ALL CITY: THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF NEW YORK (DOWNTOWN)
MANHATTAN (Union Square - Bowery)
GANG: Punks
The Bowery is an infamous, well-known street in Manhattan that marks the boundaries between the Lower East Side, Chinatown and Little Italy. In the 20s and 30s, the Bowery became known for its overwhelming economic impoverishment and depression. New York's "Skid Row," the Bowery has always been known as the residence of a large section of New York's homeless population. By the late 1970s, the Bowery was a high crime, low rent area ruled by the punk ethic of non conformity in all aspects of life: politics, fashion and style.
Union Square, located at 14th St. and Broadway, is one of the most heavily trafficked subway stations in NYC. A major transfer point between uptown, downtown and Brooklyn, Union Square is a vast underground network of passageways and subway tunnels. In The Warriors, the Punks have taken over Union Square and can be found there late at night patrolling for rival gangs on their roller skates.
A train covered in graffiti is laid up at Union Square with all doors left open.
At the entrance and through the tunnels at Union Square, underground posters promote popular sportswear, movies, electronics and beauty products.
Inside the steel train, advertising and graffiti clutter every available space.
Pinball machines are placed all throughout Union Square -- a good distraction while waiting for a train. When no one's around, the Punks own these machines. They love to pound on them until they tilt.
Transformed from a folk music club to a punk rock club in 1974, CBGB's is the epicenter of punk rock located on the Bowery. The Lower East Side club has always been a Mecca for underground music and alternative lifestyles.
