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From Prison to Homeless Shelter: Camp Laguardia and the Political Economy of an Urban Infrastructure

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From Prison to Homeless Shelter: Camp Laguardia and the Political Economy of an Urban Infrastructure City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2018 From Prison to Homeless Shelter: Camp LaGuardia and the Political Economy of an Urban Infrastructure Christian D. Siener The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2880 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] From Prison to Homeless Shelter Camp LaGuardia and the Political Economy of an Urban Infrastructure Christian D. Siener A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Earth and Environmental Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2018 © 2018 Christian D. Siener All Rights Reserved ii From Prison to Homeless Shelter Camp LaGuardia and the Political Economy of an Urban Infrastructure by Christian D. Siener This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Earth and Environmental Sciences in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _________________________ ______________________________ Date Ruth Wilson Gilmore Chair of Examining Committee _________________________ ______________________________ Date Cindi Katz Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Marianna Pavlovskaya Monica Varsanyi THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT From Prison to Homeless Shelter Camp LaGuardia and the Political Economy of an Urban Infrastructure Christian D. Siener Advisor: Ruth Wilson Gilmore At this time of increasing housing insecurity, recent reforms in homeless shelter policy have attracted the attention of scholars and activists. This research sheds light on these changes by placing them in historical and political-geographic perspective, focusing on the role of homeless shelters in stabilizing social displacement by destabilizing solidarity. It demonstrates historical continuity between prisons and homeless shelters in New York City through a case study of conditions surrounding the transition of Camp LaGuardia, a prison that slowly transformed into the city’s largest, and longest lasting, homeless shelter. The case study is an empirical demonstration of some of the theoretical underpinnings of an increasingly punitive and regulatory state, its class, race, and gender dimensions, and its rhetorical classification of itself as diminishing, aspects of social structural change that Ruth Wilson Gilmore describes as built on prison foundations. The research argues from a position and program of abolition. iv Acknowledgements I find it impossible to account for all of the people who have influenced me and this project over the years, but I will try. First, thank you to the men who agreed to be interviewed and shared intimate details of some of the most difficult periods of their lives. Thank you to my wonderful and supportive dissertation committee. Ruth Wilson Gilmore's brilliance and generosity have inspired me and this project since the first day I walked into her class. Marianna Pavlovskaya provided opportunity and guidance throughout my time at CUNY. Monica Varsanyi gave insightful advice at crucial moments, and helped transform this project from ideas into reality. Thank you to friends and colleagues at the CUNY Graduate Center for their work and example, especially Neil Agarwal, Hector Agredano, Denisse Andrade, Katya Bezborodko, Deshonay Dozier, Bradley Gardener, Allison Guess, Lauren Hudson, Olivia Ildefonso, Hunter Jackson, Brian Jones, Rakhee Kewada, Kyeongsu Kim, Caroline Loomis, Amanda Matles, Steve McFarland, Robin McGinty, Laurel Mei-Singh, Mae Miller, Keith Miyake, Rafael Mutis, Jack Norton, Mert Peksen, Jose Pillich, Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, Marlene Ramos, Ben Rubin, Shemon Salam, Kate Schlott, Deen Sharp, Nathaniel Sheets, Elizabeth Sibilia, Annie Spencer, Sam Stein, and Hilary Wilson. Jack Norton helped me navigate the state archives, and his family gave me delicious meals and a comfortable place to sleep. Shemon Salam read multiple chapters and gave critical feedback. Neil Agarwal and Annie Spencer kept me on the right track. Thank you Deshonay Dozier for our reading/writing group of two! And in particular for wonderful discussions about epistemology, music, political engagement, and more. v Inspiring conversations during a year-long fellowship at the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics were indispensible and contributed immeasurably to my understandings of consciousness, revolution, history, and social change. Thank you to Ujju Aggarwal, Kafui Attoh, Sonia Vaz Borges, Sooran Choi, David Harvey, Peter Hitchcock, Mary Taylor, and all the participants and organizers. My friends outside of CUNY, Andrew, Daniel, John S., Kevin, Ramon, Sam, and Stephen, provided humor, helped think through ideas, and didn't get mad when I didn't return their phone calls. Thanks to Mark K for keeping me sane and laughing during long, late train trips, for interest in my research, and for encouraging me to keep writing! Thank you to Will and Estelle, for being model parents and teaching us the value of critical thinking. They also travelled long distances to babysit and get grandchildren to school. Thank you to the rest of the family, Louise Minervino, the Sieners, Siener-Browns, Balls, and McGoldricks! Thank you to Gabriel, Iain, and Desmond, for their senses of humor and curiosity, and for the absolute joy they bring into our lives. Thank you especially to Eileen, for many years of love and support, and without whom this project would not exist. She read, critiqued, asked for clarification, dedicated her superior editing talents, and made time for research trips and long periods of writing. vi Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter Two: Homeless Shelters and the Blues ........................................................................... 15 Chapter Three: Progressives and Prisons ...................................................................................... 57 Chapter Four: Genealogy of a “Human Repair Shop” .................................................................. 89 Chapter Five: Consolidating Consent, Part I: Contradiction and Camp LaGuardia ................... 139 Chapter Six: Consolidating Consent, Part II: Managed Men ..................................................... 185 Chapter Seven: Camp LaGuardia Coda ...................................................................................... 235 Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 245 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 251 vii Table of Figures Figure 1.1 New York City Unemployment Rate Versus Total Number Living in Shelter, 1983- 2018................................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 2.1 Franklin Avenue Homeless Shelter in 2018. ............................................................... 15 Figure 2.2 The Constellation of Homeless Shelters in New York City ........................................ 34 Figure 3.1 The “ruins” of Camp LaGuardia, pictured after its closing in 2007. .......................... 57 Figure 3.2 “The Correction Hospital for Females on Welfare Island.” ........................................ 59 Figure 3.3 Corrections and Welfare Institutions on the Former Blackwell’s Island. ................... 63 Figure 3.4 “Map of New York and Its Environs.” ........................................................................ 64 Figure 3.5 “The Triborough Bridge to Connect Queens with the Bronx and Manhattan” ........... 65 Figure 3.6 “A Study of the Recreational Possibilities of Welfare Island.” ................................... 66 Figure 3.7 “An Airplane View of Welfare, Riker’s and Hart’s Islands. Reproduced by permission of the Committee on a Regional Plan for New York and its Environs, owners of this plate.” ................................................................................................................................ 67 Figure 3.8 “Our Biggest Tax—The Cost of Crime” ..................................................................... 69 Figure 3.9 Segregation and Classification within the New York City Department of Corrections. ........................................................................................................................................... 71 Figure 3.10 Women’s Court Arraignments for Prostitution, 1915-1919. ..................................... 73 Figure 3.11 “Women’s Farm Colony—Greycourt, New York.” .................................................. 85 Figure 4.1 “The farm at Camp LaGuardia” .................................................................................. 89 Figure 5.1 Cover of “The Greycourter,” May 1935.................................................................... 139 Figure 6.1 Flyer advertising “Old-Fashioned Minstrel Show” by the Camp LaGuardia Theatrical Club, as a benefit performance in Washingtonville, NY ................................................ 185 viii
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