On November 4th, residents of New York City will be casting their votes for mayor. It is an election that many in the United States are following closely to see if it will reveal trends about the general direction of politics in America. With this in mind, we offer a selection of books below on NYC history that speak to some of the issues underlying the contest.

The Lofts of SoHo: Gentrification, Art, and Industry in New York, 1950–1980 by Aaron Shkuda

A groundbreaking look at the transformation of SoHo.

The Policing Machine: Enforcement, Endorsements, and the Illusion of Public Input by Tony Cheng

A revelatory look at how the NYPD has resisted change through strategic and selective community engagement.

New York’s New Edge: Contemporary Art, the High Line, and Urban Megaprojects on the Far West Side by David Halle and Elisabeth Tiso

A deep analysis of the transformation of the Chelsea Gallery District, which offers a new understanding of how we perceive and interpret culture and the city in the neighborhood.

from Hirmer Publishers

Acts of Art in Greenwich Village Edited by Howard Singerman, Re’al Christian, and Katie Hood Morgan

A first-ever look at a network of Black visual artists in New York City’s Manhattan and downtown art worlds in the 1960s and 1970s.

125th Street: Photography in Harlem Edited by Antonella Pelizzari and Arden Sherman

An unprecedented study of Harlem’s 125th Street photography and cultural identity.

from Intellect Books

From Broadway to The Bronx: New York City’s History through Song by Veronika Keller and Sabrina Mittermeier

An intimate exploration of New York City through the music that defines it.

from Park Books

Public Spaces, NY by Michael Meredith and Hillary Sample

A study of the fraught, often inequitable public spaces of New York City.

Sponge Park: Gowanus Canal by Susannah C. Drake

Introduces DLANDstudio’s pioneering and award-winning Sponge Park concept for the regeneration of the notorious Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.

from Reaktion Books
Policing the Big Apple: The Story of the NYPD by Jules Stewart

As debates about defunding US police forces continue, this book offers an enlightening historical overview of one of the largest metropolitan contingents: the New York City Police Department.

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