John Krinsky | City College of New York (original) (raw)
Papers by John Krinsky
British Journal of Industrial Relations, Nov 15, 2015
New York City faces a rental housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels, more than a mill... more New York City faces a rental housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels, more than a million households spending over 30% of their incomes on rent, and the number of apartments renting for $1,000 or less plunging fast. The city has an opportunity to manage this catastrophe, argues John Krinsky, by reviving a policy it pioneered in the "dark days" after the 1974 fiscal crisis: that of taking control of tax-delinquent property neglected by private owners and transferring it to nonprofit managers who will keep it permanently affordable.
Metropolitics, Oct 20, 2015
New York City faces a rental housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels, more than a mill... more New York City faces a rental housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels, more than a million households spending over 30% of their incomes on rent, and the number of apartments renting for $1,000 or less plunging fast. The city has an opportunity to manage this catastrophe, argues John Krinsky, by reviving a policy it pioneered in the "dark days" after the 1974 fiscal crisis: that of taking control of tax-delinquent property neglected by private owners and transferring it to nonprofit managers who will keep it permanently affordable.
Perspectives on Politics, Aug 19, 2009
prevalent means of abridging American Indian voting rights are vote dilution, specifically via at... more prevalent means of abridging American Indian voting rights are vote dilution, specifically via at-large electoral systems in multimember districts, and language barriers. The authors make it easy to track this abridgement by supplying a comprehensive table that chronologically lists and breaks down the legal issues, actors, case citations, and outcomes of all 74 Indian voting rights suits brought to this point in time (pp. 48–67). What becomes clear by this part of the book is the centrality of the courts to Indian voting rights politics. It is for this reason that I recommend the study to U.S. public law scholars, whether or not they have an immediate interest in American Indian or race and ethnicity politics, as they would likely have more disciplinary interest in the research and focus of the book than might those who study, say, social movements, political culture, or political behavior. Chapters 4–6 are case studies of VRA litigations concerning, respectively, Navajos in Utah, the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes of the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, and Lakota Sioux in South Dakota. Each chapter follows the same structure, providing historical background, the contemporary context, the details of the case, and finally the decision itself, which in each instance finds in favor of Indian voting rights. Read together, these cases demonstrate the variety of issues and resolutions that can be pursued through VRA litigation. What is also valuable here, especially for teaching, is that each chapter is a selfcontained case, as all references to concepts and criteria mentioned in previous chapters are restated concisely and clearly. If I had one quibble, it is that while I appreciate the authors’ aim of exploring the range of successful applications of the VRA, it would have been an interesting contrast to examine a case in which the decision went against Indian voting rights. Although the book is not a study of the behavior of American Indian voters in U.S. elections, the final chapters argue that advances stemming from VRA litigation have been, in this regard, “profound for American Indians” (p. 173). Chapter 7 notes the rise in American Indian voter registration and turnout, the election of Indian representatives in newly created single-member districts, and the positive impact these representatives have had on public policy and Indian political efficacy. Finally, Chapter 8 traces the increasing bipartisan attention accorded “the Indian vote” in recent U.S. elections, noting that while American Indians tend to vote Democratic, they are not strongly identified with the party. Taken as a whole, then, the authors’ verdict is a positive one: American Indians are becoming more active and influential in U.S. elections, and thus “there are reasons for optimism” as it concerns their socioeconomic and political future (p. 194). The authors have done the research and work to make a case for this optimism and, while I highly recommend this book, I also recommend that teachers and scholars place it into direct conversation with studies that look at the politics of tribal sovereignty. I am sure the authors would agree, as they take note of the fact that some American Indian political actors see a tension between participating in U.S. elections and maintaining their political commitment to tribal sovereignty. I agree with the authors that this is likely a false choice. American Indians have strong claims to both full participation in U.S. politics and the right to tribal sovereignty, and the two can work hand in hand, provided sovereignty remains the political priority for tribes. To this end, McCool, Olson, and Robinson’s important study widens our vision of the complicated terrain of American Indian politics, as well as that of U.S. race and ethnicity politics. As such, Native Vote is sure to become required reading in these fields, and will be a welcome addition to many syllabi; I know it will be on mine.
American Journal of Sociology, Nov 1, 2022
Metropolitics, Jan 13, 2017
In response to a tense post-election moment in the US, the Metropolitics editorial committee has ... more In response to a tense post-election moment in the US, the Metropolitics editorial committee has initiated Rapid-Response Peer Review, with a commitment to quickly reviewing and publishing articles that examine organizing and activism around crucial urban issues. Our second call was for papers related to housing policy. John Krinsky argues for a sustained public commitment to housing at the state and local level-a "progressive federalism"-in order to prevent the worsening of New York City's current housing crisis. Joshua Akers profiles Detroit Eviction Defense, a coalition that has successfully combined a judicial strategy with direct protest. And Elora Raymond deploys unique research on the location of underwater mortgages to suggest that housing, not jobs, may hold the key to reigniting progressive politics in the Rust Belt.
