History Of New York City (1946–1977)
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Immediately after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
became known as one of the world's greatest cities. However, after peaking in population in 1950, the city began to feel the effects of
suburbanization Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...
brought about by new housing communities such as
Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and thei ...
, a downturn in industry and commerce as businesses left for places where it was cheaper and easier to operate, an increase in crime, and an upturn in its welfare burden, all of which reached a nadir in the city's fiscal crisis of the 1970s, when it barely avoided defaulting on its obligations and declaring bankruptcy.


Postwar: Late 1940s through 1950s

As many great cities lay in ruins after World War II, New York City assumed a new global prominence. It became the home of the
United Nations headquarters The headquarters of the United Nations (UN) is on of grounds in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It borders First Avenue (Manhattan), First Avenue to the west, 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd ...
, built 1947–1952; inherited the role from Paris as center of the art world with
abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism in the United States emerged as a distinct art movement in the aftermath of World War II and gained mainstream acceptance in the 1950s, a shift from the American social realism of the 1930s influenced by the Great Depressi ...
; and became a rival to London in the international finance and art markets. Yet the population declined after 1950, with increasing suburbanization in the
New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...
as pioneered in
Levittown, New York Levittown is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Hempstead (town), New York, Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York. It is a suburb of New York C ...
.
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
, fueled by postwar prosperity, was experiencing an unprecedented building boom that changed its very appearance. Glass-and-steel office towers in the new
International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...
began to replace the ziggurat-style towers (built in wedding-cake style) of the prewar era. Also rapidly changing was the eastern edge of the East Village close to
FDR Drive Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly known as the FDR Drive, is a controlled-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park Underpas ...
. Many traditional apartment blocks were cleared and replaced with large-scale
public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
projects. In
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
,
urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
began to take shape around 1960, led by
David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American economist and investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Bank, Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of ...
's construction of the
One Chase Manhattan Plaza 28 Liberty Street, formerly known as One Chase Manhattan Plaza, is a 60-story International Style skyscraper between Nassau, Liberty, William, and Pine Streets in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building, designed by ...
building. In a built-out city, construction entails destruction. After the old Beaux Arts
Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may refer to: Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * New York Penn Station ** Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963), the predecessor to the present New York City station * Newark Penn Station Trai ...
was torn down, growing concern for preservation led to the 1965 Landmarks Preservation Commission Law. The city's other great train station, Grand Central, was also threatened with demolition but was eventually saved. Meanwhile, New York City's network of highways spread, destroying neighborhoods where African Americans lived under the guidance of the noted urban planner with exceeding biases against certain ethnicities
Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...
, consequently increasing traffic congestion, traffic pollution, and ruining livelihoods of the people who once lived in vibrant neighborhoods. However, the defeat in 1962 of Moses' planned
Lower Manhattan Expressway Interstate 78 (I-78) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, to New York City. In the US state of New York, I-78 extends . The entirety of I-78 consists of the Holland Tunne ...
by community activists led by
Jane Jacobs Jane Isabel Jacobs (''née'' Butzner; 4 May 1916 – 25 April 2006) was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book ''The Death and Life of Great American Ci ...
was an indication that Moses would no longer have the free hand in the destruction of livelihoods he had enjoyed in the past.


1960s

During the 1960s, a gradual economic and social decay set in. A symptom of the city's waning competitiveness was the loss of both its longtime resident
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
baseball teams to booming California; the
Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. Founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the ...
and the
Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...
both moved after the 1957 season. A sports void was partially filled with the formation of the
Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They are one of two major l ...
in 1962, who played their first two seasons at the
Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...
, the former home of the Giants, before moving to
Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.Immigration Act of 1965, which abolished national-origin quotas, set the stage for increased immigration from Asia, which became the basis for New York's modern
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...
community. On November 9, 1965, New York endured a widespread power blackout along with much of eastern North America. (The city's ordeal became the subject of the 1968 film, '' Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?'') The postwar population shift to the suburbs resulted in the decline of textile manufacturing and other traditional industries in New York, most of which also operated in extremely outdated facilities. With the arrival of
container shipping Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is the process of uni ...
, that industry shifted to
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
where there was more room for it.
Blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...
neighborhoods began to deteriorate and become centers of drugs and crime. Strip clubs and other adult businesses started filling Times Square in the late 1960s. In 1966, the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
decommissioned the
Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...
, ending a command going back to the early 19th century. It was sold to the city. The Yard continued as a site for shipbuilding for another eleven years. From November 23 to 26, 1966, New York City was covered by a major smog episode, filling the city's air with damaging levels of several toxic pollutants. The smog was caused by a combination of factors, including the use of coal-burning power plants, the heavy traffic on the city's roads, and the widespread use of wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. It was the third major smog in New York City, following events of similar scale in 1953 and 1963.


