The economic history of New York is filled with high-stakes drama and big figures. In Modern New York, renowned economist and political commentator Greg David tells the story of the metropolis's financial highs and lows since the 1960s. He takes a hard look at how Wall Street came to dominate the economy in the years following the wrenching decade of the Fiscal Crisis and how New York's high finance roller coaster came to affect the entire city and the world. He tackles the major controversies over real estate development, the growth of inequality, the role of immigration and the prospects for diversification. In addition Modern New York profiles the business and political leaders at the forefront of today's economic issues, as well as the average people who benefit from (and are the casualties of) the structure and cycles of this hub's capricious economy. From covert breakfasts with Wall Street heads to profiles of people like the brilliant but complex economic development artist Dan Doctoroff, Modern New York features all sorts of characters with big personalities and big wallets, from Donald Trump to Michael Bloomberg. This book takes readers on a journey to understanding the machinery and people as well as the spirit of New York. With its many great stories and applicability to other metropolises such as London, Singapore, Sydney, or Hong Kong, it will be relevant to readers around the world..

This book tells the story of fashion workers engaged in the labor of design and the material making of New York fashion. Christina H. Moon offers an illuminating ethnography into the various sites and practices that make up fashion labor in sample rooms, design studios, runways, factories, and design schools of the New York fashion world. By exploring the work practices, social worlds, and aspirations of fashion workers, this book offers a unique look into the meaning of labor and creativity in 21st century global fashion. This book will be of interest to scholars in design studies, fashion history, and fashion labor.

Once a tidal creek meandering through marshlands rich in herbs, grasses, fish, waterfowl, and oysters, Newtown Creek today is a toxic cesspool that brings up raw sewage every time it rains. A tributary of New York's East River that forms part of the border between Brooklyn and Queens, Newtown Creek has long been at the heart of the city's "industrial backyard," serving as home to numerous industries, storage/warehouse facilities, waste transfer stations, and power plants, and as the dumping ground for unwanted byproducts and toxic waste. Site of a 17-million-gallon underground oil spill that still contaminates the area, Newtown Creek is currently under consideration by the Environmental Protection Agency for designation as a Superfund site, but the creek, whose waterfront is for the most part inaccessible to the public, is still largely unknown to residents and visitors of New York alike. Newtown Creek: A Photographic Survey of New York's Industrial Waterfront is an extensive documentation of this forgotten landscape that shows the evolution of the built environment over five years in more than 230 images. Photographer Anthony Hamboussi followed the creek through the neighborhoods of Hunter's Point, Greenpoint, and Bushwick, shooting over fences and gates where he could not gain access, to record the bare industrial landscape. From the ruins of Morgan Oil and the Newtown Metal Corporation, to the construction of the new water treatment facility, to the footprints of the former Maspeth gas holders, Hamboussi recorded sites that may soon undergo further transformations. His survey captures the creek at a moment in time when gentrification and revitalization are just starting to change the area, providing a glimpse into the history of industrial New York. An insightful essay by Paul Parkhill puts Hamboussi's work into context.

The Wheels That Drove New York tells the fascinating story of how a public transportation system helped transform a small trading community on the southern tip of Manhattan island to a world financial capital that is home to more than 8,000,000 people. From the earliest days of horse-drawn conveyances to the wonders of one of the world's largest and most efficient subways, the story links the developing history of the City itself to the growth and development of its public transit system. Along the way, the key role of played by the inventors, builders, financiers, and managers of the system are highlighted. New York began as a fur trading outpost run by the Dutch West India Company, established after the discovery and exploration of New York Harbor and its great river by Henry Hudson. It was eventually taken over by the British, and the magnificent harbor provided for a growing center of trade. Trade spurred industry, initially those needed to support the shipping industry, later spreading to various products for export. When DeWitt Clinton built the Erie Canal, which linked New York Harbor to the Great Lakes, New York became the center of trade for all products moving into and out of the mid-west. As industry grew, New York became a magnate for immigrants seeking refuge in a new land of opportunity. The City's population continued to expand. Both water and land barriers, however, forced virtually the entire population to live south of what is now 14th Street. Densities grew dangerously, and brought both disease and conflict to the poorer quarters of the Five Towns. To expand, the City needed to conquer land and water barriers, primarily with a public transportation system. By the time of the Civil War, the City was at a breaking point. The horse-drawn public conveyances that had provided all of the public transportation services since the 1820's needed to be replaced with something more effective and efficient. First came the elevated railroads, initially powered by steam engines. With the invention of electricity and the electric traction motor, the elevated's were electrified, and a trolley system emerged. Finally, in 1904, the City opened its first subway. From there, the City's growth to northern Manhattan and to the "outer boroughs" of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx exploded. The Wheels That Drove New York takes us through the present day, and discusses the many challenges that the transit system has had to face over the years. It also traces the conversion of the system from fully private operations (through the elevated railways) to the fully public system that exists today, and the problems that this transformation has created along the way.