Hollywood Projects

[Damien]

I did a quick wikipedia on Times Square, to learn a little bit more about its history since it was mentioned in the article with the Blvd6200 developer. I thought some might find this interesting:

The atmosphere changed with the onset of the Great Depression during the 1930s. Times Square became a neighborhood full of "peep shows", erotic all-night movie houses, and stores selling cheap tourist merchandise. The change is captured in Damon Runyon's stories, including his collection Guys and Dolls. In the decades afterwards, it was considered a dangerous neighborhood. The seediness of Times Square was a famous symbol of New York City's danger and corruption from the 1960s until the early 1990s. Influential and dark films such as Midnight Cowboy and Taxi Driver had many scenes in Times Square, while its grindhouse cinemas routinely showed sleazy films.

In the 1980s, a commercial building boom began in the West 40s and 50s as part of a long-term development plan conceived under Mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins. Then, in the mid-1990s, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (1994–2002), led an intense effort to "clean up" the area, including closing sex shops, increasing security, driving out the "squeegee men" and opening more tourist-friendly attractions. The process began when the local government issued an injunction against the tight clustering of the porn shops in the 42nd Street area. Many of the sex shops closed or moved to industrial areas in Brooklyn or Queens. More up-scale establishments have opened. Advocates of the remodeling claim that the neighborhood is safer and cleaner. Detractors, on the other hand, argue that the changes have diluted the character of Times Square and have unfairly targeted lower income New Yorkers from nearby neighborhoods (such as Hell's Kitchen).

In 1990, the State of New York took possession of six of the nine historic theatres on 42nd Street. The New 42nd Street nonprofit organization was appointed to oversee their restoration and care. The theatres were variously renovated for Broadway shows, converted for commercial purposes and demolished.

My favorite work phrase is "Don't reinvent the wheel."