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Show Me A Hero
NOW AN HBO MINISERIESNot in my backyard -- that's the refrain commonly invoked by property owners who oppose unwanted development. Such words assume a special ferocity when the development in question is public housing. Lisa Belkin penetrates the prejudices, myths, and heated emotions stirred by the most recent trend in public housing as she re-creates a landmark case in riveting detail, showing how a proposal to build scattered-site public housing in middle-class neighborhoods nearly destroyed an entire city and forever changed the lives of many of its citizens.-- Public housing projects are being torn down throughout the United States. What will take their place? Show Me a Hero explores the answer.-- An important and compelling work of narrative nonfiction in the tradition of J. Anthony Lukas's Common Ground.-- A sweeping yet intimate group portrait that assesses the effects of public policy on individual human lives.
357 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1999
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September 16, 2015
"During an era that no one still living actually remembers, but everyone seems to yearn for, Yonkers was a great city.” So writes Lisa Belkin in Show Me a Hero.
I came to this book by way of the HBO mini series of the same name. The Show Me a Hero mini series was co-written by David Simon — the man who created The Wire and Tremé. Both were gripping and compelling. I found this latest mini series to be the same. I now live in Mount Vernon, which, borders Yonkers. Before watching the mini series, and then reading the book upon which it was based, I knew very little detail about this housing fight.
Yonkers was one of many large, northern cities that remained segregated well into the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980, the Justice Department and the NAACP brought a lawsuit against the city, charging Yonkers with having a segregated school system that was based on a segregated housing plan that had been laid out more than 40 years before. For four decades, all public housing was kept within one square mile in the southwest corner of the city. Other big cities in the north and south were accused of doing the same thing, including Rochester, N.Y., but Yonkers fought the Justice Department, while other cities made concessions. Yonkers was eventually court ordered to built low income housing in the eastern parts of the city — east of the Saw Mill River. The court reminded the city that it had already accepted federal funds to build low-income housing on the east side, but had delayed construction for years. When the mandate finally came, east-side homeowners rebelled. It is rare that city council meetings make national news — but the screaming protestors, and subsequent death threats, were covered by major newspapers and the major networks. Most certainly some of the Yonkers residents in the east side were racists, but some were not. Some who lived in the west side's low income housing were drug dealers and gang members, most were not.
As the author notes about the east side home owners, “Many of them had also lived a ball’s throw from Yankee Stadium [in the Bronx], more recently than [Judge] Sand, and then fled to Yonkers as their neighborhoods became emblems of urban decay.” They didn’t want the poor planning of the Bronx to be repeated in Yonkers.
At the center of the controversy was Nick Wasicsko, who, at 28, was the youngest mayor of a major American city. He was naive, to say the least. He came into office in 1987 promising to fight the housing mandate. He promised to appeal the decision already handed down. He pandered to the voters’ fear of integration and basically did what he needed to do to unseat his opponent — Angelo Martinelli. Martinelli had been mayor for six terms at that point, had told the voters that the housing was inevitable. He was right. After only five days in office, Wasicsko was told that Yonkers had no chance of appeal. The court order would stand. The federal judge later added crippling fines to the city for each day it did not offer a plan to build the housing. Adding to the complexity was the judge’s own naiveté — a belief that somehow just building housing with no real work on social fabric would somehow cure the wrongs of racism. Wasicsko had to face his constituents to tell them that America was a “nation of laws,” and that the city would have to abide by the law. He changed his stand and became a supporter of the housing. For that he received death threats, was spit on, and was eventually voted out of office.
The author lays out the story through the eyes of the politicians, but also several women and children who lived in the various low-income projects, and who aspired to a better life. For some, moving into the new housing —which was eventually built on five sites throughout east Yonkers — was life changing. For Mayor Wasicsko, it ended a promising career.
City planning is an art. The author focuses on the work and theories of Oscar Newman, a planner who believed that low-income housing should be devoid of common areas that allow for onsite crime. He believed that there was more dignity and safety in giving each family their own space — front steps, a back yard. His Defensible Space theory has since been embraced by planners, but it was a new and more costly experiment in Yonkers several decades ago. I certainly recommend this book and the series. This is an important part of the urban American story.
I came to this book by way of the HBO mini series of the same name. The Show Me a Hero mini series was co-written by David Simon — the man who created The Wire and Tremé. Both were gripping and compelling. I found this latest mini series to be the same. I now live in Mount Vernon, which, borders Yonkers. Before watching the mini series, and then reading the book upon which it was based, I knew very little detail about this housing fight.
