Maybe this is just me imagining things and is being completely wrong. I have just been thinking about this question and especially after watching Home Alone 2 in New York. It may just be that I think it looks more crowded in the movies because it actually is a set filled with people, but also there probably should be some truth to it as you now can do so much online that makes people able to stay inside instead of walk to a location.
I am also wondering if the movies represent the real life rush hour, and probably always shows the “most crowded” times of the day.
Are any of you living of have been living in New York that has seen a difference, or am I just imagining the change?
The screenshot is from this video (1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT4lDU-QLUY witch I feel is giving me the vibes I am talking about.
You never said what you were comparing against. I think downtown NYC is extremely crowded and it’s a head scratcher where you got otherwise from.
I don’t go downtown too often but I did a few days ago and it was jam fucking packed. I mean every sidewalk was on overflow. Idk what you mean by fake it truly is jam packed during holiday season. On a nice spring day too. Even in the summer. Thats why I usually hang out in queens 🤣
It can get pretty crowded in some places at some times. Major transit hubs like Penn station, herald square, times square, all get pretty dense.
I’ve been working from home so I don’t need to go to the busier parts at often.
I just spent last weekend hanging around Manhattan. It was pretty damn crowded.
I guess the introduction of congestion pricing made a great difference in how the crowdiness is perceived. which is a good thing
Home Alone at least is set at Xmas. Town centres are always way busier then as everyone rushes to buy stuff.
Especially back before online shopping existed
Midtown Manhattan absolutely still gets this crowded, especially near Times Square and K-Town. Like other commentors are saying, it really depends on the location in NYC, time of year, and time of day.
Also, if a shot in a film doesn’t feature an actor interacting with the set significantly (having conversation, looking in store window, etc.) there’s a decent chance it’s stock footage of the actual street conditions.
There’s a reason New Yorkers hate going to Times Square :]
I don’t know about New York specifically but I have noticed a decline of people just generally going outdoors over the last few decades. The internet, streaming TV, remote working, online shopping and unabated capitalism has all had a compounded effect on people’s desire to do just about anything.
The movie Koyaanisqatsi has some documentary footage of New York City streets from the late 70s, and there are some scenes where they’re packed. I’ve never been to NY so can’t speak from experience, but if they’re less busy now, maybe that has to do with cultural changes and the internet replacing much of what we used to do in real life?
From a brief look at the blurry screenshot, looks like a sunny and decent temperature day in Manhattan, depending on where in the city and time: yeah. I could definitely see that level of people fairly consistently
True of not only NY, but other big cities across the world as well. That would be light foot traffic for Shanghai for example
