In 1977 I was 11 years old and in 6th grade in Arlington Virginia. The year before was the bicentennial, which was the first time I never knew something could be bi anything. I think that may have been the first word I ever thought about. I went to the exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution on the mall in DC, looked at the Declaration of Independence, and marveled at how long not 100 but 200 years must be.
I'd have no idea what would go on in Bushwick the following year. 3 days after the looting and destruction brought on by the blackout of 77 3 children started a fire in an old knitting factory that required all 55 units of firefighters from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens to put out the blaze. City Noise has amazing images of the devastation of the All Hands Fire, and the story of the Casusos family that for a while became the face of Bushwick, a family persisting in a decaying community who gained attention when Marty Gottlieb ran a series of articles in the Daily News chronicling their struggles. What history. They won the attention of Ed Koch, and soon a mayoral debate was taking place in this 3rd generation family's tiny Bushwick living room. Wuh?
The photos above are from rootsweb, the Giovinco and DiGiovanni page. Both show Bushwick around 1913. For some reason old pictures like that blow my mind these days and start me a blubbering. They were posted by someone named Alan Hartman. Thanks Alan Hartman.
For anyone with an inkling to have a look at the present day hood, have a look at Bushwick BK, if you haven't already.
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