Roger Starr (April 16, 1918 – September 10, 2001) was an intelligence officer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a businessman active in community organizations, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

housing administrator until his removal. Later in life, he became a writer for the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

. One of his books was titled ''The Living End'' (1966).

Early life and career

Starr was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on April 16, 1918. He attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

as an undergraduate and joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all bran ...

during World War II where he challenged military segregation. Upon his return after the war he went to work as a writer for CBS. Starr took over his father's construction company in 1945; he ended his leadership role in the company in 1974. In the mid 1950's, Starr joined the

Citizens Housing and Planning Council Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and education organization based in New York City focused on advancing public policies that support housing and neighborhoods. Mission Citizens Housing and Planning C ...

, of which he became the executive director in 1958. Starr maintained the organisation's advocacy for government role in development. His early political ideology leaned towards the teachings of

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

, developing into a supporter of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...

but later in life becoming a

neoconservative Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and cou ...

Planned shrinkage

Starr was appointed head of the

's Housing and Development Administration (HDA) in 1973 by Mayor

Abraham Beame Abraham David Beame (March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was the 104th mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As mayor, he presided over the city during its fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, when the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy. ...

. In 1976,Starr proposed a "planned shrinkage" in New York: this is now more commonly known as

municipal disinvestment Municipal disinvestment is a term in the United States which describes an urban planning process in which a city or town or other municipal entity decides to abandon or neglect an area. It can happen when a municipality is in a period of economic ...

. Starr wanted to accelerate the abandonment of certain neighbourhoods such as the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was or ...

by cutting support for their welfare programs, forcing inhabitants to move elsewhere. The shrinkage was seen as unhelpful to the solution of the underlying problem, which was flaws in the welfare system. A number of comments by looters in the

New York blackout The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which w ...

also support Starr's observation that crime, such as arson, was rising in the urban areas he targeted with his shrinkage. This caused mass public outcry. Protesters would make disturbances when he appeared in public. New York City council members described the planned shrinkage as "inhuman", "

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

", and "

genocidal Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

". Abraham Beame dismissed Starr from his role in the HDA within the year. Starr described his views on housing in his book ''America's Housing Challenge: What It Is and How to Meet It'', which a reviewer said provided a "trenchant analysis" of the problems but described some of Starr's proposed solutions as "draconian". The same reviewer said that "everyone who reads the book will find the author's arguments well developed and expressed", showing that Starr's literature was well developed in places, even if his argument was judged as

immoral Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied t ...

. This review of his works claims Starr says that this subject (arguing for planned shrinkage) is difficult to discuss in an environment of housing policy-makers who take a liberal, optimistic view of people's behaviour. Starr's analysis of the then-current problems in the government's attempt to provide decent accommodation for the nation was described as "

pessimistic Pessimism is a negative mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is " Is the glass half emp ...

". In contrast, another reviewer called the book "a handy summation of the wisdom of an expert". The views expressed in Starr's 1985 book ''The Rise and Fall of New York City'' was described by one reviewer as "cranky"! The book went into detail on Starr's harsh opinions on welfare and its recipients. However, another reviewer called it a "a bold and insightful analysis". Starr's book ''Housing and the Money Market'' was received quite favourably as a guide suitable for the general public.

Selected publications

* * * * *

Later life

After the HDA, Starr wrote editorials for

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, starting in 1977. He also contributed to the ''

City Journal ''City Journal'' is a public policy magazine and website, published by the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, that covers a range of topics on urban affairs, such as policing, education, housing, and other issues. The magazin ...

'' from its inception in 1990 and was its editor in 1992-3. Starr retired in 1992 and moved to

Stroudsburg Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It lies within the Poconos region, approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence of the Brodhead, McMichaels and Pocono Creeks in Northeastern Pennsyl ...

The Poconos The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, W ...

where he took up

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diff ...

as a hobby. In early 2001, Starr suffered a debilitating stroke: later that year on September 10, he died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

in Easton. He was survived by his second wife, Jody Ward Green, and his two sons Adam and Barnaby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Roger 1918 births 2001 deaths