Helping Manhattan's Image in the 1970s

Helping to improve the image:

Martin Scorsese. He loves New York and the boroughs. He lives the history both good and bad. Scorsese understands better than any director that movies are a visual media. He shoots wide scenes when the City shines. He gets in close on grime and crime. He shoots in color or black and white. He will slow down a scene to let you know this is important.

His history of New York goes from “Gangs of New York” to “New York New York” to “King of Comedy” to “Wolf of Wall Street.”

Mayor Ed Koch

I was too young to know or understand his politics at the time. He was a character though. He could say “ugh” and not sound stupid. He would sound like, “we’re ugh studying the budget to see ugh where we could ugh find the money.” He just made the ugh flow into the sentence. He won his second term winning 75% of the vote.

Saturday Night Live started filming in Manhattan. It brought back filming to the city.

A Chorus Line. This was the first successful Broadway play in years. It sold out consistently. The songs became famous. It was eventually made into a movie. Cats came later.

The Milford Plaza. They had commercials using the old tune, “Lullaby of Broadway” in their commercials. The staff danced in the street. It made a person want to visit this hotel.

The World Trades Center. This was controversial when they first were designed and created. They were away from the center of town. From New Jersey, the Manhattan skyline had the Empire State  Building and other tall buildings. Then empty airspace then way over on the side of the island, the World Trades Center. They weren’t fully occupied. In August 1974, Phillepe Petit strung a rope across the buildings and walked a tightrope across the buildings. These buildings were the tallest in the nation. They would be pictured in hundreds of movies and pictures.

Dick Clark’s Rockin Eve. Dick Clark was a television mogul. He hosted game shows and American Bandstand. Every New Year’s Eve, he stood out in the cold in Times Square to bring in the new year. He showed New Yorkers standing together every year filled with joy. People will travel across country to be part of this iconic scene.