I love that the radio, including ads, is included. Commercials are some of the least preserved things but formed such a large part of the experience of certain eras.
Late 90s hit hard for me because they feel so close, so around the corner. By that we had everything we needed as teenagers: Internet, cool music, awesome video games, blockbuster movies, hi-tech devices, CDs, cellphones, lots of friends, we had the best of both worlds, past and future, without drowning ourselves in the toxicity of social media, Twitter, absolute invasion of our privacy, an epidemic of mental health problems, complete lack of common sense. It was a nice time to be young and alive.
True indeed I've always said this we had a balance best of both worlds. I remember we used to make fun of kids that stayed in like an aim chat all day like u dont gotta life. Now its like ur life is the damn phone
The nostalgia is killing me. NYC in the 90s was a magical place, full of adventure, classy people, no social media and no smartphones. There was a certain special vibe in the atmosphere of the city back then, that you just don’t feel anymore.
Back when NYC was cleaned up enough to live a decent life, but still rough around the edges enough to be fun. And rent while not cheap, was still affordable.
Excellent way to put it! Manhattan was cleaned up and the LES was truly experiencing the start of transition. Miss these days. Graduated high school in 96.
I was living in NYC at this time (on the Upper East Side) and it has to be one of the best eras ever for the city. Crime was dropping rapidly, the economy was booming, it was pre-9/11, pre-Columbine, cell phones were new, no Twitter. It was a fantastic time and place to be young and carefree. Looking at this footage really takes me back, especially those flea markets in the parking lot!
Ehh... " The lower east side was a BAD area. Desolate and bombed out. Feral dogs ambling about. You never went to Brooklyn except for Brooklyn Heights or Williamsburg " "Crack vials on the streets; rats hanging around garbage cans, peep shows and strip clubs in Times Square; the meatpacking district was an accurate description of the area; fewer tourists, less gentrification " "You could get anything in pre-9/11 NYC, whether it was fireworks off the street by Canal or a blowjob over by 10th avenue. Crime was out of control - you'll hear the 90's quoted frequently as 'better' wrt crime, but that was when crime was starting to pull back. Until well into the 90's, we were still living with the post-crack crime epidemic, which meant anything not nailed down (notably car stereos) was likely to be swiped. " Take off the nostalgia goggles and have a proper look...
it's because there weren't cameras and social media everywhere. You could goof around or have a bad day without a million strangers filming it and posting it everywhere. people lived in the moment, not lived for the internet.
@-RoyBatty- Unfortunately, technology will continue to progress by further interweaving the spiderweb of connectivity. Pretty soon, you'll be able to have cars drive you around while you shop for products on the web. Everyone forgets that what we put in is what we get out. I'll give you another good example you can look up, ghost kitchens, which spawned from businesses simply getting way more take out orders than dine in. And that was driven by the decisions society made, or put in. Look it up, very interesting topic. But to summarize, you just have to trace what we do as a whole down the road and you'll get your final product. I just hope that everyone shopping online doesn't eventually lead to all retail stores closing down.
We didn’t have to work quite as much as we do now. College was way more affordable. All the major sports leagues were killing it. Capitalism & its greed has made it all worse.
@@benjammin8510 yep. Best episode of the Twilight Zone isn't any of the creepy ones, but "Walking Distance" where the guy realizes his nostalgia for a past he can never return to is keeping him from living a fulfilling life in the present.
I agree with you. And I know that people like to say that missing what is in the past, means we are not enjoying our lives in the present. But I can personally say that it is entirely possible to appreciate our lives in the present, while also acknowledging that the past was indeed better. Our world is on a downward spiral now, and time is drawing to a close, spiritually speaking. Our way of life in the 90's, and even early 2000's was distinctly different, and yes, better than present day. I don't understand people who act like just because we miss the past, that means we cannot appreciate the present. With each passing year, and as decades elapse, life truly has gotten less enjoyable and more stressful. It's the truth, and anyone living today should be able to see that, I would think.