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2017
New Labor Forum, Sep 1, 2014
Qualitative Sociology, Dec 22, 2013
Social Forces, Sep 1, 2006
Social Science History, 2011
Recent interpretations of the neoliberal transformation of welfare states emphasize the formative... more Recent interpretations of the neoliberal transformation of welfare states emphasize the formative role of crises in which old institutions are rolled back to make way for the “rollout” of neoliberalism’s program of austerity, markets, and privatization. Policy scholars and social historians argue, however, that major social changes combine long-term institutional development, sudden pivots, and cyclical trends. This article draws on a case study of municipal employee labor relations in New York City to examine the temporality of neoliberal transition. It acknowledges that actual neoliberalism involves a mix of policies that depart from its market-liberal ideal type and that include elements of statist, communitarian, and/or corporatist policies. Thus the article engages a puzzle: if paths to neoliberalism are not always sudden and are populated by policies that are not necessarily driven by neoliberal assumptions, how should we understand what neoliberalism is and how it develops? The article traces the history of municipal labor relations from the 1950s through the present to show that the transition to neoliberalism was characterized by the transition from a contentious corporatism that took shape in the 1950s and went through a neocorporatism forged in the fiscal crisis of the 1970s and that kept corporatist institutions in place while undermining their social power and laying the groundwork for neoliberal policies from the 1990s forward. The article shows how longer-term trajectories and shorter-term crises intertwine to produce a neoliberalism better understood as a repertoire of governance than as an undifferentiated set of policy preferences for market mechanisms.
Social Forces, Dec 1, 2009
its own goals. Through this analysis we see the powerful effect of an opposing movement; it effec... more its own goals. Through this analysis we see the powerful effect of an opposing movement; it effectively changes the entire playing field. However, Fetner goes beyond this tight analysis and attempts to demonstrate the Religious Right’s control of the gay rights issue as a whole. While it is true that the Religious Right has had the upper hand in resources and mobilization, the lesbian and gay movement has prevailed in the majority of court challenges and seems to be winning in the court of public opinion. Data show that tolerance for homosexuality has increased at a rate greater than that attributable solely to demographic factors. In other words, lesbians, gays and their supporters are convincing the American public (slowly but surely). Fetner also tries to show changes in the realm of framing and emotions, but she lacks a critical engagement of the literature in these two areas. In one chapter Fetner claims that lesbian and gay activist groups changed their framing strategies in response to the anti-gay politics activists. Unfortunately the basis for this claim – a noticeable change between documents published before and after anti-gay activities – is insufficient. Scholars have shown us that framing depends both on the actions of those who create frames and on the expectations of those who consume them, and with such a complex mix it is premature to attribute message change to this one factor. Actors’ emotions, likewise, are most likely important factors in the ways that these movements influence one another, but this claim is not explored in depth. Rather it is mentioned as a side note. Fetner’s analysis shows convincingly that the Religious Right has won the arms race in building a bigger movement and choosing political fights, but this does not necessarily translate to winning the war of establishing public policy and changing public opinion. Despite these weakness, Fetner’s book is an important contribution to literature on opposing social movements and the dynamics of both lesbian and gay politics and the Religious Right in the United States. Struggles between the two groups promise to continue into the future, as David continues to search for an effective sling.
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2017
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2017
This book is an urgent and compelling account of the Occupy movements: from the M15 movement in S... more This book is an urgent and compelling account of the Occupy movements: from the M15 movement in Spain, to the wave of Occupations flooding across cities in American, Europe and Australia, to the harsh reality of evictions as corporations and governments attempted to reassert exclusive control over public space. Across a vast range of international examples over twenty authors analyse, explain and helps us understand the movement. These movements were a novel and noisy intervention into the recent capitalist crisis in developed economies, developing an exceptionally broad identity through a call to arms addressed to 'the 99%', and emphasizing the importance of public space in the creation and maintenance of opposition. The novelties of these movements, along with their radical positioning and the urgency of their claims all demand analysis. This book investigates the crucial questions of how and why this form of action spread so rapidly and so widely, how the inclusive discourse of 'the 99%' matched up to the reality of the practice. It is vital to understand not just the choice of tactics and the vitality of protest camps in public spaces, but also how the myriad of challenges and problems were negotiated. This book was published as a special issue of Social Movement Studies.
