Citywide Summer Book Club launches with the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City”

The 2018 book club selection supports the Innovation Team’s housing stability initiative

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The City of Syracuse and Legal Services of Central New York (LSCNY) have partnered to coordinate a Citywide Summer Book Club, which will launch on July 10, 2018. The book club will explore “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” by author Matthew Desmond, who will speak at a free public event in Syracuse on October 23, 2018.

The book “Evicted” supports the Innovation Team’s work by raising awareness and fostering dialogue around the pressing issue of housing stability in Syracuse and Central New York. This selection aims to build awareness and facilitate a substantive policy discussion around addressing evictions and housing instability, as well as tenant and landlord rights in Syracuse.

“We know that housing instability causes major challenges for many residents in our community, particularly families and children. This book club and the conversation it will generate supports the work and research that the i-team is engaged in,” said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. “We are incredibly thankful for our book club partner, Legal Services of Central New York, and the countless others that are helping to bring Matthew Desmond to our city.”

Individuals interested in participating can sign up online at www.lscny.org/evicted to receive updates, including supplements to the book and a reading schedule. Participants are also encouraged to join in the conversation on Facebook by liking and engaging with the book club’s page at @syrbookclub. The mayor and other local leaders will be featured as guest columnists, providing their thoughts and asking the public questions via the page each week.

Readers can borrow a copy of “Evicted” from any public library located in the City of Syracuse. A complete list of libraries with addresses is included at the end of this release. Hours of operation and contact information for the libraries are available online at https://www.onlib.org/ or by calling the Onondaga County Public Libraries office at 315-435-1900.

The Citywide Summer Book Club is sponsored by the City of Syracuse and Legal Services of Central New York. The event featuring Matthew Desmond is presented in partnership by the City of Syracuse, Legal Services of Central New York, Syracuse University College of Law, Allyn Family Foundation, Syracuse University Falk School of Sport and Human Dynamics, Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, CNY Fair Housing, and Friends of the Central Library.

Libraries located in the City of Syracuse

• Central Library, 447 South Salina Street
• Beauchamp Branch Library, 2111 South Salina Street
• Betts Branch Library, 4862 South Salina Street
• Hazard Branch Library, 1620 West Genesee Street
• Mundy Branch Library, 1204 South Geddes Street
• Northeast Community Center Library, 716 Hawley Avenue
• Paine Branch Library, 113 Nichols Avenue
• Petit Branch Library, 105 Victoria Place
• Soule Branch Library, 101 Springfield Road
• Southwest Community Center Library, 401 South Avenue
• White Branch Library, 763 Butternut Street

Legal Services of Central New York

For more than 50 years, Legal Services of Central New York has fought to help people overcome obstacles, achieve goals, and pursue justice.  Our team of 45 attorneys offers expertise in confronting community-wide problems and representing individuals with low-income.  In 2017 we helped more than 15,000 people in 5,600 cases. We serve a 13-county region of Central New York (Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Otsego, and Oswego), fighting for justice and opportunity for all.  For free legal assistance contact the Central New York Legal HelpLine at 877-777-6152.

Bloomberg Philanthropies Innovation Teams Program

Now working in more than 20 cities across four countries, the Innovation Teams Program helps cities solve problems in new ways to deliver better results for residents. Bloomberg Philanthropies awards cities multi-year grants to create in-house innovation teams, or “i-teams,” which offer cities a different set of tools and techniques to innovate more effectively and tackle critical challenges—from reducing violent crime to revitalizing neighborhoods to strengthening the growth of small businesses.