2014 Shaping the Future of New York Fridays: 11:00-1:45 Boylan Hall, 2231

One of the most important ideas that weaves through the various readings we have been assigned is the idea of cause and effect. Our sociological structure is so fragile, made up of so many interconnecting pieces, that when abused, tragedy ensues. The fields of sociology and public health are all about identifying these relationships and coming up with ideas to repair the social structure. Ghost Map provided us with our first example: raw sewage mixed with the drinking water supply can cause a cholera epidemic. Root Shock provided us with another: the disruption of communities can cause an increase in mental illness and AIDS in the people who are displaced. And now Roderick Wallace gives us another, even more sinister example- when fire safety services are deliberately cut from disadvantaged areas, the rate of urban decay and the amount of AIDS diagnoses both increase significantly.

But there are important differences in readings like Ghost Map and readings like Wallace’s article- like the idea of deliberate action. The further we’ve gotten in the semester, the more we’ve seen an active hand in these cause and effect relationships; a level of deliberate action on the part of some dominating authority that endangers the minority. The New Jim Crow brought a myriad examples of court cases and legal practices that demonstrated how white law enforcement deliberately traps minorities like blacks in a vicious cycle of drugs, incarceration and poverty. While our focus as sociological thinkers should certainly be on how to solve the issues we have been reading about, another idea to ponder is how to put an end to the deliberate side of the cause and effect cycle, to identify and take punitive action against the policies and ideas that have a hand in causing these public health issues.

I was incredibly taken aback by the enormous amount of evidence (that is still growing, mind you) that points to our own government ‘aid’ systems that were essentially plotting the demise of an extremely populous, and largely African American borough. How was it deemed necessary to slowly dwindle away a population that (while slightly overcrowded) was not a nuisance to other borough’s and was doing well for itself despite the squalid conditions of the Bronx ghettos. How could a fire department turn a blind eye to the needs of an entire community? This takes injustice to the point of no return. We are no longer speaking of injustice, we are speaking of systematic mass destruction. As with the case of the Native Americans when Europeans first set foot on American soil. They were plotting the demise of this population as well. If it got in the way of land that they wanted, then the population would need extermination. Yet how can a system, that we are supposed to trust, be that simple with its thoughts and that inhumane with its actions? It’s a startling fact to consider, but it MUST be taken into account as we go about our daily lives. We must take action to REVERSE these government implementations and help the life around us flourish. I am more than disheartened by this reading, I was rather crushed by it. And i’m sure my feelings in no way come close to mimicing the feelings of all those who lost their friends, family, and loved ones in this untimely manner.
Annaliisa

The essence of “planned shrinkage” is so fundamentally contrary to everything public service has come to represent. City services like fire protection and police patrols are meant as the means towards improving and ensuring the health and safety of a community. The departments were not intended to be used as leverage to target and exile poverty-stricken, minority populations. As the first “core value” of its mission statement, the New York City Fire Department proclaims: “The Department continues its unwavering call to protect and serve.” Apparently, the writers of the statement are guilty of lying by omission. In its entirety, the declaration should read: “The Department continues its unwavering call to protect and serve the best interests of whatever massive and corrupt corporation is currently “invested” in our city government.”

From a capitalist perspective the concept of “planned shrinkage” makes perfect sense. From a humane perspective it is simply mind-boggling. Though the copious amount of numbers and statistics did much to dull my response to the sheer cruelty implied by the public policy, at its core, “planned shrinkage” is repugnant.  It might as well be labeled “premeditated murder.” The sudden removal of fire patrols from the South Bronx, the neighborhood seemingly most desperately in need of the protection, appears like nothing more than a deliberate attempt to inflict as great a population loss as possible on the blighted community. As a city, you should probably recognize you’ve gone a bit off the deep end when your public policy most closely resembles that of a Batman villain. “Gotham’s time has come…It is beyond saving and must be allowed to die.”- Liam Neeson, Batman Begins