As a native NYer, this video hits deep. For me, 1997 was one of the best years of my life. So sad seeing and living in what NYC, the country, and the world has become. I don't think NYC will ever be the same. Thanks for sharing this.
@@johnwaffleh2p70 I agree. NYC has gone really downhill since Giuliani left. I wasn't a fan of Bloomberg, but at least he kept most of Giuliani's policing policies. The last two socialists, both mayors and governors? Not so much.
What I wouldn't give to have experienced NYC in the 80s and 90s, when it really was the epicentre of global popular culture. Footage like this is priceless.
@21:25 Smith Houses.. I was born and raised there . Through that time. The stories that a NY'er from the LES have might sound crazy because at any given moment you're elbow 2 elbow w/celebs doing blow right in the open, Gay, straight, Trans, Sub-doms walking around freely, bj's in the bathroom and no one gaf cause the drugs were easily available and all of this while the birth of hip hop was taking hold...I wouldn't pick another era.. When I leave this plane, I get to take those memories w/me. It's what I put into my music... every single time.
I was 19 in 1997. Visited NYC a couple of times that year. I remember thinking “What I wouldn’t give to experience NYC in the 1950s, to see Charlie Parker play or walk through the old Penn Station.” The past is *always* preferable to the present.
Peak fun in NYC was in the 80s and 90s. NYC's highpoint, cleanest and safest streets was probably during Giuliani's mayoralty, shortly after this video was shot.
This video captures how alive and vibrant things used to be - not just NYC, everywhere, before the digital age or whatever this is now (apparently still enough human compatible analog around in 1997.) wonder why they wanted to destroy it? The chain stores in the beginning threatened to spoil the mood but thankfully they went away! People were still cool and had style - or if they didn't they had something to emulate and they tried to look good. Today is shield your eyes, cover your ears, cringe personified.
Such a great era, great decade. Nothing is perfect of course. But the 90's had it all. Tech boom, music was amazing, movies were amazing, sports. Just everything was still in that non-social media time period and it ROCKED
Literally say everything you said here 24 hours a day now. This will be known in history books as the greatest period of time to have ever lived. Your comment is spot on!! 90s Forever!!
One could argue now that the results of the tech boom turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. It can't be said that the world is entirely 100% better off if you think about it.
Yeah I was born and raised in Philadelphia and then we moved down to the Washington DC area but I was a kid in the '80s a young teen in the 90s and a young adult in the 2000s. And like you said the music during those times was awesome whether it was pop, rock, R&B, hip hop, reggae etc. And like you said about tech we got to see how tech evolved especially from the mid-90s to the present day. About cell phones how we watched cell phones evolved from the late 90s to what we have now and in the 2000s watching other electronics like laptops and computers evolved was a great thing. Where at a point now technologically where everything is kind of stale we hit the peak. Cell phones over the last what 8 years is basically the same thing over and over. Same thing with laptops and PCs it was cool to see cell phones go for them huge brick phones in the 90s to the Nokia's in the late 90s and you know then the flip phones in the mid-2000s and then you start having the touch screen phones coming around and the late 2000s and early 2010s. We got to see the evolution of when the original iPod came out in like 2000 and and MP3 players. I remember everybody had either iPod or MP3 players in the 2000s and then we saw how those went away when those started getting replaced by the cell phone in the early 2010s.
@@MyAlishka Yeah a lot of things. The old New York had cooler people. The subways was older. The Twin Towers was up. There was a lot of Rockstars and medal heads. There was a lot of stores that are not big companies. It was just a whole different time. New York used to be its own city. Now New York has changed so much after 9/11 and now Covid19
I was 14 when this was filmed and spent every other weekend in NYC with my dad. I remember the KTU radio station thats playing throughout the video as that was my mom's favorite station in the 90s. One of the many things I miss most about 90s NYC was all the cool little shops that sold the most unique things, things that you couldn't find in big chain stores. My favorite shop was in the East village, they sold all kinds of rare and vintage posters, blacklight stuff, candles, body jewelry and even had a licensed piercer with a booth in the back. Got my nose pierced there for my 13th birthday, still have it, lol. Went to visit NYC in the 2010s and all the cool little shops were replaced by either a Starbucks, CVS or some other big chain store :(. Seeing the twin towers here really made me sad, but still great footage of a great era!
