Good read. Man the LES was awash with dealers before giulianni began his quest of a starbucks on every corner and "cleaning up the streets". By awash I mean scenes almost like "the wire" (although no where can compete with Baltimore) but with tenements and lines and even buckets coming down on strings, taking your dough, and returning with your dope. "C or D" was the most heard phrase. Glad to see the lower eastside is still alive, although nothing like it used to be. All phone calls, very little open air. Even Harlem has been cleaned up quite a bit. For dope. Crack still everywhere. Glad i quit the NYC dope scene years ago. It's fun while it's fun, but, then it becomes distinctly not fun. Be safe. Nobody expects to end up like your girl.
Good read though, man, thanks. I had a job years ago that required me driving coast to coast, stopping in about 15-20 major cities. I also had a raging dope habit at the time. Would always try to buy enough to get from, say Pittsburgh to Phill, but i was always sick by the time I reached the next city. In retrospect it was fun trying to find the dope spot in a brand new city, learn the slang, get the hook. And then oh SO satisfying. Got ripped off a lot in a new city, and it was so frustrating trying to find the hook while sick and getting sicker. Crazy scene, the dope scene, especially in a foreign city. Glad I'm done with all that. But I do enjoy the vicarious experience of reading.
Be safe.
