One thing I have noticed of the UWS, which I find disturbing, is the influx of banks, financial storefront businesses and chain pharmacies on every street corner. The statistics for the 24th Precinct offer the most dramatic portrait of the vertiginous rise of crime and its exhilarating plunge. This reminds me that the loan sharks and drug dealers never left the city, only they now dress in corporate suits and lobby for loopholes in D.C. instead of paying off morally corrupt citizens in dilapidated buildings. The block in question was 84th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. Madison & Vine, an American Bistro and International Wine Bar, has a menu that captures the diversity of America's culinary regions. The food was all American dishes, and I used to go there for dinner all the time. And Big Nicks. The cavalcade included. These are the moments, large and small, recounted by 36 writers, artists, fashion designers, musicians and more who. I only have one photo taken on the street in the1970s but I do remember alot of the old stores. I also like to point it out when kvetchers say the area is too fancy now. 1980s-1990s: Boy Bar (15 St. Marks Pl.) .I could not get the police or the sanitation department to stop the airmail so I collected it. There was a really cool restaurant on NW corner of 94th st, whose name escapes me but the name was carved out of the building itself. Now its a zoo. Download Upper West Side Nyc stock photos. I am happy that they also identify with being true upper west siders! I've always been a pretty good cook, and I could make these very good dinners in this tiny kitchen. Retroclubnyc is New York City and Manhattan's best club to celebrate a birthday party, bachelor party, bachelorette party, anniversary party, or engagement party! The sidewalks teemed with alcoholic homeless Vietnam Vets haunted by their own nightmares and hopelessness. I lived on the UWS from 1972-1994: 85/WEA, 79/Columbus, 82/Amsterdam, several other addresses. Vin sur Vingt | Best Things to Do Upper West Side. Everybody got mugged. The free outdoor summer concerts at Lincoln Center were wonderful. Also, there are many Duane Reades and banks, but the claim that almost every mom-and-pop business has been shuttered is simply false. But in 1976, when my parents moved to Broadway and 79th street with their three small children, no one in Manhattan lived above 72nd street if they could avoid it. Prohibition is an upscale bar and lounge with some of the best bar food in the Upper West Side. Some similarities within 1970s and 2015 and much change.Miss Most: John Lennon and Yoko Ono walks and talksMick JaggerMiles Davis..Bruce Willistending barJoan Allenhostess at Shelterbunch of artists, actors, musicians at The Only Child on West 79. Further back, in the 50s and 60s there was food-o-Rama, Daitch Shopwell, Nedicks, Orange Julius, and so many mom and pop shops. Dont really remember the scary place others have described on UWS- but Central Park and the Subway were indeed scary parts of New York in those times. The big open room is filled with tables, and the service is about as friendly as we imagine it would be in a neighborhood pub in Ireland. John was a amazing teacher and he taught me to love learning! The next time youre feeling nostalgic about your college days, you could build your own beer pong table and throw out your couch to make room for it - or you could go to Jakes Dilemma. The Upper West Side is a great place to live: beautiful prewar buildings, Central Park to one side and Riverside Park to the other, Zabar's.It's one of the most popular residential areas of Manhattan and it's also a hotbed for celebrities. Because The Smith is always there when you need it to be. She made awesome cookies with whole wheat flour. Not a longtime UWS resident (only two years) but I would warn the author against making what appear to be major overstatements. For an interesting look at our neighborhood,check out the Goodbye Girl on netflix. Citerellas always had their fun fish display in the window. The Cherry Restaurant on Columbus Ave. on the corner of 76th St., where the Chase Bank is now, was owned and staffed by Japanese people. And The House of Games. On the other hand, nowadays, I stay away from the South West corner of W. 71st Street in the late afternoon, as rowdy teenagers hang around the corner in front of MacDonalds and create a nuisance. If you are interested in answering a few questions email me at: jeannine.j@gmail.com. From our award-winning Vine Burger to our Cobb