New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation
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- Create Date：2021-05-13 11:51:28
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Thomas Dyja
- ISBN：1982149787
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Summary
A lively， immersive history by an award-winning urbanist of New York City’s transformation， and the lessons it offers for the city’s future。
Dangerous， filthy， and falling apart， garbage piled on its streets and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble; New York’s terrifying， if liberating， state of nature in 1978 also made it the capital of American culture。 Over the next thirty-plus years， though， it became a different place—kinder and meaner， richer and poorer， more like America and less like what it had always been。
New York， New York， New York， Thomas Dyja’s sweeping account of this metamorphosis， shows it wasn’t the work of a single policy， mastermind， or economic theory， nor was it a morality tale of gentrification or crime。 Instead， three New Yorks evolved in turn。 After brutal retrenchment came the dazzling Koch Renaissance and the Dinkins years that left the city’s liberal traditions battered but laid the foundation for the safe streets and dotcom excess of Giuliani’s Reformation in the ‘90s。 Then the planes hit on 9/11。 The shaky city handed itself over to Bloomberg who merged City Hall into his personal empire， launching its Reimagination。 From Hip Hop crews to Wall Street bankers， D。V。 to Jay-Z， Dyja weaves New Yorkers famous， infamous， and unknown—Yuppies， hipsters， tech nerds， and artists; community organizers and the immigrants who made this a truly global place—into a narrative of a city creating ways of life that would ultimately change cities everywhere。
With great success， though， came grave mistakes。 The urbanism that reclaimed public space became a means of control， the police who made streets safe became an occupying army， technology went from a means to the end。 Now， as anxiety fills New Yorker’s hearts and empties its public spaces， it’s clear that what brought the city back—proximity， density， and human exchange—are what sent Covid-19 burning through its streets， and the price of order has come due。 A fourth evolution is happening and we must understand that the greatest challenge ahead is the one New York failed in the first three: The cures must not be worse than the disease。
Exhaustively researched， passionately told， New York， New York， New York is a colorful， inspiring guide to not just rebuilding but reimagining a great city。
Dangerous， filthy， and falling apart， garbage piled on its streets and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble; New York’s terrifying， if liberating， state of nature in 1978 also made it the capital of American culture。 Over the next thirty-plus years， though， it became a different place—kinder and meaner， richer and poorer， more like America and less like what it had always been。
New York， New York， New York， Thomas Dyja’s sweeping account of this metamorphosis， shows it wasn’t the work of a single policy， mastermind， or economic theory， nor was it a morality tale of gentrification or crime。 Instead， three New Yorks evolved in turn。 After brutal retrenchment came the dazzling Koch Renaissance and the Dinkins years that left the city’s liberal traditions battered but laid the foundation for the safe streets and dotcom excess of Giuliani’s Reformation in the ‘90s。 Then the planes hit on 9/11。 The shaky city handed itself over to Bloomberg who merged City Hall into his personal empire， launching its Reimagination。 From Hip Hop crews to Wall Street bankers， D。V。 to Jay-Z， Dyja weaves New Yorkers famous， infamous， and unknown—Yuppies， hipsters， tech nerds， and artists; community organizers and the immigrants who made this a truly global place—into a narrative of a city creating ways of life that would ultimately change cities everywhere。
With great success， though， came grave mistakes。 The urbanism that reclaimed public space became a means of control， the police who made streets safe became an occupying army， technology went from a means to the end。 Now， as anxiety fills New Yorker’s hearts and empties its public spaces， it’s clear that what brought the city back—proximity， density， and human exchange—are what sent Covid-19 burning through its streets， and the price of order has come due。 A fourth evolution is happening and we must understand that the greatest challenge ahead is the one New York failed in the first three: The cures must not be worse than the disease。
Exhaustively researched， passionately told， New York， New York， New York is a colorful， inspiring guide to not just rebuilding but reimagining a great city。
Reviews
Jim Diver
，
If you love NYC， get this book ASAP。 Extremely readable and packed with insight。 His recap of 9/11 alone is worth the price of the book。 If you’ve been following NYC for the past few decades， this book will bring back memories of why， although far from perfect， it remains the best city in the world。
Jack
，
Well researched， passionate， slightly snarky。 I am a New York City native but left in 1988。 I have a long standing interest in the City and this fascinated me。
Jake
