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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
I could almost feel the spittle across my face as I read - it was that good. Acerbic, unforgiving, and the history lesson I needed.
This was alright, but I wish I had just read the power broker instead.
more sentimental less material than some of the other books ive read re: gentrification - i’d recommend p. e. moskowitz’s how to kill a city over this - but with some interesting particulars about ny. i remember when 5 pointz was whitewashed
The book of my heart. A must-read for anyone who loves or lives in New York.
I want everyone who loves NYC to read this. Wonderful scholarship in a readable format.
He makes a good case for the old New York and points out all the naive well intentioned people who ended up making things worse. But little on what to do next. Never go to Starbucks in NYC
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I've never read a book that made me so happy and so sad all at once. Moss captured everything I've ever felt about the status of NYC. The hyper gentrification is alarming and it continues to break my heart to see the city change into something unsightly. Transplants trying to make it feel "like home" or commercializing areas to the point it doesnt look like what it once was, and its not a complement.
I wish this this didnt have to be written, but it is a reality that many of us true yorkers live.
I wish this this didnt have to be written, but it is a reality that many of us true yorkers live.
First of all, this is a beautifully written book. In every page, you can feel Jeremiah's love for the city. As a former honorary Brooklynite, I could get a sense of the points he makes in the book. However, falls short documenting the things that were not so good back in the days: crime rates for example. As other reviewers stated, it romanticizes the past and demonizes the present. It leaves you with a helpless feeling.
I get it when he frames the gentrification issue as something beyond individuals and puts the heavyweight on the real state agency and big banks. However, there are parts of it where it feels just as a complaint against "newcomers" It doesn't matter where they come from. Who is a welcome newcomer then?
A must-read, though.
I get it when he frames the gentrification issue as something beyond individuals and puts the heavyweight on the real state agency and big banks. However, there are parts of it where it feels just as a complaint against "newcomers" It doesn't matter where they come from. Who is a welcome newcomer then?
A must-read, though.