When the Bronx Was Burning: Firefighter John Finucane on the Bronx of the 1970's
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- Опубліковано 19 вер 2010
- Retired Firefighter John Finucane served in Engine 85 of the South Bronx during the "war years" of the 1970's -- the time when there over 10,000 fires per year, many of them arsons.
In this interview for TheDailyBeast.com's original series "My New York," Finucane visits the notorious corner of East 170th and Charlotte, and talks about about the dangers and destruction of the era -- and how things eventually turned around.
For an excellent article on why the Bronx burned, and how it was rebuilt, check out Robert Worth's 1999 piece in the Washington Monthly, "Guess Who Saved the South Bronx?". Link: www.washingtonmonthly.com/feat...
Finucane is the author of the book "When the Bronx Burned."
My Father is one of the men pulling that fire fighter to safety at 1:04,,,thanks for sharing
Finucane was a fireman in Ladder 59 and a Lt. in E46...he's the real deal.
And as far as the Northern Irish thing..he has always been passionate about the way Catholics were treated in Northern Ireland. Good Job John...
I remember the burnt out neighborhood of Charlotte St. and 170th back in the 70's It was awful! I hadn't been back there until 2018 and was truly amazed at what I saw. I didn't even recognize that I was on the same streets. It looked like I was in the Burbs. Talk about a Phoenix rising from the ashes. Literally!
I use to live at 1412 Charlotte St. That was the building right at the corner where both Charlotte St. and Minford Pl. merged right into Jennings St.
Patrick, I'm from the Bronx. This gentleman is not "faking" an accent. Dialects varied from Italian-Bronx to Irish-Bronx to Jewish-Bronx, etc. His accent leans towards the Irish side. As for his comments, they sound pretty straightforward and sincere. I was living in NY at that time when many building were being torched. Most of us often ignored the hype-publicity and continued living normally. Glad that things have been cleaned up a bit.
I own three of his books !
I live on Minford Place, one block away from Charlotte Street. It's a shame that the south Bronx in the late 70's to early 80's wasn't more documented. It's really difficult to find good footage of that era.
+dcaseng Best forgotten !
SORRY FOR THE LATE RESPONSE. I WROTE SEVERAL BOOKS ABOUT THE SOUTH BRONX. ONE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE BURNING OF YOUR AREA, WHEN THE BRONX BURNED
Hello there I use to live at 1412 Charlotte St, that's the building that was right at the corner where Minford Pl. and Charlotte St. merged into Jennings St. I was there right in the 70's.
@@johnfinucane5236 Name some to read them
@mxpassion17 Inaccurate. It was usually landlords who wanted out and wanted to collect the insurance money... they would hire a super, a tenant, in some cases a local hood to burn the building down and then collect on the policy. While I am sure there may have been some situations where a tenant independently committed arson, for the most part the problem was created the old fashioned way: through greed and desperation. Landlords torching their own places for the insurance payout.
Thank you for your Service 💪🏾💯
Top video. Much respect!
This used to be my old neighborhood. I use to live right at 1412 Charlotte Street. The building was right at the corner were both Charlotte Street an Minford Pl. merged into Jennings St. The building was set on fire a couple of times while I was living there. I was a resident of the South Bronx thru the bad times right until it made a comeback. No matter where I'm at this will forever be my home. Love the Bronx and its people.
Thanks for your service, AMEN, you're still among TODAY,SIR.
I drove through Baltimore a couple of months ago. As bad as it was in the Bronx back then Baltimore is far more run down.
i would have to say you are wrong. i live about an hour away from Baltimore. i also seen this for my self as a young kid growing up in NYC in the 80. no where in Baltimore do i see building brunt for blocks on both side of the street.
*****
Really? Because I saw them burned out and boarded up all over the place... primarily in the area between Oriole Park and West Baltimore Station, and a few other parts of the city.
Salvatore Lanzieri
Maybe I was in the wrong parts of the city, but your description is pretty much on target.
Salvatore Lanzieri
Salvatore, I'm from the New York Tri-State area, so I'm not unfamiliar with how bad things got in The Bronx at the time.
Salvatore Lanzieri
I've still seen some graffiti turn up once in a while.
Did any of those landlords go to jail?
No one gave a shit! No probably not. That entire area was redlined by the Government and pretty much given the green light to do whatever to get those people out!
No it was called Jewish lighting for a reason.
Hopefully, things are getting A LOT better now for that neighborhood!
Good history. FDNY Firefighter Finucane was living the dream.
St. Ann's Avenue has also been rebuilt... and Third Ave. in Melrose. Not too many vacant lots left.
All of our vacant lots are getting apartment buildings.
i read both of his books, when the bronx burned and the usual.
excellent books.
i am born and raised in da bronx, i am now 56 yrs old and remember when da bronx burned.
Charlie Muller Jr.
You might want to read "Tomorrow, Mickey, Tomorrow". I am reading "When The Bronx Burned" a second time it was so good !
"when da bronx burned" is wrong. You must write and say "when the Bronx burned".
@ Mudslinger: I have to agree with my fellow New Yorker Patrick M. Finucane sounds like something you would see down in the Bowery 40 years back. I know all about Finucane. As another poster said, he is quick to take a tragedy or issue for his own benefit or publicity. He did it with the Irish troubles issue decades ago. I saw him speak back in the late 1980's here in N.Y.. A true self-server who thrives off of publicity. Plenty of good FDNY members of that era to talk to other than Finucane.
Once again I ask, were you a firefighter, or was it a buff?
william, you are a small man. A person does not commit 25 years of their life (24-7) fighting for a cause (Northern Ireland). Sound like a jealous person
I was a cop there in the 90s.used to park my rmp right by that fire box every night.who knew it was the busiest box in the entire city.
A nice, condensed, informative video. But I have to ask, who's the lady with the giant man hands dressed in that '70s costume @ 1:44?
Unpredictable neighborhood to have lived in from a three year olds perspective.
I never knew that the Bronx was such a marginal city back in the 50's and 60's.
By the time all this started, the City of New York was the primary landlord to all these buildings, for failure to pay taxes.
I am a firefighter so I'm not trying to make it sound like we're supposed to sound uneducated in that last comment, I just don't think that his accent and how he talks is really that important to who he is.
Humble beginnings......not!
In my profile I wrongly placed that my birthdate was 1987 instead of 1947. Sorry.
Mr Mulvaney, were you a firefighter? lf so, where and when? You sound like a bsa. You said you were born in 87.
He's a retired jake, not a Harvard Scholar. I don't know how you think he sounds uneducated. The fact that he saw some of the heaviest fire duty in the history of the fire service is impressive enough, I could care less about how he talks.
Box 2743
MY BOOK, "WHEN THE BRONX BURNED' IS ALL ABOUT 2743. SEE AMAZON, B7N.COM
Reminiscing bout tha 80s
I still can’t find a video on why the Bronx was such a shit hole.
where was the u.s.a. army ??
martial law would have solved many of these problems .
Bronx is a third world like place
ahh yeah, some anti-Semitic folks out there probably think the thunderstorms in the Bronx at the time had a religion. *back to fasting* *shhhh*
She is creepy....
Parties addicts murders I cant remember any good memories as a kid .oh that's right the mattress in the rubble we use to use as a trampoline....That's about it.
Not a very good book, Does this Finucane character on this video really talk like that? I've heard Bronx accents, but the accent Finucane has sounds made up and very un-educated.. I'm sure that the FDNY has some educational standards. This joker sounds like a walking stereotype. Not a very good represenative of the FDNY.
Pat, were you a firefighter? Did you live in the Bronx, the south Bronx?