The subtitle is The Life and Economics of a City and the author is Greg David (2012). An interesting read about the City, since the mid ‘60s, when John Lindsay became mayor. The takeaway is that the City is at its best when Wall Street is thriving. Therein, though, the author (who was the editor of Crane’s New York Business for over 20 years) tries to note distinctions in the administrations that encouraged growing incomes, versus those who emphasized the role of government to lift everybody up. Again, where the mayor (Koch, Giuliani, Bloomberg) seemed to be supportive of the financial industry, the economy grew. In every case, though, each of the mayors seemed to revert eventually to growing government in order to pay back constituents (whether from the beginning, like Dinkins, or later on, like Giuliani).
The book also touches on rent control. It has become a political third rail and the chances that it is ever eliminated are slim – even though it still operates as a disincentive to development and forces up the rents of market-rate apartments, making the City prohibitively expensive for many. In fact, the chances of the system becoming even stronger are high with the election of a new mayor in 2013.
The other interesting discussion is about the sectors that drive New York’s economy now. Obviously, the list includes finance (which in 2007 represented 28% of all income in the City). But, of great import is also tourism. And, more recently, higher education, the television and film industry, and technology have all become key engines with regards to income and workers. As one anecdote, the 110 institutions in New York have about 600,000 students – roughly the population of Boston, which is itself known as the college town. All of which is to say that manufacturing is not nearly as important as it once was – so, the argument from community groups when a new development is proposed in their backyard, that includes reference to the loss of manufacturing jobs when industrial space is converted, is not really valid given the data.
As a born and bred New Yorker, it got me nostalgic at times, reminded of my childhood when certain pivotal moments in the City’s recent history were mentioned. I enjoyed the book.