British Journal of Industrial Relations, Nov 15, 2015
New York City faces a rental housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels, more than a mill... more New York City faces a rental housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels, more than a million households spending over 30% of their incomes on rent, and the number of apartments renting for $1,000 or less plunging fast. The city has an opportunity to manage this catastrophe, argues John Krinsky, by reviving a policy it pioneered in the "dark days" after the 1974 fiscal crisis: that of taking control of tax-delinquent property neglected by private owners and transferring it to nonprofit managers who will keep it permanently affordable.
Metropolitics, Oct 20, 2015
New York City faces a rental housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels, more than a mill... more New York City faces a rental housing crisis, with homelessness at record levels, more than a million households spending over 30% of their incomes on rent, and the number of apartments renting for $1,000 or less plunging fast. The city has an opportunity to manage this catastrophe, argues John Krinsky, by reviving a policy it pioneered in the "dark days" after the 1974 fiscal crisis: that of taking control of tax-delinquent property neglected by private owners and transferring it to nonprofit managers who will keep it permanently affordable.
Perspectives on Politics, Aug 19, 2009
prevalent means of abridging American Indian voting rights are vote dilution, specifically via at... more prevalent means of abridging American Indian voting rights are vote dilution, specifically via at-large electoral systems in multimember districts, and language barriers. The authors make it easy to track this abridgement by supplying a comprehensive table that chronologically lists and breaks down the legal issues, actors, case citations, and outcomes of all 74 Indian voting rights suits brought to this point in time (pp. 48–67). What becomes clear by this part of the book is the centrality of the courts to Indian voting rights politics. It is for this reason that I recommend the study to U.S. public law scholars, whether or not they have an immediate interest in American Indian or race and ethnicity politics, as they would likely have more disciplinary interest in the research and focus of the book than might those who study, say, social movements, political culture, or political behavior. Chapters 4–6 are case studies of VRA litigations concerning, respectively, Navajos in Utah, the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes of the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, and Lakota Sioux in South Dakota. Each chapter follows the same structure, providing historical background, the contemporary context, the details of the case, and finally the decision itself, which in each instance finds in favor of Indian voting rights. Read together, these cases demonstrate the variety of issues and resolutions that can be pursued through VRA litigation. What is also valuable here, especially for teaching, is that each chapter is a selfcontained case, as all references to concepts and criteria mentioned in previous chapters are restated concisely and clearly. If I had one quibble, it is that while I appreciate the authors’ aim of exploring the range of successful applications of the VRA, it would have been an interesting contrast to examine a case in which the decision went against Indian voting rights. Although the book is not a study of the behavior of American Indian voters in U.S. elections, the final chapters argue that advances stemming from VRA litigation have been, in this regard, “profound for American Indians” (p. 173). Chapter 7 notes the rise in American Indian voter registration and turnout, the election of Indian representatives in newly created single-member districts, and the positive impact these representatives have had on public policy and Indian political efficacy. Finally, Chapter 8 traces the increasing bipartisan attention accorded “the Indian vote” in recent U.S. elections, noting that while American Indians tend to vote Democratic, they are not strongly identified with the party. Taken as a whole, then, the authors’ verdict is a positive one: American Indians are becoming more active and influential in U.S. elections, and thus “there are reasons for optimism” as it concerns their socioeconomic and political future (p. 194). The authors have done the research and work to make a case for this optimism and, while I highly recommend this book, I also recommend that teachers and scholars place it into direct conversation with studies that look at the politics of tribal sovereignty. I am sure the authors would agree, as they take note of the fact that some American Indian political actors see a tension between participating in U.S. elections and maintaining their political commitment to tribal sovereignty. I agree with the authors that this is likely a false choice. American Indians have strong claims to both full participation in U.S. politics and the right to tribal sovereignty, and the two can work hand in hand, provided sovereignty remains the political priority for tribes. To this end, McCool, Olson, and Robinson’s important study widens our vision of the complicated terrain of American Indian politics, as well as that of U.S. race and ethnicity politics. As such, Native Vote is sure to become required reading in these fields, and will be a welcome addition to many syllabi; I know it will be on mine.
American Journal of Sociology, Nov 1, 2022
Metropolitics, Jan 13, 2017
In response to a tense post-election moment in the US, the Metropolitics editorial committee has ... more In response to a tense post-election moment in the US, the Metropolitics editorial committee has initiated Rapid-Response Peer Review, with a commitment to quickly reviewing and publishing articles that examine organizing and activism around crucial urban issues. Our second call was for papers related to housing policy. John Krinsky argues for a sustained public commitment to housing at the state and local level-a "progressive federalism"-in order to prevent the worsening of New York City's current housing crisis. Joshua Akers profiles Detroit Eviction Defense, a coalition that has successfully combined a judicial strategy with direct protest. And Elora Raymond deploys unique research on the location of underwater mortgages to suggest that housing, not jobs, may hold the key to reigniting progressive politics in the Rust Belt.
