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I recently took a staycation in NYC, and immediately saw what this article referenced. Living so close to NYC all my life, growing up I'd often visit the Villa

I recently took a staycation in NYC, and immediately saw what this article referenced. Living so close to NYC all my life, growing up I'd often visit the Village; and Bleecker street was always on the list of destinations without hesitation. Admittedly, this was decades ago. But, when i visited the Village earlier this year, it was quite sad. Bleecker and other (normally more active) streets were so desolate, and their buzzy mixture of bohemia and eccentric stylishness was lacking. I felt like i was visiting a Disney-ified version of some way-past-its-prime neighborhood. Sometimes it feels like things have too much shine, and not enough real, earthy truth.

ep103 9y ago
I got a chance to hang out with Immortal Technique some 5 or 6 years ago (very political, well known rapper). That night we all talked a lot about wealth inequality, and how it impacts working people int he New York region. He referred to New York City post-Giuliani as the "Disneylandification of New York", as the continuing influx of Wall Street capital and increasing wealth inequality sanitized and built up manhattan and surrounding land at the expense of people nearby. How it changed the relationships between people and local communities, and changed the relationship between police and those communities. I've always thought that was a really great way to phrase it. Its funny, but also works on a surprisingly large number of levels, rather intuitively.
- mxuribe 9y ago
  Great points here! When you stated "post-Giuliani" it reminded me (I had so forgotten!) that it was during latter parts of his administration - and then thereafter - when a bunch of the Disney-ification happened! And, definitely the phrase "Disneylandification of New York" so perfectly captures the sentiment!
- ghaff 9y ago
  The Disneylandification is very frequently applied to the Times Square area in particular. But it's complicated. Gentrification and, often, homogenization have their downsides. But 42nd Street, Bryant Park, etc. in the 1970s/80s were really not all that great.
- nstj 9y ago
  they call it "Mallhattan"! :)

ep103 9y ago

I got a chance to hang out with Immortal Technique some 5 or 6 years ago (very political, well known rapper). That night we all talked a lot about wealth inequality, and how it impacts working people int he New York region. He referred to New York City post-Giuliani as the "Disneylandification of New York", as the continuing influx of Wall Street capital and increasing wealth inequality sanitized and built up manhattan and surrounding land at the expense of people nearby. How it changed the relationships between people and local communities, and changed the relationship between police and those communities. I've always thought that was a really great way to phrase it. Its funny, but also works on a surprisingly large number of levels, rather intuitively.

mxuribe 9y ago
Great points here! When you stated "post-Giuliani" it reminded me (I had so forgotten!) that it was during latter parts of his administration - and then thereafter - when a bunch of the Disney-ification happened! And, definitely the phrase "Disneylandification of New York" so perfectly captures the sentiment!
ghaff 9y ago
The Disneylandification is very frequently applied to the Times Square area in particular. But it's complicated. Gentrification and, often, homogenization have their downsides. But 42nd Street, Bryant Park, etc. in the 1970s/80s were really not all that great.
nstj 9y ago
they call it "Mallhattan"! :)