NYC Subway Graffiti from the 1980's

[Nova9581]

Woah remember these times well!! There was many times you didn't want to be on the subway past sun down!! The worst of all in my opinion was the Franklin Avenue Shuttle in Brooklyn. 24 hrs a day you did not want to ride that!! Flat spots in the wheels and all, LOL. Nice blast from the past.

[levarthomasmusic]

Thank you for documenting New York as you have. I moved to NY in 2007 and didn't see as it was in the 80s.  What an awesome city, now and then!

[y350ful]

brilliant i love this ! x pure art love from london xxxx

[mikemike20202020]

BORAT at 6:47

[RapCity27]

is that a Jersey city at the beginning where train is riding?

[jameone]

wouldnt you say this was 1987 or 88?, as all the trains are white?

[prdawg215]

MTA you came a long way. Keep up the good work. Also good job to NYPD for for cleaning up the garbage that those muts did back in the day.

[prdawg215]

Glad these dog days are ova!!!!

[JDxcTV]

Wow graffiti really hasn't changed all these years.. I'm not saying that in a bad way at all, It just surprises me that the style of graffiti from this long ago is still going strong

[veuvecliquot]

shame came off hard @ 1:48

[noreaga12326]

i feel so fortunate to have grown up in the 80s. these trains were classics!!

[Hotters706043]

@noreaga12326 These trains later became the Redbirds in the 1980s.

[noreaga12326]

@Hotters706043 Not all of these trains became the redbirds. Many of these cars were scrapped. However the only graffiti line I remember that turned into the Redbirds were on the J line. From 1988 to 1989, the J line temporarily had redbirds on them. Then the R42s took over

[gimpo85]

Can somebody tell me what is and where are the railroad and ferry slips in the high motion picture at the beginning?

[davesgcr]

Very good - the idea of painting the cars white as anti- graffitti measure was a total and utter disaster ! (as this film shows , just gave a new surface to paint on)

I am amazed how the graffiiti problem "dissapeared" from 1988

[noreaga12326]

@davesgcr Actually the graffitti trains disappeared in the summer of 1989 to be exact.

[custom91911]

wtf was that kid on drugs??

[NYstateofCons]

Its funny now if you speak with a NY accent anywhere in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn you get looked at funny-like your an outsider-the middle American yuppies get scared of you. SAD.

[youngprophet2010n]

IF YOU EVEN HALF LIKE THIS YOU SHOULD LOOK UP (STYLE WARS)

[Rickyrab]

yup, the subways of NYC when I was little. Before they splashed the graffiti away. Hmm :)

[BellaGatinhaBeleza]

This is great. Steve Siegel, the WTC, oldskool New York, Hiphop Culture in its best day's. Man this is making everyone wanna travel time!

[GhettoKarter1992]

what year was this? 1983

[ZooYorkMs]

New York is so different now. not that I was alive at the time of this movie, but just look at the significant calss difference!

[zomgtehrei]

amazing

[maloking]

THIS IS how HIP HOP culture started in the late 70s

[008Vyrus]

Makes me depressed when i watch this, cus all i wanna do is go back....

[Goeroe15]

great footage, never saw it before.. tnx!

[BillyAmnesia]

LOVE NUEVA YORK""""""" BUENOS AIRES

[ClaribelR01]

this is scary o.o

[bugstrut]

Isn't that piece at 1:14 featured in the book 'Subway Art'?

[ADJANYGC]

@bugstrut thats (Demon) a old school writter

[benplast]

Respect for the oldschool!

[Mesiu1995]

0;00-0;15 Beautiful view of the World Trade Center

[bjroberts65]

Old writers never die we just put down our markers and spray cans and let the toys squeeze out whats left!!!

[damianbranica]

FABULOUS!!!!!!

[LortheBlair]

Check out my FACEBOOK page "I Survived the South Bronx in the '70s & '80s"!

[noreaga12326]

Some ppl think that the subways back then looked depressing but what can i tell ya, i grew up during these times and i have a lot of great memories of these trains that will stay with me for life. I can bet u any money that no other city in the world had trains like we did here in nyc. Thats what makes them unique. Now, the MTA has uglier and more dull subways that look like the inside of an E.R. room with an automated system. if it was up to me, i'd bring these subways back

[bkboy1016]

I remember when the trains were this bombed. The Good Ole' Days. I surely wish they were STILL this way, as I can relive that thrill & amazement of seeing ALL those tags, T2B's, inks, paints, & colors AGAIN, through his eyes...

[lvlitzi]

Too BAD nothings destroyed anymore like this!

[djcountry1985]

i wonder why they choose trains and who startin the whole thing?

[shamzam2007]

Is the full movie available anywhere?

[omgidgi]

his fuckin head fell off

[warriordriver]

Wow I remember seeing this video at the NY Transit Museum when I was a kid.

[micknamer]

shit i remember back like in 88 when nyc subways were like this on daily basis hey what happened to the red trains ? anyways now at day the youth is too pussy to do shit like this and then they think that they are nasty at graffiti do something else than tagging up store gates

[noreaga12326]

@micknamer i also remember very vividly when subways looked like this. The red subways were called the red birds and unfortunatly, they retired in 2003. really wished they kept these trains. they were really what made new york city.

[OleandrFilms]

Wow... great video!

And... thank goodness, the trains have been cleaned!

The New York subway is now much more civilized than it's used to be. ;-)

[noreaga12326]

@OleandrFilms the new york city subway today is pure crap. Now a days, subways look like the inside of a hospital and they're too modern. and also, I cant stand the annoying automated voice they have to tell u the stops. These subways u see in the video is what made NYC. It was colorful and had variety. Todays subways are all the same and they're dull, as well as boring.

