The Bronx is Burning (ESPN mini-series & NY Daily News)

Wallyhorse

Just wondering:

Is anyone here going to see The Bronx is Burning when it premieres tonight (10:00 PM/7:00 PM PT following the Home Run Derby on ESPN, repeated Tuesday at 10:00 PM PT/1:00 AM ET on ESPN2)? That eight-part mini-series will give you a really good sense of what the "Bronx Zoo" Yankees were like (that was the '77 team that won it all in spite of a lot of turmoil). In conjunction with that mini-series, the New York Daily News is running a special section of their own also called The Bronx is Burning, looking back at the major events of 30 years ago that you can see by going to:

http://www.nydailynews.com/features/bronxisburning

I've also written a blog on MySpace marking the 30th anniversary of the blackout in New York (which is this Friday) that you can see by clicking this link.
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Walt

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Nascar · Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 945

Sorry, not a big baseball fan.

Wallyhorse · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:22 am Post subject:

This is more than about baseball Nascar:

This is about what New York was really going through in 1977, when New York was a much different city than it is now, and is shown throughout the mini-series (the premiere repeats tonight (Wednesday) on ESPN Classic at 11:00 PM ET/8:00 PM PT for those who missed it).
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Nascar · Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 945

VH1 had a special on this weekend about NYC in 1977 and the effect that music had on the city and vice versa. It was pretty interesting, covering the events that occurred and showing the music at CBGB, Disco Fever, Studio 54 and other places.

Wallyhorse · Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:13 pm Post subject:

Nascar · Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 945

The author of "The Bronx is Burning" appeared on the special several times so I think they did use his book as a basis, but since it was VH1, the evolution of music that year was the theme with the other events surrounding it.

Stu Paul · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:39 pm Post subject:

"The Bronx is Burning" was certainly an accurate portrait of what life was about in New York City in the Summer of 1977. I was only 18 at the time and like a lot of guys my age, I had long hair. Sure, I was concerned about "Son of Sam" as well and really scared especially when the last attack on Robert Violante and Stacy Moskowitz took place not too far from where I lived in Brooklyn. I couldn't believe when days later, my mom woke me up to tell me that "Son of Sam" had been CAUGHT AND ARRESTED!! I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EARS since I NEVER thought he would get caught! Thank God for that.

As for the Blackout? Wow! I couldn't get to work to my summer job the next day so I had a day off. I couldn't believe how dark the streets were but I was stunned by the looting in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Unbelievable!

It was a simmering summer but I enjoyed the Yankees winning and listening to Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram and Johnny Donovan on WABC Radio and listening to hits like The Bay City Rollers, "You make me believe in magic", Shaun Cassidy's "Da Do Run Run Run" (Yes, I actually liked his version of the song), "The Ritchie Family's "The Best Disco in Town", etc. It was awesome!

Still, the graffiti on the subways, the fiscal problems in which the city had and the increasing amount of crime and drugs bothered the heck out of me! Still, NYC was a great place to be with many things to do! I still had a lot of fun that summer! I remember when the subway fare was 50 cents then. Glad that Rudy Giuliani eventually cleaned up the city!

Anyway, great documentary story! Glad to see when Reggie Jackson answered "the whole world" as ABC-TV Sportscaster Howard Cosell said during the night of Game 6 of the World Series when the future Hall of Famer belted 3 home runs to propel the Yankees to their first World Championship in 15 years! Nothing was ever dull in The Bronx that summer with Billy, George and Reggie! Billy for Billy Martin and George for George Steinbrenner, of course!!

Wallyhorse · Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 6:13 pm Post subject:

That was so true back then:

I was 11 going on 12 at the time of the '77 blackout, and even the rather "pristine" area of the upper east side suffered some looting during that blackout (though of course NOTHING like what happened in Bushwick Brooklyn back then). Now, of course, that area is so much different and has been making a big comeback, and there are actually concerns that the people who lived through the rough times there are now being forced out thanks to gentrification.
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Walt

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