Yonkers was one of many large, northern cities that remained segregated well into the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980, the Justice Department and the NAACP brought a lawsuit against the city, charging Yonkers with having a segregated school system that was based on a segregated housing plan that had been laid out more than 40 years before. For four decades, all public housing was kept within one square mile in the southwest corner of the city. Other big cities in the north and south were accused of doing the same thing, including Rochester, N.Y., but Yonkers fought the Justice Department, while other cities made concessions. Yonkers was eventually court ordered to built low income housing in the eastern parts of the city — east of the Saw Mill River. The court reminded the city that it had already accepted federal funds to build low-income housing on the east side, but had delayed construction for years. When the mandate finally came, east-side homeowners rebelled. It is rare that city council meetings make national news — but the screaming protestors, and subsequent death threats, were covered by major newspapers and the major networks. Most certainly some of the Yonkers residents in the east side were racists, but some were not. Some who lived in the west side's low income housing were drug dealers and gang members, most were not.
As the author notes about the east side home owners, “Many of them had also lived a ball’s throw from Yankee Stadium [in the Bronx], more recently than [Judge] Sand, and then fled to Yonkers as their neighborhoods became emblems of urban decay.” They didn’t want the poor planning of the Bronx to be repeated in Yonkers.
At the center of the controversy was Nick Wasicsko, who, at 28, was the youngest mayor of a major American city. He was naive, to say the least. He came into office in 1987 promising to fight the housing mandate. He promised to appeal the decision already handed down. He pandered to the voters’ fear of integration and basically did what he needed to do to unseat his opponent — Angelo Martinelli. Martinelli had been mayor for six terms at that point, had told the voters that the housing was inevitable. He was right. After only five days in office, Wasicsko was told that Yonkers had no chance of appeal. The court order would stand. The federal judge later added crippling fines to the city for each day it did not offer a plan to build the housing. Adding to the complexity was the judge’s own naiveté — a belief that somehow just building housing with no real work on social fabric would somehow cure the wrongs of racism. Wasicsko had to face his constituents to tell them that America was a “nation of laws,” and that the city would have to abide by the law. He changed his stand and became a supporter of the housing. For that he received death threats, was spit on, and was eventually voted out of office.
The author lays out the story through the eyes of the politicians, but also several women and children who lived in the various low-income projects, and who aspired to a better life. For some, moving into the new housing —which was eventually built on five sites throughout east Yonkers — was life changing. For Mayor Wasicsko, it ended a promising career.
City planning is an art. The author focuses on the work and theories of Oscar Newman, a planner who believed that low-income housing should be devoid of common areas that allow for onsite crime. He believed that there was more dignity and safety in giving each family their own space — front steps, a back yard. His Defensible Space theory has since been embraced by planners, but it was a new and more costly experiment in Yonkers several decades ago. I certainly recommend this book and the series. This is an important part of the urban American story.
July 31, 2016
Excellent narrative nonfiction that is the basis of the current HBO miniseries of the same name. The author takes things like city council meetings and makes them highly dramatic. I enjoyed her toggling in-between the politicians in Yonkers and the residents, some of whom were for, and others against, the court-ordered public housing that is the crux of the book's dramatic story.
I was reminded of two other great books, The Promised Land and American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare which covered similar territory: public housing in America, which is a contentious issue to this day. I was also influenced during my reading (and while watching the show) by a recent episode of This American Life called "The Problem We All Live With," which talks about public school desegregation. It's all related, and it's all still very relevant. Finally, this book echoed what is probably my favorite nonfiction book of all time Common Ground by Anthony Lucas, which tells the story of Boston's failed busing program in the 70s.
All of this is a long way of saying that I am interested in this topic and familiar with the parameters of the debate about public housing. It is a complex, fraught topic. My family lived in public housing (or 'veteran's housing' as it was called) from the late 1940s until the late 1970s. I spent a lot of time in public housing as a kid, and the school where I work is, literally, in the shadow of a large public housing project. Public housing and I go way back.
So what do you do when you have two groups of people who are in opposition about something that, on balance, is both positive and negative in equal measure? Does public housing affect housing prices? Yes. Is high quality, scattered site housing a good deal for low-income families? Yes. Can public housing have a negative impact on the social fabric of existing middle class neighborhoods? Yes. Do children who grow up in middle class neighborhoods in public housing have better life outcomes than children in segregated public housing? Yes. Is 'white flight' a real thing? Yes. Do children do better in diverse schools? Yes. Is it fair to have people working and paying a mortgage living next to people who are not doing that, yet sharing the same quality of housing?
There's the rub. What does 'fair' look like? Can things ever really be fair? Is it fair that racism and the outcomes of racism have created the situation things like public housing are trying to address? Is it fair that some family busting their asses to own a home see their investment negatively impacted by social engineering? Why is it that the people most fiercely in favor of public housing are the ones most seldom impacted by the actual creation of public housing? And if not public housing... what, then? What is the remedy? Where is the sense of urgency?
