Wow this person was filming with a big camera on his shoulder. Little did he know this was going to end up on something crazy called "KZfaq"

This looks like the beginning of a good 80s movie..

I was 11 , my moms was a single parent raising 4 kids in the hoods of QNS., a native Puerto Rican woman who’s 5ft tall leaving the Bronx to QUEENS for a better life . These were scary times regardless. Big shout to my moms for outlasting it. Te quiero madre.

I love thinking about the 80s and 90s back when social media didn't exist... the thing is i wasn't alive then

I remember one night at the 42nd street station. Sitting in the bench waiting for our train to come. Once it arrived we got on and my best friend left her purse on the bench. We banged on those doors like mad people for them to open the door. So This guy picked up her purse and looked at us in a panic at the doors, he pretended like he was going to run but he nicely waved the conductor ...... I guess and they opened the doors and he gave her the purse. I will never forget that and in those days we had what we thought was money......you know living at home still with your own job and no bills. Our little Gucci purses weren't empty , but we were all grateful to that brother.

This is more interesting than most feature films made today.

OMG i can smell that 1986 NYC subway from here, now, thru the internet in 2019!

Spray paint industry must have been booming in the early 80's

That was an another world.

KZfaqrs,not only should you enjoy the visuals but pay close attention to the fantastic stereo audio soundtrack.The majority of the sounds you hear no longer exist on the subway system(e.g.doors,straight air release,steel brakes)not to mention the excessive noise.The system is less noisy today,take it from yours truly,an actual NYCT train operator.Great Vid.Thaks for posting!

Amazing how all these folks managed to live without a cell phone in their hand every minute of the day. These videos make me feel like an old man as I sit here wishing I could transport back to the time when this was shot.

Warriors...come out and playeeeeayyyy!!!

Thank you for this Archive footage and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. This is the NY I knew growing up. Even though I was only about 5 years old at the time you filmed this, it brings back my early memories of the struggle an when people worked even harder for what they obtained to have a good life. Brings back my childhood memories of riding the 4 to Bedford Park when my mother was enrolled at Lehman college. God bless you! Thank you!

I love how trains entered stations really fast back then.

I’m sitting here during the covid-19 pandemic at 1:25 AM Toronto time on May 19, 2020 watching this

back when that town had character. those days are gone. sad.

Awesome!!! I was 29 back then, so I remember this vividly. It was my generation that started the graffiti thing on the subways. For those too young to remember, the trains were really loud back then and the screeching brake noise was out of this world. The stations were not as hot because a lot of the trains were not air conditioned, however by 1986 the trains were more so. At this time the graffiti era was about to end as you see the refurbished trains in red bird color scheme. Many of the trains here were about to be retired (the ones from the Times Square portion), to be replaced by the R-62. By 1988, almost all trains on the then 1/9 line and 3 line were R-62. All the number 2 trains were refurbished as red birds. As far as the trains of the A/K sequence, they were also to be refurbished shortly after. By early 1988, the R-38s shown here resembled the trains recently retired. The R44/R46 lost the blue stripe by 1990. Also the R-68 was about to be introduced. This video captures the end of an era that began in the early 70s (with regards to the graffiti). After May 12, 1989 there was no graffiti on any of the subway cars throughout the system.

the only thing I miss was the cheap fare and token. remember when u can buy snacks and drinks with tokens

I was young but I remember this NYC.

I miss the 80's and early 90's really bad. Although I have never been to NYC, this is exactly how I pictured it at the time. I was 12 at the time of this filming, what NYC looked like. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

Wow people are actually looking up as they walk.

actual time machine

nice video, it was interesting to watch!!!

Imagine this place filled with Mets fans after they won the World Series that year

Teenage KZfaqrs pay very close attention to this video because there are sights and sounds in it that no longer exist in the NYC Subway system.

I wish I got to witness New York when it was like this. I don't know why, I just prefer it.

