Roger Starr
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Comment: Existing article simple:Roger Starr means that he has a Wikidata item Q9311776 already. The NYT articles are not independent as he wrote for them but there are now several others which meet the golden rules. Mike Turnbull (talk) 14:56, 28 May 2023 (UTC)
Roger Starr (Born in Manhattan 16th April 1918 - and died in Stroudsburg 10th September 2001)[1] was an intelligence officer during World War II, a businessman active in community organizations, and New York City housing administrator until his removal. Later in life, he became a writer for the New York Times. One of his books was titled The Living End (1966).[2]
Early life and career
Starr was born in New York and attended Yale University as an undergraduate. He joined the United States Army and the Office of Strategic Services during World War II where he challenged military segregation.[1][3] Upon his return after the war he went to work as a writer for CBS.[3] Starr took over his father's barge company in 1945; he ended his leadership role in the company in 1974.[1] In the mid 1950's, Starr joined the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, of which he became the executive director in 1958.[3] Starr maintained the organisation's advocacy for government role in development.[3] His early political ideology leaned towards the teachings of Trotsky, developing into a supporter of the New deal but later in life becoming a neoconservative.[3]
Planned shrinkage
Starr was appointed head of the New York City's Housing and Development Administration (HDA) in 1973 by Mayor Abraham Beame.[3] In 1976,Starr proposed a "planned shrinkage" in New York: this is now more commonly known as municipal disinvestment.[3] Starr wanted to accelerate the abandonment of certain neighbourhoods such as the South Bronx by cutting support for their welfare programs, forcing inhabitants to move elsewhere.[3] The shrinkage was seen as unhelpful to the solution of the underlying problem, which was flaws in the welfare system.[4] A number of comments by looters in the New York blackout also support Starr's observation that crime, such as arson, was rising in the urban areas he targeted with his shrinkage.[4] This caused mass public outcry. Protesters would make disturbances when he appeared in public.[1] New York City council members described the planned shrinkage as "inhuman", "racist", and "genocidal".[1] Abraham Beame dismissed Starr from his role in the HDA within the year.[3] Starr described his views on housing in his book America's Housing Challenge: What It Is and How to Meet It, which a reviewer said provided a "trenchant analysis" of the problems but described some of Starr's proposed solutions as "draconian".[4] The same reviewer said that "everyone who reads the book will find the author's arguments well developed and expressed", showing that Starr's literature was well developed in places, even if his argument was judged as immoral.[4] In contrast, another reviewer called the book "a handy summation of the wisdom of an expert".[5]
The views expressed in Starr's book The Rise and Fall of New York City was described by one reviewer as "cranky"![6] The book went into detail on Starr's harsh opinions on welfare and its recipients.[3] A review of his works claims Starr points out that this subject (arguing for planned shrinkage) is difficult to discuss in an environment of housing policy-makers who take a liberal, optimistic view of people's behaviour.[4] Starr's analysis of the then-current problems in the government's attempt to provide decent accommodation for the nation was described as "pessimistic".[4]
Starr's book Housing and the Money Market was received quite favourably as a guide suitable for the general public.[7]
Selected publications
- Starr, Roger (1 January 1966). The living end : the city and its critics. Coward-McCann, Inc. p. 284. ASIN B0006BNPPA.
- Starr, Roger (1975). Housing and the money market. Basic Books. p. 250. ISBN 978-0809025923.
- Starr, Roger (1977). America's Housing Challenge: What it is and how to Meet it. Hill and Wang. p. 130. ISBN 978-0809025923.
- Starr, Roger (11 June 1985). The Rise and Fall of New York City. Basic Books. p. 258. ISBN 978-0465070312.
Later life
After the HDA, Starr went to work for The New York Times in 1977.[1][3] Starr retired in 1992 and moved to The Poconos where he took up fly fishing as a hobby.[1][3] In early 2001, Starr suffered a debilitating stroke: later that year on September the 10th he died of pneumonia in Stroudsburg.[3] He was survived by his second wife, Jody Ward Green, and his two sons Adam and Barnaby.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lambert, Bruce (2001-09-11). "Roger Starr, New York Planning Official, Author and Editorial Writer, Is Dead at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
- ^ Rosenthal, Jack (2001-12-30). "The Lives They Lived: Roger Starr, B. 1918; The Contrarian". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on 2015-11-01. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Goldstein, Brian (2016). "Roger Starr". In Bloom, Nicholas Dagen; Lasner, Matthew Gordon (eds.). Affordable Housing in New York. pp. 261–264. doi:10.1515/9780691207056-049. ISBN 9780691207056.
- ^ a b c d e f Hunter, J (1977). "America's Housing Challenge: What It Is and How to Meet It (Book Review)". AREUEA Journal: Journal of the American Real Estate & Urban Economics Association. 5 (4): 508–510.
- ^ Brookhiser, Richard (1978). "One-quarter Expert". National Review. 30 (13): 415.
- ^ Newfield, J (3 June 1985). "The bruised apple". The New Republic. 192 (22): 36–40.
- ^ Klaman, Saul B.; Rubinson, Jack (1977). "Reviewed work: Housing and the Money Market., Roger Starr". Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. 9 (4): 691–693. doi:10.2307/1991543. JSTOR 1991543.