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You got half a million subscribers! Support the channel?? Seems those views will support you well. Hope you're giving back to the communities your exploiting??? Really, I hope you're helping these communities.
Bringing back some not so good memories. I went to school there . We used to put a paper note on the windshield when we parked our cars on the street that read "no money, no radio" . One day someone broke my small window in the rear door. The thief obviously didn't find anything valuable, but he had a great sense of humor, he added " just checking" on the note I left under my windshield.
This is why what Charlie does is so important because in 30-40 years people will be watching his videos of neighborhoods now to see how much they’ve changed. He’s literally making visual/audio time capsules.
these videos are stupid. Charlie takes only one segment of a neighborhood and portrays it as a complete representation to fit a specific narrative. There were awesome places in Harlem in 1989 and there are shitty places even in 2020. You have to see the entire neighborhood.
@@bigfun7372 I’m pretty sure we get the picture with the “awesome” parts but it’s the ghetto that we should document so that we don’t keep making the same mistakes over and over again.
@@Ayotzi94 ok I get it. You are correct. but why use the filter for extra effect? and If we really want to show where we went wrong, he should show how gentrified many of the ghettos really are in this day and age. east ny, south bronx, jamaica, these neighborhoods are COMPLETELY changing/changed. But then again that would not fit charlie's fabricated narrative.
We lost 80% of our buildings in the South Bronx. It was crazy!! My mom came home one night and the landlord literally told her.. the building is finished!! He left!! The building was massive and absolutely beautiful. They don’t build apartments with space like that anymore. The whole block literally died overnight. Even in those hard times we were able to be happy!! We did create a strong sense of community and friendship with our family, friends and neighbors. They always tried to help one another. I still have wonderful memories of those times.
@@jeffalbillar7625The landlords would set fire to the blocks for insurance money and bail. They usually were of a certain religious background. Most of them got off scot-free. 😂
I drove a City bus in Harlem throughout the 80's and 90's. It's amazing how it's changed. Alot of those burnt out buildings you show in this video were owned by speculators who sat on them for years. The regular people who lived up there used to complain,"Why don't they do something with these buildings". Eventually they did and cashed in.The neighborhood got Gentrified and many long time residents got pushed out. I remember a lady telling me the only place a person can afford to live is the Projects. I have good memories of driving the 8th Ave bus. The people of Harlem were always good to me. Especially my regulars from the Polo Grounds houses.Peace to you all.
Thank you for this piece of information. We assume that the burnt down, smashed up buildings and empty lots were from the people not caring about their neighborhood. But it always comes down to rich real estate owners and gentrification. The people who own the property, but don't care about the neighborhood.
@@ricky-sanchez There was the book about it in eighties (did forgot the title), was about real estate speculation in New York and how they even burn the buildings and how they done to does look "naturally"
Thanks for telling the story of what was really going on. I loved my neighborhood, still do. I have walked many of these street. The gentrification is horrible.
@@Phreshie91 it’s still shitty area but would you rather have what it used to look like or now? As you can see they put effort n money towards Harlem. Can you give NY credit for that at least?
I remembered those days 1989 wow!!!!! Through the grace if God I got clean in October 1 1990 an been clean ever since today its 33 yrs an 8 mos!!! An we are gonna continue to move forward no matter what🎉🎉😂❤🎉😅
... unlike some of the artsy crap with "documentary feel" being produced these days.... Get No-Shake Jones a contract with Hollywood ASAP -- he can teach those so-called "filmmakers" a thing or two!
and he's on different streets. those other streets are the same as they were. do you think NEW YORKINVESTED ANY MONEY TO REBUILD HARLEM, GIVE ME A BREAK. LIES.
Call me crazy, but stylistically crack epidemic Harlem looks WAY better than any upper middle-class neighbourhood in South America. At least you get a glimpse of how beautiful it once was, and there's a sense of architectural harmony.
I was really young when Harlem looked like that in the 80's and I have to admit, I got sentimental because even though my siblings and I grew up in Harlem and it was rough at times, our parents kept our heads in the books and in Church but we still had great times with our family and friends I will always be in love with Harlem USA
The Detroit housing shown was huge, those are large, well constructed houses. I'm struck by the extensive use of brick columns in the front of many of these homes, sometimes setting off a single first level porch but often supporting porches on both the first and second levels. But the houses just seem so large and well constructed. What a shame.
The US government turned a blind eye to the transportation of cocaine into the USA. At that time it made it's way into low income and poverty stricken communities. Often times those commies were made of the minorities because let's not forget we were still battling with SEGREGATION?!?! The fact that that was even part of our history is simply repulsive. The number of arrest made in the 1980s pertaining to drugs went up significantly and you guessed it! Over 60% of those arrest were of minorities in areas of poverty. This resulted in a very negative outlook on African Americans at the time time which resulted in the lack of funding to certain cities, schools, and districts. In turn, the precious city you loved in the 1960s was made that way intentionally to further degrade and dehumanize the minorities. The fact that shortly before that time we had just ended WW2, MLKJ. was murdered, the outlook on racism was turning tide as many stood up for their human rights says a lot about where the government truly had power. No longer could they physically control the minorities so they turned the communities and the law against them to work in their favor. Its the most hellish thing America could have done. This city looked like this at the hands of our government. We still fight for equal funding to low income areas TO THIS DAY and cities all across the USA are in shambles due to the recklessness of the US government. Not proud to be an American with this historical fact living in my head. We need change then and we need it today and we need it tomorrow. BLM
It’s crazy because I was just in Harlem a couple days ago and when I was there I was “like I wonder what this place looked like during the crack epidemic” thanks for the vid 💯
That video only shows a few tiny sections, though. It wasn't all like that, and the vibe wasn't depressing like the video. Having said that, it definitely wasn't as shiny and new looking like it is today.
It looks crazy. I was kid and I remember it looking just like these videos. We couldn’t even play in the parks because they would be empty crack vials everywhere.
I still live in Harlem where I grew up, the snack shack was up the block from me, as well as that massive school which took up both sides of 145-146 street between Amsterdam and Broadway. The video footage is of west Harlem, Hamilton heights for anyone curious, practically Sugar Hill. Gentrification while it has it negatives, has modernized Harlem from abandoned lots, to condo’s and renovated brownstones. The architecture is still beautiful after 120 years of construction in much of Harlem.
I remember visiting New York City for the first time when I was 9, around 1990. We drove from Toronto. Dad took us for the first time. I was super excited. I was expecting glitz and glamour, and when I got there and saw scenes like this, I was horrified.
Everybody that comes to America says the same thing. Its not a different place then everywhere else. There are nice areas and bad areas and sometimes they interchange over time. The good thing about the USA is that there are allot of places in between. If you work modestly hard you can pretty much achieve the in between. That's pretty good odds compared to other places.
@@sheastadium2008 Whole city was bad due to hippies, coming of age baby boomers and people born in the 1930s, democrats, foreigners, etc... When you destroy the old culture of America, you are bound to suffer in the 1960s to present.
People in all world is normal - dont lie on every step like Americans for the even little profit. Most of people in world think, that if country try to teach everyone how to live - it have no problems in it.
I was 20 years old back in 1989. I was a college student upstate New York @ the State University Of New York College at Oswego. I recall very vividly how the city looked back then. I’d say 3/4 of the city was like this. Not just Harlem. Glad to see things got better
Thanks for posting this video ! As a Greek, the "old" harlem is what we knew thought the hollywood movies. It was nice to see real footage of its streets!
Damn Charlie has run out of hoods to roll through in present times, and has stolen the infinity gauntlet to use the time stone in order to keep producing content
What's wild is the fact that if you go back 60 years prior to the 1989 footage, the neighborhoods were nice, with everyone dressing sharp. Men wore business suits and hats ... women looked upscale with hats. It was beautiful. The community seemed strong in the 30s.
I'm from Brooklyn. I first went to Harlem in the summer of 1988. I was a little kid and was just shocked and amazed. I've still never seen anywhere as "LIT" as a hot summer night in 1980's Harlem. I'm glad I have those memories.
Coney Island here. I remember walking through Harlem and the Bronx and it looked like bombed out WWII Germany. No life or sense of hope. Gentrification has does wonders, but at what expense ?
@@ignaciopullum9891 expense? What harm has it caused when the alternative is known? Property, especially in high tax high regulation NYC is very expensive. No capital, no upkeep. If landlords can't make money, they burn the place like 1980's Harlem. Only other way to reduce rents is cut the absurd Property taxes but we both know that will never happen.
Washington Heights in 1988 was even worse and lit was an understatement, especially at night. Almost every street east of Broadway was filled with Jehri curl haired hicks with no socks selling cocaine and crack.
