Annie Kessler
1. On March 3, 1977 Mayor Abraham Beame gave his final state of the city address.
The main topic of his speech was clear and consistent throughout his address; the
city was facing a major financial crisis and was trying to claw its way back from the
brink of bankruptcy. Woven into the economic crisis facing the city, Mayor Beame
also addressed the city’s high but dropping crime rates and the education system.
Given the grave state of the city and the difficult subject matter of the speech, this
address had an incredibly somber tone that was only lightened in a few instances,
when the Mayor makes mention of successes and hopes for a brighter future.
The mayor is very detailed and technical throughout his speech and he does not
utilize elevated or stylistic language. He does make mention of his tendency to use
numbers to put some of the challenges facing the city in context: “Problems cannot
be solved with statistics; but numbers can add a measure of reality to emotional
issues”. The mayor goes on to describe the amount of jobs that have been cut and
reinstituted in various government agencies and departments, especially ones that
are critical to keeping the city safe and functioning like the police, fire and sanitation
departments. He also speaks about the economic efficiencies that have been realized
and instituted over the past year in the city government in order to work towards
paying off the city debts and financial stability.
Over the course of the speech, it seems like Mayor Beame teeters between one tone
that is almost apologetic and another that is trying to show progress and hope for
moving forward. He says outright: “Our parks are still as well kept as I would like”
and “We regard with increasing frustration the inability of the courts to deal with
juvenile offenders”, clearly acknowledging the shortcomings of the current state of
the city. He is equally straightforward in the language that he uses to describe the
successes and hope for the future, saying on a few occasions, “I was particularly
happy last month…” and “I am pleased that the State…” when describing the rehiring
of firefighters and the investment of the state to support higher education.
It is only at the very end of his speech that the mayor starts to use more stylized
language in order to end on a hopeful or positive note. He uses the metaphor of the
city being a “marathon runner” to talk about the need to continue to persevere
during the difficult economic times. Like many other addresses, Mayor Beame also
uses the end of the speech as an opportunity to reconstitute the audience as people
who can support his cause of strengthening the city and of being resilient through
challenges: “We are New Yorkers. We will never settle for less”.
2. The content and tone of Mayor Beame’s 1977 state of the city is not surprising
given the dire circumstances that New York City was facing. The city was on the
verge of bankruptcy, unemployment was high and many parts of the city were
riddled with crime. A recent article in The New Yorker chronicles the events
surrounding October 16, 1975, a day when the city was incredibly close to
defaulting on its loans and needing to officially file for bankruptcy.1 Although Mayor
Beame and his administration were able to avoid bankruptcy, the financial status of
the city was not much improved by the time he delivered his 1977 state of the city
address.
There are countless books and movies that depict the grit and danger of New York
City during the early 1970s and during Beame’s administration. Commentary from
Time Magazine on the novel “City of Fire”, which is set in 1970s New York City and
involves many of the squatters on the Lower East Side, describes the crime rates in
the city as “truly out of control” and that violent crime was so rampant that policing
squatters in neglected buildings was low priority.2 The Daily News also published a
photojournalism account of the rise in homelessness, the prevalence of drug dealing
and prostitution and the deterioration of the subway system during the 1970s. 3
3. Although I have been unable to find the actual video footage of the state of the city
address, I have been able to read some accounts of the speech and watch a short clip
from Mayor Beame’s inaugural address. Based on my research, it seems that the
context of the delivery of the speech was as straightforward as the language used
during the speech. Apparently, the mayor was greeted by a quick standing ovation
and that the speech only lasted about 30 minutes. Mayor Beame was a man of small
stature; video footage of his inaugural address shows an aid needing to adjust the
height of the microphones, so as to not block his face.4 In his 1977 state of the city
address, he spoke from a podium that was custom-built to be a better fit for him.5
4. Much of the press reactions to Mayor Beame’s 1977 state of the city address talk
about the speech as sounding like the beginning of a re-election campaign. Given
Nussbaum, Jeff. “The Night New York Saved Itself From Bankruptcy.” The New
Yorker. Oct 16, 2015. Online. Date accessed Jan 16, 2016.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-night-new-york-saved-itselffrom-bankruptcy
2 Begley, Sarah. “City on Fire and the True History of Squatters in 1970s New York
City.” Time. Oct 15, 2015. Online. Date accessed Jan 17, 2016.
http://time.com/4068598/city-on-fire-history-squatting/
3 Bobbe, Leland. “1970s New York City: The Dangerous and Gritty Streets During a
Decade of Decline. The Daily News. Online. Date accessed Jan 16, 2016.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gritty-new-york-city-1970s-gallery1.1318521?pmSlide=1.1318508
4 “SYND 1-1-74 Abe Beame Inaugurated as Mayor of New York”. Jul 23, 2015. Date
Accessed Jan 14, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1WsKd0n5x0
5 Kaiser, Charles. “Beame Says Moratorium Probably Undermining City’s
Credibility”. The New York Times. Mar 4, 1977. Online. Date Accessed Jan 16, 2016.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archivefree/pdf?res=9A05E7DC1239E334BC4C53DFB566838C669EDE
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archivefree/pdf?res=9A05E7DC1239E334BC4C53DFB566838C669EDE
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that it was Beame’s final year of his first term, many people thought that although he
did discuss the current state of debt, he spent more time in his speech talking about
how far the city had come back economically, how many city jobs were being
reinstated and the plans to continue to make improvements moving forward. A City
Councilman from Brooklyn is quoted in a March 4, 1977 New York Times article
saying: “It sounded like a man who has made some progress and wants to make
some more”. In the same article, The Bronx Borough President was quoted as saying
straightforwardly: “It sounded like a campaign speech to me”. 6
6. There are some references to events or situations made in the state of the city
address that were likely obvious to the audience at the time, but that have lost some
context over time. Mayor Beame opens his speech by saying “Some people may
believe that this is not the best time to report to you on the State of the City. A
serious fiscal deadline looms before us. If we do not meet it we may face insolvency”.
