After facing an economic crisis in the 1960s that caused residents to lose faith in the city government’s ability to provide, people came to rely more heavily on private volunteerism and partnership with private businesses. In the late 1980s, Mayor Ed Koch solidified the presence of the private sector and market in the political and economic governance of New York.
One aspect that I’d like to focus on is how neoliberalism has led to gentrification. There is an undeniable link between the rapid transformation of dilapidated neighborhoods and market forces, specifically the real estate market. Poorer residents have been displaced by increases in rent in an effort to make real estate in the city more competitive and luxurious, rather than provide affordable housing. The goal of neoliberalism is to replace existing infrastructure with newer infrastructure that can generate more revenue. I have seen this in my neighborhood as smaller businesses are replaced with chains because they cannot pay the increased rent, and I’ve noticed it in general as NYC becomes full of expensive high-rise buildings that barely reflect the NYC of the early 1960s and 70s. Standardized testing is one field that has been prioritized at the expense of students. Standardized tests, made by private companies, reward students for achieving high school and sort them into categories based on their perceived intelligence. Because of this, many schools have abandoned meaningful teaching due to the stress of making sure their students perform well on standardized tests. I experienced this firsthand in high school when I was taught a basic core curriculum that barely skimmed the surface of many important concepts to make sure that I was prepared for the tests coming at the end of the year. This relates to Dickinson’s text as the example of gentrification, caused the lower class to be displaced because they could not afford to continue living there which shows how the government just keeps taking away every little thing that the lower class may have for themselves.
Sometimes I wonder what NYC would look like today if it had to declare bankruptcy. At the time, many cities were experiencing both capital flight and deindustrialization which put them in precarious spots. Places like Chicago and here managed to adapt to the changing economy, but cities such as Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Detroit are all still shells of themselves 40 years later. New York City was practically forced to make itself as attractive to wealthier businessmen as possible—a process still going on today—so it’s no surprise you are seeing many neighborhoods be gentrified.
It is interesting that you mentioned how real estate as been focusing more on being competitive and luxurious rather than providing affordable housing. I also find it interesting that you noticed that small business have been getting replaced by chains which goes to show how the city is very business oriented and how the citizens are not always the primary focus.