1:42 Allure - All Cried Out (1997) 2:43 unknown 5:26 Company B - Fascinated (12" Inch Club Mix) (1986) 6:38 Monica - For You, I Will (1996) 7:38 Club 69 feat. Suzanne Palmer - Much Better (1997) 7:52 Az Yet ft. Peter Cetera - Hard To Say I'm Sorry (1996) 9:12 Love Tribe - Stand Up (1997) 12:42 Soul II Soul - Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) (1989) 13:08 Call Me - Le Click (1997) 13:41 Ricky Martin - María (1996) 13:55 Captain Hollywood Project - More and More (1993) 15:43 No Authority - Don't Stop (1998) 18:44 Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock - Joy and Pain (1988) 20:28 unknown 21:16 Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart (Classic Radio Mix) (1996) 24:04 Yo No Se - Pajama Party (1989) ______________________ Thank you, Shazam.
@@ZenithAstrology yes, I love too. It's a reason I wanted to find these into Shazam. It was first track (5:26) I found. I really like how it blends seamlessly into the next trick (6:20), just beautifully flips to next track. I created a playlist of these songs on Spotify.
I visited there for a month in 1998. It was magical. I went to the top of the towers. I would not want to go back now, as I think it could never live up to my beautiful memories.
@@maywalker997 NYC Native born and raised and I'm still here (born in 75). NYC is going through some structural difficulties at the moment due to the pandemic, inflation, etc. the result is many store fronts have closed because of skyrocketing rents (that the current city hall could not care less about. Crime has come back in a noticeable way, if not statistical.) The current mayor is a complete jackass beholden to the NYPD, his ego, and his staff is based on nepotism and cronyism. The subways have lost ridership- on their best day they only reach 40% capacity. And ASSHOLE OLD MEN sit in the train and blast they're fucking phones inside the subway cars as if the pieces of shit were sitting in their own living room, because fuck everyone else around them. ...The downward spiral, starting with the large rents came to a crash March 2020 when the Pandemic started and the city basically shut down. Since then things have improved. But NYC is nowhere near it's 90 and early 2000's peak.
@@maywalker997 Everything is a lot more expensive. Every interesting and unique shop/store turned into a Chase or Starbucks. NYC nowadays is so much more corporate and bland where the only thing to do is go out to overpriced bars and restaurants.
the last great decade of NYC, after the 90's it was all downhill. commercialization. tourism transformation, Gentrification of brooklyn. Times Square Disneyfide , and inflation threw the roof.
In hindsight the 90's will be remembered as the apex of the western civilization and wealth, where by wealth I don't mean in strict monetary terms pumped up by inflation, but a wealth that most of the population could share
This all so foreign to me as a Russian. For us, the 90's were an era of steep decline of absolutely everything - our economy, living standards, just everything. Even today they are seen as a dark age by practically everyone - from communists to nationalists. Only some insane young liberals that never actually witnessed the decade would ever come to idolize it.
Really? Not the 50s-80s? 90s and early 2000s were really nothing special. Everyone makes it seem that way because those are the last times before 9/11 changed the world
Compared with today the 90's seem like a dream world... like a beautiful dream world which is lost forever and only lives on in our memories and hearts. 2020-24 seems like a nightmare compared to this beautiful footage and not just because of the pandemic, the inflation or the war in Ukraine, in general!!!!
I was born in 96 in Portugal but because my mom collected a lot of American magazines with NY Skyline photos in them it really made me dream about living in NY. The tall buildings, The smoke that came out of the chimneys, the sky when it was getting dark, the music, movies etc ... I love The 90s...
