Editing Times Square (section)

==== Decline ====
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Camel Cigaretts Sign -- Times Square 1965.jpg
| caption1          = Camel Cigarettes sign, 1965. Below and near the letters "Cam" is smoke from a disintegrating smoke ring.
| image2            = Times Square -- February 1965.jpg
| caption2          = Times Square, 1965; the My Fair Lady marquee is at center.
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From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the seediness of the area, especially due to its [[go-go bar]]s, [[sex shop]]s, [[peep show]]s, and adult theaters, became an infamous symbol of the city's decline.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/207131/new_york_guide/times_square_new_york_city.html |title=Times Square New York City |publisher=Streetdirectory.com |access-date=April 21, 2010 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314035521/http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/207131/new_york_guide/times_square_new_york_city.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As early as 1960, 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues was described by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as "the 'worst' [block] in town".<ref name="bracker">{{Cite news |last=Bracker |first=Milton |date=March 14, 1960 |title=Life on W. 42d St. A Study in Decay |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/03/14/archives/life-on-w-42d-st-a-study-in-decay-life-on-w-42d-st-a-study-in-decay.html |access-date=April 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408003559/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/03/14/archives/life-on-w-42d-st-a-study-in-decay-life-on-w-42d-st-a-study-in-decay.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Later that decade, Times Square was depicted in ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]'' as gritty, depraved, and desperate.<ref>Bailey, Jason. [https://www.flavorwire.com/607844/10-great-accidental-documentaries-of-new-york-citys-sketchiest-era "10 Great 'Accidental Documentaries' of New York City's Sketchiest Era"], ''[[Flavorwire]]'', July 5, 2017. Accessed January 2, 2024. "''Midnight Cowboy'' – It's become a cliché of New York attitude, but nicely captures the defiance of city-dwellers in this period – and is one of many achingly accurate period touches in Cowboy, one of the first wide releases to capture the rot of the city in general and its once-glam Times Square district in particular."</ref> Conditions only worsened in the 1970s and 1980s, as did the [[Crime in New York City|crime]] in the rest of the city, with a 1981 article in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine calling 42nd Street in Times Square the "sleaziest block in America".<ref>Chakraborty, Deblina. [https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/18/us/80s-times-square-then-and-now/index.html "When Times Square was sleazy"], ''[[CNN]]'', April 18, 2016. Accessed January 2, 2024. "The sex market and drug trade thrived in the area, and homeless encampments dotted its streets. Many local theaters – once legitimate operations showcasing the performances of renowned actors like Lionel Barrymore – had become home to peep shows and porn movies.... In 1981, Rolling Stone magazine called West 42nd Street, located in the heart of Times Square, the 'sleaziest block in America.'"</ref> In the mid-1980s, the area bounded by 40th and 50th Streets and Seventh and Ninth Avenues saw over 15,000 crime complaints per year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 31, 1984 |title=Sex Business in Times Square Said to Decrease |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/31/nyregion/sex-business-in-times-square-said-to-decrease.html |access-date=April 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408004601/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/31/nyregion/sex-business-in-times-square-said-to-decrease.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The block of 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues had 2,300 crimes per year in 1984, of which 20% were felonies.<ref name="Farley 2018">{{cite web |last=Farley |first=David |title=The curious history of Times Square – and why you should visit, despite the chaos |website=The Telegraph |date=June 25, 2018 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/new-york/articles/times-square-history/ |access-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408003559/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/new-york/articles/times-square-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Stern 2015">{{cite web |last=Stern |first=William J. |title=The Unexpected Lessons of Times Square's Comeback |website=City Journal |date=December 23, 2015 |url=https://www.city-journal.org/html/unexpected-lessons-times-square%E2%80%99s-comeback-12235.html |access-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-date=June 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630162120/https://www.city-journal.org/html/unexpected-lessons-times-square%E2%80%99s-comeback-12235.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Times Square was known in the 1970s-80s as the most notorious area for prostitution. In this era, formerly elegant movie theaters began to show [[X rating|x-rated films]], and [[peep show]]s hustlers were common.<ref>Traub, James. ''The Devil's Playground: A Century of Pleasure and Profit in Times Square'', New York: Random House, 2004. {{ISBN|0375759786}}.</ref> In 1984, the area was so derelict and dilapidated, that the entire Times Square area paid the city only $6&nbsp;million in property taxes (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|6|1984|fmt=c|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>Stern, William J. [https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/stern-perspective2.pdf ''Perspectives on Eminent Domain Abuse: The Truth About Times Square''], [[Institute for Justice]], April 2009. Accessed January 2, 2024. "In 1984, the entire 13-acre area identified in our eventual redevelopment plan employed only 3,000 people in legal businesses and paid the city only $6 million in property taxes —less than what a medium-size office building in Manhattan typically produced in tax revenue."</ref>