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I've waited a long time for a book like this。I've always wanted to know how New York City became NEW YORK CITY！ in its modern day form。 How it "came back" from its struggling 70s and who benefitted versus who got left behind。 I was hoping for something in scope that could synthesize politics with culture。Thomas Dyja does that and so much more in a delightfully readable， single volume。 Dense but easy to engage with， this book starts from the beginning of the Koch era all the way up to Covid-19 an I've waited a long time for a book like this。I've always wanted to know how New York City became NEW YORK CITY！ in its modern day form。 How it "came back" from its struggling 70s and who benefitted versus who got left behind。 I was hoping for something in scope that could synthesize politics with culture。Thomas Dyja does that and so much more in a delightfully readable， single volume。 Dense but easy to engage with， this book starts from the beginning of the Koch era all the way up to Covid-19 and the George Floyd protests。 Along the way， Dyja does a fantastic job at showing how the worlds of art， finance， crime， governance and， sometimes， sports transition the way they do。New York City's history is tough to pin down but Dyja does it effectively so in a mere 414 pages。 I got insight into how policing shifted， how elites reacted to changes， how art was made and then co-opted and cannibalized by the rich， how Brooklyn （specifically Williamsburg） came to be， how each Mayor leveraged power， rising and falling with the tides。It's definitely Manhattan-centric （Staten Island barely gets a mention） and probably focuses too much on the behavior of the elite and creative classes but Dyja knows instinctively that New York City's perception， for better and for worse， is founded on examining both。This was cruising to an easy five-star read until the last couple of chapters。 The final Bloomberg years aren't really fleshed out and he gives but lip service to the de Blasio ones。 While the histories of those terms are obviously still being written and examined， I would've preferred a little more detail。 He also closes with his views on what New York City needs to become which， while I found myself mostly agreeing with him， was too broad of a shift away from the central nature of the book。So it barely misses out on 5-star greatness but for those who want a good history of recent New York， this is the book to read。 。。。more
Phil
，
This book is really great at setting a scene and giving you a hint of the sights， sounds， and feeling of different times in NYC。 It was bad at going into detail on any single story。 I found myself learning about a developer or a riot and then Googling it because I hadn’t gotten enough information about it in this book。 I believe setting the scene was Dyja’s goal， so I have to give him credit for accomplishing it。 It just left me wanting more at times。I kept comparing this book to Campanella’s Br This book is really great at setting a scene and giving you a hint of the sights， sounds， and feeling of different times in NYC。 It was bad at going into detail on any single story。 I found myself learning about a developer or a riot and then Googling it because I hadn’t gotten enough information about it in this book。 I believe setting the scene was Dyja’s goal， so I have to give him credit for accomplishing it。 It just left me wanting more at times。I kept comparing this book to Campanella’s Brooklyn: The Once and Future City， and it kept losing that battle。 Read Brooklyn first if you’re looking for a history of NYC。 。。。more
Chris
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This book is hard to categorize。It's definitely not a history of NYC。It has analysis， but its not really a social commentary。It uses the four main mayorties of the time period， but doesn't dwell on them。I guess its mostly a urban memoir with large doses of nostalgia。An earlier review mentioned that if you aren't from New York， Its rough and you will be constantly referring to Wikipedia for fairly arcane NYC details。 I couldn't agree more。I'm not a NYC obsessionist by any stretch， but I have gott This book is hard to categorize。It's definitely not a history of NYC。It has analysis， but its not really a social commentary。It uses the four main mayorties of the time period， but doesn't dwell on them。I guess its mostly a urban memoir with large doses of nostalgia。An earlier review mentioned that if you aren't from New York， Its rough and you will be constantly referring to Wikipedia for fairly arcane NYC details。 I couldn't agree more。I'm not a NYC obsessionist by any stretch， but I have gotten most of my news from NYC sources for my whole life and that was enough of a background to make this book highly enjoyable。 I'm a little younger than Dyja， who must be around 60， but my frame of reference is similar。He starts with Ed Koch and works his way progressively through Bloomberg （with a Diblasio epilogue）。 Dyja probably spends more time than I wanted on city politics but he uses the 4 mayors as kind of the skeleton of the story， so I forgive him。 He works in different story lines of homosexual rights/AIDS， art， music （focusing on Hip-Hop mostly as a born in the Bronx world-wide phenomenon）， business， city planning， the litany of police brutality cases and policing issues， and a sprinkling of sports。 IDK， but he may have literally gone over sequential newspaper headlines for ideas on material to include。It works because Dyja can write。 His descriptions are evocative， apposite， and often hilarious。 Nobody， certainly not I， will agree with him in all of his tastes on these topics。 Don't look for deep consideration of any given issue but more of a broad look at many issues as the city developed。 Central to the book is the question of how the city that Gerald Ford told to "drop dead" and Jimmy Carter used as the pathetic backdrop to illustrate "Urban Blight" （remember that term？） re-established itself as the capital of the world （that's what our local Spanish language radio station calls it "El capital del mundo"）？ I always emphasize to the younger generations that ABSOLUTELY nobody in 1978 was saying "Sure Times Sqaure is a squalid pisshole and Central Park isn't even safe to walk in but， you just wait， it will be Disney World in 20 years。" Its really an incredible story and Dyja tells it well。 。。。more