Hard, hard questions. I have no answers. Poverty and race and 'de jure' segregation. Income inequality and the racial achievement gap in schools. Life expectancies and patterns of marriage and child rearing. It's all one thing, and it's all hard as hell.
I was reminded of two other great books, The Promised Land and American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare which covered similar territory: public housing in America, which is a contentious issue to this day. I was also influenced during my reading (and while watching the show) by a recent episode of This American Life called "The Problem We All Live With," which talks about public school desegregation. It's all related, and it's all still very relevant. Finally, this book echoed what is probably my favorite nonfiction book of all time Common Ground by Anthony Lucas, which tells the story of Boston's failed busing program in the 70s.
All of this is a long way of saying that I am interested in this topic and familiar with the parameters of the debate about public housing. It is a complex, fraught topic. My family lived in public housing (or 'veteran's housing' as it was called) from the late 1940s until the late 1970s. I spent a lot of time in public housing as a kid, and the school where I work is, literally, in the shadow of a large public housing project. Public housing and I go way back.
So what do you do when you have two groups of people who are in opposition about something that, on balance, is both positive and negative in equal measure? Does public housing affect housing prices? Yes. Is high quality, scattered site housing a good deal for low-income families? Yes. Can public housing have a negative impact on the social fabric of existing middle class neighborhoods? Yes. Do children who grow up in middle class neighborhoods in public housing have better life outcomes than children in segregated public housing? Yes. Is 'white flight' a real thing? Yes. Do children do better in diverse schools? Yes. Is it fair to have people working and paying a mortgage living next to people who are not doing that, yet sharing the same quality of housing?
There's the rub. What does 'fair' look like? Can things ever really be fair? Is it fair that racism and the outcomes of racism have created the situation things like public housing are trying to address? Is it fair that some family busting their asses to own a home see their investment negatively impacted by social engineering? Why is it that the people most fiercely in favor of public housing are the ones most seldom impacted by the actual creation of public housing? And if not public housing... what, then? What is the remedy? Where is the sense of urgency?
Hard, hard questions. I have no answers. Poverty and race and 'de jure' segregation. Income inequality and the racial achievement gap in schools. Life expectancies and patterns of marriage and child rearing. It's all one thing, and it's all hard as hell.
October 22, 2015
This is a true story of what happened in Yonkers when a judge ordered desegregation of housing in the 70s. At the time, predominately white residents lived in the east part of town in nicer apartments and homes and minorities lived in the west side of town in poorly run large scale "projects" noted for high crime. Specifically, the court ordered that scattered affordable housing be constructed in middle class neighborhoods and that residents of the projects on the west side of town be given the opportunity to move to their own new homes on the east side of town. The new homes would not be large scale projects - but smaller townhouses with backyards and fences. They were designed to blend into the communities and give the residents living in them a sense of ownership and responsibility for their property.
Lisa Belkin is a reporter and did a great deal of research in preparing this story. Her reporting skills shine through as she tells the story. She took a very complicated story and made it real by telling it through the lives of different human beings living through the experience. We meet and get to know different families living on the west side of town and learn about their struggles and journey to the east side. We meet the residents of the east side who are resistant to accepting the new residents and watch some of them make the journey to accepting them. A large part of the story also focuses on Nick who became the youngest mayor of Yonkers (in his 20s) while this crisis was happening. We see how the challenges the town faced effected him and his wife and other residents of the city. We learn about corruption in the Yonkers city government.
It's an interesting and compelling story that is well worth reading.
The story isn't over....other towns across the country are currently being ordered by the courts to provide affordable housing. Some are doing it willing and others are resistant. There are lessons to be learned from reading the Yonkers story. The story continues today in other towns.
Lisa Belkin is a reporter and did a great deal of research in preparing this story. Her reporting skills shine through as she tells the story. She took a very complicated story and made it real by telling it through the lives of different human beings living through the experience. We meet and get to know different families living on the west side of town and learn about their struggles and journey to the east side. We meet the residents of the east side who are resistant to accepting the new residents and watch some of them make the journey to accepting them. A large part of the story also focuses on Nick who became the youngest mayor of Yonkers (in his 20s) while this crisis was happening. We see how the challenges the town faced effected him and his wife and other residents of the city. We learn about corruption in the Yonkers city government.
It's an interesting and compelling story that is well worth reading.
The story isn't over....other towns across the country are currently being ordered by the courts to provide affordable housing. Some are doing it willing and others are resistant. There are lessons to be learned from reading the Yonkers story. The story continues today in other towns.
