Sagalyn has a terrific story to tell, and she tells it with a remarkable mix of local color and analytic sophistication. She has a deep understanding of politics, economics, corporate and public finance, city planning, and urban design; and she integrates them gracefully throughout.
Alan Altshuler, Director, Taubman Center for State and Local Government, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
If, as Lynne Sagalyn asserts, 'the deal is in the details,' then this book is the real deal.
Architecture
... Magisterially copious...
New York Sun
... masterly... full of eye-opening material.
The New Yorker
In Times Square Roulette, Lynne B. Sagalyn has accomplished the extraordinary feat of presenting a balanced, sophisticated, and definitive account of one of the nation's most-watched urban turnarounds. She brilliantly blends intriguing historical narrative with careful financial and political analysis to capture the excitement, complexity, and dynamism of the large-scale public-private partnerships that are at the heart of today's remarkable city revival. This is a great story!
Eugenie L. Birch, Professor and Chair, Department of City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania
Lynne Sagalyn has analyzed the remaking of 42nd Street with extraordinary diligence and insight. A must read for New York City aficionados.
Edward I. Koch, former mayor of New York City
The self-styled 'crossroads of the world,' Times Square has always been different from the entertainment districts of other American cities—bigger, louder, more crowded, and even more depraved. The battle for its future, as well as its past, has been complex and confused, but has never been explained with more clarity and power than by Lynne Sagalyn.
Kenneth T. Jackson, President, The New York Historical Society, and Editor-in-Chief, The Encyclopedia of New York City
A compelling and timely account of development politics and policy in New York. With balance, insight, and terrific writing, Times Square Roulette explains the complicated process of city building and in newly revealing ways sheds light on the dynamics of public-private real estate ventures in New York. Real Estate professionals, students, city residents, and others who love cities have much to gain by reading Sagalyn's telling account of one of the city's great transformations.
Jerry I. Speyer, President and CEO, Tishman Speyer Properties
This book received Honorable Mention in the category of Architecture and Urban Studies in the 2001 Professional/Scholarly Publishing Annual Awards Competition presented by the Association of American Publishers, Inc.
