The story repeats itself: how New York survived the night of nightmares and looting 40 years ago

On the night of July 14, 1977, New York fell into darkness. This immediately led to chaos, looting and violence. Not only men took part in the riots, but even women and children. Just one night turned life in the city upside down. The author of the column “Another movie blog” on the site suggests sorting out why this happened, and what it has to do with the unrest that prevails in the city today. Yandex Zen.

Photo: Shutterstock

On the night of July 14, 1977 in New York, something happened that no one could have foreseen. Blackout occurred in the city and the surrounding suburbs. In Overnight, the light turned off in the metropolis. “Almost immediately, pogroms began, similar to which no country in the world saw. People seemed to break loose, like mad dogs. A moment ago, they were respectable citizens - and now they have turned into monsters, ”the author writes.

The once peaceful residents of the Big Apple smashed stores all night, robbed shops, set on fire. The city-dwellers inclined to violent behavior also went hunting. “The situation in the city resembled the film“ Judgment Night ”(actually,“ the night of the beasts ”and inspired the authors to shoot this picture),” the author notes.

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It is amazing that this could happen in the most economically powerful country in the world. In why this happened, the author suggests sorting out together.

Severe crisis, maniacs and racial problems

Despite the status of the richest city in the world, New York experienced a severe crisis in 1977. People were without work, livelihoods and were depressed. Meanwhile, crime was steadily growing.

In addition, in the same year in New York, the serial maniac Son Sam was operating. He hunted girls, and it was widely covered by the press.

The racial issue was also relevant for the city, as it is today. Not knowing what to do with himself, young African-Americans are joining the ranks of street gangs. “These circumstances have become excellent soil for the flared tragedy,” the publication said.

How it all happened

Blackout July 13, 1977 at 20:37 New York time, a severe thunderstorm began.

At 20:45 a lightning strike struck a substation on the Hudson River. It was one of the key facilities in the energy supply of the city. As a result, two circuit breakers tripped in Westchester County.

Then a second lightning bolt damaged the power line between Indian Point Nuclear Power Station and New York. This triggered a full blackout mechanism that plunged the multimillion-dollar city into darkness.

Mass riots. Almost immediately in New York riots broke out. “As early as 21:00, residents of the Bronx and Harlem - areas with a predominantly black population - began to rob the homes of wealthy New Yorkers,” read the article. - Robberies were accompanied by sophisticated violence. Marauders instantly captured the streets, crowding out the police. Mexicans and African Americans actually ruled the city. ”

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City Hall was forced to declare a state of emergency in the city. But even all the forces of the police pulled into the city were not enough. Outrages were happening on the streets, shops, warehouses and restaurants were burning. “The marauders were happy to show the loot to reporters: TVs, jewelry, cameras, clothes, money, alcohol, food,” the author notes.

If the storefront was protected by a metal grill, it was ripped off by trucks. Not only men took part in these riots, but even women and children. “It was a kind of holiday, festival. Many shouted "Merry Christmas!" and dragged home the looted goods, ”the publication said.

Moreover, some of the looters sought to sell the loot directly on the spot.

Business owners only watched with horror what was happening, but could not do anything. Only in the region of Little Italy, the robbers received a stiff rebuff from the Italians, armed with sticks and iron rods.

Shops that managed to be cleaned were set on fire by marauders. Therefore, hundreds of fires were burning throughout the city. Firefighters could not get to the objects through the crowds of robbers. During the so-called night of animals in New York, more than a thousand shops burned down. Hundreds of firefighters and police were injured. The authorities, fearing street fighting, forbade law enforcement officers to use fire to defeat.

Effects. The city’s hospitals were overwhelmed by the wounded. Mostly they were ordinary New Yorkers, but among them the looters themselves happened.

In just one night, more than 1500 stores were looted. The total damage from the riots is estimated at $ 1 billion.

The New York Stock Exchange opened the next morning with a powerful fall. “No one expected that a rather ordinary event - blackout - would lead to such a sad consequence, and the darkness would cause people to form a rage,” the author explains.

He noted that "as soon as something happens in their country, the Americans immediately begin to loot." “Well look: the flood in New Orleans is looting; coronavirus - looting; police killed an African American - looting. Even the extinct electricity, when it would seem necessary to help each other, caused a real apocalypse. There is something wrong with the American kingdom, ”he concludes.