March 4, 2021
"Show me a Hero" tells the story about Yonkers in the lates 80s-early 90s and how social housing changed a whole city. In short: White people did not want them to live in their neighbourhood because they've felt like they worked hard enough to live there in the first place and it shouldn't just be given to poor people (which are mostly immigrants, Black people and other Bipoc).
It's the dark side of the American Dream - a racist, and classist dream build on stolen land in the first place.
I can imagine myself watching the television show but the book did absolutely nothing for me: too many numbers, the story unfolding itself in the last few pages, no author commentary.
Real life can write good stories, Belkins story did just not convince me.
It's the dark side of the American Dream - a racist, and classist dream build on stolen land in the first place.
I can imagine myself watching the television show but the book did absolutely nothing for me: too many numbers, the story unfolding itself in the last few pages, no author commentary.
Real life can write good stories, Belkins story did just not convince me.
February 26, 2016
1988 to 1990 were tumultuous years in Yonkers, Westchester County, NY, after Judge Sand ordered construction of public housing to be scattered through the previously privileged and all-white East Side. The hero named in the title is Nicholas Wasicskso, at 28 the youngest mayor in the US, and at 30, dead by his own hand, driven to suicide by his paranoia and hopelessness about political events spun out of control, and his own failed political ambitions. The subtitle “a tale of murder, suicide, race, and redemption” strikes me as a little misleading, since both the murder and the suicide take place in the closing chapters of the story, and are really results, not main events or causes in the rest of the narrative.
January 27, 2015
This is not a book I normally would have picked up, had it not been for a book club. However, it was engrossing, well written, and painted an excellent group portrait of the city of Yonkers from 1988-1993. During this time, Yonkers was federally court ordered to desegregate their public housing by adding units in middle class neighborhoods. The people of Yonkers responded like a petulant child. Like any well written story, this book showcased the best and worst of humanity. It highlighted a particularly contentious battle between those trying to provide opportunity and those trying to protect opportunity they worked so hard for.
August 6, 2025
such an interesting and gripping true story about segregation and public housing in the 80s. the narration is perfect and I loved that we had the point of view for each character, I absolutely recommend !
January 10, 2018
A lire absolument !
October 23, 2024
Compelling characters but just not the type of book I usually gravitate towards. Overall I would give it 3.75/5 stars very much so an old man book.
January 31, 2023
a truly insane tale, a rare nonfiction page turner. like anything written 20+ years ago it didn't age perfectly but it is SO well reported I can forgive that
September 30, 2015
While Show Me a Hero is nominally the story of the mid-80's legal battle to force Yonkers, New York to accept public housing, it's really a lesson in local government, politics, protest, community organizing, and how good intentions battle good intentions. A very fast read by Lisa Belkin, a reporter, who writes crisply and with great attention to detail. Once you pick it up, you will have to finish it!
October 28, 2015
Fascinating story of a housing battle in Yonkers NY in the 1980s. An activist judge decided that housing needed to be desegregated and ordered low-income housing spread across the town rather than stuck on one side. This book is about the people on both sides of the issue and follows them a number of years to look at how things ended up playing out.
September 19, 2016
Very Insightful
Great read of a tough topic. Very much in the vein of David Simon's books. I would have liked some photos,, as all I really had to go on was the mini series.
Great read of a tough topic. Very much in the vein of David Simon's books. I would have liked some photos,, as all I really had to go on was the mini series.
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July 1, 2020Heroes do not always fit into the heroic leader archetype. Sometimes, extremely flawed people are placed in situations that force them to display brave leadership. Situational heroism in stories allows writers to humanize heroes by emphasizing the amount of courage needed to push for social change. Lisa Belkin’s book “Show Me a Hero” meticulously displays situational heroism in the politicians, policy makers, and residents of Yonkers, New York during a heated public housing debate. Even with being a clear proponent for income equality in urban environments, Belkin demonstrates that there were no faultless individuals or groups in Yonkers from1988-1993 while the city was accommodating for a Federal District Court decision to build 200 subsidized housing units across seven sites in suburban areas. The tone and method of Belkin’s reporting allows the reader to empathize with all sides of the Yonkers public housing issue.
