Summary
The central theme of the adaptation is the 1977 New York Yankees against the backdrop of New York City. Yankee superstar Reggie Jackson (Daniel Sunjata) and manager Billy Martin (John Turturro) are locked in a perpetual state of warfare. Jackson was a perfect foil for the scrappy Martin, the hero of New York's fed-up white working class and a powerful reminder of the team's—and the city's—less complicated past. While owner George Steinbrenner (Oliver Platt) was providing General Patton-style leadership, he was intent on keeping his promise to the people of New York of delivering a World Series title. The show also features subplots concerning the NYPD's pursuit of the Son of Sam serial killer that summer and the devastating blackout and resultant widespread looting in July, all while the city suffered through financial bankruptcy and massive municipal layoffs. Another subplot focused on the 1977 New York City Mayoral race featuring incumbent mayor Abraham Beame, former Congresswoman Bella Abzug, future Governor Mario Cuomo, and Congressman Ed Koch, the eventual winner.
The title refers to an off-the-cuff comment by broadcaster Howard Cosell during the ABC telecast of Game Two of the 1977 World Series:
| “ | As night descended, ABC, broadcasting the game, cut to a helicopter camera for an overhead view of Yankee Stadium and the surrounding neighborhood, where, bizarrely, a large fire raged out of control. Howard Cosell intoned, 'There it is, ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning.' | ” |
According to the source book's author, Mahler, at the time property taxes were so high landlords would burn down their buildings for the insurance money, and some tenants would set a fire in a decrepit, privately owned building in order to get priority for the newer public housing. However, the burning of tenement housing in New York City in the 1970s was the end-game of urban renewal. After a building was red-lined, it was deemed unsuitable for sale in the eyes of the mortgage banking industry. A building's owner could not sell his building unless he received a cash payment. Landlords were forced to maintain a building that they couldn't afford to keep. Taxes collected by the city were greater than what could be charged to tenants (an unintended consequence of rent control laws). With nobody paying cash to buy the building, and no way to sell the building to a conventional buyer, the landlord's only recourse was to set it on fire.
Episodes were filmed in New London, Waterford and Norwich in Connecticut as well as in New York City. The series' soundtrack consisted of songs by The Ramones.
Read more about this topic: The Bronx Is Burning
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