@@ignaciopullum9891 I've been in the Bronx for almost 30 years after living in Inwood for 18 years. Yes, a lot of the Bronx was burned out. But a lot of it wasn't, like where I live now. Gentrification has its good side and bad side. I don't worry about gentrifiers coming to my neighborhood. It's too far from "the city" (as they call it) and they wouldn't like the Italian/Albanian vibe in the neighborood. Which I'm good with.
What's interesting in the 1989 vid was that the street level vista was rugged as hell, but look at most of the cars parked on the street - mostly recent model sedans in decent condition.
"its like a Jungle sometimes it makes me wander how I keep from going under" Grandmaster flash and the furious 5 the message. Definitely the song for this video
I always understood the lyrics of "The Message" but until I watched this video I never realized how grimy their conditions were. "The Message" is the perfect summation of their times and situations.
This is the Harlem i remember when i used to visit my auntie in the late 80's through the mid 90's my auntie still lives in Harlem in the same brownstone she bought with her late husband(my late uncle Juan)in 1970 she's now 75 years young still feisty as ever and she still won't move from Harlem even though she's been offered close to $2million for her brownstone she told me God forbid she passes away she's leaving the house to me and my sister
I was a cop in a city in North Jersey until 97. I remember how badly crack hit our streets. It changed the game for gangs. Local street gangs got much more violent to protect corners and then the Crips and Bloods came in and it really escalated.
By the grace of God, October 6, 1989 the day I got sober. 33 years of continious sobriety. Living in Hawaii with a paid off house. All of what I had comes from sobriety. Looking at Harlem, is a reminder where I don't want to be, mentally or physically. A lot of people I'm seeing are dead already.😮
@@Blubkeks100 no, I abused the privilege. I never drank socially, always drank to excess. Everything I have in life is directly tied to me getting sober.😀
Harlem, The South Bronx, Brownsville Brooklyn and the Lower East Side all looked like war zones in the 70's through the 80's.. As messed up as certain parts of the city was it was still magical in a lot of ways.
@Baby Lane Stanfield I'll help your prejudice ignorant following backside out. I can see you don't know what you are talking about Numbers 12 1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. note note 2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. 13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. 15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. 16 And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran. place
@@Tommyr Everybody still has a real life to live, besides it is natural for civilizations to advance and better their technology. You must be a very pessimistic person to have that kind of mindset that people today don’t live “real lives” in fact I don’t think you have a “real life” yourself. Happy Mother’s Day you boomer !
This is how I remember the city as a kid. It’s amazing how those buildings could be so beautiful if they weren’t so rundown and vacant that’s when they used to put a lot of time and effort into constructing buildings. Am I the only one that’s most intrigued by the old cars? You just don’t see those anymore
You dont see 'em anymore because they were gas guzzlers and were a boat to drive.. thats probably back when they still used metal body work instead of fiberglass
I also liked the cars. Cars nowadays are really so boring, looking apathetic, having no personality. Cars in the old days had some kind of "life" in them.
At 2:25 I hurt my knee in that school yard in 87 and needed reconstructive surgery. I was 6 years old. I grew up on that block, my whole family was on crack and BCW came and took me away from them.....the best thing that ever happened to me
My cousin from Ohio went into real estate with two friends early 90's in Harlem. They bought burned out or run down buildings for almost nothing. Paid the property tax/insurance and just let them sit as is for about ten years, sold them off and made a damn fortune. Wish I had taken the gamble with them but I was too impatient.
@@driveruwsThese apartment buildings have to have been a once in a century investment; there are no global financial markets headquartered in Detroit.
yup that's part of the problem, real estate speculators buying properties and letting them sit dilapidated. it's a shame but i'm not gonna lie and say i wouldn't do that same if i could make money that way.
1989's footage: PS 90 and W 148th Street on the right side of the park in awful shape. All back to the original charme nowadays. Thanks for this document!
*Locations for the 1989 footage* 0:00 - Crossing Frederick Douglas Blvd on W 148TH Street 1:45 - Crossing Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd on W 148th Street 3:45 - Cruising past W 146TH Street on Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd 4:30 - Pulling onto W 145TH Street from Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd 4:53 - Pulling out on to Bradhurst Avenue from W 147TH Street 5:26 - Turns back on to W 148TH Street (from the opposite end to where the video started) 6:24 - Time travels out of W 148TH Street and 31 years into the future crossing W 128th Street on St Nicholas Terrace If I made any mistakes cut me some slack, I'm a Londoner who's never actually been to New York lmao
Have you watched gringo. Movie about an heroin addict in nyc. It was meant to star Johnny thunders but his parts were cut in the end and they used mr spacelys scenes. Very sad really. They are both dead now.
Especially EXCELLENT for all us history lovers out there. This footage would help me with flashback scenes for a faith-based mystery-thriller on a peculiar dream I had in October of that same year this was shot.
I lived in New York City in the summer of 1989 and this video is accurate. I worked with a friend who lived in Harlem with her mother and father and family and their rule was that nobody went out of their apartment after dark for any reason because there were gun shots in their neighborhood every night and it was too dangerous. It was the same way in the Bronx. The cops wouldn't even walk through my neighborhood in Hell's Kitchen during the day and you never saw them at night. They would only roll through in squad cars. There were always little amber-colored glass crack vials all over the sidewalk and they would crunch under my feet. Crack whores were turning tricks in vans parked along the streets and people were smoking crack in broad daylight around the Port Authority station. Many areas of the city looked like something out of a Mad Max movie. Things got a lot better under Mayor Giuliani because of his tough stance on crime but now Mayor De Blasio is taking the city back to the bad old days.
I've always believed that some police use working in a bad area as an excuse not to do their job or to the bare minimum ! If they do t like the work , resign , if they don't like the area they're assigned to transfer out it's simple
@@enriquegranados5179 Did the white people turn Harlem into the shithole it is in this video? No, they didn't. But, they did make it a decent place again. You're welcome.
I liked how he captured the sounds..the people talking in the street..the beeper going off..the old horns etc. And not only did he capture the old cars but he just captured an old way of life. Look at how everyone was outside on the porch just hanging out. There wasn't computers to watch social media on all day. You had to go outside. Cell phones were limited to people who had money and they were the size of bricks anyway. The hair styles..the clothes..yea..it brings you back for sure.
The drug crack did not do that to the city. This was happening across the U.S. because the rich educated affluent people left big dense cities and instead moved to the suburbs. It started in the 50’s and 60’s. The people not rich enough to move out inhabited dilapidated cities
Yes! I am one of those 18 year olds who is 50 (actually 54) today. What makes me a bit upset about this is although it was rough, not all blocks looked like this. Mine didn't. It wasn't pristine either, but not like this video. Same for my Aunt's block, my scout leader's, my church and my school's block. Yes there were too many like these, but it was not the whole story by a long shot.
I was was backpacking in NYC in 89, stayed a couple of nights in Harlem, had no problems, don't know if I was just lucky, but just encountered regular people going about their day. Our Aussie accents got a lot of attention though. We had a good experience there.
@@dondavis7687 yes, I was there for a couple of days but I didn't see you around. 🤣 I did use that line on a NYC Yellow cab driver, he pissed himself laughing, he knew exactly what I was saying with my Aussie accent. He appreciated the laugh, as we were stuck in heavy traffic.
Mate, you were more adventurous than I was back then. Me and my girl wimped out and went to Hawaii, and the most daring thing I did was try to bodysurf at Waikiki which is all stone on the bottom so if you get dumped you're in for some rock-rash, which is sort of like living on the edge, I guess 😁
My aunt moved from my south american country to Harlem with her husband in early 70's. One night, not so late he went for groceries and a gang robbed him and kicked him and told him to stay on the floor where they kept kicking him for one whole block and then he was dumped in a large dumpster where he spent a few hours hiding because he was too scared. Luckily for him, he didn't sustain any major injuries and being young and healthy played a big part. I guess being a white latino in the wrong part of town didn't pay off.
This is the NY I remember. My family took a trip there once in the mid 1980s and we accidentally drove through some of the bad parts and it looked just like this.
I grew up in queens in the 80s. Finally moved when I was 12 in 89. Imagine moving from this to a small town of about 5,000 population in the middle of South Carolina 😆 talk about a culture shock.
@@NinoG053 yes. And it seemed like an extremely over populated , extremely cramped living situation for everyone there. No way would I ever live there again. Even if u paid me.
I moved from rural NJ to rural PA when I was about 15, and even then.. there was some element of culture shock. So, I can only imagine what you experienced was like day N night.
So this is the place and time the author Sapphire was talking about in 'Precious'. The book is set a few years earlier, but the crack epidemic and its crime and HIV fallout were very much part of Harlem then. I lived my first several years in Flatbush in the 70's, before L.A., and whenever I went back to visit during the 80's I bugged my dad to take me into the city. I was a self-absorbed kid and I don't think I really noticed how badly parts of Manhattan decayed during that time. I was ignorant about hard drugs and that level of urban decay; I just didn't live in that environment. Many who did, wrote really moving stories and music about it.