Salad, Roasted Cornish Hen, Seafood and Steaks, Madison & Vine satisfies the cravings of the city's most discerning diners. I am currently working on my graduate school thesis and have decided to write about how the Upper West Side has changed in my lifetime. Yorkville, Upper East Side Manhattan in the 1980's, all photos by Gary Lenhart. He murdered and castrated four boys. Those rowdy kids are just young high school students who have just finished a full day of behaving properly in a boring, tedious, and often frustrating environment where their every move is monitored by unsmiling adults at least 10 or 20 years older (if not more) and most often NOT people of color like themselves. The whole space is about the size of a subway car, though, so dont bring a big group. And the bakery that was on 72nd between Bway and West End. Columbus tween 70,71. Editors note: Lifelong Upper West Side resident Jeannine Jones is writing her graduate thesis on how the neighborhood has changed since she was born in 1976. Some memories: I grew up It did. The whole theater got kicked out of Lowes 84th on opening night for Friday The 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan, it was so rowdy, but Id been seeing movies there since it was the Lowes 83rd st, twin. By the early 1970s, 20 to 25 percent of American couples had met at a bar, according to Stanford University research. Email me if you want to answer a few questions. She was the only person that worked there and basically it was a counter that you ordered from and nothing more. Attended PS9 (I remembered a teacher who still smoked in class), and Brandeis. I dont think the email in the article works. I remember turning the corner on 71st street one day coming back from PS 89 and discovering that my whole street (71st between Columbus and CPW) had been transformed so that Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand could perform a scene from The Way We Were. Its a good spot to day drink with a big group, but theres no table service - youll be notified by a buzzer when your order is ready at the counter. Restaurants. i graduated college in 1988 and came back to NYC, and i couldnt believe that my friends that went to work in investment banking all lived in a new building (the westmont) at 96th and columbus. To hell with nostalgia. You can drink one at the L-shaped bar in the corner, or you can grab a little table along the wall. I love all the varying opinions and experiences. The great surprise, perhaps, is that while it is no longer the home of the Jewish intelligentsiain part because the Jewish intelligentsia doesnt exist as it once didit is, if anything, even more distinctively and vibrantly Jewish. Always had a good meal there. Stephen Hanson's uptown "Chinese" fantasy, which he bravely launched on the un-trendy Upper West Side, was the big box that spawned all of the city's pan-Asian giants. There were prostitutes and drug dealers on the street. Dinner on the Upper East Side with a former president of the United States. Fancy. At least when talking about fairly genteel nabes as we are here. Blondies Sports at 212 W. 79th St. earned a spot on Eater NY's recent list of the "15 . The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland [nedrlnt] ()), informally Holland, is a country located in northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean.It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Upper West Side Geography. Theres solid bar food, you can get a good cocktail, and the space feels kind of like a long clubhouse with booths, darts, and board games. I live in a small city in the midst of a great city. The tacos are supplemented with other obvious sports bar snacks, including corn on the cob, guac and chips, flautas, plus burritos, quesadillas, and tortas. We were giving up so much of our city, Myron Magnet has written in a beautiful essay on Saul Bellows great 1970 novel of Upper West Side (and Western civilizational) decline, Mr. Sammlers Planet, and how it spoke to his experience as a neighborhood resident. (The church had become a hangout for drug addicts.) The neighborhood has lost many small businesses such as delis, bodegas, pizzerias, barber shops, candy & stationery stores. Denver (/ d n v r /) is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. And I briefly lived on 85 street in the early 70s , so I was there a lot. He struck on 106th between Broadway and Amsterdam, a block from my building. jeannine.j@gmail.com. The very idea that it might once have been considered the