When Tenants Claimed the City: The Struggle for Citizenship in New York City Housing

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Marx’s observation that we make history under circumstances we do not choose applies verily to junior scholars struggling with slim budgets and fat teaching loads. But in my case those pressures were eased by generous institutional support. I am grateful to the American Association of University Women, the History Department and the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies at the University of Washington, the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University, and the Tamiment Library at New York University for grants and fellowships that enabled me to complete this bit of history. Engels’ views are less illuminating here, as my family’s organizing principle has not been the furtherance of economic interests. My parents always supported my academic pursuits, no matter how unremunerative (even if they were a bit slow to understand that “So, how’s your dissertation going?” is not a great conversational gambit). Their encouragement for this project figured in the last talks I had with them. My brother Matt and sister Stephanie score lower on the nudge-o-meter but just as high on the support scale. Their warmth and wit have kept me anchored on the uncertain seas of school and career. So have the abiding affection and holiday cooking of the Gerstmann, Chuman, Ogrin, Karp, and extended Gold branches of our family. My family is further constituted by extraordinarily loyal and generous friends. Christina Nicolaidis, Monica Bubay, Laura Gottesman, Carl Hum, Ron Gutiérrez, Tad Toulis, Rob Hallock, Eric Schreiber, Leah Osman, Algernon Austin, Mike Mahon, and the Cracas family have stuck with me through thick and thin since our grade-school and college days, encouraging me to keep striving while preventing me from disappearing completely into the quicksand of solitary research and writing. After college I landed in other communities that have sustained me day in and out. The brothers and sisters of Harlem EMS, especially my partner, Sam Benson,taughtmemoreaboutsolidaritythancouldmanyalabor-historybook. Co-workers and friends at Riverbank State Park and New York Downtown Hospital havebuoyedmyspiritsmanytimes.NeighborsSalOrochena,AliceChurch Cheseborough, Deb Proos, Judy Thames, the Wilder family, Miriam Rivera, and others too numerous to name have provided much-needed doses of sanity at my doorstep. Indeed, my interest in work- and place-based fellowship, a theme of this study, owes in no small measure to these New York friends. That interest would never have produced a book, however, without the guidance of wonderful teachers. At Wesleyan I was fortunate to study with Ann Wightman, who introduced me to the vocation of social history; John Finn, who provided a model of analytic rigor enlivened by mordant wit; Anne Greene, an incisive critic and extraordinary teacher of writing; and Jerry Watts, whose encouragement, wide-ranging intellect, and disdain for conventional wisdom sustained and challenged me over many years. My time in Seattle was made worthwhile—which is saying a lot—by members of the UW History Department. Coll Thrush, Vera Sokolova, Ali Igmen, Kate Brown, Michael Reese, Robert Self, Ken Lang, Steve Marquardt, Nellie Blacker-Hanson, Susan Bragg, and Trevor Griffey taught me a great deal and did much to relieve the isolation that threatens to overtake doctoral students. Jen Seltz’s relentless cynicism and caustic wit have remained tonics for the intellect and general outlook. My UW professors are widely known as sterling scholars; it was a joy to find that they were also fine teachers who became good friends. To Susan Glenn I am grateful especially for pushing me to confront the complexities in social history rather than take the easy way out. Her warm encouragement made this less daunting than it might have been. Jim Gregory believed in this project from the beginning, when I was an agnostic at best. His keen engagement with labor and political history informed my interpretations; his questions challenged me to rethink and sharpen arguments . And his generosity with time, counsel, support, and premium microbrew eased my way considerably. Finally, Jim’s commitment to principled scholar-activism will remain a model for me long after this book is completed. Suzanne Lebsock’s presence in these pages is equally manifold. From astute suggestions on wording to probing questions on analysis to some well-deserved “duh-uh”s on forgettable passages, her editorial advice has been unerring. Her own work sets a benchmark for historical craftsmanship and reflective engagement with women’s past. I am also grateful to Suzanne for serving as an x Acknowledgments offbeat...