alpie you might be right about NYC goin to $hit cuz of the recession

alpie is wrong because he's alpie. but, having said that, it is true that budgetary concerns never bode well for any city. i recall the late '80s as being less than an olfactory treat in manhattan, and unemployment will affect the quality of life anywhere. but this is not a NYC issue, per se, this is pretty much a nationwide issue unless you wish to move to one of the five states in the midwest that still have reasonable unemployment and do not have massive deficits now or looming in the future, or retreat to the country where you compost your own refuse.

states and municipalities are broke. we should just thank the heavens that NY is not CA, where the state is busy rapaciously stealing as much money from the cities as possible to bridge the budget gap.

So take the 6 down from 96 and spare your sensibilities you p&ssy. Seriously though - I have seen no deterioration in service, overall city conditions, or general civility of fellow city residents. Of course, I'm on the West Side, which makes a difference. But re-reading posts from 12 months ago, the predictions practically called for tent-cities in Central Park.

don't you worry OTNYC. Fishing for food in the Hudson is around the corner:

Hard Times Driving More People In Michigan To Fish For Food

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/27/hard-times-driving-more-p_n_245574.html

hahah I like to walk though. no decrease in civility I agree. definitely a decrease in services. When I've been out of the city recently, I've definitely noticed how theres not much landscaping going on. Alot of signs on the highway and are being covered over by overgrown brush.

thank god alpie returned to form. michigan is the greatest outlier in the country.

otnyc, the buses seem to be running far less frequently on some lines.

"Fishing for food in the Hudson is around the corner:"

Around the corner? Have you been along the East River (much dirtier than the Hudson) recently? Check Stuyvesant Cove, East River Park, the Seaport area...fishing poles everywhere. And they are not for sport.

There was a rash of violence in Alphabet City in recent months, but it's seemed to have quieted down.

When Alpo says "Fishing for food in the Hudson is around the corner", he means this corner right near where he lives: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=alpine,nj&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.626896,56.513672&ie=UTF8&ll=40.962296,-73.912745&spn=0.000489,0.000862&t=h&z=20&iwloc=A

well as a parent that takes his kids to the playgrounds frequently, I have noticed in the last two years a dramatic decline in maintaining and cleaning the playgrounds. Surely this is due to cutbacks in maintenance personnel and hours... and it sucks, because the playgrounds are not the same.

While the city should try to maintain playgrounds & parks to the best of its abilities and finances, we should all pick up after ourselves (and others if it's not a discarded needle or condom). Ever been to Tokyo?

nyc10023, not so much a trash issue, the cans are stuffed... its more about sand, leaves, etc, etc, and, it's just an observation to the OP's point.

What do you mean alpine was right? He said that there would be no decline, and no recession in Manhattan...

"states and municipalities are broke. we should just thank the heavens that NY is not CA, where the state is busy rapaciously stealing as much money from the cities as possible to bridge the budget gap."

absolutely

"While the city should try to maintain playgrounds & parks to the best of its abilities and finances, we should all pick up after ourselves (and others if it's not a discarded needle or condom). "

double absolutely

"nyc10023, not so much a trash issue, the cans are stuffed"

I've noticed that as well, seems to be more of a frequency issue on the UWS.

and where are all the murders i was promised? we're now 19 months into this recession and murders and crime in general continue to fall. this is bullsh*t. I urge everyone to call 311 and protest about the declining crime rates - how am I ever going to get that co-op on 5th in the 80s for free if this keeps up! aargh.

certain crimes are up printer. Robberies and assaults are up, especially downtonwn. Hate crimes are also up.

alrighty, El_P, i'll stop mugging you for your lunch money everyday. That oughta drop the crime rate a 1% or 2%.

I guess a public servant with a $1 a year salary wasn't as good a deal as it initially seemed.

"and where are all the murders i was promised? we're now 19 months into this recession and murders and crime in general continue to fall. this is bullsh*t. I urge everyone to call 311 and protest about the declining crime rates - how am I ever going to get that co-op on 5th in the 80s for free if this keeps up! aargh."

Better you should spend your time calling all the brokers who sold apartments as "investments" which then immediately dropped 30%.

"I guess a public servant with a $1 a year salary wasn't as good a deal as it initially seemed."
Yeah, one for whom the official mayoral residence wasn't good enough.

Another $1/year bargain was Detroit Dan Doctoroff. Whatever became of him after he spent four years not doing any economic development at all other than trying to get a 75,000 seat stadium built in midtown?

our 1$ a year mayor did a very nice job post 9/11--many predicted disaster for ny on many fronts esp re vals--things stayed together--this current mess he had little to do with--

and dont get me wrong, our mayor runs this city as a global re investment and commerce zone with little concern for true middle class new yorkers

parking law enforcement, nonsuspension of alt side after snowstorms etc--hes not sensitive to the non wealthy that have always lived in ny

I live on the UES and I see everything you see. The homeless seem to have returned. Some I seem to recognize from the last economic turn down. They where probably on the exotic beaches of the world when they got that e-mail blast to get back on the job. In fact that's what I think this tiny eco-blip has in store for us...a dirty city. as long as the crime doesn't make a return, I can live with a little grime. Hey!!! that can be NYC's new slogan....NYC all the grime, none of the crime (cheat us again and you do the time).

Alan, forgot how nice the town of Alpine is. thanks for the map.

i've noticed this as well. the city has gotten even dirtier, and i'm reading more about crime, especially assault and rape. it's really unfortunate.

hey rufie, how's tricks in chicago? how's the budget in your fair city, in illinois? heard things aren't so great, hope they haven't let even more homeless guys drinking hooch and showing their ass into your beloved park.

Rufus,...I mean JohnAnthony how would you know if the city has gotten dirtier? You don't live in New York.

Good evening, psychocrackerboy. I couldn't help but notice how badly Chitroit is hurting: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/04/29/business/2009-wide-housing-graphic.html

Down 24% from peak. It vexes me, it truly does.

Look what the windy city blew in.

i thought the air was feeling rather dense.

"our 1$ a year mayor did a very nice job post 9/11--many predicted disaster for ny on many fronts esp re vals--things stayed together--this current mess he had little to do with--"

9/11? hmmm.... you mean where there's still nothing going on? (yes, I realize it's technically a state issue, but any mayor with a spine would have stepped in by now on something this important. but the chicken doesn't want to touch the hot potato, just like Corzine is ignoring when technically he's got like 1/2 the say (I think). As far as having nothing to do with this current mess, we've just been thru close to 7 years under his watch of the biggest economic boom we've ever seen, and had almost zero infrastructure improvement and no savings; he's too busy trying to get the Olympics, build stadiums, etc. to take care of the city's real issues. So, while it's not his fault that the current economy is in the toilet, he certainly wasn't paying attention to what would happen when he inevitable downturn did occur.

i hear you knockin re infrastructure investment etc, 3 0
but i do think ny could have gone very south after 9/11, and it didnt and he was at the helm
i had serious exposure in nyre post 9/11, and was very worried...stayed with it and sold all quite luckily in 06/07..i have to credit 1$/yr with some of that...so on that issue most critical to me post 9/11 he done me good

Ubottom, I couldn't disagree more. If NYRE had gone more south, it would have been the result of the dotbust, not 9/11.

What does "stay at the helm" mean in this context? Do nothing, which is what 30yrs and I said. And nothing is what remains being done at Six Flags Ground Zero.

That's like those people who think that by grandstanding instead of handing over the keys to the terrorists, Giuliani did something amazing, above and beyond what anyone would do in that situation.