Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning_1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City

by Jonathan Mahler

  37.

  For my account of the city’s troubles processing jailed looters I relied on newspaper coverage and a subsequent report by the New York State Crime Control Planning Board on the city’s response to the blackout. On this same subject, Timothy Crouse’s August 15, 1977, article in The Village Voice—“How ‘Proximity to a Salami’ Became a Crime: The Criminal Justice System Copes with Largest Mass Arrests in N.Y. History”—is also valuable.

  40.

  For my assessment of the black community’s reaction to the looting, I relied primarily on the coverage of the Amsterdam News. Orde Coombs detailed the tension between middle-class and poor blacks in the context of the blackout in “The Trashing of Le Mans: The New Civil War Begins” (New York, August 8, 1977).

  My account of Percy Sutton’s 1977 campaign is drawn from interviews with two senior members of his campaign staff, William Banks and Frank Baraff, as well as campaign literature and local newspaper coverage.

  Among the more memorable profiles of Sutton are “Guess Who’s Coming to Gracie Mansion” (Nicholas Pileggi, New York, May 27, 1974) and “Percy Sutton Has the Last Laugh” (Orde Coombs, New York, August 17, 1981).

  PART THREE

  41.

  Several former New York Post reporters and editors shared with me their memories of the paper’s transformation under Murdoch. They include Robert Spitzler, George Artz, Roberta Gratz, and Robert Lipsyte. The aforementioned Murdoch biographies also address this subject. The November 1977 issue of More featured an article on the paper’s coverage of New York’s infamous summer, as well as a Q & A with its new owner (“Can the Post Survive Rupert Murdoch?”).

  My account of Billy Martin appearing drunk in George Steinbrenner’s hotel suite is drawn from interviews with several beat reporters, as well as Inside the Yankees: The Championship Year, and Wild, High and Tight.

  42.

  For my account of Son of Sam’s reign of terror and its effect on New York, I relied on local newspaper reports and TV broadcasts, wire service stories and interviews with Jimmy Breslin as well as a number of the detectives involved with the Omega task force, including John Falotico, Joe Coffey, Bill Clark, and Joseph Borrelli.

  In addition to the blanket coverage in the New York tabloids and the Times, other noteworthy articles on the pursuit of the Son of Sam include “Hunting the ‘Son of Sam’” (Newsweek, July 11, 1977) and “The Hunt for Son of Sam Goes On” (Time, August 15, 1977).

  Three profiles of Steve Dunleavy were especially useful: “Mr. Blood-and-Guts” (Tony Schwartz, Newsweek, October 17, 1977); “Steve Dunleavy and the Rise of Tabloid TV” (Frank DiGiacomo, New York Observer, December 6, 1999); and “The Hell-Raiser” (John Cassidy, New Yorker, September 11, 2000).

  44.

  My account of the apprehension of Son of Sam is drawn from interviews with the aforementioned detectives, local newspaper reports, wire service stories, and local TV news broadcasts. Among the more noteworthy stories on Sam’s arrest are: “‘Son of Sam’; Mail Sorter Arraigned in Brooklyn in ‘Son of Sam’ Murders” (William Claiborne, Washington Post, August 12, 1977); “The Sick World of Son of Sam” (Newsweek, August 22, 1977); and “‘Sam Told Me to Do It … Sam Is the Devil’” (Tîme, August 22, 1977).

  Two of the more memorable stories on the press coverage of Sam are “A Tale of Midnight” (Thomas Powers, Commonweal, September 16, 1977); “Sam Sells: Press Orgy Follows Arrest of .44 Killer” (More, September 1977); and “The Night TV Cried Wolf” (Carl Tucker, Saturday Review, October 1, 1977).

  46.

  Koch’s campaign for capital punishment was best documented by Denis Hamill (“‘Hi, I’m for Capital Punishment. Are You?’” Village Voice, September 5, 1977). Koch spoke with me about his decision to emphasize his position on the death penalty in the outer boroughs but not in Manhattan. He also recalled for me his conversation with Murdoch in which the publisher offered his endorsement.

