When the Bronx was burning. (street, different, images)

[Rachael84]

I imagine it was quite a lot tougher. I was just saying some of the things still happen today. Like you said, back then it was probably a lot of babysitting. At least nowadays we can teach them...for the most part lol

[bmwguydc]

Originally Posted by Rachael84

I imagine it was quite a lot tougher. I was just saying some of the things still happen today. Like you said, back then it was probably a lot of babysitting. At least nowadays we can teach them...for the most part lol

Yes, that is a huge change, the transition from babysitting to teaching, along with weeding out the teachers who did not have business in the classroom. I agree with you that the same old, same old, still happens, but at least you're making positive strides to combat the decades of horrors in those areas, though I am sure it's still so very challenging. Every one success story that comes from that environment makes all the difference, both to the individual and to society at large.

[aquaregia11]

The work of sociologist and photographer, Camilo Jose Vergara, may be quite helpful in illuminating some of the physical transformations of the South Bronx over the years:

AcIS Imaging

These photos, while taken primarily if not exclusively toward the southernmost areas of the Bronx, are instructive because of Vergara's trademark style of shooting a single location multiple times, years apart, to portray the morphing of the physical environment.

Some of Mel Rosenthal's photography may also interest you, although it may be less helpful in portraying the changes that have taken place in the South Bronx landscape, as all the photos were taken in the 1970s: Mel Rosenthal: Photographs from In the South Bronx of America

[aquaregia11]

One interesting point to note is that while Vergara had been photographing street-level scenes in some of the most crime-infested, decaying neighborhoods of America's cities, including the South Bronx in the 70s and early 80s, by the late-80s and early-90s--at the height of the crack epidemic--these areas were so dangerous that he started shooting most of his work from the relatively safe rooftops of buildings. Because the above collection includes many photographs from this latter period, the views are panoramic.

Also of interest is some of his work in Harlem and Camden, NJ (as well as other cities) on his Invincible Cities site, where you can select a street corner or sidewalk scene and witness the transformations that have taken place throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s, and more recently:

Invincible Cities

[aquaregia11]

My pleasure. FYI, study a corner or an intersection from Vergara's photos and visit that same location via google maps' street view to really get a visual sense of the look of refurbished structures as well as the sort of structures (commercial and residential) that have replaced many of the empty lots and rubble heaps.

[DAS]

In the past I have saved some of his work of Harlem I am truly amazed at the transformations of places that I have passed by frequently. The photos of the Bronx bring back a lot of memories because I can remember some of these places before the fires. Then seeing the pictures of the rubble, and I enjoy like his captions because he gives a sense of the people in the photos. It was good that the fires didn't suck the light out of people, they still had their hopes and dreams. It is nice to see that a lot of it was rebuilt.

[SobroGuy]

These are great works and really should be displayed in a museum or exhibit for everyone to see how things USED to be...and how bad they WERE, because much of the abandoned lots and decay, are gone. It is important to remember what happened and learn how to avoid it from happening again. If we forget, which I do not see happening anytime soon, history will repeat itself, maybe not in the Bronx..but in a town near you!

[aquaregia11]

I agree. And speaking of ensuring that the decimation of a community such as this never happens again, the irony of the fact that people are still to this day calling for rent stabilization (see the active thread on this very topic, being discussed as I type this), which was largely responsible for what happened in the South Bronx, is not lost on me!

[Rachael84]

Aren't parts of the extreme south Bronx still bad, like along the Major deegan right by the Triborough? I was driving on the Deegan to the bridge and saw some run down looking buildings. On the bridge, I can see a couple shelled out buildings. Is it still pretty bad in that area?

[aquaregia11]

Most of the extreme south of the Bronx, i.e., south of the Deegan, consists of industrial warehouses and factories, and to my knowledge, has been for more than a few decades. Naturally, with fewer residents, and consequently, less visual surveillance over the physical environment, such areas tend to breed crime. I'm not that familiar with the neighborhood, but just from quickly exploring a few streets on google maps' street view (which I highly encourage you to do!), one can see a shelled out building on E 134th and Willis Ave. (approx. address: 444 E. 134th St.), but it looks like it's in the (very) early stages of refurbishment. Continuing west on 134th, there are a few other abandoned buildings, one at 372 E 134th and another at 344 E 134th, with empty lots scattered in between the addresses. If you stand at 312 E. 134th St. and face south, you can see a tenement building behind an empty lot that looks like the old-style buildings characteristic of the southern sections of the South Bronx (built in the 1920s and 30s?). Most of the buildings of this style do not seem to have survived the waves of fires and deterioration from the 70s and early 80s, but they are still common in photos and footage from that era. Is this the area to which you are referring?