New York Is... On the Street Nonstop Streets A New York street can be a lonely place but seldom is it an empty one. Around 5 AM, the first batches of briefcase-carrying commuters emerge from the city's subway stations, just in time to see the nightclubbers heading for home. A few hours later, young people make their way to school; soon after, the first lunch-seeking office workers begin filing onto the sidewalks. By early afternoon, some commuters are already making for the stations and by dusk Midtown Manhattan is buzzing with pre-theater diners. In Greenwich Village and the East Village, bars and clubs prepare for another long, busy night. Street Deals Free enterprise rules the New York streets. An abundance of foodstands can be found all around the city, and appetites can be satisfied -- often surprisingly well -- without ever venturing inside a restaurant. Bookworms can shop at makeshift outdoor tables, which offer for sale all kinds of reading material ranging from brand-new discounted hardbacks to used paperbacks. Many New York apartments have been furnished by various purchases from street markets, where the merchandise ranges from eccentric lumps of junk to pieces of matching furniture. Even if it rains, there is no need to duck inside for shelter. As the first drops start to fall, street-corner traders appear, seemingly from nowhere, bearing armfuls of inexpensive umbrellas. New York Is... Transformation Times Square and 42nd Street The 1970s saw Times Square and the adjacent stretch of 42nd Street -- on the borders of Broadway -- being taken over by porno theaters, massage parlors and adult bookstores. Drug dealers and prostitutes plied their trade; homeless people were a common sight, and the pedestrian congestion was ideal for pickpockets. A major program of regeneration and development got underway in the mid-1980s, under the banner of the Times Square Business Improvement District. The now considerably transformed area -- patrolled by its own security force and kept clean with frequent garbage collection -- succeeds in its intention of being safe and welcoming to shoppers, tourists, and legitimate businesses alike. Chelsea Approximately bordered by 14th and 29th streets, and Sixth Avenue and the Hudson River, the Chelsea neighborhood began collecting the residential overspill from the increasingly upscale Greenwich Village through the 1980s. By the early 1990s, the neighborhood -- a prominent shopping area during the 1890s and now a mixture of townhouses and apartment buildings, industry and commerce -- was an increasingly important nightlife and restaurant area, with astrong gay contingent among its residents and business owners. Many early landmarks remain, not least the Chelsea Hotel and those of the Chelsea Historical District. Excerpted from New York City All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