Dennis
，
Having read the author's excellent Third Coast， his history of Chicago， I was really looking forward to reading this。 As a native New Yorker who worked as a concrete inspector during the summers of two years in four of the five boroughs and who visited family in New York regularly for many years and continued to visit the city thereafter， I was eager to learn more detail about what had been taking place all around me at the time。 Well， this book isn't history as I know it。 It is a litany of name Having read the author's excellent Third Coast， his history of Chicago， I was really looking forward to reading this。 As a native New Yorker who worked as a concrete inspector during the summers of two years in four of the five boroughs and who visited family in New York regularly for many years and continued to visit the city thereafter， I was eager to learn more detail about what had been taking place all around me at the time。 Well， this book isn't history as I know it。 It is a litany of names of people， places and organizations with little background on who or what they are and how they came to be what they are。 We do learn why they are important， but you would have to have been a "player" among these to hope to begin to follow the developments described， the background and significance of which aren't always made clear。 There are passages which simply amount to a long list of these entities engaged in one thing or another， but you need a scorecard to keep track of who or what they are。 Some sections are of course better than others and I did glean enough to understand the genesis and development of the High Line， for example， also one of my favorite parts of today's New York， a totally brilliant concept。 It's too bad Chicago's 606 hasn't turned out as well， but over time it may， I suppose。 Trying to follow Dyja's description of the wrangling regarding what to develop at Ground Zero was an exercise in confusion。 I tried looking at images on the web to help make sense of it to no avail。 Mostly I came away with a "sense" of what was going going in NY at various times and what each mayor was like。 。。。more
Joe Meyers
，
Awesome look at the changes in New York City since the 1970s when the city was in a steep decline。 The author studies such momentous events as the AIDS crisis， the rise of capitalist symbols such as Donald Trump and Leona Helmsley， 9/11， and the rise of various pop culture movements。The book starts with the ‘I Love New York’ campaign and jingle designed to bring tourists back to the city。 He takes us through the financial renaissance right up to the new challenges presented by the pandemic lockd Awesome look at the changes in New York City since the 1970s when the city was in a steep decline。 The author studies such momentous events as the AIDS crisis， the rise of capitalist symbols such as Donald Trump and Leona Helmsley， 9/11， and the rise of various pop culture movements。The book starts with the ‘I Love New York’ campaign and jingle designed to bring tourists back to the city。 He takes us through the financial renaissance right up to the new challenges presented by the pandemic lockdown of the city last year。 The author presents urban history in a very stylish and readable form。 It belongs on the book shelf next to ‘The Power Broker。’ 。。。more
Mark Clennon
，
If you’re not from New York or lived here for a significant amount of time， you’re not going to like this book。 If you have though， it is fascinating。
Jeremy Silverman
，
I loved this book。I grew up in the ‘60s and ‘70s in what was then at best the outer fringe of suburban New York。 For many of my peers， the city was a far-off， dirty， and dangerous place of little interest。 But for me， it always carried an undeniable， magnetic charge。 Crossing the George Washington Bridge was entering into a fantastic and fabulous amusement park where anything might happen。 So， naturally， after graduating college （Oberlin）， I moved into the city in 1978 and never left。 This nearl I loved this book。I grew up in the ‘60s and ‘70s in what was then at best the outer fringe of suburban New York。 For many of my peers， the city was a far-off， dirty， and dangerous place of little interest。 But for me， it always carried an undeniable， magnetic charge。 Crossing the George Washington Bridge was entering into a fantastic and fabulous amusement park where anything might happen。 So， naturally， after graduating college （Oberlin）， I moved into the city in 1978 and never left。 This nearly-perfectly coincides with the beginning of Dyja’s all-encompassing， fully engaging， funny， thoughtful and wise history of the city。 From the Koch years through those of Dinkins， Giuliani and Bloomberg， it deftly conveys the politics， high finance， arts， culture， crime， race relations， disasters， street life， public spaces， and much more （in an epilogue， Dyja gives a quicker but apt consideration of the de Blasio years up through our current pandemic situation。） For me， this was a rollicking recounting of the New York City’s people， places and events through the years I’ve lived here。 But what was even more important than my fun trip down memory lane was the immense amount of knowledge I gleaned from Dyja about the politics， ideas， movements， and economic forces that shaped the city in those years。Still， for someone who does not know New York well， the book may not have the same appeal。 Certainly， Dyja sometimes casually refers to places and people that will leave many outsiders feeling left in the dark。 For those who know and value New York City， it’s not only an exciting blast of a book that vividly brings its recent history to life， but has important and penetrating things to say about what – for good， bad， and otherwise – has made the city what it is， and how we might make use of this experience to help shape its future。 。。。more
