IT ALL BEGAN on a hot summer night August 6th, 1988. That’s the night the NYPD incited a riot in Tompkins Square Park enforcing a 1 a.m. curfew that had been instituted to evict the homeless who had built a little shanty town by the band shell. This was not the first riot that was incited by the police in the park. On January 13, 1874 7000 unemployed workers took to the streets protesting the lack of government sponsorship and support for severely needed public works jobs during the depths of a depression. They were pushed back from the street into the park and brutalized by over 1600 mounted police in much the same way as the protestors were in 1988. On August 7th, 1988, the NY Post front page picture was of a protestor getting his head clubbed in by a policeman in the vestibule of my clothing store, 109 St. Mark’s Place, that was also the home of my indie label 109 Records.
Love this snapshot of NYC in the late 80s. I was in Chelsea and was still a hatchling...not really, I was, like 8, but still, I love reading what was going on not far from where I grew up. Fascinating stuff, Steve! Love it.
Love this snapshot of NYC in the late 80s. I was in Chelsea and was still a hatchling...not really, I was, like 8, but still, I love reading what was going on not far from where I grew up. Fascinating stuff, Steve! Love it.