great article by luc sante, (author of the much loved low life) in which he speaks about the “old” new york. a new york most of us only sniffed the lingering fumes of in the early nineties, when there were still a few sections of downtown that could be called communities. when there were still places that students, musicians, artists, and drug addicts could afford to live. when it was on the whole still dirty, crumbling, stinking and dare i say it, alive. now the only reason to go down there it seems is to buy a five hundred dollar t-shirt or pick over the bones of bars, clubs, and cafes that once had heart, soul, and balls.