Mary M. (Polly) Cleveland is an economist focusing on wealth distribution and a long-time activist for social justice. Her blog, “Econamici,” also appears on the Dollars & Sense website. She serves on the Dollars&Sense board.
Like millions of other seniors, my husband Tom developed painful non-healing pressure wounds in his last months. Fortunately, as a childhood bug fanatic, I knew about an ancient treatment: maggots.
In November 2023, I brought Tom home from the locked sixth floor at 305 West End Avenue Assisted Living. I had for years coped at home with his growing dementia. Then came the November night in 2021 that he pushed his scarlet Nitro Rollator down the middle of Columbus Avenue, lit up in the headlights of oncoming cars. “I’m going to Mexico,” he declared, “and don’t you try to stop me!”
When I married my late husband, I also married two small Upper West Side apartment buildings. I soon learned that landlording is hard, hands-on work. Many New York landlords notoriously abuse their tenants, neglect maintenance, or leave good sites vacant. This isn’t capitalism, but the incompetence of owners who are too far away, too old, or too rich to care. The best solution may be to force them to sell.