John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973
Focusing on the collaboration between Mayor John Lindsay and business advocacy group the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), this article illustrates the utility of public and elite anxieties over street crime in legitimizing new, privatized models of urban governance during the early 1970s. A...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sage
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50500/ |
| _version_ | 1848798266893795328 |
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| author | Merton, Joe |
| author_facet | Merton, Joe |
| author_sort | Merton, Joe |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Focusing on the collaboration between Mayor John Lindsay and business advocacy group the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), this article illustrates the utility of public and elite anxieties over street crime in legitimizing new, privatized models of urban governance during the early 1970s. ABNY’s privatized crime-fighting initiatives signified a new direction in city law enforcement strategies, a new “common sense” regarding the efficacy and authority of private or voluntarist solutions to urban problems, and proved of lasting significance for labor relations, the regulation of urban space, and the role of the private sector in urban policy. It concludes that, despite their limitations, the visibility of ABNY’s initiatives, their ability to construct a pervasive sense of crisis, and their apparent demonstration of public and elite consent played a significant role in the transformation of New York into the “privatized” or “neoliberal” city of today. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:17:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-50500 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:17:03Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Sage |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-505002019-04-17T12:35:25Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50500/ John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973 Merton, Joe Focusing on the collaboration between Mayor John Lindsay and business advocacy group the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), this article illustrates the utility of public and elite anxieties over street crime in legitimizing new, privatized models of urban governance during the early 1970s. ABNY’s privatized crime-fighting initiatives signified a new direction in city law enforcement strategies, a new “common sense” regarding the efficacy and authority of private or voluntarist solutions to urban problems, and proved of lasting significance for labor relations, the regulation of urban space, and the role of the private sector in urban policy. It concludes that, despite their limitations, the visibility of ABNY’s initiatives, their ability to construct a pervasive sense of crisis, and their apparent demonstration of public and elite consent played a significant role in the transformation of New York into the “privatized” or “neoliberal” city of today. Sage 2018-04-09 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50500/8/ABNY%20paper%20v4%20REVISION%20Feb%2018.pdf Merton, Joe (2018) John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973. Journal of Urban History, 45 (3). pp. 557-577. ISSN 1552-6771 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0096144218765465 doi:10.1177/0096144218765465 doi:10.1177/0096144218765465 |
| spellingShingle | Merton, Joe John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973 |
| title | John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973 |
| title_full | John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973 |
| title_fullStr | John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973 |
| title_full_unstemmed | John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973 |
| title_short | John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the privatization of New York City, 1969-1973 |
| title_sort | john lindsay, the association for a better new york, and the privatization of new york city, 1969-1973 |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50500/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50500/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50500/ |