Times Square: The City's Id, Now And Always

Along with fake Buddhist monks, selfie-taking tourists, aggressive Elmos and other modern hustlers: Times Square in the de Blasio era.

- Adam Sternbergh

In 1981, in an incident that attracted international attention and spurred a citywide existential crisis, a 26-year-old man from Connecticut was set upon, stripped naked, and chased by a jeering, bottle-throwing crowd in Times Square at night - “shadowy figures, rug peddlers, con artists, vagrants,” as the Times would later describe the area’s inhabitants - into a subway station, then onto the tracks, where he died. In 2015, I’m watching the modern-day equivalent of that scenario lay out, the only differences being that it’s the middle of the afternoon, no one’s throwing bottles, the victim is not really in mortal danger, and the crowd she’s being set upon by consists of Iron Man, two Minnie Mice, Elsa from Frozen, and Elmo.

I’ve just arrived in Times Square to investigate the seemingly lawless chaos that has, of late, attracted international attention and spurred a citywide—or at least tabloidwide—existential crisis. I’ve been here for exactly one minute. The woman, who made the obvious tactical error of entering Times Square with her phone visibly in hand, now finds herself corralled by costumed cartoon characters looking for tips in exchange for a photo. They encircle her with such familiarity that I honestly wonder for a moment if she’s yet another Minnie, newly arrived and not yet costumed for her shift.