Kate
，
This was recommended by Bill Goldstein of WNBC's Weekend Today in New York and then a friend was reading it， so I picked up a copy。 I heard the author on the NYT Book Review podcast and then I attended a Zoom pop-up book group with him。 So well-written and thoroughly researched， this book covers my adulthood in NYC。 （I am an outer borough girl who left for college and came back）。 He covers it all through the Mayors: Beame （briefly）， Koch， Dinkins， Giuliani， and Bloomberg。 In the epilogue， DiBlas This was recommended by Bill Goldstein of WNBC's Weekend Today in New York and then a friend was reading it， so I picked up a copy。 I heard the author on the NYT Book Review podcast and then I attended a Zoom pop-up book group with him。 So well-written and thoroughly researched， this book covers my adulthood in NYC。 （I am an outer borough girl who left for college and came back）。 He covers it all through the Mayors: Beame （briefly）， Koch， Dinkins， Giuliani， and Bloomberg。 In the epilogue， DiBlasio is addressed。 There are so many details， some of which I never knew or may have forgotten。 This is a love story to the city， but not always that early rush of blind infatuation。 Rather， Thomas Dyja， who arrived in 1980 and has only left briefly， presents the good， the bad and the ugly sides of New York。 He gives the residents their due， acknowledging how hard it can be to live here day to day。 And how much harder it has become for anyone not among the highest wage earners。 This is a must read if you like or love New York！ 。。。more
Zeb Kantrowitz
，
This book follows the history of NYC beginning in 1978 at a time when New York was at the bottom （or top） of a cycle of violence deterioration of the City's culture。 This was the time when NYC was famous for the number of murders occurring and the 'tagging' of the Subway to the point where you couldn't see out of the window and criminality on the trains reached a peak。What follows is a very detailed description as to the quotidian history of the City and how different parts of the City became 'n This book follows the history of NYC beginning in 1978 at a time when New York was at the bottom （or top） of a cycle of violence deterioration of the City's culture。 This was the time when NYC was famous for the number of murders occurring and the 'tagging' of the Subway to the point where you couldn't see out of the window and criminality on the trains reached a peak。What follows is a very detailed description as to the quotidian history of the City and how different parts of the City became 'no go' areas for even the Cops。 As the State of New York took over the finances of the City and began to put it on a more solid basis， the Police began to invoke a type of policing （community） whereas the Cops concentrating on improving the "quality of life"。 As people saw that the streets were beginning to be safer， commercial and tourist businesses were expanding。One of the major changes to the Police was the consolidation of all forces within the City （Housing and Subway） which made it easier to coordinate drug busts in the NYC Housing and the Subways。 With the eradication of the inter-group problems the Police Force was able to create task forces that could cover interlocking criminal enterprises。 The rest of the book explains how neighborhoods were upgraded by the tearing down of derelict housing and the building of smaller city housing with lower density which made it easier to police and after many were privatized， the city had new neighborhoods where the middle class could afford to live。 It's very well written and easy to follow with a very linear style of writing。 。。。more
Mona
，
I found the front half of this book even more fascinating than the later decades。 I love New York， especially the late 70’s when it was a completely different city bursting with the arts and creativity。 Those are the years I would visit my grandmother in Brooklyn regularly。 We would go into Manhattan， to shop at cool little record stores， bloomingdales and some famous bar overlooking the water where I would get Shirley Temples and chat with the bartender （at like 8 years old。。 it was the 70’s） S I found the front half of this book even more fascinating than the later decades。 I love New York， especially the late 70’s when it was a completely different city bursting with the arts and creativity。 Those are the years I would visit my grandmother in Brooklyn regularly。 We would go into Manhattan， to shop at cool little record stores， bloomingdales and some famous bar overlooking the water where I would get Shirley Temples and chat with the bartender （at like 8 years old。。 it was the 70’s） So many good memories。 The transformation of the city is spectacular and the author makes a point of showing what not just what politicians can do for change but the citizens themselves when they take action and get involved。 No hibernating。 I will probably read another book now on New York that starts in the very beginnings to the 70’s。 I’m sure there’s a ton of those types of books out there。 。。。more
