So I am off to New York. The city that never sleeps. When I romanticize New York in my head, I don’t think of the New York of Woody Allen or Nora Ephron. My New York is Greenwich Village, Battery Park and Desperately Seeking Susan. It’s the 80’s and Madonna is hanging out at Danceteria, Aidan Quinn is working at the Bleeker Street Cinema and Rosanna Arquette wants to leave suburban New Jersey behind her. Really, who wouldn’t 
rather live in a loft with Aidan Quinn than out in the burbs with Gary, the Hot Tub King. Aidan continues to charm me in movies like Legends of the Fall and Practical Magic. And most recently with a guest spot on White Collar!
It’s been 25 years since Desperately Seeking Susan was filmed and many of the locations are no longer there. The Magic Club and the Dragon Noodle never existed and were just signs put up on NYC streets and stage sets, but Danceteria, Bleeker Street Cinema and Love Saves the Day (the thrift shop where Susan trades her jacket for rhinestone boots and Roberta buys the jacket) were real places that no longer exist.
But while Desperately Seeking that 80’s Village Vibe, I toured around Greenwich Village, unable to find that 80's/punk/pop vibe. New York has been Disneyfied!! It started with Times Square and now has moved downtown to the village as well. This is not all a bad thing. It feels safer. I know that when I visited New York in 1989...staying in a hotel in the Times Square area, I was afraid to leave the hotel. Now I travel around the city and on the subway with no qualms whatsoever. Either I have grown up or the city has gotten safer. I think both.
I guess there is no fear of getting mistaken for Madonna and being knocked unconscious, losing my memory and shacking up with Aidan Quinn. Oh well.
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4 comments:
if perchance you do some letterboxing, think about the traffic. we did 6 in lower manhattan on the 7th, day of the new york marathon, ZERO traffic , we made u turns , parking was a breeze, even at battery park, good luck, marathon day comes once a year
The city might as well be a strip mall - its so sad. Yes its safer (I guess) but for all people talking about how great manhattan is I can shop at those same stores in the suburbs and eat at the same or similar eateries,
Sounds fun!
Loved this blog post, Amanda. I'm a Desperately Seeking Susan lover, too. In fact, I MOVED to NYC in 1989 and lived what was left of the 80's vibe for a few years. I was also shocked when I went back in 2002 and saw the Dinseyfication of Times Square. Safer, yes. But I miss the real city. ~ Piper
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