Waking up every day and living, it's sometimes hard to see the world "change" because it happens in such small increments and we might not notice them. But watch a video like this, and damn, you can see a huge difference 30 years makes.
One thing worldwide i always notice now when we look back at old footage anywhere in the world, the sun used to come out more & the sky seems bigger & more appealing to look at. Something isnt the same about our skies anymore & its like that old world & the feeling it gave you the aura & vibes are long gone😢
My wife and I went to Red Rooster when it first opened, and we definitely noticed a few things. First, the architecture is gorgeous. But most of all, we noticed the people. We loved to see the pride that the locals had in the neighborhood. It was obvious. The culture was very vibrant and beautiful. It was great to see the neighborhood diverse and thriving. On the other hand, I knew that so many of the people who stayed loyal to Harlem for generations, and had their families rooted there were getting pushed out by ridiculous rent prices. Local mom and pop stores were turning into flavorless large chains, that absolutely were killing the culture, and the history behind Harlem. And that pissed me off big time.
@@brianfitzpatrick9949 first thing… Red Rooster is not a chain. The owner lives in Harlem. I went there with my wife to eat to support a great restaurant. I loved the area. As much as I respect it, I know that it isn’t my culture. I went for the day, and left. I didn’t stay and push more people out. I didn’t feel like I disrupted anything. I gave them my money, went home, and let the people be.
@@brianfitzpatrick9949 when I say “chain”, I mean the once local small businesses that are now Starbucks, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, or Applebee’s. Which takes away from any neighborhoods uniqueness, culture, and flavor. Makes it “Anywhere USA.”
5:23 For you young folks here, that’s what we call a pay phone. This is a device that we had to insert quarters, nickels, or dimes into so we could communicate with each other when we were away from home.
As someone who had grown up in the second half of the 2000's I remember pay phones would be by bus stops, gas stations, and by the McDonald's along with those newspaper stands. Now they are just graffiti'd structures with no phone attached. They started to disappear in the 2010's
Wow what an amazing video. From a lifelong born and bred Bradford (UK) lad this video hits home. We went through a similar resurgence in our area. Growing up we didn't really notice it as we saw everything being built. But just like this video shows. When you do a before and after you see the immense changes.
I moved to Hebden when I was 7 from Dnipro, Ukraine in 02'. Both Dnipro and Hebden / Calder Valley have changed so much since. I wasn't a resident but used to stay in Brooklyn with people I knew there when I was younger and saw it change so rapidly... Now after the Pandemic it's changed drastically again. Places are so dynamic and can change so fast either way. Peoples notions of them usually lag behind.
Looks more as S 8mm Kodak film. Think, this alarm in background may be sign that roll go to the end, you can still make 2:30 min with one roll and 25 fps
This is a peek into why New York Hip Hop in the 90’a was so grimy. (That’s not a dig) They were all teenagers in the 80’s, and in their 20’s they got on the mic to talk about it.
Anytime I see something about New York or Harlem , especially in the 1980's I can't help but think about Alpo , Rich n Azie running in those streets doing all they did 😂
My Pakistani immigrant father opened up a chicken spot, Harlem Fried Chicken, on the corner of 145 and St. Nick/8th Avenue, across from Willie's Burgers in 85, under a burned down building. My mom and I would take the D train on the weekends and in the summer to help. I was 6, would hang out up front, mingle with the dope dealers, crack heads, gang bangers, everybody, no fear or care in the world, because these were the same people that were putting food on our plates. They appreciated that somebody opened and ran a business to serve their community, skin color be damned. Loved those summer nights, sick cars parked up front, music blasting, fried chicken passed around, people drinking, having a good time. Sunday mornings you would see everybody come in at lunch time dressed to the nines after church, giving us their blessings in exchange for food. During the holidays, the regulars would bring me gifts. Even in poor and dire times, people were better back then. My dad's spot is a PathMark now, couldn't compete with the Popeyes that opened across the street in the 90's. People with money moved in and didn't need the 3 dollar 2 piece dinners with a side, drink, biscuit and a sweet potato pie.
There’s so many people sharing these amazing stories, it’s 3:23 AM where I’m at but I just can’t help soaking up people’s stories from this comment section
Not all of Harlem looked like that in the 80s. Most areas were fairly decent but others were exactly as you see here. Looking like the 2nd stage in Streets Of Rage.
@@adamhonestyanddecency5054 Crime went down due to less hard drugs coming into the neighborhood. Investors saw opportunities to make money off of the cheap housing available and built the area up to encourage people to move into the neighborhood. That's what I think happened anyway. Once we got a Red Lobster and a Applebees on 125th street I knew that the neighborhood had turned around. Reminds me of that scene in Babylon A.D. when Vin Diesel's character returns to Harlem after a very long time away and the neighborhood is highly developed. He says: "Harlem, how you've changed".
Вот такие картинки нужно было показывать в 80е на Советском ТВ. Как Гарлем 89,похож на С-Пб 90х. И там и там можно было снимать фильмы о войне. Атмосферно было, не то что сейчас, прилизано.
@@KDIZZZZY08 ok. I jogged Powell (7th) and Douglas (8th) from 125th to 155th. It had the feeling of the hood but if it still looked like this I would have hurried back downtown. I’m from New Orleans, 7th ave reminded me of N.Claiborne here.
@@WhatYaReading it's definitely a major change this was the Harlem I remember growing up in. It molded me into the strong mind survivor I am now. I am a bit shocked at how poverty stricken my childhood neighborhood looks in this video and managed to survive and NOT become a product of my environment
@@KDIZZZZY08 Word. I was born in 1979 and I remember guys all the way here in New Orleans talking about Harlem, Alpo and Rich before that movie was made.
Wow, taking me back to when this was normal everyday life. Never imagining the drastic change the city made and thinking how appalling those times were and how normal it was to live there.
The 2020 video looks mostly like an improvement. It looks like some gentrification, too. What strikes me is how similar Harlem looked in 1989 to present-day urban areas like Detroit and Baltimore. The trash and filth were really bad back then. It looks like a lot of the home fronts have been cleaned up and restored in many cases, or are in the process of being restored. Nice job of showing the contrast. What do you think, Charlie? An improvement or is Harlem now a representation of the modern poor?
There can't be a coincidence that you couldn't pay ppl to have property there now it's worth millions. "Investors " surely new what they were doing? Mess area up then kick back and wait for the 10000000% return
Absolutely! I love the 80s-90s cars.. the boxy body type. Esp in the bmws and Mercedes in the right color it’s gorrrrgeous but even a damn Volvo I’ll take it. It was so cool
I often wonder why I miss the ghetto so much. The music, the food, the dancing, the laughter, the people and the memories all had something to do with it. Even the bad things shaped who I am and how I am. These run down streets look like something from a horror movie... but I still miss them.
Yeah man and not to mention it suited the hip hop scene, unlike when people try to recreate old school style hip hop music videos in modern gentrification times like today in NY it looks out of place
@@julienbee3467 That is actually a late 80s Pontiac Lemans. Opel was never represented in the US. Why should it be, when GM had its own American divisions.. But yeah basically a rebadged Opel Kadett. The Cadillac Caterra was a rebadged Opel Omega. Opel Vectra and Astra were sold under the "Saturn" brand. Also a now defunct division of GM
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
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Who recorded the old footage?
Charlie Great Video, Thank you for posting it, this is such an Awesome Classic Video
@@caitgems1 I wonder if it was Charlie haha
Show us your time machine bro
You got half a million subscribers! Support the channel?? Seems those views will support you well. Hope you're giving back to the communities your exploiting??? Really, I hope you're helping these communities.
Bringing back some not so good memories. I went to school there . We used to put a paper note on the windshield when we parked our cars on the street that read "no money, no radio" . One day someone broke my small window in the rear door. The thief obviously didn't find anything valuable, but he had a great sense of humor, he added " just checking" on the note I left under my windshield.
😆😆
Hahahahaha 🤣🙏🏻
At least it makes for a great story to tell at parties 👍🏻
Great story......
If I caught him I would forgive him
Sick 😷
Have to admit that's some damn good video quality for 1989. Loved it.
Better than most banks surveillance systems lol
I agree. I have a fascination with old technology. I’m thinking about buying a tape (voice) recorder.
Yeahhhh hahahaha I Wonder? Real good.. shit look like Apple Like..
Could be remastered
It's film so it is very easy to remaster and convert to high definition
This is why what Charlie does is so important because in 30-40 years people will be watching his videos of neighborhoods now to see how much they’ve changed. He’s literally making visual/audio time capsules.
these videos are stupid. Charlie takes only one segment of a neighborhood and portrays it as a complete representation to fit a specific narrative. There were awesome places in Harlem in 1989 and there are shitty places even in 2020. You have to see the entire neighborhood.
