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A Worldly Affair: New York, the United Nations, and the Story Behind Their Unlikely Bond
For more than seven decades, New York City and the United Nations have shared the island of Manhattan, living and working together in a bond that has been likened to a long marriage―both tempestuous and supportive, quarrelsome and committed. A Worldly Affair tells the story of this hot and cold romance, from the 1940s when Mayor Fiorello La Guardia was doggedly determined to bring the new world body to New York, to the UN’s flat rejection of the city’s offer, then its abrupt change of course in the face of a Rockefeller gift, and on to some tense, troubling decades that followed.
Racial prejudice and anti-Communist passions challenged the young international institution. Spies, scofflaw diplomats, provocative foreign visitors, and controversial UN-member policy positions tested New Yorkers’ patience. And all the while, the UN’s growth―from its original 51 member states to 193 by 2017―placed demands on the surrounding metropolis for everything from more office space, to more security, to better housing and schools for the international community’s children. As the city worked to accommodate the world body’s needs―often in the face of competition from other locales vying to host at least parts of the UN entity―New Yorkers at times grew to resent its encroachment on their neighborhoods, and at times even its very presence. It was a constituent sentiment that provoked more than one New York mayor to be less than hospitable in dealing with the city’s international guests.
Yet, as the UN moves into its eighth decade in New York―with its headquarters complex freshly renovated and the city proudly proclaiming that the organization adds nearly $4 billion to the New York economy each year―it seems clear the decades-old marriage will last. Whatever the inevitable spats and clashes along the way, the worldly affair is here to stay.
Racial prejudice and anti-Communist passions challenged the young international institution. Spies, scofflaw diplomats, provocative foreign visitors, and controversial UN-member policy positions tested New Yorkers’ patience. And all the while, the UN’s growth―from its original 51 member states to 193 by 2017―placed demands on the surrounding metropolis for everything from more office space, to more security, to better housing and schools for the international community’s children. As the city worked to accommodate the world body’s needs―often in the face of competition from other locales vying to host at least parts of the UN entity―New Yorkers at times grew to resent its encroachment on their neighborhoods, and at times even its very presence. It was a constituent sentiment that provoked more than one New York mayor to be less than hospitable in dealing with the city’s international guests.
Yet, as the UN moves into its eighth decade in New York―with its headquarters complex freshly renovated and the city proudly proclaiming that the organization adds nearly $4 billion to the New York economy each year―it seems clear the decades-old marriage will last. Whatever the inevitable spats and clashes along the way, the worldly affair is here to stay.
248 pages, Hardcover
Published September 5, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 3, 2020
The first half of this work was very interesting and engaging, as the UN looks for a permanent home and cities and regions vie to lure them in (or keep them out). While the author’s writing does not worsen, the book become less interesting as tome passes relations between New York and the UN become more predictable, workaday, and pedantic. Overall, it is a worthwhile glimpse into some of the practicalities of the UN and the clash between global and city policies, but isn’t as intense a history as one might hope.
May 15, 2017
3.5 stars
Review is coming soon.
Review is coming soon.
September 5, 2017
GNAb I received a free electronic copy of this interesting history from Netgalley, Pamela Hanlon, and Fordham University Press in exchange for an honest review.
This is a very intriguing history of the establishment of the United Nations into downtown New York City. I don't recall hearing much about the ins and outs of this comingling of the world organization of nations with the flamboyant and unique NYC. Not a lot of national press made it into the wilds of New Mexico back in the day. I am very much involved with the history today. Thank you for bringing this wonderful story in it's totality to this generation of readers and us oldsters who are only now paying attention.
pub date September 1, 2017
Fordham University Press
B&N on Sept 5th
This is a very intriguing history of the establishment of the United Nations into downtown New York City. I don't recall hearing much about the ins and outs of this comingling of the world organization of nations with the flamboyant and unique NYC. Not a lot of national press made it into the wilds of New Mexico back in the day. I am very much involved with the history today. Thank you for bringing this wonderful story in it's totality to this generation of readers and us oldsters who are only now paying attention.
pub date September 1, 2017
Fordham University Press
B&N on Sept 5th
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews