Customer Reviews

Show Me A Hero

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3 star:		(1)
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Show Me a Hero is a stunningly complicated story about a simple everyday need: shelter. The youngest mayor of a city whose heyday passed long ago struggles to implement a judge's order to build housing for the poor on the city's historically white, middle class east side. Belkin takes the reader inside City Hall, underscoring the petty fights and politics, balancing the ridiculousness with moving tales of those who fight the housing to protect what's theirs, and of the women struggling to provide adequate housing for their children despite poverty, errant men, and poor health. There are surprising twists and turns, with a heartbreaking end that brings tears to the eyes of the most jaded reader.

One may not think a story of segregation would be that engrossing, but Ms. Belkin had a way of capturing the story from numerous angles. For instance, the author described the political climate and the history of Yonkers so well you could almost feel like you were there and you knew the individuals involved in the conflict. She describes how the youngest mayor ever elected to office in a city as large as Yonkers had an uphill battle from the time he was inaugurated. The struggle between the young mayor, Nick Wasicsko, his city council, and the judge that declared Yonkers to be guilty of deliberately discriminating against minorities, was fascinating. The tension between the warring parties held my attention.

Ms. Belkin continues to appeal to the reader by describing individuals living in Yonkers' public housing system. I began to understand their plight and how desperate they were to get out of a bad arrangement. Even though there are many characters introduced in this story, it is easy to keep track of them because Ms. Belkin does a wonderful job of describing them in detail and personalizing their quandary in the housing projects.

Lisa Belkin takes a subject which is potentially dry, and "not in my backyard," and leaves us informed and enlightened. She interweaves the personal stories of those whose futures were directly involved with the building of public housing in a middle-class neighborhood, while informing the reader about city politics in Yonkers, and the enigmatic young politician who tried to navigate them. Definitely recommended reading.

"Show Me A Hero" is a compelling story of public housing reform that went on in Yonkers, New York from 1988-1998. The author told the story in a very captivating way, giving the insight of several people, not only the political perspective, but also from the perspective of the people that lived in the public housing. The city of Yonkers was handed down a court order that it had to build public housing on the white, middle-class part of town. This became a huge political battle and nearly ripped the town apart, while eventually ruining the career of the then mayor, Nick Wasicsko. As much as the white, middle-class residents didn't want the new public housing complexes in their neighborhoods, the people living in the public housing really would have preferred to be surrounded by their own. They felt uncomfortable and like they were not part of the community. This story closely follows the lives of several families who moved from the run down public housing to the new housing, townhouses, that they hoped would offer them a better life. Many times these people felt more threatened and afraid in their new homes in the middle-class neighborhood, than they did in their old apartments that were surrounded by violence and drugs. It was very interesting to get some understanding of the vicious cycle that poverty can create--children having children, absent fathers, the sick and elderly, all contributing to these lifestyles. Lisa Belkin wrote this story using a combination of documented facts, common knowledge on how people felt, and did so from a journalistic approach. This is the result of six years of work she did observing, researching and following these families. I think Yonkers did a lot of things right, and also has a lot to teach the rest of the country about how to do it better.

I found this book to be very entertaining and would recommend it.

A well done look at the diversifying of America. Lisa Belkin, a NY Times reporter, gives us this look at the city of Yonkers, NY and the ramifications of a Federal Court Justice requiring said city to provide public housing on it's East Side, the good side of the tracks.

Belkin has taken the events in a chronological order from many different views: Nicholas Wasiscko, voted in as the youngest mayor of any major U.S. city; Judge Sand, the Federal Court Justice; Mary Dorman, a citizen from the East Side who joined in with the protestors; Alma Febles, a single mother with young children from the West Side; and Norma O'Neal, a health care provider from the West Side who's eyesight was deteriorating at a rapid rate are some of the main characters in this unfolding crisis.

The United States Justice Department filed suit against the city of Yonkers and was soon joined by the Yonkers Branch of the N.A.A.C.P. in claiming that the city had systematically kept the Black citizens down by continuing to provide Public Housing on the West Side of the city only. They claimed this created a ghetto environment that led to a lack of advancement of the population. When Judge Sand issued his 163 page opinion, it quickly became a hot topic within the city residents and the upcoming Mayoral and Council race debates.

Nicholas Wasiscko, who had wanted to be the mayor of Yonkers since his early teens, saw this as a means of separating his views from his opponents and declared he would not follow the decision if elected. The election was a very close one, but he won. As he began overseeing new city council meetings, large throngs of citizens began appearing and protesting the ruling.

Eventually, the City lost all of its fights within the court system and Nicholas decided it was time to do the right thing as mayor and be a leader where necessary. He pushed for acceptance and compliance with the ruling. This led to many confrontations for him within his city council and outside with the citizenry.

The plan was for three sets of townhouses to be built on the East Side and a lottery of eligible West Side project residents that would determine who would live in them. The stories of Alma Febles and Norma O'Neal are followed closely for the ten year process from the beginning of this book to the end. Mary Dorman's metamorphoses from protestor to integrator to cheerleader of the West Enders.

Belkin does a wonderful job of allowing the reader to make their own decision as to whether or not the decision by the judge was correct or not; whether or not the plan worked. She gets all of the facts in place and does so chronologically. The participants become more well rounded as one goes through the book. It is very cleanly written; she takes a large amount of information and dispenses it clearly. Even with the numerous sides to the story, it doesn't wander into various tales; Belkin keeps the reader on the important track.

3.5 stars