About this item
"ESSENTIAL READING FOR FANS OF JANE JACOBS, JOSEPH MITCHELL, PATTI SMITH, LUC SANTE AND CHEAP PIEROGI."--VANITY FAIRAn unflinching chronicle of gentrification in the twenty-first century and a love letter to lost New York by the creator of the popular and incendiary blog Vanishing New York.For generations, New York City has been a mecca for artists, writers, and other hopefuls longing to be part of its rich cultural exchange and unique social fabric. But today, modern gentrification is transforming the city from an exceptional, iconoclastic metropolis into a suburbanized luxury zone with a price tag only the one percent can afford.A Jane Jacobs for the digital age, blogger and cultural commentator Jeremiah Moss has emerged as one of the most outspoken and celebrated critics of this dramatic shift. In Vanishing New York, he reports on the city's development in the twenty-first century, a period of "hyper-gentrification" that has resulted in the shocking transformation of beloved neighborhoods and the loss of treasured unofficial landmarks. In prose that the Village Voice has called a "mixture of snark, sorrow, poeticism, and lyric wit," Moss leads us on a colorful guided tour of the most changed parts of town - from the Lower East Side and Chelsea to Harlem and Williamsburg - lovingly eulogizing iconic institutions as they're replaced with soulless upscale boutiques, luxury condo towers, and suburban chains.Propelled by Moss' hard-hitting, cantankerous style, Vanishing New York is a staggering examination of contemporary "urban renewal" and its repercussions - not only for New Yorkers, but for all of America and the world.
About the Author
JEREMIAH MOSS, creator of the award- winning blog Vanishing NewYork, is the pen name of Griffin Hansbury. His writing on the city hasappeared in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, and onlinefor The New Yorker and The Paris Review. As Hansbury, he is the authorof The Nostalgist, a novel, and works as a psychoanalyst in privatepractice in New York City.Praise for Vanishing New York:"Essential reading for fans of Jane Jacobs, Joseph Mitchell, Patti Smith, Luc Sante, and cheap pierogi." -Vanity Fair"This is a very good, angrily passionate, and ultimately saddening book.... a brilliantly written and well-informed account." -Booklist, starred review"Vanishing New York is an urban-activist polemic in the tradition of Jane Jacobs's Death and Life of Great American Cities: Every page is charged with Moss's deep love of New York. It is both a vital and unequivocally depressing read." -Village Voice"a vigorous, righteously indignant book that would do Jane Jacobs proud." --Kirkus "This polemic is likely to stir a lot of emotions."--Publishers Weekly"A relevant lamentation of New York's rebellious, nonconformist past and its path toward an inexpressive mélange of glass and steel big box stores and chain restaurants." --New York Journal of Books
