I always say when I hear stories from the 70s and early 80s in New York, that people must have thought it was the end of the world. Redlining caused half of the South Bronx to be burned down to collect insurance money before policies expired — which was nothing worse than premature, really, since everyone knew it would happen eventually, so they might as well have cashed in while they still could. As Michele Catalano recalls, “New York City in 1977 was in the middle of wild upheaval on all fronts, from the hunt for the Son of Sam killer and the citywide blackout to a brutal mayor’s race and the rise of punk rock, the zenith of disco and the zoo-like season of the New York Yankees.” Add to that the blackout that summer, which was the absolute nadir in New York City (though Michele calls it a zenith — I suppose it depends on your perspective), and yeah, they must have thought New York was over.

I once looked at a coop in South Bushwick that was owned by a collection of tenants from 1982, when the landlord walked away. Walked away! I’m amazed anyone thought it was a good idea to stick around here in those times (maybe my family who stayed in the Bronx would know). Though I guess all those old people who are now selling their shares for 200K and up are cackling all the way to retirement condos in their home states in the South.

The aftermath of this time, one piece of which was captured by Meryl Meisler throughout the 80s, was a slow ride up. Crack hit in the 80s, a crime wave ensued throughout the country…and just when the crack and the crime reached a crescendo around 1990 — poof! — it petered out. Some attribute this to Roe v Wade back in 1973 but I’m not gonna step any deeper into that contentious mess here.

And then the city began roaring back to life in the 90s and hasn’t stopped since, eased by this sharp decrease in crime and bolstered by general population growth and wealth expansion (or if you ask Giuliani, it was Giuliani), the same trend that continues to this day. I’m sure there are those hardnosed New Yorkers who will protest at my characterization of the city as near death, but NYC really was synonymous with crime and filth for a long time.

Enjoy the historical snapshot and as always, if any Bushwick old timers would like to send in a story about a particular event or period in time, send it to jeremy .at. redfit .dot. com.