The phrase “The Bronx is burning,” attributed to Howard Cosell during Game 2 of the 1977 World Series featuring the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, refers to
the arson epidemic caused by the total economic collapse of the South Bronx during the 1970s
.
What was happening in the Bronx during the late 60’s and early 70’s?
Buildings burned almost continuously from an estimated forty fires a day in
the South Bronx that destroyed 80 percent of area housing stock and displaced a quarter-million residents in the late 1960s and 1970s.
When was the Bronx on fire?
Decade of Fire covers a shocking but untold piece of American urban history, when the South Bronx was on fire in
the 1970s
. Left unprotected by the city government, nearly a quarter-million people were displaced as their close-knit, multiethnic neighborhood burned to the ground, reducing the community to rubble.
What borough of New York was burned in the 1970s?
Bronx, New York. As The New York Post recalls,
the South Bronx
was eventually engulfed in flames. Seven different census tracts in the borough lost over 97 percent of their buildings to fire and abandonment between 1970 and 1980.
Why was the Bronx so bad in the 70s?
In the 1970s,
fires ravaged much of the Bronx
: seven census tracts lost 97 percent of their buildings and 44 tracts lost more than 50 percent. Many people still believe that those fires were the result of arson—landlords burning their own buildings for profit, or even residents starting the fires.
When did the Bronx get bad?
Parts of the Bronx saw a decline in population, livable housing, and quality of life in the
late 1960s
, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and into the early 1990s, culminating in a wave of arson in the late 1970s. The South Bronx, in particular, experienced severe urban decay.
Are the Bronx safe?
The Bronx is actually quite safe
, though there are, as with any county, areas that are less safe. The Bronx has a lower murder rate than Boston and is substantially safer than Philadelphia. Bronx Park, in the center of the Borough, encompasses the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo, both world famous.
Did Howard Cosell say the Bronx is burning?
As flames engulfed the building, not a firetruck in sight, legend has it that Howard Cosell uttered one of his most memorable phrases:
“There it is, ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning
.” It’s a powerful and enduring collective memory, and it almost doesn’t matter that Cosell never actually uttered those words.
Is Woodstock Bronx safe?
The
overall risk of crime in Woodstock is 13% lower than the National Average
. As for weather, the average summer temperature is 77.1°F, while the average winter temperature is 32.6°F.
Is the Bronx getting gentrified?
The Bronx is changing. … The South Bronx is seeing a boom of development and new enterprise and it is gentrifying in that it is a low-income neighborhood where rental and home sales prices have been rising rapidly. Median rent in the borough has increased by 45 percent since 2005, reaching $1,130 in 2016.
What was NYC like in the 1970s?
Fiscal crisis. US economic stagnation in the 1970s hit New York City particularly
hard
, amplified by a large movement of middle-class residents to the suburbs, which drained the city of tax revenue. In February 1975, New York City entered a serious fiscal crisis.
What was Harlem like in the 70s?
Harlem in the 1970s was
marked with violence and loss
, but it was also a time where its residents cultivated an incredibly resilient character. … “Since 1970, an exodus of residents has left behind the poor, the uneducated, the unemployed. Nearly two-thirds of the households have incomes below $10,000 a year.
How bad was NYC in the 70s?
New York City in the late 1970s was
plagued by severe economic and political troubles
unlike any the city’s inhabitants had experienced before. … The city hit a 12% unemployment rate in 1975, significantly higher than the national average rate of 8.5%.
What is the reputation of the Bronx?
While today it is a hip neighborhood, its
reputation used to be that it’s dangerous with daily homicides and gangs ruling the streets
. I have asked Jonathan Lessuck, a New Yorker by heart, who has lived in the Bronx for 25 years, if the reputation has improved and how the streets of the Bronx look like today.
Why is it called the Bronx and not Bronx?
“They looked right smack in the middle of a map and there is the Bronx River, so
they named it after the river, the borough of the Bronx
, and that’s why it’s always called The Bronx and not just plain Bronx,” Ultan says. … The borough is named after the river.
What is the Bronx famous for?
The Bronx is the only borough with the word “The” commonly associated with its name. … It is the
birthplace of rap/hip hop music
and home to one of the country’s most storied professional baseball teams, the New York Yankees, also known as the “Bronx Bombers.” Many ethnic groups have called the Bronx home over the years.