Mayor Lindsay

John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...
, a liberal Republican, was a highly visible and charismatic mayor from 1966 to 1973. The city was a national center of protest movements regarding civil rights for black citizens, opposition to the Vietnam War, and the newly emerging feminist and gay movements. There were jolting economic shocks as the postwar prosperity came to an end with many factories and entire industries shutting down. There was a population transition with hundreds of thousands of
African-Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
and
Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...
moving in, and an exodus of European-Americans to the suburbs. Labor unions, especially in teaching, transit, sanitation and construction, fractured over major strikes and internal racial tensions.


Strikes and riots

The
Transport Workers Union of America Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) is a United States labor union that was founded in 1934 by subway workers in New York City, then expanded to represent transit employees in other cities, primarily in the eastern U.S. This article disc ...
(TWU) led by
Mike Quill Michael Joseph "Red Mike" Quill (September 18, 1905 – January 28, 1966) was an Irish-American labor leader and politician who co-founded the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), a union of subway workers in New York City New Y ...
shut down the city with a complete halt of subway and bus service on mayor
John Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, the mayor of New York City, and a candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regu ...
's first day of office. As New Yorkers endured the transit strike, Lindsay remarked, "I still think it's a fun city," and walked four miles (6 km) from his hotel room to City Hall in a gesture to show it.
Dick Schaap Richard Jay Schaap (September 27, 1934 – December 21, 2001) was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author. Early life and education Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, and raised in Freeport, New York, on Long Island, Schaap began w ...
, then a columnist for the ''
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'', coined and popularized the sarcastic term in an article titled ''Fun City''.The Fun City, ''New York Herald Tribune'', January 7, 1966, p. 13:Daniel B. Schneider
F.Y.I.
''NY Times'', January 3, 1999
In the article, Schaap sardonically pointed out that it was not. The transit strike was the first of many labor struggles. In 1968 the teachers' union (the
United Federation of Teachers The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and nearly 30,000 paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about ...
, or the UFT) went on strike over the firings of several teachers in a school in Ocean Hill and Brownsville. That same year, 1968, also saw a nine-day
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
strike. Quality of life in New York reached a nadir during this strike, as mounds of
garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...
caught fire, and strong winds whirled the filth through the streets. With the schools shut down, the police engaged in a
slowdown A slowdown ( UK: go-slow) is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. A slowdown may be used as either a prelude or an alternative to a stri ...
, firefighters threatening job actions, the city awash in garbage, and racial and religious tensions breaking to the surface, Lindsay later called the last six months of 1968 "the worst of my public life." The
Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...
were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the
Stonewall Inn The Stonewall Inn (also known as Stonewall) is a gay bar and recreational tavern at 53 Christopher Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It was the site of the 1969 Stonewall riots, which led to th ...
, in the
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
neighborhood of New York City. They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when people in the homosexual community fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the
gay rights movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their i ...
in the United States and around the world.


