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The 1970s Pamphlet Aimed At Keeping Tourists Out Of NYC

By

Jen Carlson

Published Sep 16, 2013

Modified Oct 19, 2018

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via islandersa1's flickr

 

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By

Jen Carlson

Published Sep 16, 2013

Modified Oct 19, 2018

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In the mid-1970s, things were considerably rougher in the Big Apple—so much rougher that the Council for Public Safety (police, firefighters and other unions) had plenty of material to publish a scaremongering pamphlet called "Welcome to Fear City: A Survival Guide for Visitors to the City of New York."

If you had plans to visit NYC, you would probably swiftly abandon them after seeing this thing, which featured a skull on the cover. Just like the skull under your pretty face that would surely be slashed should you dare walk the streets after 6 p.m., or leave Midtown, or take the subway ever. The tips inside included:

But few likely ever saw it, as it received such negative publicity they they halted distribution.

The pamphlet was put together as part of an anti-layoff drive of sorts. In 1975, the NY Times wrote, "For the second time in as many days, unions representing policemen, firemen and other public-safety officers won affirmation in court yesterday of their constitutional right to pass out 'Fear City' leaflets at transportation terminals, hotels an shopping districts. The unions, however, faced with mounting criticism of their tactics in attempting to pressure the Beame administration to rescind planned layoffs of 10,962 uniformed officers, continued to hold in abeyance distribution of the black-bordered, skull-emblazoned pamphlets warning tourists to stay out of New York because of rampant crime and inadequate fire protection."

The paper reported the following month that they "resumed distributing leaflets that the city is unsafe because of the dismissal of 3,000 police officers," but the new ones were titled, "If You Haven't Been Mugged Yet..."

Here's a look back at that old footage showing just what the city's public transportation system—a hotspot for crime—was like back then:

[Pamphlet cover via Reddit]

Tagged

1970s

1975

Fear City

pamphlet

Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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