguration today I guess new yorkers just have a very specific speech impediment

it is the hometown as the DJ who invented “Dula Peep”

the combo of mam and da is def a lil weird for english speakers, noticed a similar thing with nba phenom victor wembanyama where some of the ex players who are now tv guys say wembanyaNa they just want to swap the n in there, i dont have particular trouble saying either of those names but i can feel how im not used to something about the progression of mouth shapes

not excusing the tv guys you gotta get it right if youre on tv or at least just say wemby instead, likewise public officials should get mamdani right, average man on the street idk whatre you gonna do hes got a busy life wolfing down a famous new work breakfast sandwich while hustling onto the subway

When our man in Londoninium Town, Tracer Hand, kindly gave us a tour of his workplace one fine day several years ago i was struck by the doorway to an office labeled PRONUNCIATION DEPARTMENT which is something I strongly suspect most television and radio presenters on this side of the Atlantic do not have, or if it existed, it has long been defunded out of existence

Anyway what we ended up doing on NYE was watching netflix on the hotel smart teevee with our teenager so we could close out Stranger Things and thus allow her to spend time on the internet the following day without having anything spoiled

But new year’s day was full of wholesome only-in-NYC dining and hanging out with friends so that was a nice trade-off imho

prob for the best nye in nyc is beyond a shitshow, the ultimate amateur hour

Yeah I believe I have Been That Guy, no need to repeat the experience

tombot running around Times Square only in tighty whities and novelty “2002” sunglasses

so outta there

Marisa Kabas marisakabas.bsky.social‬

eric adams just went on tv and when he was asked what he’s going to do tomorrow he said “travel to some countries”

11:21 PM · Dec 31, 2025

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ejihld4sywvvqwe67cdkn4jq/bafkreiemu7rj4f55g5lpoeumyn4pkfwgq4nasadw2hfuuugz74msq7jt6i@jpeg