Bill Clinton Recalls "Romantic" Days of Prostitutes in Times Square

(NBC New York) - Former President Bill Clinton fondly remembers a "romantic" time when you could still get a prostitute in Times Square.

Clinton was at a news conference in Times Square with Mayor Bloomberg on Wednesday when a reporter asked him about the formerly seedy neighborhood.

Clinton said he first visited Times Square in 1964 when he was a freshman at Georgetown University. He said he saw "a hooker approach a man in a gray flannel suit." He said it was "pretty heavy stuff for a guy from Arkansas."

Clinton said the area is cleaner and safer now — and that's good.

But he sounded like he missed the old days.

"I still have vivid memories of it," he said. "Romantic. Fascinating. It was dangerous."