
Riding through the streets of New York City on the way to a wedding in Brooklyn, my memory started recalling different times and places. The realization of how much this magnificent city has changed brought a smile to my face. Suddenly I was recalling different moments since my first visit to New York City in over fifty years ago in 1960!
I remember when......
-The Empire State Building was the tallest in the world.
-There were lost of Chinese in China Town.
-Pay phones could be found on every corner.
-Bette Midler and Barry Manilow were playing at the Continental Baths to gay men in towels.

-People in Manhattan didn't go to Brooklyn.
-You could go directly to from the Airport Ticket counter to the gate without stopping and not remove your shoes!
-People dressed up to fly on airplanes with suit and ties and dresses (no pant suits allowed!).
-There were no McDonalds, Staples, KFC or chain franchises.
-People actually walked down the street looking at the surroundings and each other and not texting.
-The Plaza Hotel's Palm Court was the place to go after the theater.
-People would never go to the theater without dressing up.
-Times Square was dirty and dingy.
-Eight Ave in Hell's Kitchen was filled with movie theaters showing porn before the advent of VHS and DVD's.
-Greenwich Village still had beatniks and hippies who frequented 'head shops'.
-You could afford to live in Manhattan.
-In the Garment District, the streets were filled with men pushing racks of clothing up and down the streets.
-The days of the gay bars the Mineshaft and Anvil.
-The Piers were just broken down places and not park land.
-Graffiti covered every subway and train car.

-Ticker Tape Parades were held for other people besides just sports stars.
-It was the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees and the New York Giant baseball teams.
-When the Mets played their first game in New York.
-The Beatles played at Shea Stadium.
-There were horrible riots in Harlem
-The New York World's Fair in 1964 was a huge hit and had long lines.
-That Idlewild Airport was named for President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
-When a TWA and United passenger planes crashed over Park Slope in Brooklyn killing 128 people aboard and 6 people on the ground.

-The dance craze "The Twist' took New York by storm and the hot spot in town was "The Peppermint Lounge'
-The Verranzano-Narrow Bridge and Pam Am Building were built.
-The Old Pennsylvania Rail Station and Madison Square Garden was built.
-The Stonewall Insurrection took place.
-There were Mayors named Robert Wagner, John Lindsey, Abe Beame, Ed Koch, David Dinkins and Rudolph Giuliani!
-The Bowery was a bad place and not a place for hipsters.
-The World Trade Center was built!
-AIDS simply didn't exist.
-President Ford told New York City to "Drop Dead'.
