Photos Make 1980s New York City Look Like War Zone

You need a vest and an AK just to look at these.

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Complex Original

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Artist Steven Siegel has been telling the many stories of New York City with his camera for the past 30 years. He snapped the amazing pictures you see above in the cocaine '80s. Younger heads take note: This is not your New York.

Siegel's vintage photos tell the story of a "different" New York, one that's closer to a post-apocalyptic war zone. Cloverfield, I Am Legend and Escape from New York hardly seem fantastic when you look at these, which make the city look like it was ravaged by a natural disaster.

From that shot of the Brooklyn Bridge through a broken windshield (lead image), to the gaping hole in the Manhattan Bridge pedestrian walkway (fourth photo), not to mention that grim pic of the South Bronx (eighth photo), these pictures are shocking. We dare you to look at that last photo of kids playing in graves at Greenwood Cemetery and not think about "Potholes in My Lawn."

[via Gothamist]

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