Down 42nd Street

by Marc Eliot

"The drama begins at the dawn of America's revolution in the midst of a pivotal battle against the British, led by a defiant George Washington, on what would eventually become Bryant Park. It continues through the era of elegant aqueduct promenades and the inevitable encroachment upon the street by Wall Street's power financiers, even as the city's most ruthless Irish street gangs defend their home turf from the clutches of the corporate interlopers.". "By the turn of the twentieth century, 42nd Street has been completely reconfigured into two distinct sections - a business district to the east built around Grand Central Terminal, and a show business Rialto on the west coexisting alongside glamorous brothels.". "After World War II the West Side of 42nd Street - the southern border of Times Square and the legendary "crossroads of the world" - had deteriorated into the nations ground zero for hard drugs, prostitution, and violent street crime, setting the stage for one of the most dramat