NYC Fiscal Crisis of 1975 Slashes Services in Black and Latino Neighborhoods

New York City's near-bankruptcy in 1975 — dramatized by the Daily News headline 'Ford to City: Drop Dead' — forced massive cuts to municipal services. Sanitation, fire protection, and health services were reduced most sharply in Black and Latino neighborhoods. Thousands of Black municipal workers, who had gained public sector jobs as private sector opportunities contracted, were laid off.