  47.

  For my profile of Guidry, I relied on an interview with him in Tampa in the spring of 2001, as well as conversations with Yankees’ beat reporters and local newspaper coverage of his surprising emergence during the ’77 season. Two noteworthy magazine profiles, both by Roger Director and published in Sport, are “Ron Guidry” (October 1978) and “The Top Performer” (February 1979).

  48.

  The best analysis of Bella Abzug’s flawed 1977 campaign is “What Makes Bella Run Cautious?” (Geoffrey Stokes, Village Voice, August 22, 1977). Pete Hamill offered a picture of the flagging candidate in his September 7, 1977, Daily News column: “Even Garment Center Can’t Dress Up This Campaign.”

  49.

  For my account of the SEC report on New York’s fiscal crisis, I relied primarily on the coverage in New York’s dailies. Several articles stand out: “The Fiscal Crisis: Forgive, but Don’t Forget” (Sam Roberts, Daily News, August 22, 1977); “How Big Guys Burned the Little Guys” (Mark Lieberman and Bruce Drake, Sunday Daily News, August 28, 1977); “Bad News for Beame” (Newsweek, September 5, 1977); “Banks Rape City: Will Beame Fry Alone?” (Jack Newfield, Village Voice, September 5, 1977); and “The SEC vs. New York: Why Nothing’s Happened” (Charles Koshetz, New York, November 20, 1978).

  51.

  Susan Dworkin’s book Miss America, 1945: Bess Myerson and the Year that Changed Our Lives (Newmarket Press, 1987) provides a detailed account of Myerson’s childhood and rise to prominence. For my portrait of Myerson, I also relied on several articles published in 1987, when she was wrapped up in a bribery scandal involving a judge and her boyfriend, a reputed mobster. A few of the more noteworthy ones include: “New York Abuzz over Bessie’s Mess” (Elizabeth Mehren, Los Angeles Times, June 29, 1987); “The Bitter Limbo of Bess Myerson” (Paula Span, Washington Post, July 23, 1987); and “The Trouble with Bess: How Did a Former Miss America Get into This Mess?” (Shana Alexander, St. Petersburg Times, September 13, 1988).

  52.

  Murray Kempton offers a humanizing portrait of Beame.in defeat in “The Bloom Goes Off for Abraham Beame” (New York Post, September 9, 1977).

  53.

  Pete Hamill recounted Cuomo’s impromptu sermon at the Church of the Master in “Cuomo, in Church, Preaches the Politics of Love” (Daily News, September 12, 1977). Robert McElvaine also writes about the sermon in his aforementioned biography of Cuomo.

  57.

  Jim Sleeper captured the essence of Koch’s mayoralty in the context of a changed New York in two pieces in Dissent magazine, both titled “Ed Koch and the Spirit of the Times” (Spring 1981 and Summer 1985).

  61.

  Fran Healy recalled for me the details of his conversation with Martin before game five in Kansas City.

  The New York Times’s Murray Chass reported on the mood on the Yankees’ charter in “Yankee Flight Home Unusually Calm” (October 11, 1977).

  66.

  My account of game six of the World Series is drawn primarily from daily newspaper reports, conversations with beat reporters, and radio and TV broadcasts.

  67.

  Martin writes about his miserable time at the postgame party in his memoir Number One.

  Destino shared with me his memories of being at McMullen’s with Reggie after game six. He also told me about his and Reggie’s respective CB handles.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Many invisible hands helped shape this book, beginning with the 1977 Yankees beat writers. Moss Klein, Henry Hecht, Steve Jacobson, Maury Allen, and Phil Pepe were especially helpful. In addition, Bill Francis of the National Baseball Hall of Fame indulged countless research requests.

  Peter Occhiogrosso, Ben Looker, and Joe Levy and John Leland helped guide me through New York’s 1970s music scene. Tim Lawrence graciously shared with me his thick rolodex of DJs and discos devotees. Bill Dobbs steered me to numerous sources on the city’s gay life in the seventies.