At the time of the speech, New York City needed to payoff almost one billion dollars
to the banks and the threat of bankruptcy continued to loom over the city.
Later in the speech, the Mayor says: “I have striven to avoid the cliffhanging
episodes which we have experienced in the past.” In this comment, he is likely
referring to the situation earlier in his administration in 1975, when the city was
very close to bankruptcy, and thanks to last minute negotiations, the crisis was
averted.7
When addressing crime, the mayor says: “We regard with increasing frustration the
inability of the courts to deal with juvenile offenders”. According to an article in the
Juvenile Justice Bulletin, gang related violence involving teenagers was on an
upswing in most urban areas, including New York City.8
The mayor continued to talk about crime and referred to his crackdown on “the
Harlem drug ‘supermarkets’”. During the early 1970s, Harlem was a hotbed for drug
dealing, especially selling heroin. Big drug dealers like Frank Lucas were able to be
so successful at selling drugs because they were paying off the NYPD so that they
could sell drugs more openly.9
Towards the end of the speech, the mayor talks about education and the need for
the state to play a larger role in higher education: “I am pleased that the State has
taken several important steps in recognizing that the funding of higher education is
a State responsibility… the need to maintain and protect the special quality and
Kaiser, Charles. “Beame Says Moratorium Probably Undermining City’s
Credibility”. The New York Times. Mar 4, 1977. Online. Date Accessed: Jan 16, 2016.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archivefree/pdf?res=9A05E7DC1239E334BC4C53DFB566838C669EDE
7 Nussbaum, Jeff. “The Night New York Saved Itself From Bankruptcy.” The New
Yorker. Oct 16, 2015. Online. Date accessed: Jan 16, 2016.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-night-new-york-saved-itselffrom-bankruptcy
8 “Youth Gangs: An Overview”. Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Aug 1998. Online. Date
Accessed: Jan 17, 2016. http://www.ojjdp.gov/jjbulletin/9808/youth.html
9 http://www.biography.com/people/groups/criminals-drug-dealers
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character of our City University”. According to a New York Times article, which was
written just after Beame’s death, during Beame’s administration the fiscal crisis led
to the city charging tuition at City College for the first time, which led to great
debates between the city and state about funding for education.10
7. Mayor Beame does not make mention of many places in his speech but he does
talk to and talk about a few different groups of people. He spends a good deal of time
talking about people who’s jobs have been reinstated, after major cutbacks, during
his administration. He talks specifically about policemen, firemen and sanitation
workers. The mayor also talks about certain key members of his staff, such as the
Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, the Chairman of the Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs. He
talks about these members of his staff in a positive manner and I think in an effort to
showcase the progress that has been made or will be made in certain arenas. The
final “person” that the mayor alludes to throughout his speech is the “state”. He does
not name the governor or any other position by title or name, but in general he
seems to refer to the “state” in a rather harsh or hostile manner. He talks about
certain responsibilities that the “state” either has or perhaps has not followed
through on or certain responsibilities that he believes that the state should take on.
8. One section of the speech that I think is essential to his overall message is “Some
of the conditions that prevailed a year ago are with us today. But there is a major
difference. We are now equipped to deal with these circumstances. We have learned
that austerity is not a temporary condition, but a continuing reality. We cannot
return to the free-spending, charge-account governments of the past”. This passage
seems essential to me because it sets the stage for the mayor to talk about the
difficult situation that the city is still in and talk about the way that his
administration has worked to combat some of the challenges they have faced. Given
the fact that this was the final state of the city address of his term, it does also seem
to set the stage for a potential re-election campaign.
Another essential passage in the speech for me was: “Not even the sternest lender
could reasonably expect us to mortgage our sovereignty now – not when we have
achieved unprecedented fiscal reforms, not after we have, strengthened and
revamped our management system, not when our elected and appointed officials
have shown such courage, not when the President of the United States has voiced
again his confidence in our future, not after our people have made such sacrifices.” I
think that this passage is so important because it occurs towards the end of the
speech and might his most valiant attempt to raise the hope of his audience. In this
passage, I think that he both recognizes the hardships endured by his constituents
and about by referencing the President, attempts to build confidence for a better
future.
McFadden, Robert. “Abraham Beame is Dead at 94; Mayor During 70’s Fiscal
Crisis”. The New York Times. Feb 11, 2001. Online. Date accessed Jan 14, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/11/nyregion/abraham-beame-is-dead-at-94mayor-during-70-s-fiscal-crisis.html?pagewanted=all
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9. There are some terms that are think are key in relation to the speech: credibility;
efficiency; responsibility; strength/strong.
10. After some extensive research, it seems that there are not many works dedicated
specifically to Mayor Beame, perhaps because he was only a one-term mayor who
was preceded and followed by multi-term leaders. The was one article that gave a
detailed but concise snapshot of Mayor Beame’s life and legacy was the New York
Times article written just after his death. There is also a book entitled To Be Mayor
Of New York, which chronicles the history of several New York City mayors,
including Mayor Beame and has solid reviews. Another famous book called The
Bronx Is Burning talks about the era during which Abraham Beame was the mayor,
although again, the book is not specifically about him.