Allan Lacki writes:
“My dad grew up in Newark, NJ during the 1920s and 1930s. When I was a kid in the ’60s, he used to drive us through the old neighborhoods where he used to live.
“They were used-up by then. Unlike the brownstone sections of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the houses were made of wood and could not be restored because they had been neglected for so many years. And they were mixed in with gritty factories, garages, and other industrial establishments that detracted from whatever visual appeal the streets may have had. After the 1967 riots, the flight to the suburbs accelerated, leaving the city destitute for so many years.”