[GracieAncelotti]

@noreaga12326 At first the subway grafitti was original and cute designs that were planned out ahead time. The grafitti came to the point, though, where it was a bunch of garbage that no one wanted to see. (gangs, swears, etc) So rather than put up with it, MTA resprayed and replaced the interior of the trains. Strangely, crime reduced as well!

[specifik]

Hey Steve can I get this on dvd anywhere?

[nac143]

nice,my N-A-C piece@5:39..from 1979-wow! thank goodness I improved. Check my interview@ s-u-b-w-a-y-o-u-t-l-a-w-s or my space NAC143 & m-a-d-h-a-t-n..fresh

[nac143]

nice,my N-A-C piece@5:39..from 1979-sheesh! thank goodness I improved. Check my interview@ s-u-b-w-a-y-o-u-t-l-a-w-s or my space NAC143 & m-a-d-h-a-t-n..fresh

[nac143]

nice

[somefreak90]

Wow, thank goodness they've cleaned up those cars...

[Izakokomarixyz]

@somefreak90 what do you mean, now its boring, nothing but silver... BRING BACK THE BOMBED OUT TRAINS!!!

[noreaga12326]

@somefreak90 the subways back then were much more exciting with the colorful cars and graffiti. thats just one of the many things that made NEW YORK back then. the subway cars. the cars of today are dull and boring. no disrespect, but u have NO taste

[sfghhhcvwtw]

@somefreak90 you really should be #/&%$§*+* for this comment... More Color for everyone!!!!!

[sadie0087777]

i probably rode some of them when i was a kid... i should have appreciated it. they cant do that today.

[itzlaleezybabi]

mad ill yo NYC GRAFFITI BOMBERS ALL DAY

[djgambitron]

interesting short with unexpected surrealism

[kimballwarriorsmusic]

the beginning part gave me nightmares

[kimballwarriorsmusic]

world trade center at beginning

[pipesmoker76]

wow ,,great stuff ..id rather see real graffiti than brain washing advertisements..i miss ny

[sismoegraff]

booooooooo

[SickKidsProductions]

Beautiful. This really takes me back to being a child in the bronx in the 1980's... this is what id see every day, trains, buildings.... everything.

Whilst some frown on it, and even I'll admit it was disheartning at times, cant deny the beauty of capturing the moment of time on film.

[twentystarbill]

cool

[dripz2012]

dam i wish i was born a little more back thn cuz i will <3 to see this

[joeleb]

looks like the only colors used back then were black, silver or grey, red, or blue.... :L

[bjroberts65]

It was good to see one of my throw up's i did back in 82 at 1:12....brought back some good memories... much thank's for posting this!!!

[neobumner]

damn why'd they have knock down the towers and kills all those people.

[Psychedelia1969]

what is the name of the movie?

[neobumner]

@Psychedelia1969 think its called Style Wars, it was a PBS documentary from 1983. it was pretty interesting, especially if you're frm NYC.

[stevensiegel260]

@Psychedelia1969

The original name of the movie is "Dream City." This is an excerpt from the film. The other excerpt from this film is also on Youtube and is entitled, "Times Square of the 1980s: A Short Documentary."

[omakeboi]

@stevensiegel260 Is there anywhere that I could purchase this movie? I can't seem to find it anywhere. As someone who grew up during those times, I'd like to have it as a reminder for those in the future that things weren't as good as they knew it.

[bjroberts65]

old writers never die... we just put down our markers and spray cans....and let the toys squeeze out what's left!!! ... MR.STUD TFBRONX...1982

[babyface1685]

4:20 cool

[sUiZiDs]

wish too time travel..

[superdudewhat]

1:05 rofl

[Indestructible229]

ahhh 1970s - 1980s was the worst for NYC!

[kpjlflsknflksnflknsa]

would it be impossible to put a piece up in ny now? on subway?

pieces run dating 2007 but what now?!

[veronicafan2000]

The subway was in really rough shape from around 1975 to 1985, as decades of deffered maintenance and cutbacks had caught up with them. Hundreds of miles of track had to be run at 10 mph or less, and it wasn't just the subway. The entire MTA had poor maintenance practices, and some buses even caught on fire because they were missing parts. Despite this, it's interesting (depressing as it may be) to see what it was like back then. :-)

[neobumner]

@veronicafan2000 ya think in 20 years they'd be sayin it was depressin' living in nyc from 2000 to 2010? possibly

[Xomanowar99]

It's amazing to see how decayed NYC was at the time.

[berrios1234567]

I just want to tag on this video ,,,,,.... SUDE. Fc ibm . cod. forever .clever.

[berrios1234567]

who ever made this video , should go into movie making...is this original footage?, or recreated to look old ,,, if its original ,, you are a visionary .. awesome .. GOOD JOB , excellent

[andrewduhmetroid]

The bigging scene im pretty sure is in sunnyside yards or Long island city

[steelgiant]

The beginning scene is in the Greenville freight Yard in Jersey City.

[stevensiegel260]

Thanks for all your kind words about this video

I agree that NYC subway graffiti from the 1980s had some incredibly creative and imaginative pieces. Of course, the vast majority of the graffiti was crap... and depressing.

But, then again, I suppose that this "ratio" of good-to-bad stuff is true for all forms of art!

[MINICLIPGAMER]

@stevensiegel260 Its illegal.

[Frajeeer]

good 5/5

[DubKingTubby]

that was dope as hell!!! so many trains that I never seen before. new york graff in the early 80's is art history. thanks for uploading!

[Khultan]

Excellent. Never seen this before. : )

[bustartoner]

nice babe

[zomgtehrei]

wow, classic

[Ultraviolence9]

world trade center at 5:35

[enoughalready1000]

fantastic!

[sombre101010]

great seeing the surrounding feel of it.

[beathedz]

classic footage!

[choumbouli]

nice!