I love the nostalgia for old-NYC — indeed New York City was a much cooler place 10 years ago. When I visit New York, all I see are chain restaurants and shopping destinations. It took moving to Philadelphia for me to understand the real treasure and opportunity local, independent businesses provide to a city. The fabric of New York is now a Ron English painting.. KMART, GAP, McDonalds, Applebees, Starbucks.

When Grubstake recently played in Manhattan, I remarked to Pat how ironic it was that folks were living in Brooklyn and Queens and not coming into Manhattan, which I presumed is one of the reasons why one would live in an outer-borrough. Turns out, that’s where all the culture and fun is now a days. The last major rock venue in Manhattan, Knitting Factory, is also moving to BK.

And I’m not sure you got the point of the post, it was to represent the corporate pornfest times square embodies, and it’s representative of the marketing-saturated world we live in. I find it interesting that it remains such a cultural mecca. But I guess that’s why folks like infomercials so much.

Giuliani’s changes made it safe to BE in Times Square, spawning an entire new economy and thousands of jobs in Times Square.

Do you want to go back to the 80′s with the muggings? People from Iowa come here now because they can feel safe. Of course New Yorkers don’t go there, they also don’t go to the statue of liberty and empire state building.

Do you think people in Rome tour the colliseum every week?