“The fact is that Koch has protected Bess Myerson because he has long recognized that there is no way that a damaged Myerson wouldn’t also damage him. And perhaps turn on him”

“The Friedman records, seized by the feds ear­ly last year, unveil the machinations of a remarkable range of prominent New Yorkers — from mobsters like Tony Saler­no and Tommy Gambino to publishing giant Si Newhouse and developer king Donald Trump”

“Jackson has inspired debate over his cosmetic decisions because the residue of the ’60s black nationalism and the condescension of those who would pity or mock black Americans have met over the issue of his face, his skin tone, his hair”

“Detroit is a city whose horror reaches cinematic proportions, like 'The Living Dead Wear Kangols and Filas.' However you like your chiller theater, Detroit is the worst because it’s real.”

The fundamental question about the Koch administration is no longer why the mayor gave power to so many crooks, but exactly what happened years ago when whistleblowers, law enforcement investiga­tors, and private citizens first tried to warn him

“My mother is an urban peasant and I am my mother’s daughter. The city is our natural element. We each have daily adventures with bus drivers, bag ladies, ticket takers, and street crazies. Walking brings out the best in us.”

“Jehovah has, in His Kingdom here on earth, a warehouse that contains a printing press and a sup­ply of food; the World Headquarters are located at the foot of Brook­lyn Heights”

“A lot of people around here going off the deep end with all these epidemics going around, like the crack epidemic”

Wash­ington Heights: That was where I’d found my kind of party people, that 25-to-35-year-­old posse of race-conscious black profes­sionals and community organizers whose politics are Pan-Afrikanist (if not just pro-black)

Shaune Edwards is a tough-minded member of the black working class who’s figured out how to use the system: “I’ll start from one point and just keep on till I get what I need.”