Such a blast from the past. We always love to see older footage on New York. So cool. Thanks

I always wanted to live in NYC from the time I was a young girl. Except for a few brief visits, I never got close to accomplishing my goal. Finally did a trial run of 2 months, just to see if I still wanted to do it. So much preparation and cost to do this, but Somehow by the end, I wasn't blown away like I thought it would be. There was nothing out-of-this-world sensational about it. Nothing that would make me want to pick up everything and move. It put me into a mild funk because I couldn't figure out why I no longer wanted something I had wanted my whole life. I had been so excited at the beginning of my time there. Reading these comments helped me to understand that the city I learned about as a girl had completely been stripped of any and all of it's character. There's no flavor. It's bland. It's Disney-fied. Sure there are things there that are nowhere else, but the vibe is all fucked up now. It's so depressing. By the end of my time there, out of everything I saw and did, my favorite thing was to ride the subway trains. Maybe the graffiti was missing, but the stations are still dirty and the rhythmic clack is the same. And when I got back home to my 3 bedroom house with a yard and a pool and my car, I WAS NEVER SO GRATEFUL IN MY WHOLE GODDAMN LIFE!! If you live in a big city (I do), you're experiencing gentrification and it's fucking everything up so you go to Whole Foods on Westheimer Road and you go to Whole Foods on Houston Street and it is the SAME THING. :(

The amount of graffiti inside and outside of the train is crazy! The last time I went on the NYC subway was on '87 and I really want to see what it looks like today!

I've been going thru that station since I was in my teens(I'm 55 now) - at least the NYC subways are no longer the grimy, dimly-lit spaces as seen here. People may grumble about another fare increase, but the NYC subways have come a long way since that graffiti-ridden time and and renovations to stations have had great results (such as the 74th Street - Broadway Station in Jackson Heights, Queens - quite stunning for a subway hub). this video definitey reminds me of how scary subways used 2 b

I wish I could have been alive to experience this NYC. I go often now, and I very much love it, but I can't help but feel like this was a better New York.

1986 i entered this world 32 years later and im watching this awesome video with 86% battery that's crazy life is fast enjoy every moment of it.

Man was their every a more urban decade in the history of America than 80's NYC

This is before we started living in George Orwell's 1984

Old skool NYC. makes me feel good

It’s amazing how much NYC has cleaned up the subway. It looked a lot darker and dingier then-kinda a scary vibe!!

I love It! Great memories of a grittier New York City than now.

You grew up riding the subway Running with people Up on Harlem, Down on Broadway!

The audio is extraordinary. Makes me feel like I'm on the platform.

Despite all the graffiti and general neglect of the platforms there is a sort of calm and orderliness about the passengers that you don’t see today.

Wow, that's great footage!

Thank you for sharing this. I lived in NYC from 1985-1989. Good memories.

I love remembering the days before mobile phones and social media. Sure, things werent perfect. But I liked it better.

Before the metro card .. tokens ! I miss those days

This is WILD! My first time in NYC was 1998 ... and I moved here this January. Cannot believe how graffiti-ed the trains and on the inside too. I'm in this station on an almost daily basis, so its amazing to see it in "another life". The signage is all different, yet I still recognize it. Thank you for this!

I always ask to go back to the 80s. Now I just stepped into a time portal. Crazy.... 😎

I LOVE 80s

Grew up in NYC , and worked for NYCT From 1989-2019 , saw lots during that time … I remember the blackouts of 1977 , and 2003 . 9-11-01which we won’t ever forget , can’t believe it will be 20 years in a few days since that horrible day . Great footage of the subways in this video .

I's nice to not see anyone on their cell phones..

Thank you for your fantastic film. I enjoyed it very much. A beautiful slice of NY subway history captured and shared with the world - I salute you.

How strange & fascinating to watch a world without cell phones... or even headphones!

I remember it well. I was hanging in Times Sq, during this period and early seventies. It brings back memories.

Why is it being recommend to me after 11 years during quarantine

Was this footage color corrected? The dark, gray tinted style of it makes it look like it's right out of a film. Absolutely awesome.

I was 16 at this time wouldn't change it for this time.....

you can feel the disconnect without cellphones and internet. Made life more mysterious and interesting to live. Being so connected these days creates to many shortcuts and therefore many times we overlook the beauty of what lies in the inbetween

The New York Mets won the World Series on 10/27/1986 at Shea stadium

dear god this is freaking awesome. seriously this is made my day thank you for putting this together

Dam the good old days for me . Riding these trains to go to school in the Bronx .

You know whats crazy is that the subway stations still look the same all these years later. Trains are cleaner now. Very interesting and captivating film to watch.

As I'm watching this , I am reminded of the Movie The WARRIORS. I was 26 back then. 😨😆😷

I lived in Brooklyn in 1986. Clinton-Washington Avenue stop, which then was then the CC local. My gosh remembrance of the grit, grime, graffiti, tokens for .75 cents, and jumping those turnstiles...

As an MTA worker, i was stationed at the Times Square stationin 1986.than along came Disney and killed the whike neighborhood.tbe Times Square lighting shop was ripped away to make room for a stairway.Great capture ,you really brought me back. .