@@bigfun7372 I’m pretty sure we get the picture with the “awesome” parts but it’s the ghetto that we should document so that we don’t keep making the same mistakes over and over again.
I agree 👍🏽💯👏🏾I'm 38 from Boston but I still appreciate the visual & seeing history!!
@@bigfun7372 o
@@Ayotzi94 ok I get it. You are correct. but why use the filter for extra effect? and If we really want to show where we went wrong, he should show how gentrified many of the ghettos really are in this day and age. east ny, south bronx, jamaica, these neighborhoods are COMPLETELY changing/changed. But then again that would not fit charlie's fabricated narrative.
We lost 80% of our buildings in the South Bronx. It was crazy!! My mom came home one night and the landlord literally told her.. the building is finished!! He left!! The building was massive and absolutely beautiful. They don’t build apartments with space like that anymore. The whole block literally died overnight. Even in those hard times we were able to be happy!! We did create a strong sense of community and friendship with our family, friends and neighbors. They always tried to help one another. I still have wonderful memories of those times.
U growing up in Harlem ?? 😭😂😂
Being in that environment can build a strong appreciation for what you have.
Jewish Lightning. In 1977, there was 50 fires per night in the Bronx
@@jjosephm7539why was it called Jewish lightning?
@@jeffalbillar7625The landlords would set fire to the blocks for insurance money and bail. They usually were of a certain religious background. Most of them got off scot-free. 😂
I drove a City bus in Harlem throughout the 80's and 90's. It's amazing how it's changed. Alot of those burnt out buildings you show in this video were owned by speculators who sat on them for years. The regular people who lived up there used to complain,"Why don't they do something with these buildings". Eventually they did and cashed in.The neighborhood got Gentrified and many long time residents got pushed out. I remember a lady telling me the only place a person can afford to live is the Projects. I have good memories of driving the 8th Ave bus. The people of Harlem were always good to me. Especially my regulars from the Polo Grounds houses.Peace to you all.
Thank you for this piece of information. We assume that the burnt down, smashed up buildings and empty lots were from the people not caring about their neighborhood.
But it always comes down to rich real estate owners and gentrification. The people who own the property, but don't care about the neighborhood.
@@ricky-sanchez There was the book about it in eighties (did forgot the title), was about real estate speculation in New York and how they even burn the buildings and how they done to does look "naturally"
@@ricky-sanchez Just so incredibly cruel and selfish to sit on peoples’ neighborhoods for that reason.
the projects had to be some improvement from what is shown here; it's even worse than Detroit is now
Thanks for telling the story of what was really going on. I loved my neighborhood, still do. I have walked many of these street. The gentrification is horrible.
Big L wasn’t lying when he called Harlem the danger zone back in the days. Gota give NY pros they definitely cleaned it up and made it look better.
If anything, they didn't make enough public housing like they should've.
@@Manbarrican not sure what they did last time I was in NY was in 2008
begs the question...for who? sure something looks better but doesn't mean that it functionally and socially benefits the most people. just saying...
@@Phreshie91 it’s still shitty area but would you rather have what it used to look like or now? As you can see they put effort n money towards Harlem. Can you give NY credit for that at least?
Indeed 139 and Lenox... And he died right around there.. Sad... Now there are expensive condos on Lenox Ave
Would be cool to see a direct, spilt screen side-by-side comparison of the exact same streets/buildings then and now
5:22 with the blue/white paint is 116 Bradhurst Avenue
У русских есть такие блоги до и после
Даже до наши города были красивее чем ваш harlem
@@klaasj7808 Cool to see that the same building seems to still be there, only refurbished. Thanks for sharing the address with us.
@@нож-ъ2ф До и после чего?
Agreed!!
I remembered those days 1989 wow!!!!! Through the grace if God I got clean in October 1 1990 an been clean ever since today its 33 yrs an 8 mos!!! An we are gonna continue to move forward no matter what🎉🎉😂❤🎉😅
congrats man! keep doing great!
Congratulations! My date is 6/21/90. Was up in Harlem 116th and park night before
Congratulations man
I remember all the cigarette billboards that are gone now like the smoking cowboy when we would go toward the tunnel from NJ
Nice.
Good job
Respect for my boy Charlie for going all the way back to 89 for this one.
He really REALLY put a lot of miles on his car in order to do this one for sure
lol
Wait so is this video actually recorded by Charles bo 😂😂😂
@@bpsnallwell4204 🙉
@@bpsnallwell4204 bruh
the person who recorded in the 80s did a amazing job..he didn't move the camera so it's wasn't shaky, that was amazing camera work
Этот чувак был в принципе смелым, то что снимал эти улицы
@@angry_video_game_nerd Там не один чувак. Судя по голосам, в салоне двое мужчин и одна женщина.
Thanks! They didn’t call me Camera “No Shake” Jones, for nothing
... unlike some of the artsy crap with "documentary feel" being produced these days....
Get No-Shake Jones a contract with Hollywood ASAP -- he can teach those so-called "filmmakers" a thing or two!
and he's on different streets. those other streets are the same as they were. do you think NEW YORKINVESTED ANY MONEY TO REBUILD HARLEM, GIVE ME A BREAK. LIES.
This is technically history in the making. A visual synopsis of civilization. Lows, highs and everything in between. Keep it up CB
Cardano to the moon #Cardigang
💰🚀🚀🚀💰
💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽
Great vid
I didnt graduate school because I decided smoking weed on my RUclips channel was a better decision 💀COME WATCH 😎
I didnt graduate school because I decided smoking weed on my RUclips channel was a better decision 💀COME WATCH 😎🙂🙂🙂🙂
I can imagine how glorious those homes and streets looked in their Golden day.
You can watch a video. I just watched a remastered video of 1930s Harlem. It was glorious indeed.
@@abrahamthebewildered1448 ruclips.net/video/zyD3HbpvTNs/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/zyD3HbpvTNs/видео.html
Call me crazy, but stylistically crack epidemic Harlem looks WAY better than any upper middle-class neighbourhood in South America. At least you get a glimpse of how beautiful it once was, and there's a sense of architectural harmony.
I was really young when Harlem looked like that in the 80's and I have to admit, I got sentimental because even though my siblings and I grew up in Harlem and it was rough at times, our parents kept our heads in the books and in Church but we still had great times with our family and friends
I will always be in love with Harlem USA
Same background 😭😢
@@uncoverthetruth8365 💖
Was there a side to Harlem that the outside world couldn’t see? That is, a lighter, more positive side?
Your comment makes me think of Charlie Wilson's song, My Sun Doesn't Shine Without You.
That’s what people don’t understand... we had fun while Coney Island was filled with junkies... our trampoline was mattress.
Now he time travels to the worst hoods.
lol i was like con way Charlie had a camera in the 80's lol
His car is a time machine fr
😂😂
Charlie Mcfly
💀
CharlieBo must be driving a certified hood delorean traveling back in time and shit
🤣
*gets the flux capacitor shot the fuck up and makes a whole movie finding Doc and Marty*
Love to see that CharlieBo is more famous than I thought.
Lol
😂😂😂😂😂
The Detroit housing shown was huge, those are large, well constructed houses. I'm struck by the extensive use of brick columns in the front of many of these homes, sometimes setting off a single first level porch but often supporting porches on both the first and second levels. But the houses just seem so large and well constructed. What a shame.
In Detroit, people simply left
Those apartments probably sell for millions of dollars today
The white man's game bro
white ppl fault if you voted a white into power thats your falt too! 🤷♂️
@@judeugato I did not said that was white people's fault in general
somehow i doubt a white man with large enough pocket would want to live there
@@judeugato blk man's game bro
I am almost in tears. We lived there as young children in the 1960’s. It looked nothing like this. It was safe and beautiful. Tears
That is sad .what happened ?
The US government turned a blind eye to the transportation of cocaine into the USA. At that time it made it's way into low income and poverty stricken communities. Often times those commies were made of the minorities because let's not forget we were still battling with SEGREGATION?!?! The fact that that was even part of our history is simply repulsive. The number of arrest made in the 1980s pertaining to drugs went up significantly and you guessed it! Over 60% of those arrest were of minorities in areas of poverty. This resulted in a very negative outlook on African Americans at the time time which resulted in the lack of funding to certain cities, schools, and districts. In turn, the precious city you loved in the 1960s was made that way intentionally to further degrade and dehumanize the minorities. The fact that shortly before that time we had just ended WW2, MLKJ. was murdered, the outlook on racism was turning tide as many stood up for their human rights says a lot about where the government truly had power. No longer could they physically control the minorities so they turned the communities and the law against them to work in their favor. Its the most hellish thing America could have done. This city looked like this at the hands of our government. We still fight for equal funding to low income areas TO THIS DAY and cities all across the USA are in shambles due to the recklessness of the US government. Not proud to be an American with this historical fact living in my head. We need change then and we need it today and we need it tomorrow. BLM
Drugs
@@haleyjones3688 burn loot murder
Don't cry ma
It’s crazy because I was just in Harlem a couple days ago and when I was there I was “like I wonder what this place looked like during the crack epidemic” thanks for the vid 💯
Take a walk to..125st..outside..
