Today's show is our first live broadcast from our new Greene Space, a ground-floor studio for live music, live radio, film, lectures, community events, etc. And since we're taking this step out of the radio tower and into the actual community of Downtown Manhattan, we're taking the opportunity to talk about Downtown. We've asked listeners to encapsulate what "Downtown" means to them in a single word, and we've gotten a wide range of answers. "Gentrified," "iconic," and "vibrant" were all expected. "Lost" and "haunted" were not. And some were just weird. "Trousers"? Really?
The first word I thought of, if I'm being totally honest, was "seedy." I mean, going to CBGB in the 70s meant going to the Bowery after dark - not something you undertook lightly. The Lower East Side was a rough and tumble place, and even when I began working at WNYC in the early 80s, the streets of Tribeca were still deserted after sundown, and City Hall Park was the domain of big, brazen rats. Soho lofts were still cheap, because they were still largely commercial spaces that weren't always meant for (or in some cases fit for) human habitation. The art and the music downtown was made by a community, but they were a community of pioneers, surrounded by an even bigger community (not the right word, perhaps, but whatever) of muggers, hookers, drug dealers, and panhandlers. It was seedy.
But the key word is "was." Downtown is no longer seedy, except for some of the bigger financial transactions that we're now becoming painfully aware of. Downtown now is full of beautiful loft spaces, million-dollar condos, successful people and their high-achieving kids, expensive coffee shops and gourmet food stores. All of which is good - just maybe not for artists. Emerging and experimental artists are rarely in a good financial state, which is why these artistic communities grow up in marginal neighborhoods with cheap rents. That can't happen in Downtown today. So I realize that "seedy" can't be my word for Downtown, because that's the past. And now I'm reluctantly wondering if my word for Downtown is... "past."
Tell us: Is Downtown still a center for artistic ferment? Or has the Downtown aesthetic moved out to cheaper pastures?
Leave a comment. Or a word.
John Schaefer has hosted Soundcheck since the show’s inception in 2002. He has also hosted and produced WNYC’s radio series New Sounds since 1982 (“The No. 1 radio show for the Global Village” – Billboard) and the New Sounds Live concert series since 1986.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.