Show Me a Hero

As a former resident of Yonkers, who gave Mayor Nick (as we kids called him) a tour of my high school as a young man, this was an extremely well researched and documented look back on a blight in the citys messy history. Yonkers has always had a troubled history with race and as a white man who grew up in the troubled Nodine Hill area, this indeed brought back many horrifying memories, but also the resilience of those who experience poverty and a city that had an inability to assist and welcome them. Judge Sand and Nick Wasicsko were both true heroes who overcame the bigotry of Yonkers, one that is far from being eliminated from the area still today. Lisa Belkin did a great job in telling this story and the miniseries was also outstanding.

As a more recent resident of Yonkers, the book gave me a terrific understanding of the dynamics of creating additional affordable housing. I appreciated the perspective of the various individuals involved from the Judge, the Mayor, Councilman and citizens for and against. The view from the people in the housing projects were ones that more affluent Americans are spared from having to experience and that was also important. The weakest part of the book was whether or not the scattered housing plan has been a success both in Yonkers but also in metropolitan areas around the country. Westchester County, which includes Yonkers, haas been under federal pressure to produce affordable housing and seems to skate by year after year.

A truly riveting book that should be read by anyone who lives in a city with public housing, and perhaps even those who don’t. Belkin writes beautifully, and more importantly, authentically – without prejudice. Through her descriptions of the various players’ evolution of thought, she leads the reader to a poignant understanding of the realities of minorities in poverty, busting critical myths and stereotypes. If the leaders of every community learned the significant lessons present in this book, we could virtually eliminate prejudice and segregation, I am certain!

Since this was a story about my hometown, where it was also filmed, I had to watch it. I do remember those times back then when everyone was in an uproar over the low income housing issue. I don’t seem to recall some of the violent scenes in the movie though and that was pretty shocking to me…..All in all, everything turned out ok.

The book is compelling and an insightful take on public housing in the 1980s. There is a reason that projects are being torn down all across the country!

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