WHOLE FOODS..
Cracked d F UP..
That video only shows a few tiny sections, though. It wasn't all like that, and the vibe wasn't depressing like the video. Having said that, it definitely wasn't as shiny and new looking like it is today.
It looks crazy. I was kid and I remember it looking just like these videos. We couldn’t even play in the parks because they would be empty crack vials everywhere.
@@simone2125 what’s a empty crack vial?
Was there a government issued package for crack?
Harlem was bad but not as bad as the Bronx
I still live in Harlem where I grew up, the snack shack was up the block from me, as well as that massive school which took up both sides of 145-146 street between Amsterdam and Broadway. The video footage is of west Harlem, Hamilton heights for anyone curious, practically Sugar Hill. Gentrification while it has it negatives, has modernized Harlem from abandoned lots, to condo’s and renovated brownstones. The architecture is still beautiful after 120 years of construction in much of Harlem.
I remember visiting New York City for the first time when I was 9, around 1990. We drove from Toronto. Dad took us for the first time. I was super excited. I was expecting glitz and glamour, and when I got there and saw scenes like this, I was horrified.
Everybody that comes to America says the same thing. Its not a different place then everywhere else. There are nice areas and bad areas and sometimes they interchange over time. The good thing about the USA is that there are allot of places in between. If you work modestly hard you can pretty much achieve the in between. That's pretty good odds compared to other places.
@@seanlove2000 During that time, the whole city was bad! I don't blame him for being shocked, it's literally the financial capital of the world.
@@sheastadium2008 Whole city was bad due to hippies, coming of age baby boomers and people born in the 1930s, democrats, foreigners, etc... When you destroy the old culture of America, you are bound to suffer in the 1960s to present.
@@seanlove2000 America is from Alaska to Argentina
People in all world is normal - dont lie on every step like Americans for the even little profit. Most of people in world think, that if country try to teach everyone how to live - it have no problems in it.
I was a kid during these days. Going through the streets of Harlem was really scary for me. It looked like a battlefield.
I bet mostly kids I heard from paid in full when that lil boy got kidnapped that shit still get me how that was real…
I was 20 years old back in 1989. I was a college student upstate New York @ the State University Of New York College at Oswego. I recall very vividly how the city looked back then. I’d say 3/4 of the city was like this. Not just Harlem. Glad to see things got better
Agree!!!
It’s just as bad now. Most of the buildings are sitting vacant, give it time and they’ll crumble again. Some people just can’t keep things nice.
@@smelltheglove2038 What in sandpiper are you talking about? Your comment is rubbish.
@@smelltheglove2038
You must be from a different Manhattan than the one in NYC
LMAO, What a Liar!!!!
Charlie's dad was filming in the Bronx in 1989
He is still in 2026. What time is it? Hi YaW!
Thanks for posting this video ! As a Greek, the "old" harlem is what we knew thought the hollywood movies. It was nice to see real footage of its streets!
Συμφωνω
THESE ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT STREETS.
@@ROBERTMORAN-mv7eqit does not matter in our mind america is smthning between gta hoods and the sopranos
Nice??? Χάλια μαύρα καλύτερα...
cause it is like that@@NikolaosSbokos
Damn Charlie has run out of hoods to roll through in present times, and has stolen the infinity gauntlet to use the time stone in order to keep producing content
next hes going to LA during Watts riot
There’s a lot more hoods he ain’t never been to
No no it’s just old footage that someone recorded back in the day. I don’t think the infinity gauntlet exists in real life
@@Davidgon100 Na forget it, he´s goin back to LA riots ´92 man.
@@SuperNovaHeights_ oh yeah? Prove it
These kind of videos are literally time capsules. So thankful for them
LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY
What's wild is the fact that if you go back 60 years prior to the 1989 footage, the neighborhoods were nice, with everyone dressing sharp. Men wore business suits and hats ... women looked upscale with hats. It was beautiful. The community seemed strong in the 30s.
ruclips.net/video/zyD3HbpvTNs/видео.html
Oh ya, but then Redlining and other systemically racist practices ruined it and others 😡 but Harlem is good now (:
You could hear the pager in the back ground, haven’t heard that beep in years.
Thanks. I didn't know what that was. Lol
If the young crowd watched this video in school it's almost guaranteed to make somebody ask"What's that beeping noise?"
I loved hearing it again lol like oh yeaaa lolll
First thing I said was turn off that f****** pager off and then I realized oh s*** i forgot and I started laughing. Good times
I thought it was a radar detector.
You mean to tell me that Charlie has been doing this since 1989? 😂😂😂
More like 82' and b4, lol.
😭😭
Low key in 1978
He was hanging out the side of the car with one of those big ass camcorders.
😂😂😂😂
I'm from Brooklyn. I first went to Harlem in the summer of 1988. I was a little kid and was just shocked and amazed. I've still never seen anywhere as "LIT" as a hot summer night in 1980's Harlem. I'm glad I have those memories.
Coney Island here. I remember walking through Harlem and the Bronx and it looked like bombed out WWII Germany. No life or sense of hope. Gentrification has does wonders, but at what expense ?
@@ignaciopullum9891 I agree. Gentrification is going to be harder to come to the Bronx but it may happen
@@ignaciopullum9891 expense? What harm has it caused when the alternative is known? Property, especially in high tax high regulation NYC is very expensive. No capital, no upkeep. If landlords can't make money, they burn the place like 1980's Harlem. Only other way to reduce rents is cut the absurd Property taxes but we both know that will never happen.
Washington Heights in 1988 was even worse and lit was an understatement, especially at night. Almost every street east of Broadway was filled with Jehri curl haired hicks with no socks selling cocaine and crack.
@@ignaciopullum9891 I've been in the Bronx for almost 30 years after living in Inwood for 18 years. Yes, a lot of the Bronx was burned out. But a lot of it wasn't, like where I live now.
Gentrification has its good side and bad side. I don't worry about gentrifiers coming to my neighborhood. It's too far from "the city" (as they call it) and they wouldn't like the Italian/Albanian vibe in the neighborood. Which I'm good with.
What's interesting in the 1989 vid was that the street level vista was rugged as hell, but look at most of the cars parked on the street - mostly recent model sedans in decent condition.
The police would beat you into a pulp if they caught you committing GTA.
Shows priorities in spending money
I live in Harlem now.
This video is amazing at showing the transformation of the neighborhood.
Can you do a video of the same area now. It would be nice to see.
I now see the video till the end.
The Solution? Gentrification.
@@davidchevez4690 absolutely best thing that happened to Harlem. I wouldn’t have moved here if it wasn’t somewhat gentrified
Diversity:
"its like a Jungle sometimes it makes me wander how I keep from going under"
Grandmaster flash and the furious 5 the message. Definitely the song for this video
I like it !!! Kiss from France !!
@@kmllmk1408 a return kiss 😘 from Andalucia Espanyol
The exact same thing came to my mind this looks like the video for white lines lol
I always understood the lyrics of "The Message" but until I watched this video I never realized how grimy their conditions were. "The Message" is the perfect summation of their times and situations.
@@kendallrhodes The Furious Five were from the Bronx in the late 70's. Look at footage of that place. Makes 89 Harlem look like Switzerland.
This is the Harlem i remember when i used to visit my auntie in the late 80's through the mid 90's my auntie still lives in Harlem in the same brownstone she bought with her late husband(my late uncle Juan)in 1970 she's now 75 years young still feisty as ever and she still won't move from Harlem even though she's been offered close to $2million for her brownstone she told me God forbid she passes away she's leaving the house to me and my sister
Wooo you’ll be cashing in! A milli each easy…
I bet it's a nightmare to keep taxes paid on every year but worth every penny to her she's seen it all
I'd be curious to know what they paid for it when they bought it, and what that would translate out into 2021 dollars adjusted for inflation.
Don't you dare sell that shit to some gentrifiers lol.
@@morenitomoreno1282 he can sell it and buy more property with it
I was a cop in a city in North Jersey until 97. I remember how badly crack hit our streets. It changed the game for gangs. Local street gangs got much more violent to protect corners and then the Crips and Bloods came in and it really escalated.
By the grace of God, October 6, 1989 the day I got sober. 33 years of continious sobriety. Living in Hawaii with a paid off house. All of what I had comes from sobriety. Looking at Harlem, is a reminder where I don't want to be, mentally or physically. A lot of people I'm seeing are dead already.😮
Sober means for you? No booze no nothin' ?
