Although Mayor Bill de Blasio had good intentions when he decided to build and protect 200,000 units of affordable housing in East Harlem he disregarded one important factor during his planning process: the residents’ voices.  After reading both “How East Harlem Wrote Its Own Development Plan,” by Oscar Perry Abello, and “Affordable Housing’s Forever Solution,” …

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Much of the “rejuvenation” of Times Square to return it to the Great White Way was for what politicians claimed would be to make the area a family-friendly entertainment space, and to reduce violence, perversion, and prostitution.  In fact, Alexander J. Reichl, the author of Reconstructing Times Square: Politics and Culture in Urban Development, revered …

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