1970s

By 1970, the city gained notoriety for high rates of
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
and other social disorders. A popular song by Cashman & West in the autumn of 1972, "American City Suite", chronicled, in allegorical fashion, the decline in the city's quality of life. The city's subway system was regarded as unsafe due to crime and suffered frequent mechanical breakdowns. Over 80% of the South Bronx was burned or abandoned between 1970 and 1980, with 44 census tracts losing more than 50% and seven more than 97% of their building. Prostitutes and pimps frequented
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
, while
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
became feared as the site of muggings and rapes. Homeless persons and drug dealers occupied boarded-up and abandoned buildings. The
New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
was subject to investigation for widespread
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
, most famously in the 1971 testimony of whistle-blowing police officer
Frank Serpico Francesco Vincent "Frank" Serpico ( ; born April 14, 1936) is an American retired New York Police Department detective, best known for whistleblowing on police corruption. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was a plainclothes police officer wo ...
. In June 1975 after the city announced budget cuts downsizing the police force, officers distributed a pamphlet titled "Fear City" to arriving visitors, warning them to stay away. The opening of the mammoth
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
complex in 1972, however, was one of the few high points of the city's history at that time. Conceived by
David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American economist and investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Bank, Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of ...
and built by the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...
on the site of the
Radio Row Radio Row is a nickname for an urban street or district specializing in the sale of radio and electronic equipment and parts. Radio Rows arose in many cities with the 1920s rise of broadcasting and declined after the middle of the 20th cent ...
electronics district in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
, the Twin Towers displaced the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
in Midtown as the world's tallest building; it was displaced in turn by Chicago's
Sears Tower The Willis Tower, formerly and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan ...
in 1973.


Fiscal crisis of 1975

US economic stagnation in the 1970s hit New York City particularly hard, amplified by a large movement of middle-class residents to the suburbs, which drained the city of tax revenue. In February 1975, New York City entered a serious fiscal crisis. Under mayor
Abraham Beame Abraham David Beame (''né'' Birnbaum; March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was an American accountant, investor, and Democratic Party politician who served from 1974 to 1977 as the 104th mayor of New York City. Beame presided over the city during ...
, the city had run out of money to pay for normal operating expenses, was unable to borrow more, and faced the prospect of defaulting on its obligations and declaring bankruptcy. The city admitted an operating deficit of at least $600 million, contributing to a total city debt of more than $11 billion and the city was unable to borrow money from the credit markets. There were numerous reasons for the crisis, including overly optimistic forecasts of revenues, underfunding of pensions, use of capital allocations and reserves for operating costs, and poor budgetary and accounting practices. Another perspective given on this matter is that as the most capitalised city of the United States at that time, New York hosted an array of welfare and benefits for its people, including nineteen public hospitals, mass transit facilities and most importantly, New York City provided higher education for free with the municipal university system. The city government was reluctant to confront municipal labor unions; an announced "hiring freeze" was followed by an increase in city payrolls of 13,000 people in one quarter, and an announced layoff of eight thousand workers resulted in only 436 employees leaving the city government. The first solution proposed was the
Municipal Assistance Corporation A Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC) was an independent New York State public-benefit corporation created by the State of New York for purposes of providing financing assistance and fiscal oversight of a fiscally-distressed city. Two MACs are ...
, which tried to pool the city's money and refinance its heavy debts. It was established on June 10, 1975, with
Felix Rohatyn Felix George Rohatyn ( ; May 29, 1928 – December 14, 2019) was an American investment banker and diplomat. He spent most of his career with Lazard, where he brokered numerous large corporate mergers and acquisitions from the 1960s through ...
as chairman, and a board of nine prominent citizens, eight of whom were bankers. In the meanwhile, the crisis continued to worsen, with the admitted city deficit reaching $750 million; municipal bonds could be sold only at a significant loss to the underwriters. The MAC insisted that the city make major reforms, including a
wage freeze Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually seeking to establish wages and prices below free-market level. Incomes policies have often been resorted to ...
, a major layoff, a subway fare hike, and charging tuition at the
City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
. The New York State Legislature supported the MAC by passing a law converting the city sales tax and stock transfer tax into state taxes, which when collected were then used as security for the MAC bonds. The State of New York also passed a state law that created an Emergency Financial Control Board to monitor the city's finances, required the city to balance its budget within three years, and required the city to follow accepted accounting practices. But even with all of these measures, the value of the MAC bonds dropped in price, and the city struggled to find the money to pay its employees and stay in operation. The MAC sold off $10 billion in bonds. It failed to achieve results quickly and the state came up with a much more drastic solution: the Emergency Financial Control Board (EFCB). It was a state agency, and city officials had only two votes on the seven-member board. The EFCB took full control of the city's budget. It made drastic cuts in municipal services and spending, cut city employment, froze salaries and raised bus and subway fares. The level of welfare spending was cut. Some hospitals were closed as were some branch libraries and fire stations. The labor unions helped out, by allocating much of their pension funds to the purchase of city bonds—putting the pensions at risk if bankruptcy took place. A statement by Mayor Beame was drafted and ready to be released on October 17, 1975, if the teachers' union did not invest $150 million from its pension funds in city securities. "I have been advised by the comptroller that the City of New York has insufficient cash on hand to meet debt obligations due today," the statement said. "This constitutes the default that we have struggled to avoid." The Beame statement was never distributed because
Albert Shanker Albert Shanker (September 14, 1928 – February 22, 1997) was an American union organizer and labor activist. He served as president of the United Federation of Teachers from 1964 to 1985, and president of the American Federation of Teachers (AF ...
, the teachers' union president, finally furnished $150 million from the union's pension fund to buy Municipal Assistance Corporation bonds. Two weeks later, President
Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
angered New Yorkers by refusing to grant the city a bailout. Ford later signed the New York City Seasonal Financing Act of 1975, a congressional bill that extended $2.3 billion worth of federal loans to the city for three years. In return, Congress ordered the city to increase charges for city services, to cancel a wage increase for city employees and to drastically reduce the number of people in its workforce. Rohatyn and the MAC directors persuaded the banks to defer the maturity of the bonds they held and to accept less interest. They also persuaded the city and state employee pension funds to buy MAC bonds to pay off the city's debts. The city government cut the number of its employees by 40,000, deferred the wage increases already agreed to in contracts and kept them below the level of inflation. The loans were repaid with interest.A fiscal conservative, Democrat
Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...
, was elected as mayor in 1977. By 1977–78, New York City had eliminated its short-term debt. By 1985, the City no longer needed the support of the Municipal Assistance Corporation, and it voted itself out of existence.