Born in 86 in Guadeloupe but I feel the same fascination for the same things as you. Also seeing Christmas movies in NYC made me want to experience snow over there especially since there’s no winter where I’m from. I have a huge poster of the city 🏙 by night in my purposely loft-shaped apartment to give me the impression of living in a skyscraper 😅 Listening to SmoothJazz when it’s raining…. Aww NYC
I grew up across the river during this time. I couldn’t make it through this video without getting really sad. For some reason that world still feels more real to me then this one. I can’t explain it, everything looks/feels familiar. The cars, business, the radio in the background. I always knew I would get older but I didn’t quite realize that while I changed, so did the world. I’m not going to say one time is better than another. People have been saying that for all of recorded history. But, I don’t think the world will ever feel as optimistic and familiar than it did when I was younger. I bet the youth of today will feel the same way when they get older too. Last thing, I used to think I was born in the wrong time. I wished I could have grown up in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70’s. All of those decades seemed so much better to me when I was younger. Now, I want nothing more than to go back to the 90s. It was a golden age for me and I didn’t even know it.
I think its fair to say social media and the internet led to less real life social experiences making people psychologically more stressed and depressed if you don't find a balance. This problem didn't exist back then. People had to leave the house to hang out with friends to find something to do.
You were younger, experiencing new things more often than now, it was more intense. Sometimes I feel the same about my childhood and teenage years. But it was also a simpler world than now, without the internet and social media.
I was born in 2003, unfortunately. There are times when I wish I lived through the 90s; everything about that decade seemed exciting and beautiful. I envy my parents - they got to live in that era. Either way, I'm glad I get to watch videos of that decade, to at least feel as if I was alive in that era.
It both pains me and makes me feel grateful I got to grow up even for just a glimpse of the 90s. It was truly the best era. The world with no social media was the best world.
I think it all comes back to how we all use it. It has it's benefits of staying connected, but the problem is too many people are TOO overly obsessed with its use, and that's taking away from creating within our current present times. It's causing more stress, mental delusions, and a sense of detachment from the real world. I'm going to be optimistic and say that in the next 10-20 years we'll have learned to teach how kids how to use social media properly without abusing it the way all of us did growing up without any restrictions.
I moved to NYC in 1997 at age 23. I stayed for almost 5 years. Good times. The internet was new, the world was less depressing, there was A LOT more human interaction and there were new forms of music and art coming out each year. Culture was not so stagnant like it is now.
A big reason is just everything, in particular housing, is so much more expensive. Hard to be free when you're worrying about paying out of your ass for rent every month (I say that as a 20-something year old living in similarly expensive London)
This is the best footage of New York in 1997 I've seen so far... Very clear and what a cozy day that was back then too. The cars look more relaxed than the future and the city looks calmer lol. Cheers!
Dude, people had to figure it out how to deal with each other in a positive way, instead of staying behind a screen all day. Now that would be impossible to achieve in the way people in 97 did. Unless you take people's gadgets away from them for good 😂 even children nowadays do not know how to play with each other. With so many gadgets around them, they have a harder time to develop both emotionally and cognitively... and to think these children will be the adults of tomorrow gives me goosebumps 😂 Ps: this video was shot 3 days after the infamous Montreal Screwjob I believe LOL
No illegal immigrants camping in your car, no idiots doing tictocs, nobody robbing you in broad daylight in the middle of a crouded area while nobody helps because they're too busy filming it. Its like an episode of the twilight zone.
As a New Yorker growing up in the 90s, this is amazing! Thank you for sharing and for the memories it brought. I truly hope others like me feel the same.