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2017
New Labor Forum, Sep 1, 2014
Qualitative Sociology, Dec 22, 2013
Social Forces, Sep 1, 2006
Social Science History, 2011
Recent interpretations of the neoliberal transformation of welfare states emphasize the formative... more Recent interpretations of the neoliberal transformation of welfare states emphasize the formative role of crises in which old institutions are rolled back to make way for the “rollout” of neoliberalism’s program of austerity, markets, and privatization. Policy scholars and social historians argue, however, that major social changes combine long-term institutional development, sudden pivots, and cyclical trends. This article draws on a case study of municipal employee labor relations in New York City to examine the temporality of neoliberal transition. It acknowledges that actual neoliberalism involves a mix of policies that depart from its market-liberal ideal type and that include elements of statist, communitarian, and/or corporatist policies. Thus the article engages a puzzle: if paths to neoliberalism are not always sudden and are populated by policies that are not necessarily driven by neoliberal assumptions, how should we understand what neoliberalism is and how it develops? The article traces the history of municipal labor relations from the 1950s through the present to show that the transition to neoliberalism was characterized by the transition from a contentious corporatism that took shape in the 1950s and went through a neocorporatism forged in the fiscal crisis of the 1970s and that kept corporatist institutions in place while undermining their social power and laying the groundwork for neoliberal policies from the 1990s forward. The article shows how longer-term trajectories and shorter-term crises intertwine to produce a neoliberalism better understood as a repertoire of governance than as an undifferentiated set of policy preferences for market mechanisms.
Social Forces, Dec 1, 2009
its own goals. Through this analysis we see the powerful effect of an opposing movement; it effec... more its own goals. Through this analysis we see the powerful effect of an opposing movement; it effectively changes the entire playing field. However, Fetner goes beyond this tight analysis and attempts to demonstrate the Religious Right’s control of the gay rights issue as a whole. While it is true that the Religious Right has had the upper hand in resources and mobilization, the lesbian and gay movement has prevailed in the majority of court challenges and seems to be winning in the court of public opinion. Data show that tolerance for homosexuality has increased at a rate greater than that attributable solely to demographic factors. In other words, lesbians, gays and their supporters are convincing the American public (slowly but surely). Fetner also tries to show changes in the realm of framing and emotions, but she lacks a critical engagement of the literature in these two areas. In one chapter Fetner claims that lesbian and gay activist groups changed their framing strategies in response to the anti-gay politics activists. Unfortunately the basis for this claim – a noticeable change between documents published before and after anti-gay activities – is insufficient. Scholars have shown us that framing depends both on the actions of those who create frames and on the expectations of those who consume them, and with such a complex mix it is premature to attribute message change to this one factor. Actors’ emotions, likewise, are most likely important factors in the ways that these movements influence one another, but this claim is not explored in depth. Rather it is mentioned as a side note. Fetner’s analysis shows convincingly that the Religious Right has won the arms race in building a bigger movement and choosing political fights, but this does not necessarily translate to winning the war of establishing public policy and changing public opinion. Despite these weakness, Fetner’s book is an important contribution to literature on opposing social movements and the dynamics of both lesbian and gay politics and the Religious Right in the United States. Struggles between the two groups promise to continue into the future, as David continues to search for an effective sling.
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2017
University of Chicago Press eBooks, 2017
This book is an urgent and compelling account of the Occupy movements: from the M15 movement in S... more This book is an urgent and compelling account of the Occupy movements: from the M15 movement in Spain, to the wave of Occupations flooding across cities in American, Europe and Australia, to the harsh reality of evictions as corporations and governments attempted to reassert exclusive control over public space. Across a vast range of international examples over twenty authors analyse, explain and helps us understand the movement. These movements were a novel and noisy intervention into the recent capitalist crisis in developed economies, developing an exceptionally broad identity through a call to arms addressed to 'the 99%', and emphasizing the importance of public space in the creation and maintenance of opposition. The novelties of these movements, along with their radical positioning and the urgency of their claims all demand analysis. This book investigates the crucial questions of how and why this form of action spread so rapidly and so widely, how the inclusive discourse of 'the 99%' matched up to the reality of the practice. It is vital to understand not just the choice of tactics and the vitality of protest camps in public spaces, but also how the myriad of challenges and problems were negotiated. This book was published as a special issue of Social Movement Studies.