The story is compelling because of the events, but it is also moving because of the individuals that Belkin chooses to write about. The mayor that was forced to uphold the court decision, Nicholas Wasicsko, was a power-hungry politician who campaigned on fighting the decision for public housing, but he ultimately was the main political supporter that assured the construction of the subsidized townhouses. Henry Spallone was a city councilman, borderline racist, and a former dedicated policeman. An activist fighting the court decision named Mary Dorman was originally infuriated with the idea of public housing residents being her neighbors. After meeting her future neighbors, Dorman became an eternal public housing advocate. My favorite individual in the story was Oscar Newman. He was an architect, city planner, and egomaniac responsible for innovations in subsidized housing design. Newman proposed that placing subsidized housing in high-rises far away from suburban areas created a “stigma of ugliness” which quarantined low-income communities. To combat this phenomenon, Newman designed subsidized townhouses that gave families the ability to display responsibility and ownership without being excluded from social opportunities. He simply added gardens, backyards, and play areas. Simple things that suburban communities took for granted. Even though Newman’s motives in these designs were to immortalize his career, he is responsible for the inclusion of low-income families in suburban New York.
“Show Me a Hero” helped me realize that it is always appropriate to empathize with all sides of an issue. Belkin’s prose allows readers to understand the flaws in idolized leaders and goodness in those that are demonized. Especially in today’s polarized political atmosphere, it is imperative to find as much common ground as possible because it is necessary for compromise and peace. Consuming media rooted within a reader’s chosen ideology is comforting, but sometimes, the mental pain that comes with digesting news stemming from the polar opposite side is needed for a holistic approach of problem solving. Everyone working to bridge a divide should read this book.
The story is compelling because of the events, but it is also moving because of the individuals that Belkin chooses to write about. The mayor that was forced to uphold the court decision, Nicholas Wasicsko, was a power-hungry politician who campaigned on fighting the decision for public housing, but he ultimately was the main political supporter that assured the construction of the subsidized townhouses. Henry Spallone was a city councilman, borderline racist, and a former dedicated policeman. An activist fighting the court decision named Mary Dorman was originally infuriated with the idea of public housing residents being her neighbors. After meeting her future neighbors, Dorman became an eternal public housing advocate. My favorite individual in the story was Oscar Newman. He was an architect, city planner, and egomaniac responsible for innovations in subsidized housing design. Newman proposed that placing subsidized housing in high-rises far away from suburban areas created a “stigma of ugliness” which quarantined low-income communities. To combat this phenomenon, Newman designed subsidized townhouses that gave families the ability to display responsibility and ownership without being excluded from social opportunities. He simply added gardens, backyards, and play areas. Simple things that suburban communities took for granted. Even though Newman’s motives in these designs were to immortalize his career, he is responsible for the inclusion of low-income families in suburban New York.
“Show Me a Hero” helped me realize that it is always appropriate to empathize with all sides of an issue. Belkin’s prose allows readers to understand the flaws in idolized leaders and goodness in those that are demonized. Especially in today’s polarized political atmosphere, it is imperative to find as much common ground as possible because it is necessary for compromise and peace. Consuming media rooted within a reader’s chosen ideology is comforting, but sometimes, the mental pain that comes with digesting news stemming from the polar opposite side is needed for a holistic approach of problem solving. Everyone working to bridge a divide should read this book.
September 3, 2017
Integration, segregation, desegregation; what do they all mean? Something different for everyone. In Belkin's portrayal of a city in crisis, namely Yonkers, New York back in the mid 1980's, when corruption was all to common and the infighting rampant, a story of heroism and defeat, of triumph and sadness of the glaring truth of reality in a world torn apart by race, religion and class, a heart-wrenching portrayal of agony and defeat comes to life on the pages of "Show Me A Hero". Well done and brutally honest, Lisa takes us deep into the trenches of politics and what it can do to our neighborhoods, struggling to keep themselves safe from the impending policies of a nation trying to right its wrongs and bringing it to each and every city.
This is not about integration, but more about desegregation; undoing the whiteness of communities and adding flavor, but by doing so it means coming up with policies to meet the needs of all involved; a very difficult if not almost impossible task. Politicians tugged from all sides, constituents fighting for all they hold sacred. It is not about putting up walls to keep low income or the blacks and hispanics out, say the citizens of Yonkers, but more about keeping what we have built and hold sacred in. It is the unknown that frightens them all. Whites afraid of what may happen and blacks afraid of being targeted as "outsiders", never quite feeling comfortable or at home in their "New Digs", which architects fought long and hard to determine which way to go: "high rise buildings" or the more homey type of housing in the form of "Town Houses". Housing can make all the difference for affordable dwellings, giving minorities a sense of being truly in a home of their own. There is great discourse for different reasons on both sides of the fence, and rarely does anyone claim to be the victor. And one young mayor would pay the ultimate price for trying to do the right thing, by making a promise he couldn't keep. This is a story of war, the war being waged in our own backyards and cities, but not for all, as the upper middle class remains blissfully unaware of the struggles beneath him/her. They talk of racial inequality all week long, then go home and add to the problem by upping their own game, forgetting all the rhetoric they slung so easily at work or on the podium of life. This really is not a war of the races, which we are made to believe, but more a more of the classes, the elite and the upper middle class hold all the cards; judges who demand desegregation, the go home to their palatial estates, walled in and safe. This is about the haves versus the have-nots, this is truly where the spoils lie and where the fight needs to be taken. It is time we realize that the hoarding of all things good by the rich, is what is keeping the poor from having a piece of the pie. It is not about the color of skin, but generations being kept at bay and from advancement. READ IT!