New York loved their dance music station 103.5 KTU. In 1996, after 4 years of no dance music on the radio, the madness was resolved, and the beat of New York at 103.5 was born, instantly the top radio station for open-minded decent people under 50 years old. A simple honest reflection.... Prior to February 1996, dull adult contemporary, angry rock and rap music, a less angry than the rock and rap, but still angry talk radio, and radio stations that went out of their way to exclude listeners because they weren't the right type of people. Why don't we take the Country station that no one in New York wants and or listens to and try inclusion, let's invite everyone to the party no matter what language they speak, no matter where they might have came from, no matter the color of their skin or their ethnicity. Instead of being angry and divisive, let's feel good and be positive, let's smile and promote decency, respect, commonality. That is what was done with the birth of 103.5 WKTU (a new version of the original KTU that did these things 15 or so years prior). Instantly it was #1. Instantly millions of New Yorkers were linked together by the common interests of enjoying life, having fun, and being nice to each other. It lasted for almost 2 years, and why it was destroyed makes no financial sense, it was making a ton of money, but it had to go because it ran counter to the plan of divide and conquer for which has been our trap for over 20 years now.
I remember this. I was 19 years old. Growing up in DC I’d just hop on 95 and just figure it out. No GPSno cell phone. I was partying, shopping, hanging out. It was the best without internet. Meeting people everywhere you go. There was more soul back then. ❤ I’m grateful to be the age I am.
So funny you say this bc it was the opposite during this time for me, and I would go down to visit friends in DC… but everything you say is 100% …the entire vibe I think that if ppl then could see what was coming with the cell phones/internet… ppls heads would be on a spike
This video is beyond awesome. I turned 18 in 1997. This hits in all the right spots. Wouldn't give up my life now for anything but if I had to go back to any part of my live to relive the 90s and in particular 1997 would be it for me! Thank you.
The world was so different back then. Disney wasn't buying every studio they could. The internet was at it's infancy (perhaps still is in a lot of ways). No social media. No smartphones. No streaming services. DVDs were just being released. Emma Stone was 9 years old. Michael Jackson, Prince, and Whitney Houston were alive and well. World Trade Center still stood. Pro-wrestling between the Attitude Era in WWF and nWo in WCW saw a boom. I was in my junior year in high school.
Sadly with how terrible WWE is these days & how embarrassing that company on Wednesday is, we’ll never see another awesome boom for Pro Wrestling ever again
@@DougieYT you just don’t know wrestling, the style has changed in the course of all these years. Triple H just took over the WWE creative team. So wrestling could well be back.
probably lots better than now, it's all too commercialised now , the same as London where i live. Nothings the same, it's all changed too fast and not for the good. Sadly, 👍♥️
@@Gofroze And Baby Boomers in the 70's & 80's were nostalgic for the 50's & Early 60's. That's what Motown-revival and the show Happy Days was all about. "A Pup Named Scooby Doo" was also retro-50's media that showed the gang as kids in the 50's. There were also a lot of references to Elvis back then. Uncle Jesse's character in Full House was a tribute to him and artists like Daryl Hall and Rick Astley copped a pompadour. Many artists in the 80's like Stray Cats, Billy Joel, Roman Holiday and Culture Club (in "Church of the Poison Mind") all dabbled with a retro-50's vibe. ("When Smokey Sings" by ABC is the most blatant example, the whole song is a tribute to Smokey Robinson) And Michael Jackson was pretty much Elvis Presley's replacement. Then Justin Bieber was the new Elvis/Donny Osmond in the 2010's, K Pop is currently the new 1960's British Invasion and BTS are the new Beatles & NSYNC. Austin Powers revived Beatles Hair and thick Buddy Holly glasses in Goldmember, Emo bands were the British Invasion of the 2000's and The Jonas Brothers were the new Beatles. History always eventually repeats itself in subtle ways most people wouldn't notice.
I moved to NYC in 1995 & just moved away 1 year ago. I truly miss the 90’s NYC & this made me shed a few tears… I was young & had so much fun back then running around Manhattan & boroughs… I wish I had a time machine cause I’d go back in a heartbeat
Wow I was 9 days old when this was filmed! (Born Nov 21 1997). My mom is a native New Yorker, it’s cool to see what the city looked like around this time period
@@badgerden7080 nah but I’m in Brooklyn all the time bc most of my mom’s family is still up there if not in Jamaica. I grew up near Baltimore, 3 hours south
True, but I'd cite that everything changed after 9/11. It didn't just change New York, it changed the entire vibe, spirit, and energy consciousness of this country. A lot of the negative stuff that's plaguing our society today, originated in seeds planted between post 9/11 2001- 2005. Even while being 10 in 2001, I could sense a shift.