Blackout

The
New York City blackout of 1977 The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which ...
struck on July 13 of that year and lasted for 25 hours, during which black and Hispanic neighborhoods fell prey to destruction and looting. Over 3,000 people were arrested, and the city's already crowded prisons were so overburdened that some suggested reopening the recently condemned Manhattan Detention Complex. The financial crisis, high crime rates, and damage from the blackouts led to a widespread belief that New York City was in irreversible decline and beyond redemption. By the end of the 1970s, nearly a million people had left, a population loss that would not be recouped for another twenty years. To Jonathan Mahler, the chronicler of ''
The Bronx is Burning ''The Bronx Is Burning'' (stylized as ''The Bronx is Burning'') is an American drama television series that debuted on ESPN on July 10, 2007, after the 2007 MLB Home Run Derby. It is an eight-episode mini-series adapted from Jonathan Mahler's ...
'', "The clinical term for it, ''fiscal crisis,'' didn't approach the raw reality. ''Spiritual crisis'' was more like it."


See also

* American urban history * Timeline of New York City, 1950s–1970s * 1949 New York City mayoral election * 1953 New York City mayoral election * 1957 New York City mayoral election *
1961 New York City mayoral election The 1961 New York City mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 1961. Incumbent mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. was decisively re-elected to a third term in office, defeating Attorney General of New York Louis J. Lefkowitz and City Compt ...
*
1965 New York City mayoral election The 1965 New York City mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 2, 1965, with Republican Congressman John Lindsay winning a close plurality victory over the Democratic candidate, New York City Comptroller Abraham Beame. Lindsay recei ...
*
1969 New York City mayoral election The 1969 New York City mayoral election occurred on Tuesday, November 4, 1969, with incumbent Liberal Party Mayor John Lindsay elected to a second term. Lindsay defeated the Democratic candidate, New York City Comptroller Mario Procaccino, a ...
* 1973 New York City mayoral election * 1977 New York City mayoral election


