Several factors led to the rampage of fires that consumed one-third of Bushwick’s housing stock in the 1970s. Since a number of buildings were constructed with little fire protection, many of the fires were intentionally set by landlords and tenants alike. But, as historian Adam Schwartz pointed out, the City of New York was also complicit, thanks to a policy of “planned shrinkage”-the systematic
reduction of city services, particularly to areas that the city deemed “beyond help.” As Bushwick burned, the Ridgewood Times’ editorial board saw that the same fate could befall Ridgewood. Below is a reproduction of an editorial written in 1978 that gives more historical context and calls for action to prevent the “Fire Wars” from spreading to Ridgewood.
