New Book Details New York's Growing Inequality since 1974

According to a June Brooklyn Rail article, "The "Greening" of New York City", New York labor activist Kim Moody's new book, From Welfare State to Real Estate: Regime Change in New York City, 1974 to the Present, provides an excellent analysis of the growing income inequality in New York's five boroughs since the mid-1970s. Moody argues that the city's notorious fiscal crisis during that year sent tremors through municipal officials which led them to take a drastic, more corporatist policy turn. Richard Wells, the author of the review, juxtaposes Moody's narrative within the context of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's recently released 25 year vision for the city, PlaNYC. Interestingly enough, the plan does not address the fact that New York City's poverty rate, 22 percent, is now twice the national average and that the top 20 percent of of New York earners now make 52 times more than the bottom 20 percent. The Mayor's plan seems to get mixed reviews across Gotham's political spectrum - see links below.

• Congestion Pricing: Good Policy for New York's Middle Class (Drum Major Institute for Public Policy)
• Fiscal Impact of PlaNYC (Gotham Gazette)