After a decade of social turbulence in the 60s, New York fell into complete despair, with a nationwide economic recession, law enforcement cuts and the unemployment rate at an all-time high. Financial crisis, criminal activity and dependence on welfare became the overarching themes for 1970s New York.

Here are some of the most poignant pictures which capture a very different version of  the buzzing metropolitan we know today.

 

Mayor Abe Beame shows the headline of the day, ‘Ford To City: Drop Dead,’ following President Ford’s refusal to use federal funds to help NYC out.

 

Children walking over a burnt down building. Landlords who couldn’t afford to maintain their buildings would burn them down to collect insurance money.

 

In 1975, tourists were greeted with this brochure at the airport. It included nine survival tips for navigating the city, such as not taking the subway and not walking in any part of the city after 6 pm.

 

Prostitution was a city-wide problem. There were over 2,400 arrests in 1976.

 

In 1977, New York experienced a blackout for 25 hours which led to arson and looting. When police were ordered to control the criminal activity, 40% of the off-duty force refused to show. 

 

Arson became a major problem. The number of fires rose from 1% in the 60s to over 7% in the 70s. 

 

With fewer firefighters and policeman, Crimes were simply just not responded to.

 

The New York subway became known as the “the muggers express.” By the late 70s, over 250 felonies were committed on the subway every week.

 

By the end of the 1970s, a million people had left the city.