This is not about integration, but more about desegregation; undoing the whiteness of communities and adding flavor, but by doing so it means coming up with policies to meet the needs of all involved; a very difficult if not almost impossible task. Politicians tugged from all sides, constituents fighting for all they hold sacred. It is not about putting up walls to keep low income or the blacks and hispanics out, say the citizens of Yonkers, but more about keeping what we have built and hold sacred in. It is the unknown that frightens them all. Whites afraid of what may happen and blacks afraid of being targeted as "outsiders", never quite feeling comfortable or at home in their "New Digs", which architects fought long and hard to determine which way to go: "high rise buildings" or the more homey type of housing in the form of "Town Houses". Housing can make all the difference for affordable dwellings, giving minorities a sense of being truly in a home of their own. There is great discourse for different reasons on both sides of the fence, and rarely does anyone claim to be the victor. And one young mayor would pay the ultimate price for trying to do the right thing, by making a promise he couldn't keep. This is a story of war, the war being waged in our own backyards and cities, but not for all, as the upper middle class remains blissfully unaware of the struggles beneath him/her. They talk of racial inequality all week long, then go home and add to the problem by upping their own game, forgetting all the rhetoric they slung so easily at work or on the podium of life. This really is not a war of the races, which we are made to believe, but more a more of the classes, the elite and the upper middle class hold all the cards; judges who demand desegregation, the go home to their palatial estates, walled in and safe. This is about the haves versus the have-nots, this is truly where the spoils lie and where the fight needs to be taken. It is time we realize that the hoarding of all things good by the rich, is what is keeping the poor from having a piece of the pie. It is not about the color of skin, but generations being kept at bay and from advancement. READ IT!
February 1, 2024
This book is the written equivalent of the famous photo of that white girl screaming at the Little Rock Nine, specifically Elizabeth Eckford, who was the black girl in the center of the photo. Both girls were 15 at the time.
According to history.com, "In 1997, Will Counts, the photographer whose iconic shot was by then considered a defining document of a moment in the struggle for Black equality in the United States, arranged for the two to meet in person. Forty years after [Hazel] Bryan screamed at Eckford, they reunited, reconciled and became friends. After a brief, warm friendship that saw them attend events and seminars together and even pose for a poster entitled 'Reconciliation' that featured a modern-day photo of the pair outside Little Rock Central, their paths split again when they realized they could not truly reconcile. 'True reconciliation can occur only when we honestly acknowledge our painful, but shared past,' said Eckford."
So to all the people of Yonkers now who want to erase this particular part of the past, saying "we're different" or "we've moved past this," I say, maybe not. True reconciliation can occur only when we honestly acknowledge our painful, but shared past.
According to history.com, "In 1997, Will Counts, the photographer whose iconic shot was by then considered a defining document of a moment in the struggle for Black equality in the United States, arranged for the two to meet in person. Forty years after [Hazel] Bryan screamed at Eckford, they reunited, reconciled and became friends. After a brief, warm friendship that saw them attend events and seminars together and even pose for a poster entitled 'Reconciliation' that featured a modern-day photo of the pair outside Little Rock Central, their paths split again when they realized they could not truly reconcile. 'True reconciliation can occur only when we honestly acknowledge our painful, but shared past,' said Eckford."
So to all the people of Yonkers now who want to erase this particular part of the past, saying "we're different" or "we've moved past this," I say, maybe not. True reconciliation can occur only when we honestly acknowledge our painful, but shared past.
February 22, 2019
I found this book because I like Oscar Isaacs as an actor and he was in the HBO adaptation. Then I discovered it was about the battle to build low income housing in Yonkers, and one of m heroes, Michael Sussman. Actually, Mr. Sussman plays a minor role in the story,for this book is not merely about the litigation surrounding the building of low income housing in Yonkers. It really is about the people of Yonkers -- the fight for the housing, the fight against -- and the impact of the housing on Yonkers' residents. The hero is the young mayor who struggles to get the city council to agree to the housing as per the order of Judge Sand, rather than accumulate crushing fines for contempt of court. I knew beforehand how the tale went, but still the book made it a cliffhanger. It proceeded to relate what happened after the housing was built -- that moving from a squalid low income high rise to a spanking new townhouse does not necessarily change behavior. Well written in a conversational tone. After a bit,I could not put it down.
