Abstract:

In his book Fire in the Ashes: Twenty Five Years of Living among the Poorest Children in America, Jonathan Kozol (2012) returns to the children of his 1995 book, Amazing Grace, (Kozol, 1995). He reminds us of the plight of children in the South Bronx, New York, most of whom are Hispanic and Black, and he again calls us to action. Kozol told us in 1995 that the South Bronx was [and remains] the poorest zip code in the United States. The South Bronx is less than two miles over the Willis Avenue Bridge, from Manhattan where many the top 1-2 % of wealth in the United States reside. Those who have the means to help turn around decades of neglect in the South Bronx based on substandard housing, below standard schools, insufficient resources and the placement of illegal numbers of toxic waste dumps ( Bronx Community Board 1, 2006) have not stepped up to the degree that would be meaningful, or moral.

This paper explores through the use real dollar figures and proposals, the tremendous transformative possibilities that $75 million dollars would provide to the South Bronx an other similar neighborhoods if the prospective owner of the One 57 duplex penthouse, or similar apartments valued at $95 million would decide to live extremely comfortably in one of New York City’s luxurious $ 10 – $ 20 million dollar town house or apartment homes, also in the chic East or West side of Manhattan, rather than in an $80 - $95 million dollar home.

Keywords:

Education ethics, Social reform, Equity.