Lovely thoughtful book. I found it a bit dry, but definitely a fun ride for people who are interested in urban planning and income-related tensions in NYC.

I found "Freedomland" by Annemarie H Sammartino a fascinating read. I expect there will be a lot of disagreement with that statement. Why? Because I think you have to be a New Yorker, or a former New Yorker to really appreciate this. At least I think so.
Freedomland was a short-lived amusement park in The Bronx (NYC). The book is about what happened to the land on which the park stood. It's a book about NYC (specifically the Bronx) and New York State politics and finances. It's a book about people of the community wanting better housing and services. It's also a story of hope and disappointment and promises made & broken.
The vacant property of the old amusement park became after several years of struggle became the largest affordable housing project in the United States with 35 highrises and over 200 townhouses called Co-Op City. Then came the in-fighting of who controlled the development, and resulted in the largest rent strike in American history.
The ins and outs of the building and control of the development and how it fit into the times of the 1970s through the present day I found fascinating. There are a number of dry sections when discussing the fighting of finances, but it's also about people who simply wanted a nice, comfortable, and affordable place to live in NYC.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a prepub edition of this book.

Freedomland is a social and political history of the early years of Co-op City, the largest cooperative housing project in the United States. Sammartino, who grew up there, does an admirable job of tracing the origins of an urban renewal project that was poorly designed, looking like it would easily fit into Cold War-era East Germany, and constructed with numerous defects. Co-op City faced many challenges that ultimately caused it to fall far short of the urban utopia that had been envisioned. The state failed to properly finance the project, resulting in a long rent strike, and changing demographics created some community tensions. Yet, ultimately, Co-op City provided large apartments at mostly affordable prices. For those interested in New York City history and urban planning, this volume is a welcome addition to our understanding of the 1960s to 1990s challenges to city living.

This is an exceedingly I. Death look at the long term housing crisis in new York. It is a little dry but an interesting read.