@@Blubkeks100 yes, some people might need help from a doctor . That’s between them and the doctor.
@@MrHAPPYHAWAIIAN Nah i was asking you how you define sobriety:D Not even drinking beer?
@@Blubkeks100 no, I abused the privilege. I never drank socially, always drank to excess. Everything I have in life is directly tied to me getting sober.😀
Ты в Сибирь скатайся, там трезвым не выживешь :)
Harlem, The South Bronx, Brownsville Brooklyn and the Lower East Side all looked like war zones in the 70's through the 80's.. As messed up as certain parts of the city was it was still magical in a lot of ways.
Facts!!!!!
@Baby Lane Stanfield shut tf up
@Baby Lane Stanfield Remember what happened to Miriam and Aaron in the Bible when they were prejudice?
@Baby Lane Stanfield I didn't get a response from my message you drifted and curved that like a true pussycat
@Baby Lane Stanfield I'll help your prejudice ignorant following backside out. I can see you don't know what you are talking about
Numbers 12
1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. note note
2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
16 And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran. place
Notice nobody looking down at phones or anything back in the 80's this is crazy... great video my guy keep it up...
Cuz nobody had phones df💀
Nah they just on pagers and pay phones
Yup, back then people had real lives to live. It's sad what today has become.
@@Tommyr so niggas don’t have real lives cuz of phones? Ok den throw yo phone always shawdy💀
@@Tommyr Everybody still has a real life to live, besides it is natural for civilizations to advance and better their technology. You must be a very pessimistic person to have that kind of mindset that people today don’t live “real lives” in fact I don’t think you have a “real life” yourself. Happy Mother’s Day you boomer !
godbless whoever videoed this and posted it...thank you
This is how I remember the city as a kid. It’s amazing how those buildings could be so beautiful if they weren’t so rundown and vacant that’s when they used to put a lot of time and effort into constructing buildings. Am I the only one that’s most intrigued by the old cars? You just don’t see those anymore
You dont see 'em anymore because they were gas guzzlers and were a boat to drive.. thats probably back when they still used metal body work instead of fiberglass
Im enraged with the fall of Harlem from their renaissance period in the '20s
Modern cars all look very similar to one another and most are boring and ugly.
@@RegnStövel Agreed.
I also liked the cars. Cars nowadays are really so boring, looking apathetic, having no personality. Cars in the old days had some kind of "life" in them.
I’m convinced that he recorded the 1989 footage too😭😭😭
For real! 😂
He did
@@bripscamponi7671 wait how old is he??
@@Lavish_Clipz it’s a joke
@@bripscamponi7671 fr? It seems like it 👀
At 2:25 I hurt my knee in that school yard in 87 and needed reconstructive surgery. I was 6 years old. I grew up on that block, my whole family was on crack and BCW came and took me away from them.....the best thing that ever happened to me
I'm glad things worked out well for you. And I hope your family got help.
Do you still talk to them?
@@elteescat Yes it did i have a family and i am currently employed by the city
@@princepill that's wonderful! City jobs are good money! You made out well! You broke the cycle and that rocks!
That sounds great. But please tell me, what is BCW? I’m from far, far away… Thanks in advance.
The '89 footage reminds me of arcade brawlers of that era, like Vigilante, Double Dragon, Ninja Warriors...
salute to all the great men and women who came out of places like this and made great things happen for themselves
Yes
@@joeshmoe1316 where were you raised, and where do you live nowdays
Damn. Well said.
What you mean by "great things?" Money isn't everything & many people who have lived in these areas their whole lives are content/happy
Yeah salute to dipset lol
My cousin from Ohio went into real estate with two friends early 90's in Harlem. They bought burned out or run down buildings for almost nothing. Paid the property tax/insurance and just let them sit as is for about ten years, sold them off and made a damn fortune. Wish I had taken the gamble with them but I was too impatient.
Any idea if people doing in Detroit or is it too late now?? I wonder what city looks Iike this now?
Guess that’s why there’s a housing crisis, people buying property but not letting it be used for housing
@@driveruwsThese apartment buildings have to have been a once in a century investment; there are no global financial markets headquartered in Detroit.
yup that's part of the problem, real estate speculators buying properties and letting them sit dilapidated. it's a shame but i'm not gonna lie and say i wouldn't do that same if i could make money that way.
But property in north Philly
No cellphones, no Tik Tok, just people enjoying the moment 😂
Hearing those fright train bell ringers off a huge 10 rock with a blow torch. Fuck yeah!
and some crack?
The guy’s pager goes off at 4:10 lol
Real talk
And smoking crack
1989's footage: PS 90 and W 148th Street on the right side of the park in awful shape. All back to the original charme nowadays. Thanks for this document!
*Locations for the 1989 footage*
0:00 - Crossing Frederick Douglas Blvd on W 148TH Street
1:45 - Crossing Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd on W 148th Street
3:45 - Cruising past W 146TH Street on Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd
4:30 - Pulling onto W 145TH Street from Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd
4:53 - Pulling out on to Bradhurst Avenue from W 147TH Street
5:26 - Turns back on to W 148TH Street (from the opposite end to where the video started)
6:24 - Time travels out of W 148TH Street and 31 years into the future crossing W 128th Street on St Nicholas Terrace
If I made any mistakes cut me some slack, I'm a Londoner who's never actually been to New York lmao
1:52 - Wet fart.
@@frasertones8519 nah... cheap 80's leather seats @2:34 🤣🤣
Beat Street
Cotton Comes to Harlem
And many apocalyptic movie scenes!
@@frasertones8519 New Brian
how do u know the places
I love old footage like this. It's so fascinating
Have you watched gringo. Movie about an heroin addict in nyc. It was meant to star Johnny thunders but his parts were cut in the end and they used mr spacelys scenes. Very sad really. They are both dead now.
@@matthewjdouglas6471 no I haven't. I'll look out for it & watch it. Thanx👍
Especially EXCELLENT for all us history lovers out there.
This footage would help me with flashback scenes for a faith-based mystery-thriller on a peculiar dream I had in October of that same year this was shot.
Somewhere jayz is selling crack
Yessss
Wow! Sick comparison and happy you found some old footage and the place got drastically different
New York: From unlivable to unaffordable in less than a generation
they keep voting democrat.
Yeah, all those Democrat landlords. Damn commies.
@@thejunkmanlivesYeah its almost like voting for Democrats turned it into a beautiful, clean and much safer city. Imagine that.
@@RobMarchioneI dont think you want to play the democrat cities vs republican cities game.
@@DIABOLICAL-6Especially when two Republicans, Reagan and Bush Sr. flooded America with crack cocaine in the 80s!
I lived in New York City in the summer of 1989 and this video is accurate. I worked with a friend who lived in Harlem with her mother and father and family and their rule was that nobody went out of their apartment after dark for any reason because there were gun shots in their neighborhood every night and it was too dangerous. It was the same way in the Bronx. The cops wouldn't even walk through my neighborhood in Hell's Kitchen during the day and you never saw them at night. They would only roll through in squad cars. There were always little amber-colored glass crack vials all over the sidewalk and they would crunch under my feet. Crack whores were turning tricks in vans parked along the streets and people were smoking crack in broad daylight around the Port Authority station. Many areas of the city looked like something out of a Mad Max movie. Things got a lot better under Mayor Giuliani because of his tough stance on crime but now Mayor De Blasio is taking the city back to the bad old days.
I've always believed that some police use working in a bad area as an excuse not to do their job or to the bare minimum ! If they do t like the work , resign , if they don't like the area they're assigned to transfer out it's simple
Philosophy of white people: «I am okay as long as you are not okey».
@@265hemi7 And if the police do their job they are accused of being racists by the criminals who are overwhelmingly minorities. Name your poison.
@@enriquegranados5179 Did the white people turn Harlem into the shithole it is in this video? No, they didn't. But, they did make it a decent place again. You're welcome.
@@kennyworth007 for real!! , Always blaming other people...shit gets you no where!
Back in the days you couldn't give those buildings away, now they're worth millions multimillions of dollars. Each one you see now.
@Winner Takes Awll wow, you teaching somebody something. Read between the lines of what I said.
Gentrification!!!! Plain and simple!!😑😑
I wonder why ,getting rid of the drug gangs bringing in the civilised ,always helps
@@omardelmar 🤡👈
Imagine the guy/girl who bought a couple of buildings in this era is sitting on a goldmine if he or she hasn't sold them.
I liked how he captured the sounds..the people talking in the street..the beeper going off..the old horns etc. And not only did he capture the old cars but he just captured an old way of life. Look at how everyone was outside on the porch just hanging out. There wasn't computers to watch social media on all day. You had to go outside. Cell phones were limited to people who had money and they were the size of bricks anyway. The hair styles..the clothes..yea..it brings you back for sure.