@@th3azscorpio It's because the whole event was a sacrificial ceremony for that country we cannot speak of or you'll be labeled for hate crimes. Agents of Mossad were even spotted around towers during and after the event speaking in Yiddish. Believe it or not, there are forms of life we cannot see that influence how we feel. Demons are real and so are angels.
I love all decades equally i don't prefer one decade over another that's just me i love and dislike both old and new shows, movies and video games equally there are some old and new school shows, movies and video games i love i think it's good and some i think it's bad i didn't like in my unpopular opinion
21:11 man, i miss the twin towers i wasnt born then but it breaks my heart to see such good buildings be destoryed just becuse people dont like another country, rip to all who died never forget.
@@kareemestwani2400 Yeah, I'm 36 and I hate to say it, but we do live in a crummy time. It's not just nostalgia, I know things were never perfect, but the world really was a different - and better - place in the 90's. I would give anything to go back.
I was thinking the exact same thing, Roxanne. I still shed tears in their glaring absence since that fateful day, ever grateful to the first responders and to New Yorkers for showing true resilience in the face of this senseless tragedy.
New York always goes through different eras. The 90s in NYC was my childhood, but it would be wrong to say it was the best era. NYC is a place that always re-invents itself every decade or two, some things get worse and other things get better. But it always seems to come back stronger than before.
What things are getting better recently? Nothing is eternal, not even N.Y.C as it has been known for a good hundred years. I really can't see the city "coming back stronger than before" considering the very dark times ahead...
@@Fritha71 Dude, NYC has survived the crack & aids era of the 1970s & 1980s, Rampant crime throughout the 1990s & Ofc September 11th in the early 2000s, Im most certain NYC will be fine in the years to come
@@Fritha71 This isn't even in the same category as 9/11 and it's far less bad than the 2008 economy. I think in a few years, things will normalize again.
NOVEMBER 16TH, 1997 was my 16th Birthday. Watching this version of NYC makes me shed a tear. I was born and raised in The Bronx. A trip Downtown was like a fun adventure for me and my family.
Oh my god... look at how clean the streets are, and how everything isn't completely swamped in rain due to the terrible irrigation system of today. The roads are in better shape, there's no "For lease" signs in every window, shops look nice. I'm not one to live in the past, but it is a shame I will never know this time and place.
Pretty much looks like any cities in the world. In 97 I was just baby kid so I don't remember much but I traveled a lot after 2005, 97 NYC looks like any City of my seeing
I will be saving this video. This is the closest I will get to a time travel machine. This video reminds me of my childhood. I’m from CT but I was 10 in 1997 and my stepfather would always bring me to NYC during Christmas season. He’s from there so we would go visit his family and he would take me to all the things like arcades, FAO Schwartz, Times Square, rocafeller center etc. nothing beats it I’m almost tearing from nostalgia.
A radio shack, Monica playing on the radio, crowded retail stores … NY is nothing like this now. I love NY today but this is some great footage. I was only 1 here
The video is still great in stabilization considering 1997. which shows how flat and good the roads are built. Great video and very advanced development even if you compare it to 2022
I hated the 90’s because I grew up in a horrible situation but 97 was a good year for me. It was the year that I got my first apartment in Minneapolis mn. I’ll never forget that year. 💜
@@matthew8153 it would have been recorded onto a sony video8 cassette, then captured on a PC or other device via an s-video cable. video8 cassettes were of high quality and transfering over s-video (instead of composite) gives the cleanest transfer with no RGB artefacts.
I know everyone feels strongly about the era they came up being "the best" but it's really tough to beat the 90s. Music, movies, culture, and sports. It was an amazing time for a lot of things. I was 20 years old in 97. Seriously great times. Thank you for this upload.
I completely agree with you Sir. You and I are exactly the same age and videos like this make me happy and sad in equal measure. Happy because we got to live through these times and sad because I know they will never come back.
