Collecting rent on the Lower East Side. A visitor, probably a landlord in search of rent, enters a family's tenement. Many families were forced to break up when a primary wage earner became too sick to work.
This excerpt from a new book on the history of poverty in New York looks at the period when reformers sough to end public cash relief and replace it with a more effective—and private-sector—system.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
