US Lets Public Housing Developments Crumble as a Prelude to Privatization

When the US government's first public housing development was created in 1935, the Roosevelt administration saw it as "an initial step in the program for slum clearance and low-cost housing." At least that's what the plaque in front of New York City's aptly named First Houses -- declared a landmark in 1974 -- proclaims.

But ask 81-year-old Ivy about what it's like to live in the development, and she has a long list of gripes.  Read more.