The Burning of the Bronx: Reconstructing a Decade of Abandonment, Arson, and Reform

Benjamin Holtzman — 2026-05-26T05:00:00Z

Between 1970 and 1981, the Bronx lost one out of every five units of housing to abandonment and arson. But why did the Bronx burn? Bench Ansfield reconstructs this largely forgotten period in the borough's history and its relevance to enduring struggles for housing, racial, and economic justice.
Bronx landlord Carmine Lanni knew that even amid New York City's 1970s fiscal crisis you could still make money off of the poor. Lanni began purchasing cheap, low-income buildings and collecting rent

- Reviews / housing, Bronx, New York, United States, displacement, FIRE (finance, insurance and real estate), fires, arson

New York's de Blasio bargains with FIRE

Tom Waters — 2015-06-16T05:00:00Z

Frantic deal-making over an obscure but costly New York City real-estate tax incentive (421‑a) provides a window into the politics of Mayor Bill de Blasio's attempt to implement a progressive urban policy agenda. The mayor hopes to deliver on campaign promises to combat economic inequality while sustaining growth. But his valuable political relationships with real-estate developers pose a challenge to his bid to bring development and redistribution into the same policy universe. Tom Waters shows

- Debates / housing policy, United States, real estate, New York, affordable housing, 421-a, real-estate industry, New York City housing policy, FIRE (finance, insurance and real estate), growth coalition, de Blasio administration, Bloomberg

Metropolitics

The Burning of the Bronx: Reconstructing a Decade of Abandonment, Arson, and Reform

New York's de Blasio bargains with FIRE