Independent Lens

Decade of Fire

Decade of Fire covers a shocking but untold piece of American urban history, when the South Bronx was on fire in the 1970s. Left unprotected by the city government, nearly a quarter-million people were displaced as their close-knit, multiethnic neighborhood burned to the ground. Decade of Fire also shows what can happen when a community chooses to fight back and reclaim their neighborhood.

Trailer | Decade of Fire

30s

Decade of Fire covers a shocking but untold piece of American urban history, when the South Bronx was on fire in the 1970s. Left unprotected by the city government, nearly a quarter-million people were displaced as their close-knit, multiethnic neighborhood burned to the ground. Decade of Fire also shows what can happen when a community chooses to fight back and reclaim their neighborhood.

  • Banana Kelly Community Improvement | Decade of Fire: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Banana Kelly Community Improvement | Decade of Fire

    S21 E2 - 1m 1s

    This excerpt from the documentary Decade of Fire shows how the Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, named after a banana-shaped portion of Kelly Street in the Bronx, took matters into their own hands. The group formed to help rehabilitate buildings -- that they did not own, working for free -- to help save their neighborhood in a city ravaged by fires in the '70s.

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