citys worst is very nearly science-fictional today, as it bustles with high-end baby strollers pushed by parents hurrying to homey restaurants on Amsterdam or Columbus or making their way to Central Park. Conservatives sometimes invoke the Upper West Side in their lists of petri-dish-like leftist enclaves along with Cambridge and Berkeley, but despite its homogeneous radicalism, it didnt then and doesnt now offer much in the way of interesting, unexpected, or comical ideological excess. never went in but loved that name was there til the 80s. Sure there were some muggings (mostly stealing our bus passes) but nothing serious. Based on the Canadian movie of the same name, this bar and grill has great food specials, a full bar, and laidback vibe. But I had to wear my old prescriptions and couldnt see very well. East of Broadway was a tough old neighborhood. I was mugged the one time I walked from Broadway and 80th to Columbus and 80th because I crossed Amsterdam Ave. and went east on the block. 226 W 79th St, New York, NY 10024. Maybe before you retired you might have offered a no-credit seminar on at-large behavior and minding ones own business. The space is about the size of a studio apartment, so we wouldnt recommend bringing a group, but its a decent place to watch sports alone or with a friend, especially before 7pm when drinks are half off. Free or royalty-free photos and images. My favorite dart bar in 1982. MacAliers Pub was across the avenue. And The New Yorker theater. I remember Mindys and the Japanese store and Francess Hats and the Chinese Restaurant and Jays Stationary and Cake Masters and Eclairs and the Chess Room and the pet store between Columbus and Broadway on 72nd street. I frankly dont recognize this overheated characterization of the 1970s-80s neighborhood. But west end was great, and also 86th was great all the way over to the park. It was known for its burgers, hot dogs, and milkshakes. Yes, it was a wild an wooly time. Use this guide to find all the best bars in the neighborhood. Vinnys! On the spot across the street from a friends building, I freeze with the sensation of having, right there, been jumped nearly 40 years earlier by four kids as I got off the city bus from school. May 6, 2009. Upper West Side seen from Top of the Rock. I was 14 in 1977 and went to see laser rock at the planetarium with a girlfriend. That is the ambiguous power of nostalgia, as the jagged recollection of hitting a tiny child with a bicycle still has the power to catch like a rusted nail four decades later and open a fresh wound. Today the Upper West Side is considered one of the richest, cleanest, and most expensive places to live in New York City. Prohibition is a 20sthemed bar with quality live music every night. She shares some memories below, and asks for some of yours. It feels sort of like a big, slightly divey rec room, with brick walls, a shuffleboard table, and photos of various people named Bob up on the wall. In the late 1980s, many of New York's megaclubs closed down as a result of the economic crash of 1987. In 1964, the year the national crime spiral began, 3,228 felonies were committed. Bodega 88 Night Clubs Bars Brew Pubs (19) 8.6 Website (212) 799-1602 573 Columbus Ave New York, NY 10024 CLOSED NOW 2. I remember Fowad with its racks on the corner of 96th st and a Mexican restaurant across the street with Spanish tile decorating its exterior. Does anyone remember a small bakery/kitchen on West 83rd between Columbus and Amsterdam. People were afraid to ride the graffiti-streaked, crime soaked subways. I always saw it as culturally vital and architecturally beautiful. I remember when the first Starbucks opened on 93rd and Broadway it was around 1996-1997 while I was in collegethats when we knew that the UWS of our time was never going to be the same again. When I go back (my mom still lives in her rent control spot on 72nd and WEA) I have a real cognitive dissonance. I can just smell the place writing about it. There was a pastry cafe with tables up in a little loft where the swatch store is now on 72 and Columbus. Thanks for posting this article. At the same time, 86th & Amsterdam was notorious for being crime ridden. I never felt unsafe in this neighborhood, however. Despite the name, Dive 75 isnt actually that divey. Another one had South American clothes but the name has vanished from mind. Pretty good ice cream place in the early 80s. