South Bronx 1982-4

In the mid-1970s, an economic down turn combined with complex social and political pressures caused the gradual decline of the South Bronx. By the 1980s, crime, middle-class exodus, fires, and the lack of public services had taken their toll—little was left standing. The photographs Ray Mortenson took during this time were intended to present an objective, wide-ranging survey of the devastated urban landscape.