References


Bibliography

* Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. ''The Encyclopedia of New York City'' (Yale University Press, 1995) 1350 pages; articles by experts; 2nd expanded edition 2010, 1585pp
online and can be downloaded
* Brecher, Charles, et al. ''Power Failure: New York City Politics and Policy since 1960'' (Oxford University Press, 1993) 420 pages
online edition
* Burns, Ric, and James Sanders. ''New York: An Illustrated History'' (2003), large-scale book version of Burns PBS documentary, New York: A Documentary Film an eight part, 17½ hour documentary film directed by
Ric Burns Ric Burns (Eric Burns, born 1955) is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. He has written, directed and produced historical documentaries since the 1990s, beginning with his collaboration on the celebrated PBS series '' The Civil War'' (1 ...
for
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
. It originally aired in 1999 with additional episodes airing in 2001 and 2003. * Cannato, Vincent J. ''The ungovernable city: John Lindsay and his struggle to save New York'' (2001) * Colgrove, James. "Reform and its discontents: public health in New York City during the Great Society." ''Journal of policy history'' (2007) 19#1 pp: 3–28
online
* Flanagan, Richard M. ''Robert Wagner and the Rise of New York City's Plebiscitary Mayoralty: The Tamer of the Tammany Tiger'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) * Freeman, Joshua B. ''Working-class New York: life and labor since World War II'' (2001) * Gratz, Roberta Brandes. ''The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs'' (Nation Books, 2011) * Haslip-Viera, Gabriel. ''Boricuas In Gothamed: Puerto Ricans In The Making Of New York City'' (2004) * Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel, and Robert Raddick. ''Gotham unbound: How New York city was liberated from the grip of organized crime'' (NYU Press, 2001) * Korrol, Virginia Sanchez and Pedro Juan Hernandez. ''Pioneros II: Puerto Ricans in New York City, 1948–1998'' (2010), 127pp * Levinson, Marc. "Container Shipping and the Decline of New York, 1955–1975." ''Business History Review'' (2006) 80#1 pp: 49–80. * Lagumina, Salvator. '' New York at Mid-Century: The Impellitteri Years'' (1992), He was Mayor in 1950–53 * Mahler, Jonathan. ''The Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City'' (2006) * Mollenkopf, John, ed. ''Power, Culture, and Place'' (Russell Sage Foundation, 1988) * Morris, Charles R. ''The cost of good intentions: New York City and the liberal experiment, 1960–1975'' (1981). * Orlebeke, Charles J. "Saving New York: The Ford Administration and the New York City Fiscal Crisis," in Alexej Ugrinsky and Bernard J. Firestone eds. ''Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America - Vol. 2'' (1993) pp 359–85 With commentary by Abraham D. Beame, Hugh L. Carey, et al. pp 386–41
online
* Plunz, Richard. ''A history of housing in New York City'' (Columbia UP, 2018). * Podair, Jerald E. '' The Strike That Changed New York: Blacks, Whites, and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Crisis'' (Yale University Press, 2008) * Roberts, Sam, ed. ''America's Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York'' (2010) Essays on multiple topics, well illustrated * Samuel, Lawrence R. ''New York City 1964: A Cultural History'' (McFarland, 2014) * Sayre, Wallace S. and Herbert Kaufman, ''Governing New York City: Politics in the Metropolis'' (1965) 782pp * Shefter, Martin. ''Political crisis/fiscal crisis: The collapse and revival of New York City'' (Columbia University Press, 1992) * Shelton, Jon. "Dropping Dead: Teachers, the New York City Fiscal Crisis, and Austerity" in Shelton, ''Teacher Strike! Public Education and the Making of a New American Political Order'' (U of Illinois Press, 2017) pp 114–142
excerpt
* Taylor, Clarence, ed. ''Civil Rights in New York City: From World War II to the Giuliani Era'' (Oxford University Press, 2011) * Thomas, Lorrin. ''Puerto Rican citizen: history and political identity in twentieth-century New York City'' (University of Chicago Press, 2010) * Tochterman, Brian L. ''The Dying City: Postwar New York and the Ideology of Fear'' (2017), Covers late 1940s to the 1980s * Viteritti, Joseph P. ''Summer in the City: John Lindsay, New York, and the American Dream'' (2014) Essays by scholars evaluate politics, race relations, finance, public management, architecture, economic development, and the arts. * Wollman, Elizabeth L. ''Hard Times: The Adult Musical in 1970s New York City'' (Oxford University Press, 2013)


External links


"What Does It Take To Get A Decent Apartment In The Big Apartment Squeeze?"
''New York'' Magazine, September 30, 1968 issue.


Chronology

{{DEFAULTSORT:History of New York City (1946-1977) *07 20th century in New York City