Heather Ann Thompson

And there's a few choices, and one of them is the illegal drug trade.

But teenagers themselves were very loathe and leery to get involved in that.

Illegal markets are always dangerous.

And these four teens were

on their way into Manhattan because they wanted to go to a video arcade there to jimmy open the coin receptacles.

And we might remember those old arcades you'd put in a quarter to play pinball.

Well, they would collect those quarters.

They'd jimmy it open.

They'd get a little cash that day.

And so what was kind of bringing everyone on the train together in that moment, including the passengers, was they're all sharing an urban crisis, but they are all responding to it differently, feeling differently about it.

And that's how this whole moment kind of ignites, I would say, on December 22nd, 1984.

Yeah, he says, you know, do you have $5?

And even that is an interesting kind of moment because why does he want $5?

He wants $5.

Because he knows that if they go into this arcade with no money in their pocket, it's not even plausible that they're going to play some games.

So that's sort of a thinking ahead kind of thing.

But by axing for $5, this is panhandling.

And the other thing about New York City in this moment is –

Panhandling is rampant.

The others on the train that day had also seen these teenagers and were unalarmed.