Photographer, Steven Siegel has been documenting all five of New York’s boroughs for the past three decades. Here we get a look at some of his images from 1980s New York, which give us a glimpse into how gritty, and otherwordly the Big Apple seems compared to the Disney-esque New York of today. Bushwick back then looked like a post-apocalyptic dystopia filled with abandoned lots, crumbling buildings, dismantled cars, and an occasional passerby.

Check out more images after the jump and let us know which New York you’d rather live in.

pic and info: Steven Siegel via 12ozProphet

Tags: Steven Siegel