  Robert Curvin and Bruce Porter trusted me with their copies of the special reports that each of New York’s precincts was required to fil
e after the blackout. I am deeply indebted to all of the officers of Bushwick’s Eighty-third Precinct—William Sekzer in particular—who shared their memories of the blackout and tolerated endless phone calls as I tried to piece together my narrative of that chaotic night. Thanks to all the Bushwick residents who spoke with me about the neighborhood; and a special thanks to Dr. Carl St. Martin for taking me on my first tour of Bushwick. Martin Gottlieb’s and Jim Sleeper’s heartfelt portraits of the neighborhood—Gottlieb’s in the Daily News; Sleeper’s in two North Brooklyn community newspapers and in his incisive book, The Closest of Strangers—gave me something to which to aspire. Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch both generously granted me several interviews, and Mayor Koch allowed me access to an unpublished and unvarnished oral history at Columbia University.

  James Hamilton and Janie Eisenberg, two of New York’s finest photographers during this era, unearthed wonderful images for me. Judith Phillips and Erica Toth did valuable research.

  I was lucky enough to be able to publish several articles drawn from the book-in-progress and would like to thank a handful of editors who were not afraid of a little history. Connie Rosenblum of the New York Times City section invited me to recall the summer of ’77 on its twenty-fifth anniversary; David Shipley of the Times’ s op-ed page asked me to consider the differences between the 1977 and 2003 blackouts. Saving the best for last, the New York Times Magazine published a lengthy excerpt from my account of Bushwick’s long night of looting. It was deftly edited by Ilena Silverman and Gerry Marzorati, and fact-checked with inspired vigilance by Sarah Smith.

  Doug Century, Blake Eskin, William Brangham, Lyn Mattoon, Tom Watson, Sam Sifton, Liz Garbus, Tina Brown, Will Dana, Michael Megalli, Seth Lipsky, and Susan Mahler provided critical support during this book’s long gestation. Jack Newfield, who passed away before I could thank him in person, was an extraordinarily generous source. Roger Burlingame graciously slogged through a sprawling early draft and helped me find my story therein. Jonathan Rosen and Mike Sokolove offered keen insights into later drafts.

  I am incredibly fortunate to have Sarah Chalfant of the Wylie Agency in my corner. Not only did she help shape the proposal and see to it that this book found the perfect home, but Sarah also took every one of my neurotic phone calls along the way and expressed more confidence in me than I had any right to expect.

  My editor, Josh Kendall, and his boss, Frances Coady, were vocal champions of the book from the get-go, when they had every reason to be wary. In the four years since then, Josh has been a constant source of encouragement and wisdom. His perceptive comments have improved the book immeasurably. Copy editors Kevin Doughten and Pearl Hanig helped smooth out numerous rough edges. I am especially grateful to FSG’s publisher, Jonathan Galassi, both for his enthusiasm and for coming up with the book’s title.

  My greatest debt of all is to my wife, Danielle Mattoon, without whom my life—never mind this book—would remain incomplete.

  LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BRONX IS BURNING. Copyright © 2005 by Jonathan Mahler. All rights reserved.

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  The author would like to thank The New York Times Magazine, which published a portion of this work in a slightly different form.

  First published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

  Designed by Gretchen Achilles

  eISBN 9781429931038

  First eBook Edition : September 2011

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Mahler, Jonathan, 1969–

  Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning : 1977, baseball, politics, and the battle for the soul of a city / Jonathan Mahler.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 0-312-42430-2

  EAN 978-0-312-42430-5

  1. New York (N.Y.)—History—1951–2. New York (N.Y.)—Social conditions—20th century. 3. City and town life—New York (State)—New York—History—20th century. 4. New York (N.Y.)—Social life and customs—20th century. 5. New York Yankees (Baseball team)—, History—20th century. 6. New York Yankees (Baseball team)—Biography. 7. Mahler, Jonathan, 1969–—Childhood and youth. I. Title.

  F128.52.M25 2005

  974.7’043-dc22

  2004016804