The Appraisal
By TATIANA SCHLOSSBERG
In the late 1970s, when the Bronx was burning, Bushwick, Brooklyn, was burning, too.
Fires raged from block to block, and after the blackout of July 13, 1977, Bushwick was broken — the neighborhood endured more lootings and arsons than any other neighborhood in New York City.
“Of course it was scary, when it was bad like that,” said Elizabeth Casuso Rose, who lived at 168 Harman Street. Because fire was a nightly threat, she said, “you had to sleep with your shoes on.”
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“My mother was a strong woman, the kind who stands up to fight for what’s right,” she said. “And somebody had to fight for Bushwick.”
Mr. Gottlieb, who later worked at The Times and is now editor of The Record, a northern New Jersey daily newspaper, said the change between then and now is remarkable. “The bizarre thing is that it looks like 60 years of history have been erased,” he said. “It looks to me like Bushwick must have looked in 1938 or 1955,” with lots of families and more of a neighborhood feel.
Ms. Rose said she agreed.
“It was scary in those days,” she said, “but it was still good. And it’s good now.”
“We still stood here and we love our home,” she added. “I don’t know how many people can say that.”
