In 2021, New Yorkers have the opportunity to make a real difference in their communities by heading to the polls—in June for the primaries and in November for the general election— to choose leaders for a variety of important positions in local government, including mayor. There are many important issues hanging in the balance, from hyperlocal to citywide, all of which will have a profound impact on how the city responds and recovers from a global pandemic. It is so important that New Yorkers participate and make sure their voices are heard. 

Libraries, since their inception, have given the public the tools they need to be active participants in our democracy, and this year is no different. New Yorkers can find information about voting—including ranked-choice voting, which will be used for the first time in elections this year. Plus, for civic-minded inspiration, check out this list of books about the history of New York City politics and how citizens have made a great impact over time. Read, learn, and get ready to vote!

Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City, Carla Petersen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capital City: Gentrification and the Real Estate State, Sam Stein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Colossus of New York: A City in Thirteen Parts, Colson Whitehead

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Covenant with Color: Race and Social Power in Brooklyn, Craig Steven Wilder

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fighting Jim Crow in the County of Kings: The Congress of Racial Equality in Brooklyn, Brian Purnell

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fight the Power: African Americans and the Long History of Police Brutality in New York City, Clarence Taylor 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Points: The 19th-century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum, Tyler Anbinder

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harlem Between Heaven and Hell, Monique M. Taylor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn: Gentrification and the Search for Authenticity in Postwar New York, Suleiman Osman

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped the World, Russell Shorto

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City, Jonathan Mahler

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York City Politics: Governing Gotham, Bruce F. Berg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, Robert A. Caro

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Be Mayor of New York: Ethnic Politics in the City, Chris McNickle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn more about the resources you need to be an informed voter, what to expect in the upcoming election season, and find events about using your voice with the Library's Voter Information resources.

 

NYPL's Voter Engagement Initiative is made possible by the GoVoteNYC Fund in The New York Community Trust, Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge, Antoinette Delruelle and Joshua L. Steiner, and the Rattner Family Foundation.