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. Does anyone remember a clothing store on Amsterdam Avenue around 75th Street that was huge, with floor-to-ceiling windows, that catered mainly to gay men back in the 1980s? Booked 152 times today. We also went on amazing trips with him, including the Rocky Horror Picture show on Broadway. #20. This article is so one-side. Theres one long room with a couple of TVs for watching sports, and youll also find both daytime and late-night Happy Hours. UPPER WEST SIDE, NY An Upper West Side joint was just named among the best sports bars in New York City. I bet your cute daughter will look back at this decade as the magical Upper West Side, like you remember. (The 20th, in which West 84th Street sits, has become somewhat more, as they say in the census, Caucasian.) Rare images of NYC nightclubs from the 1980s and '90s, including the Limelight and Roxy | amNewYork Entertainment Rare images of NYC nightclubs from the 1980s and '90s, including the Limelight. Ive ben on 76th since 1978. They have over 30 beers on tap, many of which are unusual options from relatively small domestic and international breweries, and the space tends to fill up with big groups drinking and sharing bar food. At the time, I was going to high school a block away and walked every morning past the tenements from which the airmail had been dropped on Lyfords yard. Its a small, brick-walled wine bar where you can also get some snacks, like tartines and shareable charcuterie plates. For more photos of UWS storefronts in 1982, click here. Its a good spot to eat some bangers and mash, and its perfect for when you want to sit on a barstool and watch sports with a Guinness. Im coming into this conversation very late but I have lived in this neighborhood all my life.since 1953. The Nickel Bar all the pre-AIDS era gay bars that made the UWS a gay mecca to rival the Village, and that drew lots of interracial couples to move in and renovate buildings. Bring a few relatives you havent seen in a while. Lifelong UWSer, born 1970 and raised on 81st between CPW and Columbus. they had good sales. 4) Someone else mentioned it, but Ill second a nod to Teachers and Teachers, Too. . You want something obscure, because your horoscope recently told you to try new things. I was also hailed from second story windows in Times Square by topless prostitutes. As we mentioned, the UWS has no shortage of sports bars - but Blondies is our favorite. Here are the nine places to get your fix: Dive Bar NYC. Where Fairway is there was DAgostinos, and a really good drug store, was it buy right or loves? Things change. I moved onto W. 71st Street, from W. 113th St. in 1968, so I could walk to the NY State Theatre, where I was a singer with the NYC Opera. An indifferent French restaurant occupies the space that once housed the record store where I bought my first 45 rpm disc of the Cowsills singing the title song from Hair, and standing in front of it I split into two, the 49-year-old in the present and the seven-year-old in the past crossing its portal with a little brown paper bag in hand, excited beyond measure to get its contents home to place the needle on the 45s ridge and watch it slide into the first groove, the sound of the scratches giving way to the opening blast of the Cowsills five-part harmony. They also have jello shots, so your night here can either be very tame or full of colorful, gelatinous alcohol. I finally made the right connection when I discovered several glass ampules and hypodermic needles. I lived on 79th street from 1976 to 2011 in the rent-stabilized apartment I grew up in, and over that time I have seen the neighborhood change drastically. Homeless? I remember The Broadway Nut Shop, outside of which I shook hands with Bobby Kennedy while he was campaigning for Abe Beame in 1965, Steinbergs Dairy Restaurant, next to Irvings Candy store, the Pizza parlor and Serooties? Just be aware that the whole place might smell like truffles, since they serve various truffle- and non-truffle-related snacks. Bear Bar (east side) 1770 Second Ave. (between 92nd & 93rd St.) Manny's on Second. Italian $$$$ Upper West Side. Tuesday's - you could get a rack of ribs, big salad with lots of fresh blue cheese, and a baked potato for $9.99. I remember Marcys deli on Broadway, the barbershop next door with its old -fashioned spinning stripe pole. There was also one above 100th Street that closed in the mid 90s. 5) There was a little magazine stand on the west side of street around Columbus and 83 or 84 was it called Johnnys? POWERED BY. Open in Google Maps. 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