ABSTRACT
This chapter examines several examples of New York’s early decentralization efforts and is intended as an immediate historical and conceptual backdrop to the analysis of the community board system, which, in the wake of the 1975 fiscal crisis, helped institutionalize postreform politics in the city. It examines the range of grass-roots organizing in New York City from community self-help groups, which were exclusively locally focused and politically participatory, to community development corporations, which adopted a territorially interactive approach and were less committed to the notion of widespread participation. The chapter explores community-based administrative decentralization through the Office of Neighborhood Government. It analyses the evolution of post-LaGuardia governance in New York City. The evolution of postreform politics from its radical origins to its more moderate institutionalization is exemplified by the New York City experience. The successes experienced by community self-help groups in New York were important for a number of reasons.