November 30, 2021
"Not here"/"Not in my backyard" is a voice often heard whenever a location is being sought for something that has a benefit for the society as a whole but has no benefit for the individual living next to it.
In this book that something is public housing. The state of affairs in Yonkers was that historically its east side was populated by predominantly white residents, while poorer minority residents lived on the west side. Every time when a new location for public housing was being considered on the east side, east side residents would protest/put pressure on its elected politics, and time after time public housing projects would be built on the west side.
This all changed when a judge ordered Yonkers to desegregate public housing - meaning that now public housing must be built on the east side as well. The residents do not take it well.
Written by a journalist, this book stays true to the facts, shows various sides of the problem, and portrays life's complexities really well.
In this book that something is public housing. The state of affairs in Yonkers was that historically its east side was populated by predominantly white residents, while poorer minority residents lived on the west side. Every time when a new location for public housing was being considered on the east side, east side residents would protest/put pressure on its elected politics, and time after time public housing projects would be built on the west side.
This all changed when a judge ordered Yonkers to desegregate public housing - meaning that now public housing must be built on the east side as well. The residents do not take it well.
Written by a journalist, this book stays true to the facts, shows various sides of the problem, and portrays life's complexities really well.
February 28, 2019
The story of the Yonkers housing desegregation battle has stuck with me for the years since learning about it through the HBO miniseries. Like David Simon’s other works, the series offered a multilayered look at institutional failures whilst giving humanity to those affected. All of the elements which fascinated me most in the series are further developed in the book and Belkin’s vivid storytelling makes it just as gripping.
Show Me a Hero should be mandatory reading for urbanists as a case study of civic failure that puts people in its foreground. The complexity of the people involved matches the complexity of Belkin’s bookending question: did it work? The book cleverly illustrates that a working society means different things to different people - and sadly, that many people’s idea of a working society is dependent on it not working for others. These attitudes and ideologies are still common today making Show Me a Hero relevant to cities and towns across the world.
Show Me a Hero should be mandatory reading for urbanists as a case study of civic failure that puts people in its foreground. The complexity of the people involved matches the complexity of Belkin’s bookending question: did it work? The book cleverly illustrates that a working society means different things to different people - and sadly, that many people’s idea of a working society is dependent on it not working for others. These attitudes and ideologies are still common today making Show Me a Hero relevant to cities and towns across the world.
August 23, 2020
One of my students told me about the HBO miniseries, which I watched and then found out it was based on this book. My student had been part of Yonkers' public school integration program in the 90s, and before she educated me about it I didn't know that Yonkers went through these processes of housing and school integration. Now that I've read the book, I can say that the miniseries is actually really true to the story, but the book, of course, has more detail. This is a complicated story and the politics side has potential to be pretty dry, but Belkin makes it easy to follow and really interesting. Her neutral and objective portrayal of the events is appreciated and highlights the complexities of human nature, conflict, and social boundaries, as well as the mixed-bag outcomes of the townhouses project. I'm glad to have had the chance to learn about this part of Yonkers history, especially since so many of my students are from or live in the city.
March 25, 2019
Show Me a Hero is immersive and creative. I had a very good time reading it and it's the truth when people say they couldn't put it down, I had a hard time putting it down and often wanted to read it during class. The writing style keeps you hooked and wanting to read more, the book has personality. Not just stating what happened. It stated feelings, thoughts and got you to really care for the 'characters' in the book. I came to it after I watched David Simon's HBO Miniseries with the same title of the book, Show Me a Hero and thought it was just incredible so that's why I got the book and I don't regret it for a moment.
I recommend this book to anyone, really. I'm not into politics much, but I've really been starting to think about things, so I also praise this book for getting me to think about politics. The contents of this book aren't obsolete, they're just as relevant today as they were 20 years ago.
I recommend this book to anyone, really. I'm not into politics much, but I've really been starting to think about things, so I also praise this book for getting me to think about politics. The contents of this book aren't obsolete, they're just as relevant today as they were 20 years ago.
September 21, 2025
I watched the HBO miniseries for this years ago, and only recently found out that it was based on this book. Well, this book is amazing. The book is always better than its film or TV adaptation, but the HBO miniseries certainly did this one justice. Lisa Belkin does a great job of delving into the complexities of local politics, especially through the lens of issues like public housing. It is insane to see the racist resistance put up by white residents of Yonkers when the judge mandated desegregated housing across town. NIMBYism and racism at their absolute worst.
Simultaneously, we see the life of a man (Nick Wasicsko) as he becomes Mayor of Yonkers during this period, and how his tenure as Mayor causes his professional & personal lives to unravel.