Unbelievable what drugs can do not only with humans but also with an entire city 😱
Who made the crack- the suckers with the badges and the blue jackets
Blame Reagan for using the government to sling product
@@publicserviceannouncement4915 this is a blatant lie
The drug crack did not do that to the city. This was happening across the U.S. because the rich educated affluent people left big dense cities and instead moved to the suburbs. It started in the 50’s and 60’s. The people not rich enough to move out inhabited dilapidated cities
@@jacksonbear1 u can blame the ass holes running the city at the time, Koch and then Dinkins and now the SCHMUCK DeBlasio.
What's amazing is how sturdy these buildings are. That was some very high quality construction. Some never maintained well since being built.
Because the ppl who destroyed them didn’t actually build them
A 18 year old back then would be 50 years old today. If he made it
Right
Yea! A bunch of us survived. 👑
Yes! I am one of those 18 year olds who is 50 (actually 54) today. What makes me a bit upset about this is although it was rough, not all blocks looked like this. Mine didn't. It wasn't pristine either, but not like this video. Same for my Aunt's block, my scout leader's, my church and my school's block. Yes there were too many like these, but it was not the whole story by a long shot.
No you're off by 10 years
I was 15 back then but lived in California.
there is something so charming about old cars...
Do you know how much money the person recording had to have, to be recording with a camera AND have a beeper/pager in 1989?😱🤑
Right! Charlie was that boi 🤣🤣😂🔥
Get a union job and you too can afford nice things!
Nah this dude is the Feds been watching y'all since 89 n*$$@
@@gregorypearsall3626 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Sources say camera was robbed from news company and sold for $10 worth of crack 👏
I was was backpacking in NYC in 89, stayed a couple of nights in Harlem, had no problems, don't know if I was just lucky, but just encountered regular people going about their day. Our Aussie accents got a lot of attention though. We had a good experience there.
They had crackheads not murderers
It was mostly vacant lots, not many people actually lived there. And if they did it was to just do drugs or squat.
Probably thought you were related to Mick Dundee!
@@dondavis7687 yes, I was there for a couple of days but I didn't see you around. 🤣 I did use that line on a NYC Yellow cab driver, he pissed himself laughing, he knew exactly what I was saying with my Aussie accent. He appreciated the laugh, as we were stuck in heavy traffic.
Mate, you were more adventurous than I was back then. Me and my girl wimped out and went to Hawaii, and the most daring thing I did was try to bodysurf at Waikiki which is all stone on the bottom so if you get dumped you're in for some rock-rash, which is sort of like living on the edge, I guess 😁
I was 17 years old in 1989. It's amazing how quickly the time has passed by....!!
Damn
so ur only 51 its crazy to me I would think ya ass like 70-80 hearing u was almost 20 in 1989 lol but your still young god bless.
Damn bcth u old
props for surviving
Can I take you out for lunch n you tell me your crazy stories
My aunt moved from my south american country to Harlem with her husband in early 70's. One night, not so late he went for groceries and a gang robbed him and kicked him and told him to stay on the floor where they kept kicking him for one whole block and then he was dumped in a large dumpster where he spent a few hours hiding because he was too scared. Luckily for him, he didn't sustain any major injuries and being young and healthy played a big part. I guess being a white latino in the wrong part of town didn't pay off.
Im South american from brazil too . And i think brazil is The hell . I was wrong. After watch this video...
When people ask me what Detroit is like I’m going say think of Harlem in the 80s.
Yup and Ohio is getting there as well, murders and homicides are skyrocketing
@@brettthomas6327 not something to take pride in, it's not a competition on who lives in a shittier area
wow thas crazy
@@MrSASTIRE actually it is haha, the higher the crime rate is in your city. the cooler it makes you look
Or the Bronx in the early 1980s.
This is the NY I remember. My family took a trip there once in the mid 1980s and we accidentally drove through some of the bad parts and it looked just like this.
I grew up in queens in the 80s. Finally moved when I was 12 in 89.
Imagine moving from this to a small town of about 5,000 population in the middle of South Carolina 😆 talk about a culture shock.
You ever go back to NY ?
@@NinoG053 yes. And it seemed like an extremely over populated , extremely cramped living situation for everyone there. No way would I ever live there again. Even if u paid me.
I moved from rural NJ to rural PA when I was about 15, and even then.. there was some element of culture shock. So, I can only imagine what you experienced was like day N night.
Wow having lived in Ny and Philly I know im in a small town on the west coast but South Carolina is different
@@NinoG053 haven't been to that state been stuck for awhile,hopefully sometime before I die again I'll see more of the world
Да уж, потом вывезли триллионы долларов из руин соцблока и получили вторую часть видео.
А мы получили первую.
Отличный камент 🤝
Excellent comment!!
Есть такое. Но не надо было отдавать.
@@slavablinkov5355народ никто не спросил)
шизу лечи
This looks like an opening scene from a Charles Bronson movie.
My first thought watching this video was 'Death Wish'.
I swear right lol like death wish 3 lol
Totally
LoL 😆 ..
Or an MJ video... Wesley snipes and all..
So this is the place and time the author Sapphire was talking about in 'Precious'. The book is set a few years earlier, but the crack epidemic and its crime and HIV fallout were very much part of Harlem then. I lived my first several years in Flatbush in the 70's, before L.A., and whenever I went back to visit during the 80's I bugged my dad to take me into the city. I was a self-absorbed kid and I don't think I really noticed how badly parts of Manhattan decayed during that time. I was ignorant about hard drugs and that level of urban decay; I just didn't live in that environment. Many who did, wrote really moving stories and music about it.
Waking up every day and living, it's sometimes hard to see the world "change" because it happens in such small increments and we might not notice them. But watch a video like this, and damn, you can see a huge difference 30 years makes.
It actually hasn't changed much.
@MrGriff305 Wow you really bought into the propaganda huh lol
One thing worldwide i always notice now when we look back at old footage anywhere in the world, the sun used to come out more & the sky seems bigger & more appealing to look at. Something isnt the same about our skies anymore & its like that old world & the feeling it gave you the aura & vibes are long gone😢
Harlem looks fantastic now, great job on this before and after video! I was looking for one of these, and you over-delivered!
Да он и сейчас выглядит как помойка, только покрашенная😂
My wife and I went to Red Rooster when it first opened, and we definitely noticed a few things. First, the architecture is gorgeous. But most of all, we noticed the people. We loved to see the pride that the locals had in the neighborhood. It was obvious. The culture was very vibrant and beautiful. It was great to see the neighborhood diverse and thriving. On the other hand, I knew that so many of the people who stayed loyal to Harlem for generations, and had their families rooted there were getting pushed out by ridiculous rent prices. Local mom and pop stores were turning into flavorless large chains, that absolutely were killing the culture, and the history behind Harlem. And that pissed me off big time.
Red rooster is one of those chains ! You’re one of the problems for Harlem hipster
@@brianfitzpatrick9949 first thing… Red Rooster is not a chain. The owner lives in Harlem. I went there with my wife to eat to support a great restaurant. I loved the area. As much as I respect it, I know that it isn’t my culture. I went for the day, and left. I didn’t stay and push more people out. I didn’t feel like I disrupted anything. I gave them my money, went home, and let the people be.
@@brianfitzpatrick9949 when I say “chain”, I mean the once local small businesses that are now Starbucks, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, or Applebee’s. Which takes away from any neighborhoods uniqueness, culture, and flavor. Makes it “Anywhere USA.”
I used to work as a food runner on red rooster on 2011, good memories
Fire escapes are my thing. No one really pays attention to them but many of them have beautiful details in the ironwork.
5:23 For you young folks here, that’s what we call a pay phone. This is a device that we had to insert quarters, nickels, or dimes into so we could communicate with each other when we were away from home.
As someone who had grown up in the second half of the 2000's I remember pay phones would be by bus stops, gas stations, and by the McDonald's along with those newspaper stands. Now they are just graffiti'd structures with no phone attached. They started to disappear in the 2010's
Or collect if you couldn’t get a quarter
They were around until like… I believe the early 2010s, but I remember them being all around NYC
Lmao! I remember thinking I was sooooo cool when I got my first pager and having to find a payphone to return a page🤣😎😂
90s baby 2000 kid...1991 was my year
And this country’s politicians keep saying: America is the best country in the history of mankind😅
Wow what an amazing video. From a lifelong born and bred Bradford (UK) lad this video hits home. We went through a similar resurgence in our area. Growing up we didn't really notice it as we saw everything being built. But just like this video shows. When you do a before and after you see the immense changes.
I was living in rural Yorkshire for 15 years. You had to see that...
