Following in the Footsteps of the “Fuck-Up”

The Fuck-Up is a great read, from cover to cover.  Penned in 1997 by author Arthur Nersesian, the novel at once struck a chord, truly capturing the pulse of New York City street life circa early 1980s.  The neighborhood descriptions are impeccable; the characters comical.  In reorganizing some books at Boogie HQ rather recently, we popped it open for shits. Page 203 was earmarked…

Crossing Astor Place, the vendors were out in full force. After a quick browse, I bought a baggy old sharkskin suit for five bucks and a new pair of shoes.  Then I bought dinner, pizza on Third Avenue, and a sixteen-ounce can of Bud.  I feasted on the corner of Saint Mark’s and the Bowery under the Optima cigar sign while watching the punks, whores, addicts, and sightseers all clogging eastward.  By the time a bunch of Jersey kids asked me where McSorley’s Bar was, I had finished the crust and decided to go to the Zeus.

[Circa 1980; Photo Credit: Michael Edwards]

And below is what the anonymous protagonist would see now if he were to walk this same terrain, now some three decades later.