On March 20, 2025, an article in The Nation’s “Books & the Arts” section reviewed Stacy Horn’s book “The Killing Fields of East New York,” which delves into the devastation experienced by the Brooklyn neighborhood. The work highlights the area’s significant destruction caused by the real estate industry’s malfeasance and the city’s subsequent neglect.
In 1993, East New York, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, recorded 128 homicides, marking the highest tally in a single New York Police Department precinct at that time. This was during an era of high crime rates in the city, with nearly 2,000 murders recorded that year. The neighborhood, spanning approximately five square miles, was notoriously dangerous and often a scene of gang-related violence where even children were not spared from becoming victims.
Despite a decline in crime rates from 1994 onwards, the NYPD attributed the earlier rampant violence in neighborhoods like East New York to a lack of enforcement of minor offenses. This perspective echoed the now-criticized “broken windows” theory that characterized the crime policy under the Giuliani administration. This notion unjustly placed blame on East New York’s predominantly poor Black and Puerto Rican populous for the prevailing violence, ignoring deeper systemic issues.
Horn’s book challenges this viewpoint by asserting that the neighborhood’s decline was triggered not by an increase in street crime but by a well-coordinated white-collar crime within the real estate sector. This criminal activity exploited federal housing laws designed to support low-income families, leading to the neighborhood’s economic and social collapse.
Horn identifies two key legislative acts—the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Housing and Urban Development Act of the same year—that were manipulated by greedy players in the real estate industry. Instead of fostering equity in housing, these acts inadvertently spawned the subprime mortgage crisis, which allowed for manipulation and exploitation by lenders and real estate professionals at the detriment of potential homeowners.
The Federal Housing Authority’s (FHA) role in insuring risky, subprime loans created a scenario where mortgage issuers could benefit from defaults, further destabilizing neighborhoods. Real estate professionals and corrupt FHA officials conspired to profit from fraudulent activities at the expense of East New York’s residents. The neighborhood’s significant decline was rooted in these exploitative practices, where deceptive realtors and bankers sold properties beyond their worth, leading to widespread foreclosures and urban decay.
The neighborhood was uniquely targeted because of previous racial real estate manipulations, such as blockbusting, which had already impacted its demographic fabric. Between 1968-1972, Eastern Services Corporation and other entities capitalized on these dynamics, contributing to an alarming increase in vacant, foreclosed homes, and it wasn’t until 1972 that an FBI investigation led to indictments.
The aftermath left East New York a fertile ground for crime and neglect. Vacant properties became hotbeds for various criminal activities. Compounding the neighborhood’s plight, municipal services dwindled, leaving residents in deteriorating conditions without alternative support. Systemic neglect meant firefighters had to navigate without street signs, which weren’t replaced until community efforts highlighted their absence years later.
Horn’s book not only documents the breadth of real estate corruption but also compares it to other similar historical examinations, like Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor’s “Race for Profit,” which similarly outlines systemic exploitation of communities of color across the nation.
Drawing from extensive research, Horn focuses on East New York to emphasize the deeply damaging effects of white-collar crimes, extending beyond financial losses to contribute significantly to social decay. This narrative interweaves with contemporary issues, demonstrating longstanding consequences and ongoing struggles with crime and civic neglect, as exemplified by the unresolved murder of Julia Parker, a teenager in East New York.
Through “The Killing Fields of East New York,” Horn successfully narrates a tragic tale of community devastation, while hinting at broader implications of national real estate practices that continue to impact American cities. As such, the book sheds light on the systemic challenges East New York has faced over decades, providing a critical examination of the intersection between race, economy, and urban policy.
