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Video: Katz's Deli Owner Talks About The Old Unsafe LES
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 13, 2015
Modified Feb 13, 2015
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 13, 2015
Modified Feb 13, 2015
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Katz's in 2014. (Getty)
Below, a few native New Yorkers talk about the good and the bad old days of their home city. This is part of Routes and Culture brand's "True New Yorkers" series, where a main topic seems to be education. While people like Ad-Rock and Liev Schreiber have taken part, the best one comes from Alan Dell of Katz's Deli, who focuses a little more on the changing neighborhood:
"A lot of people from the neighborhood who moved away. I got customers talking about their million dollar penthouse on Rivington Street. It blows my mind. The Bowery was unsavory, there used to be bums, I don't even know if kids know what a bum is. Now you got a modern art museum and fine restaurants... you know, they call it progress, I'm not really sure about that. It's a mixed bag... 20 years ago we were closing early... it was not safe."
Check more out at Bowery Boogie. Though no one in the entire series will tell you what they think about bringing strollers on the subway.
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alan dell
Lower East Side
true new yorkers
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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