I was born in the 00s,I must say I wish I could go back in time to the 90s just for one day to see how people lived without internet or phones and how the music was back then.
@@innosyde7188 the internet wasn’t as insidious and the cellphone wasn’t as invasive then. They also weren’t packaged into one forming an insidious and invasive object.
There was internet in 1997, with 130 million users - as well as cell phones. Internet was just slower and cell phones were bigger. In other words, there was internet, but it wasn't a huge part of our lives - and cell phones were pretty big, so kind of cumbersome. If you want to travel back before ANY internet or cell phones, that would be the EARLY 90's, but there were even cell phones in the 1980's.
I was born only couple of weeks before this was filmed. Never been in the US, hope to see it some day although I know it nowadays is nothing like this.
Man what a time the 80 and 90s was. I always say to everyone it was the perfect blend of tradition and transition into technology. I.e electrical household items to make our lives easier. Perfect amount of mobile phones technology, perfect amount of internet. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY of all no social media. No twitter, no women selling themselves for £9.60 a month to strangers and calling it a career. No brain dead apps like TikTok where you sit and scroll like a zombie watching people bounce on a trampoline for 3 hours. Just simple internet, dial up 💀. Open up your laptop or PC, do what you need to do for a few hours and shut it off and spend time with family/ read / watch tv. No constant bombardment of current affairs in your face through your smartphone. Just a carefree happy world where everything you took on face value. Happier time for kids too, less anxiety for them, less social pressure through Social media, no comparison to each other. Free speech everywhere. The list goes on and on and on. What id give to go back to that time again.
90's America - what Agent Smith chose to plug us into, because it was the peak of civilization.. before everything slowly became worse... then not so slowly.
The thumbnail to this video is freaking beautiful… reminds me of when I was young on those beautiful rainy dusk days in NYC. Just that image made me feel it
Thank you , thank you so much and god bless your father! This magical NYC is gone - but the memories, the sounds, sights, smells, people, fun, partying, good times, good vibes, relationships, real human interactions all will live on in our hearts, minds and souls. I arrived in NYC in August 1997 as a teenager from 9,000 miles away. For 3 days straight my neck hurt as I was looking at the tall buildings in Manhattan non stop. What a feeling it was!!! Man, you made me shed some tears this afternoon. Those day ain't never coming back.
Thank you for posting this. I had just moved to NYC from Yonkers and my father's friend had an apartment available - a one bedroom for my best friend and i - for $750 a month - on 106th street in the Columbia university neighborhood. It was an incredible time.
By 1997 NYC was cleaned up some. But let me say, in the late 80s and early 90s, it was a fun town in many ways but it was thuggish as hell. I think young people would be shocked if they knew how much grittier it was back then.
@I forgot I'm not certain but I think the stats show that crime peaked in the US in the late 70s and early 90s (obviously varying a lot based on crime and location)
@I forgot yep. Now that I'm thinking of it young people probably also don't know NYC came very close to going bankrupt back in the 1970s. That was even before my time.
Mayor Rudy Giuliani did a good job back then. Cleaned up Times Square by getting rid of all those porno shops and sex theaters making it more tourist friendly and beefed up the NYPD to crack down on crime. Mostly Manhattan was cleaned up Brooklyn, Queens some parts of Staten Island and The Bronx were still kinda rough
Was born in 92’ Brooklyn. Didn’t really start exploring NYC until my college days in 2011. This looks and feels the same as i know it to be the last 10 years honestly. I do remember going to chi cation often with my mom/aunt to buy jewelry and seafood in early 2000s that’s about it lol . I’d love to see some price comparisons of daily things in these videos that would be super dope 🔥
@Duolingo Owl But look at my original comment, i've said that people today instead of fixing issues are creating them. Social Justice movement isn't fixing issues, they are creating them, like in 2020 for example, they've caused milions of dollars of damage, hurted and in some areas even killed people because of thier "peacefull protests" they destroyed roads, shops, historical monuments, all because one black guy who later turned out to be a criminal got shot. Those things dont reduce the number of racist people and homophobes, they create even more of them and i bet most of these people are aware of that, but they just need to feel like they're important, so they create problems out of nowwhere and then make from themselves the heroes who solve them.