"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
Simultaneously, we see the life of a man (Nick Wasicsko) as he becomes Mayor of Yonkers during this period, and how his tenure as Mayor causes his professional & personal lives to unravel.
"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
November 20, 2018
I really liked this book. I saw the HBO miniseries and really liked that - especially because I had just moved to Yonkers when that aired. The book is also very good, very readable, a quick read and Lisa Belkin is a good writer. But as with the miniseries, there's something flat and workmanlike about the book. The selected facts are interesting and stated quite beautifully, but there's not much in-depth examination of the people, not much characterization. I did like how the author described Yonkers as not being a unified city but rather 38 separate villages - and that is really, really true!
December 19, 2019
This is a remarkable and tragic story. Belkin follows the story of court ordered public housing in Yonkers, New York. I would not expect to be interested in the story of public housing battles in Yonkers, but this was quite interesting. A well told story. The story begins in the late 80s and follows both the controversy and the players, such as the young mayor, an immigrant family from the Dominican Republic, African Americans living in public housing, the white opposition, and the white supporters. There are a few surprising twists in this true story, but generally it turns out about how you might expect. If you read the book be sure to read both “Epilogues,” the first written in 1998 telling you what happened to each of the key players after the book ended. The second epilogue--written in 2015—updates the key players’ statuses but also shares the author’s perspective of the filming of the HBO series of the same name. For those who have seen the HBO series, the book’s author was heavily engaged in the filming and shares in the second epilogue what is accurate and not accurate in the series. By the way, I was disappointed in the HBO series, found it sufficiently uninteresting that I only watched the first 2 episodes. The book is much better.
August 19, 2017
I'd previously watched the David Simon produced miniseries this book inspired so a lot of the material & outcomes of events were familiar to me. That being said the latter half of the book delves into material the series didn't dwell upon & there is a level of background throughout that a visual medium can't explore without becoming clunky so from an informative standpoint this book is actually very worth reading. It's a very well written account of an interesting subject. (If you haven't seen the series already, even moreso)
May 1, 2024
Don’t Get Mad, Get a New Mayor
In 2015 the mini-series for Show Me a Hero had a profound impact on me that I didn’t I didn’t even fully grasp at the time. My best friend and I were college sophomores and found ourselves immersed in a story about public housing. Now he quite literally works in public housing, and I have and continue to do so (way more tangentially).
Also, the first book I ever published was essentially an homage to Show Me a Hero.
Listening to the book, I realized the series adapted it almost identically. Therefore I loved it.
In 2015 the mini-series for Show Me a Hero had a profound impact on me that I didn’t I didn’t even fully grasp at the time. My best friend and I were college sophomores and found ourselves immersed in a story about public housing. Now he quite literally works in public housing, and I have and continue to do so (way more tangentially).
Also, the first book I ever published was essentially an homage to Show Me a Hero.
Listening to the book, I realized the series adapted it almost identically. Therefore I loved it.
August 27, 2025
Having grown up on the (far) east side of Yonkers in the 1960s and 1970s, but having family still living there during the time frame of this book, I found this book fascinating. As the author is a journalist, the writing is taut and interesting. Looking back now, 25 years later, m view is that Yonkers is a better city than it was when I was a child, but I know that view isn't shared by everyone in my family.
Would I have supported the housing desegregation? I like to think I would have, but the truth is, I don't know.
Would I have supported the housing desegregation? I like to think I would have, but the truth is, I don't know.
April 22, 2018
Excellent! Watched the first episode of the HBO miniseries, which is where I realized that it was based on this book, so I bought this great bit of journalism. There are no true heroes or villains, just a bunch of regular people dealing with race, racism, and housing in a suburb like many others across the US. A fantastic example of the intersection of local, state, and national politics as people still continue to deal with the nation’s most difficult issue.
August 20, 2022
Belkin perfectly weaves the lives of several members of the 80s-90s Yonkers community involved in the battle over low-income housing. In doing so, she sets the audience in the enviable position of viewing the matter through each of their eyes. This naturally makes relatable the plights, ambitions, and goals of those who, if kept at a distance, may be seen as different and, if different, lesser than. That this book's setting could easily be present day is heartbreaking.
June 3, 2023
When a judge's ruling that public housing be more evenly spread through the city of Yonkers, it not only leads to anger from the wealthier residents who fear that the desegregation plans will devalue property, it also leads the City Council into open rebellion.
Belkin's reportage is an objective and unapologetic account of the events in Yonkers in 1988 and the repercussions which still resonate today.
Belkin's reportage is an objective and unapologetic account of the events in Yonkers in 1988 and the repercussions which still resonate today.
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