Happylove618
，
I love anything New York， and this was no exception。 I loved feeling immersed in the city， good， bad， ugly， and beautiful。 I would not only recommend this book to those with an affinity for New York， but anyone with an interest in history will also enjoy it。 Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the chance to read and enjoy this book。
Alexander
，
As much as a study in the “urban renewal” of modern NYC， this book was also a thorough retelling of the modern history of the city。 NYC’s march from the brink of insolvency in 1978 to the reimagined skyline brought to us by Billionaire’s Row is a fascinating story with a cast of characters only New York can provide。 The author’s damning indictment of old Boomer yuppies lamenting a lost New York despite fueling its current iteration is something to behold。 I will say there seems to be particular As much as a study in the “urban renewal” of modern NYC， this book was also a thorough retelling of the modern history of the city。 NYC’s march from the brink of insolvency in 1978 to the reimagined skyline brought to us by Billionaire’s Row is a fascinating story with a cast of characters only New York can provide。 The author’s damning indictment of old Boomer yuppies lamenting a lost New York despite fueling its current iteration is something to behold。 I will say there seems to be particular glee is bashing millennial hipsters “discovering” Brooklyn when in fact it was “discovered” in 1990。 Again， the word discover doing a lot of the heavy lifting for economically stable white children of the suburbs。 The story of gentrification while nothing new is a sad tale and a warning to urban middle class residents as the demise of the co-op led to city living exclusively for and by the wealthy。 The vignettes about the HIV/AIDS epidemic are especially poignant when read within the context of the current pandemic。 Especially insightful is the commentary surrounding the epidemic alongside 9/11–the author arguing that beyond the trauma of the terrorist attack New Yorkers were also able to finally mourn those lost to HIV/AIDS when so much death was callously ignored。 One cannot help but wonder if another outside trauma down the road forces New York—America—to more conventionally mourn the loss of this pandemic。 。。。more
Michael Reilly
，
First half。 This is a history of New York City from 1978 to present。 It is an insider's history。 I have visited NYC once or twice a year for forty years and I follow the news from the city fairly closely。 I frequently had difficulty keeping up with Dyja。 The book is written for people who lived through the period in NYC。Dyja weaves the whole story of the city together。 He covers detailed financial maneuvering， the art world， high society， big time real estate developers， neighborhood activist， c First half。 This is a history of New York City from 1978 to present。 It is an insider's history。 I have visited NYC once or twice a year for forty years and I follow the news from the city fairly closely。 I frequently had difficulty keeping up with Dyja。 The book is written for people who lived through the period in NYC。Dyja weaves the whole story of the city together。 He covers detailed financial maneuvering， the art world， high society， big time real estate developers， neighborhood activist， city bureaucrats， the classical music world， Korean corner stores， the city zoo， yuppies， punk rock， and big time philanthropy， among many other things。 And that is only in the first half of the book。 What makes it more exhausting is that he seldom goes more than a page on any one topic。 The idea is to create a full picture of the city， but it can be exhausting and confusing。 At the extreme we get sentences like;"There was a stink in the air by 1986， a blend of David's Cookies， gamey homelessness， and the sweet toasted plastic of burning crack， all topped with the spice notes from Susan Gutfreund's Après L'Ondee。 " （p。159）or"Meanwhile， Howard Johnson's kept frying clams， and the peep shows rolled on: no one could imagine New York without that madness in the middle， and with Joey Arias dancing at Fiorucci on 59th and Dianne Vreeland slumming at the Mudd Club， Uptown and Downtown were now just states of mind。" （p。 75）Those sentences have to be read a few times and， if you don't know the significance of Après L"Ondee or the Mudd Club， are difficult to appreciate。 Dyja does tell a great story。 He highlights city bureaucrats who revitalized the housing stock， the police department， the zoo， Times Square and the subway。 The sad life of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat seems to capture the the first half of this era; talent， fame and excess。 Dyja tracks the big names who defined NYC in that time， including Andy Warhol， Mayor Koch， Al Sharpton， and Donald Trump。Dyja also tracks the rise of Rap Music， the spread of AIDS， the organizing to do something about it， and the rise of the hip young white urban residents squeezing out traditional minority and ethnic New Yorkers at the same time that a new wave of immigrants came to the city。This is an insanely complicated story and Dyja takes a good crack at it but it is definitely not for NYC beginners。 。。。more
Casey Wheeler
，