@chachenaki_kichenancha a beautiful part of the world
I moved to Hebden when I was 7 from Dnipro, Ukraine in 02'. Both Dnipro and Hebden / Calder Valley have changed so much since. I wasn't a resident but used to stay in Brooklyn with people I knew there when I was younger and saw it change so rapidly... Now after the Pandemic it's changed drastically again. Places are so dynamic and can change so fast either way. Peoples notions of them usually lag behind.
Who ever was recording this at that time must of had a mighty big VHS camcorder that looked like a spaceship
He had it concealed in an oversized novelty cowboy hat.
I had one, you had to put it on your shoulder to film
Looks more as S 8mm Kodak film. Think, this alarm in background may be sign that roll go to the end, you can still make 2:30 min with one roll and 25 fps
Yeah it does seem a lot of people stare so assuming the camera is notable
Lol
This is a peek into why New York Hip Hop in the 90’a was so grimy. (That’s not a dig) They were all teenagers in the 80’s, and in their 20’s they got on the mic to talk about it.
The first thing I thought when I started watching this was about all the rhymes that were wrote in those Harlem streets in the 80s and 90s
Anytime I see something about New York or Harlem , especially in the 1980's I can't help but think about Alpo , Rich n Azie running in those streets doing all they did 😂
Hip Hop испортился в США. И в России.
Quit trying to rap and start feeding your people
Как же похорошел Гарлем при Собянине.
Under Guliani, but he was probably came as close as possible to employing "Russian methods" of law enforcement in America
При Ельцене
😂😂😂
Crazy to think that this was only 30 years ago!
Only?
32 years ago
@@makeenhodge8800
That’s only three decades.
A lifetime ago it feels
@@DialloMoore503 4 decade actually
I was more surprised to see that old Newport cigarette advertisement than anything else
The Salem one i spotted, haven't seen that ad in a decade or more, i quit cigs in '13
I remember those
Right!
We 4get They dnt advertise cigarettes n e more
I remember the Joe Camel advertisements and the Marlboro man
My Pakistani immigrant father opened up a chicken spot, Harlem Fried Chicken, on the corner of 145 and St. Nick/8th Avenue, across from Willie's Burgers in 85, under a burned down building. My mom and I would take the D train on the weekends and in the summer to help. I was 6, would hang out up front, mingle with the dope dealers, crack heads, gang bangers, everybody, no fear or care in the world, because these were the same people that were putting food on our plates. They appreciated that somebody opened and ran a business to serve their community, skin color be damned. Loved those summer nights, sick cars parked up front, music blasting, fried chicken passed around, people drinking, having a good time. Sunday mornings you would see everybody come in at lunch time dressed to the nines after church, giving us their blessings in exchange for food. During the holidays, the regulars would bring me gifts. Even in poor and dire times, people were better back then. My dad's spot is a PathMark now, couldn't compete with the Popeyes that opened across the street in the 90's. People with money moved in and didn't need the 3 dollar 2 piece dinners with a side, drink, biscuit and a sweet potato pie.
There’s so many people sharing these amazing stories, it’s 3:23 AM where I’m at but I just can’t help soaking up people’s stories from this comment section
fried chicken joint in harlem = goldmine.
Yeah... we all miss the post-apoc feel. Not.
wow I think I remember you!
What do you call the trees in Harlem? Public transportation.
Not all of Harlem looked like that in the 80s. Most areas were fairly decent but others were exactly as you see here. Looking like the 2nd stage in Streets Of Rage.
Most of Spanish and Central Harlem ( black) looked like this.... except for Sugar Hill
What do you think caused the turn around of the bad parts from ‘89 to ‘20?
@@adamhonestyanddecency5054 Crime went down and investors developed the neighborhood.
Treacherous J Slither I get that. But why?
@@adamhonestyanddecency5054 Crime went down due to less hard drugs coming into the neighborhood. Investors saw opportunities to make money off of the cheap housing available and built the area up to encourage people to move into the neighborhood. That's what I think happened anyway. Once we got a Red Lobster and a Applebees on 125th street I knew that the neighborhood had turned around. Reminds me of that scene in Babylon A.D. when Vin Diesel's character returns to Harlem after a very long time away and the neighborhood is highly developed. He says: "Harlem, how you've changed".
Спасибо людям, запечатлевшим в свое время часть истории на камеру и позволяющим через много лет кратковременно окунуться в ту среду.
В тот четверг😅
там ничего не изменилось прикинь как была помойка так и осталась
Как похорошел Гарлем спустя время ))
Yea! those would be the cops who recorded this footage
Вот такие картинки нужно было показывать в 80е на Советском ТВ.
Как Гарлем 89,похож на С-Пб 90х. И там и там можно было снимать фильмы о войне.
Атмосферно было, не то что сейчас, прилизано.
The best part is when the beeper goes off in the background. That was so nostalgic.
Wish you had a video of Harlem during the Renaissance that would be so cool to see youtube deleted and censored alot of those old videos
0:18 My mom still lives in that building with the omega oil advertisement. It's of course remodel except her apt she's the oldest tenant there
What street is this in Harlem??
@@WhatYaReading that was 148th st 8th ave he was driving up to 7th Ave on 148th in that video clip.
@@KDIZZZZY08 ok. I jogged Powell (7th) and Douglas (8th) from 125th to 155th. It had the feeling of the hood but if it still looked like this I would have hurried back downtown. I’m from New Orleans, 7th ave reminded me of N.Claiborne here.
@@WhatYaReading it's definitely a major change this was the Harlem I remember growing up in. It molded me into the strong mind survivor I am now. I am a bit shocked at how poverty stricken my childhood neighborhood looks in this video and managed to survive and NOT become a product of my environment
@@KDIZZZZY08 Word. I was born in 1979 and I remember guys all the way here in New Orleans talking about Harlem, Alpo and Rich before that movie was made.
Appreciated the time you have on earth because is goes by fast. 🙏🏽
The Word's of Tupac, "Crack Came And It Was Strang How It Rocked Us"
“Who do u believe in”
Now it's the stripper rocking us💯
"Explain genocide that's when we ride on our own kind what is it we all fear reflections in the mirror we can't escape fate the end is getting nearer"
year 2024 and still watching old good memories, so who wanna be go back year of the 1989.. so good times
Wow, taking me back to when this was normal everyday life. Never imagining the drastic change the city made and thinking how appalling those times were and how normal it was to live there.
The 2020 video looks mostly like an improvement. It looks like some gentrification, too. What strikes me is how similar Harlem looked in 1989 to present-day urban areas like Detroit and Baltimore. The trash and filth were really bad back then. It looks like a lot of the home fronts have been cleaned up and restored in many cases, or are in the process of being restored. Nice job of showing the contrast. What do you think, Charlie? An improvement or is Harlem now a representation of the modern poor?
There can't be a coincidence that you couldn't pay ppl to have property there now it's worth millions. "Investors " surely new what they were doing? Mess area up then kick back and wait for the 10000000% return
The cars back then were eye candy 🤩
Eye sore more like.
@@c0ldc0ne you have a different taste in cars, and that’s ok 👍🏼 fair enough
@@josefstrauss9017 Yep, the 40s/50s is where it’s at for me. But like you said, to each their own.
As 1990 born baby I can say I like both your tastes in cars both eras had magnificent machines unlike the POS of today
Absolutely! I love the 80s-90s cars.. the boxy body type. Esp in the bmws and Mercedes in the right color it’s gorrrrgeous but even a damn Volvo I’ll take it. It was so cool
Finally, a place, where I can afford a house.
I often wonder why I miss the ghetto so much. The music, the food, the dancing, the laughter, the people and the memories all had something to do with it. Even the bad things shaped who I am and how I am. These run down streets look like something from a horror movie... but I still miss them.
THE WARRIORS…….lol
You had to be really tough to survive there back then though.
Yeah man and not to mention it suited the hip hop scene, unlike when people try to recreate old school style hip hop music videos in modern gentrification times like today in NY it looks out of place
No shoot outs back then.
The only good thing to come out of these 'bombed out' places was the birth Hip-Hop. Everything else was shit.
It is unreal how things have changed in 34 years. It is like looking at 1945 central eastern Europe , and then moving on to 1979. Great video.
Answers the question: Where were all the Town Cars and DeVilles in 1989? Brilliant video!
Funny you say that cuz at 6:37 in 2020 there's a DeVille then a Towncar
I spotted an Opel Kadett at 2:22
@@julienbee3467 Wasn't that actually a Honda Civic CRX?
@@julienbee3467
That is actually a late 80s Pontiac Lemans. Opel was never represented in the US. Why should it be, when GM had its own American divisions..
But yeah basically a rebadged Opel Kadett. The Cadillac Caterra was a rebadged Opel Omega. Opel Vectra and Astra were sold under the "Saturn" brand. Also a now defunct division of GM
@@chrisc6134 do you still see one of these old Pontiacs in the US ?
Wow, unbelievable improvement. Looks like a whole different city.