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How East New York Became a Ghetto Paperback – April 1, 2005

4.5 out of 5 stars 24

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In response to the riots of the mid-‘60s, Walter Thabit was hired to work with the community of East New York to develop a plan for low- and moderate-income public housing. In the years that followed, he experienced first-hand the forces that had engineered East New York’s dramatic decline and that continued to work against its successful revitalization. How East New York Became a Ghetto describes the shift of East New York from a working-class immigrant neighborhood to a largely black and Puerto Rican neighborhood and shows how the resulting racially biased policies caused the deterioration of this once flourishing area.
A clear-sighted, unflinching look at one ghetto community,
How East New York Became a Ghetto provides insights and observations on the histories and fates of ghettos throughout the United States.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Walter Thabit eloquently tells the story of East New York, a neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn, complementing his close observation of events in the neighborhood with astute analyses of the bearing of larger forces on this big city slum. Events in East New York reveal in microcosm the turbulent national forces that have determined the fate of inner city ghettos across the country over the past 40 years." -- from the Foreword by Frances Fox Piven

"Thabit emphasizes the central role of local institutions in contributing to urban disinvestment and decline" ―
Journal of Urban History

"Walter Thabit has written a highly personal and compelling piece of retrospective analysis" ―
Journal of the American Planning Association

"Thabits writing is lucid and heartfelt." ―
Urban Studies

"An excellent source of data and intelligence on the formation of ghettos and the life and struggle within them" ―
Science & Society

About the Author

Walter Thabit has 35 years of experience in housing, renewal, community planning, city planning, and anti-poverty projects. He lives in New York City.

Frances Fox Piven is Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the Graduate School, City University of New York. She is coeditor of Work, Welfare and Politics. Her other award-winning books include Regulating the Poor, Why Americans Don't Vote, and Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail (all with Richard Cloward).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New York University Press (April 1, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0814782671
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0814782675
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 24

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
24 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2020
I'm researching East New York, and this book is a treasure. I wish the author was alive so I could thank him.
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2014
This book has been critiqued as inaccurate I say nonsense this book is must have for anyone that cares about the dark side of urban renewal. How East New York became a ghetto is a must.
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2014
Although this book is 14 years old, it has been very on the spot in terms of its prognostication of inner city social problems still prevalent in this very day. A must read for "sociology buffs"
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2016
Hard to turn the pages with such riveting and disheartening facts about race in America.
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2015
True account of how federal policies destabilized once solid neighborhoods, and the sad fate of the people most affected.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2005
In this very readable book Walter Thabit describes the decline and rebirth of East New York. It is both readable and methodical in desribing how real estate, politics (from the federal level to the community school board)and prejudice (economic and racial) destroyed a viable community. Special interests groups from community based organizations to the teachers unions to uniformed city workers worked against the best interests of the community.

The good news is that East New York is on the rise. The efforts of long time community residents and faith based organizations have made this a community for those on their way to achieving the American dream of if not home ownership, a decent place to live. How East New York Became a Ghetto is instructive in how community residents must organize themselves and align the best interests of their communities to prevent this kind of debacle from happening in their own backyard.
8 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2006
The author reveals his bias, apologistic views, ultra-political correctness, and lack of understanding of Economics 101 from the very get-go. And goes downhill from there. Yes I'm sure there has been corruption and mis-management by the "authorities" and community groups (past and present) alike, but that is tangential to the demise of ENY. I was there. If you have rent control, landlords cannot and will not invest or maintain. When housing stock deteriorates, only those who cannot afford better will remain or move in, thus giving rise to a heavy concentration of the poor and uneducated. In turn, this leads to frustration, crime, further flight of the true working class (the old East New York), and inevitable decline. Is it reversible? I hope so. But the author's schemes are nothing more than code for welfare. And that does not work. The author's views on education, law enforcement, et al, follow a similar path - PC at the expense of reality
18 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2020
Williamsburg brooklyn resident, moved to the city 3.5 years ago to pursue an artist path. Saw someone reading this book on the L train and the title piqued my interest. It is a very interesting read and a case study in ghettoization. But as a lefty liberal who has zero experience working in either politics, city government, or urban planning, the book gets boggled in statistics in acronym that take away from the raw story that has unfolded in this neighborhood since the 60s.