Years ago, New Yorkers could have put a roof over 42nd Street and made it the country's first real strip mall. 
I miss the old 42nd Street. It was more fun when it was scary to walk down it.
I always have to wonder if "people" would really like the "old 42nd Street" if it ever came back. Yes, a little danger in one's daily commute can be "exciting", but I'd rather feel safe and secure - regardless of how many Starbucks happen to be crammed into those four to six block area.
I mean, regardless of what you thought about Kock and Giuliani, I think making the Times Square area a true Destination was not necessarily a bad thing. Yes, rents are skyrocketing, and some of the seedier elements have been pushed further west and east, but isn't that happening everywhere?
-I'm not a NYC native, so I know my opinion may be in the minority, but I have been coming to the City That Never Sleeps regularly since I was 10 years old, and I've lived here the past three years. I like the cleaner and less seedy NYC. Call me a rebel.