I grew up hooked on style wars, breakdancing, deejaying and all the old greats from juice crew to the golden age of rap. Went to an audio engineering school in NYC at the time nas dropped "hip hop is dead" and so much of the culture had vanished at that point(2006). Interning all year at the fat beats record store/label was a dream though and I would not take back that experience for anything.

Thank you very much for that worthy documentation. Good in picture and sound.

The best time to ride the subways was the late 60s: they still had the old IND R 1-9s, and many of the newer stainless cars mixed in. The only graffiti was Taki 183 on the IRT, this is where it all started. Meanwhile, on the A train, the R-10 Thunderbirds in blue and white livery represented the 1940s.

I was there, Freshman year of high school, 1986. I travelled those same trains, same station at that time, every day, changing from the N to the 1 train and back again. I remember that newsstand, those halls before the Times Square station was later rebuilt. All that graffiti right before it was cleaned up, those turnstyles before the hard-to-jump ones were installed. Tokens! You could buy fake "slugs" for 50 cents each (half price). No more K train! The subways were a lot more empty then than they became later (pre-pandemic). I looked but didn't spot myself in the film... What a time capsule!

Why these vintage videos are so fascinating ? Everything look more authentic than today

I was just 16 years old when i immigrated to the U.S in 88 , the city has definitely come a long way . This video just brings back really nice memories, i am happy and thankful to have been able to witness the transformation of New York City .👍🏻

at the beginning of this that's me with suit and brief case scratching my nose as train comes wow just seeing this

Really takes me back to the 80s & 90s. Rode the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan and back every day. 25 years later I still dream about running after my train. LOL

I remember when I used to breakdance on those trains it’s amazing how it took two decades after the 70s to clean out the trains😅

I could watch this all day.

This is the real NY

One of the trains this video is an R32. I used to ride these on the C train to work everyday. The heaters under the seat worked great in winter. They just retired these in 2020. Can you believe that? Over 50 years of service. Hopefully, they’ll add one to the transit museum so I can go and visit an old friend 🙂

I LOVE "OLD NEW YORK"

Reminds me of "The Equalizer" tv show, which often took place in New York subway halls.

I remember going on a field trip to New York and riding on a graffiti covered train. It was awesome! Filth and grime was never that much fun!

Wow. What a nostalgic trip. Thanks so much for making this vid. As a 47 year old guy, I can truly appreciate this.

I turned 20 that year and I left in April to begin Basic Training in Ft Benning Ga.. Awesome footage. Thank you for the memories!

0:18 whoa, just had a little Night Court intro memory.

The real NYC before the gentrification

This gave me goosebumps, a glimpse in the past that no longer is our present.

wow this video went by so fast. over before I knew it. what an awesome experience. thank you!

Like a time machine, amazing footage RP, greetings to all the Urban train fanatics!

The trains, 42nd st. Thompskim Sq.Park, Washington Park, that was my world. Almost forgot the east river at 14th st. Get well soon nyc

Even tho i was just a young kid, this ignited unreal memories. The smell is the only thing missing from this video

Someone knew we'd want to watch this 34 years later

i'm kind obssesed with this year 'cause i was born in 1986 and i was looking for something interesting on you tube and i found your video, it is amazing i loved it so much!

I love this video. Absolutely good montage here.

Thanks for capturing the old, gritty subway dayz! Hard to believe R32s still in service!!

WOW IT'S AMAZING! It's kinda like I came back to the 80's. I love this kinda video. Thanks for uploading it.

That's crazy when you look back at it i grew up in that era man how times has changed FACTS

Absolutely nobody: New Yorkers when they go anywhere outside of NYC: “I need this to help me sleep”

I rode the subway from downtown Brooklyn to midtown east every day. That was just for high school. I do remember subway tokens .There were ten a clear plastic pack referred to as a ten pack. If you lost one you were screwed as you had to stand in line to buy another.

That roar of the incoming trains is amazing. Thanks for sharing these fine piece.

Little did we know back then, that in 1997 the entire city would be walled off and turned into Americas only prison. Breaking out is impossible... breaking in is insane!

I was born the year this was made... It would be cool if this person was filming in 1976 too! I'm absolutely fascinated by the old new york and I am jealous of all of you who got to live through it!

This is marvelous. I am obsessed by NYC subway and subways in general

Loved the obviously filmic quality of your footage, nicely complimented by the well recorded analog audio. Quite a time capsule, as I well remember these types of rolling stock and all the graffiti of this period. Thanks for posting this!