NYC ... a November rain; what a perfect day. Oh my, I have a tear in my eye, where has the time gone... I had to leave after that horrific, sad, sad day. I worked the towers everyday... doing deliveries & repairs.... up a certain flight of stairs. Now .... honestly; just can't say. I miss this NYC & the 80s & even the bankrupt / burned out 70s NYC. Remember the NYC from the Robert Redford movie ... "Three Days of the Condor" ? I was at home in Alphabet City, The Bowery; CBGBs; The Ramones... that was My NYC; but also THE Bronx, the docks, the bridges... the fringes ... both sides. I miss the ( I dunno how to explain) the gritt, the danger, but I never felt threatened; even when I was; I wasn't...Had to say Goodbye to My Hometown....I miss ya everyday. Now... oh boy, gotta keep it together. Thank You Rachid & Adam Echahly Take Care everybody.
Love your comment! How blessed we are to have be able to re capture this beautiful moment in time all over again. The sloppy rain makes it even more perfect, as you said. Blessings and life ever after to yours, Nomad ❤️
Great comment. Im sorry you and many other New Yorkers had to experience that day. But may those good memories stay with you, and keep you happy and warm, forever.
Stumbled upon this a few weeks ago but saved it to watch now, exactly 25 years on from the day it was filmed. Really beautiful to see pure, unedited camcorder footage like this, thank you for uploading (and to your father for filming). I was born in 1993, so I only have a childhood view of the (late) 90s, but I heartily echo others' comments about it here. It really was a special time and I'm glad to have even hazy, rosy memories of it. It's also really nice to see others' warm reflections and stories in this comments section. Plus this is a new source of 90s songs I'm unfamiliar with!
@@rowdyelitehater8595 Early nineties or early noughties? If 90s, I couldn't say from personal experience being either not born or a baby, but I definitely prefer the late 90s vibes to early 90s. If 00s... I still have a lot of love for the early 00s too, it was still part of my childhood. But I understand as an adult how 9/11 was a cultural watershed moment and the world started to change from there on. I do subscribe to the "2004 was the end of the 90s" idea/meme, though. Seems to be the point where that late 90s stuff finally faded out.
@@MallaWallaZoom the 90s ended for me in 2001, I think after 9/11 , something didn’t feel right, I’ll be honest my memory isn’t that sharp , I more remember the feelings I had around 98-99, I’m 30 now , so you can work it out I was a toddler threw most of it.
@@rowdyelitehater8595 I get you with the 9/11 aspect. I'm British so I don't think the effect was quite as acute as it was in the US, but I can definitely see the change in hindsight. It's like 2001-2004 was kind of a transition, I guess. I'm 30 too, so I'm right there with you in having more of a general sense of the late 90s than a whole tonne of clear memories. Some of that appreciation will be because we were kids and everything was warm and exciting, which is why it was nice to see so many people older than us speaking fondly about the late 90s in this comments section. Makes me know it's not just us 30-year-olds with our childhood nostalgia.
@@MallaWallaZoom I’m English too, but I watched a lot of wwf when I was a kid , it was always in MSG so I saw the twin towers a lot, it’s why it changed it for me.
For all the complaints people have about NYC now, riding your bicycle in the city is probably more enjoyable now than it was in the 90s. Far better and safer bike infrastructure
This was filmed on the day that I turned 17. Cool In the following year my friend and I would have a very interesting trip to NYC and stayed in a hostel ... Wow crazy
This type of drive through videos might be my favorite on RU-vid, it’s all an atmosphere, an era, songs, advertising, a different way of living captured in a video.
I never been in USA for the rest of my life, but when the twin tower showed up, i feel nostalgic..love the 90s, the era when the simple thing meet some tech..
