Back...with a vengeance

graffitti-railway_2
Originally uploaded by vegacura.

When it comes to urban renewal, be careful what you wish for.

Of all the images from the 1970's and 1980's of a city out of control, perhaps none is etched more deeply into the public consciousness than that of the graffiti-covered subway train screeching into a station, every inch of its surface covered with a rich patina of spray-painted slashes and scrawls.

It took decades of work and millions of dollars to clean up the trains. But now officials are seeing a fresh surge of subway graffiti, in which windows are irreparably damaged with acid. Raising the specter of the bad old days, transit officials are vowing to fight a problem they say is even more menacing than the graffiti of decades past.

The rich patina of the past looks pretty good by comparison. At least riders could see out of the windows.

The relative prosperity of the 90s and early 'noughts could be giving way -- under the duress of endless war, a race to the economic bottom, and gilded age economic disparity -- making the "Escape New York" 70s and 80s look relatively tame (and colorful) by comparison.