60 seconds with …
Michael Codella, former cop and author of “Alphaville,” out Nov. 9.
What was the atmosphere like in 1988 in Alphabet City?
Basically it was a market for heroin users. People came from all over the city and really different parts of the country to get their dope, to get their heroin there.
What’s the secret to working in between all the different kinds of people on the street?
You learn to recognize what’s going on around you. You can tell if someone’s up for a scam, what they’re looking to do, make money, rob people, score dope. People are people. A lot of times people don’t want to look you in the eye when they’re up to no good. Even amongst your peers, you know how you act when you’re up to no good. It’s the same thing.
What’s the biggest difference now?
It’s yuppified. It’s just a different area. You can actually walk along Avenue D now and fit in and not have to worry about being robbed or about being approached to buy drugs.
The city has a rising murder rate, with a murder on East 7th Street and a shooting on Stanton. Do you see the neighborhood slipping back toward what it was like in 1988?
I don’t think that neighborhood in particular is slipping back, I think the city as a whole is slipping back. There’s a lot of cutbacks and they’re not hiring police the way they did, and I see for sure the city’s going to be in trouble.
