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Show Me a Hero is a 2015 American miniseries based on the 1999 nonfiction book of the same name by former New York Times writer Lisa Belkin about Yonkers mayor (1987–89) Nick Wasicsko. Like the book, the miniseries details a white middle-class neighborhood's resistance to a federally mandated scattered-site public housing development in Yonkers, New York, and how the tension of the situation affected the city as a whole. The miniseries was written by David Simon and journalist William F. Zorzi, with whom Simon worked at The Baltimore Sun and on the HBO series The Wire. It was directed by Paul Haggis. Six episodes were ordered by HBO; the miniseries premiered on August 16, 2015. Background The story is set between 1987 and 1994 in Yonkers, New York, a city north of New York City in Westchester County, and focuses on efforts to desegregate public housing. Federal judge Leonard B. Sand ruled against Yonkers and issued a desegregation order, mandating that public housing for 200 units—possibly scattered-site public housing ("SSPH"), which became the example of new public housing—be built on the middle-class, mostly white, east side of Yonkers. By 1988, the city had already spent $11 million in legal fees fighting against the order, including a failed effort to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. The case and resulting politics resulted in national focus on issues of race, class, and housing. Mayor Nick Wasicsko ran on the platform opposing the judge's order, but before taking office, in the face of the issue being supported by a federal appeals court, became an advocate for desegregation in Yonkers. Wasicsko and the city councillors who supported him worked out a plan to meet the court order, using the SSPH system to build the 200 homes at eight different sites of only 25 homes each, spread across a city with more than 10,000 homes. Despite this, four councillors – a majority – refused to vote to uphold the law, consistently opposing any limited desegregation. For refusing to follow the court order, the city of Yonkers was crippled by heavy, possibly bankrupting fines—estimated to be close to $1 million a day from a compounded charge that started at $100 a day. Basic services stopped, and parks and libraries were shuttered, with 630 city workers facing mandatory layoffs in order to maintain enough money for police and fire services. There were ongoing protests, including Wasicsko and others receiving death threats, such as envelopes containing bullets, at least once with a note that “You won’t see the next one.” Wasicsko was forced to comply. The suit was finally settled in May 2007. In addition to the Yonkers City Council members and other local politicians, two groups took opposing sides on the issue: Save Yonkers Federation, led by Jack O'Toole, who were anti-desegregation and voted to defy the federal order, and the Citizens and Neighbors Organized to Protect Yonkers ("Canopy"), who supported the court order, wanting to end the crippling fines. New York Secretary of State Gail Shaffer was appointed by then governor Mario Cuomo as the chair of the Yonkers Emergency Financial Control Board, which was in charge of the city's finances in 1988 as the fines reduced all city services and the city became bankrupt. The Housing Education Relocation Enterprise (H.E.R.E.) was a community-based organization that supported the tenants moving into the scattered-site public housing. Yonkers hired city planner Oscar Newman, originator of the defensible space theory, to work with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development on the housing plan. Newman's theories emphasized the value of small groups of townhouses with yards, rather than multi-story apartment blocks, to provide a sense of ownership for the low-income residents, while being immersed in the activities and culture of middle-class neighborhoods. The challenges of the existing projects were shown through the lives of a number of families living there. Cast Oscar Isaac as Nick Wasicsko, former police officer, then Yonkers City Council member running for election to be mayor of Yonkers, eventually the youngest big-city mayor (1987–89) in the nation Carla Quevedo as Nay Noe Wasicsko, City Hall staffer, Mayor Wasicsko's wife Peter Riegert as architect and city planner Oscar Newman, originator of the defensible space theory Jim Belushi as Angelo R. Martinelli, a six-term Mayor of Yonkers who is Wasicsko's opponent in the election to be mayor of Yonkers Alfred Molina as Henry J. "Hank" Spallone, Yonkers City Council member who was passionately anti-housing, who became mayor of Yonkers based on his refusal to follow the desegregation order Winona Ryder as Vinni Restiano, Yonkers City Council president who advocated for integration Bob Balaban as Judge Leonard B. Sand, who ordered desegregation Jim Bracchitta as Nicholas Longo, Yonkers City Council member who was outspoken in his criticism of the federal ruling Allan Steele as Edward Fagan, Yonkers City Council member who was outspoken in his criticism of the federal ruling Terry Kinney as Peter Smith, the Yonkers Housing Authority director Jon Bernthal as Michael H. Sussman, civil rights attorney and former federal prosecutor; represents the local NAACP chapter Michael Stahl-David as James Surdoval, Wasicsko's political consultant Catherine Keener as Mary Dorman, an East Yonkers homeowner who was part of the Save Yonkers Federation Bruce Altman as Buddy Dorman, Mary's husband Ilfenesh Hadera as Carmen "Alma" Febles, a single mother from the Dominican Republic LaTanya Richardson Jackson as Norma O'Neal, a home health aid living in the projects, who is struggling with losing her sight McKinley Belcher III as Dwayne Meeks, Norma O'Neal's son and a minivan manufacturer Natalie Paul as Doreen Henderson, a young woman born in public housing but raised in the suburbs, who is drawn back to the housing projects where her life spirals out of control just as the crack epidemic intensifies Dominique Fishback as Billie Rowan, a troubled teenager who lives in the projects and gets involved with a local petty criminal Melanie Nicholls-King as Janet Rowan, Billie Rowan's mother Clarke Peters as Robert Mayhawk, neighborhood consultant who runs the Housing Education Relocation Enterprise (H.E.R.E.), to assist with the integration of scattered-site public housing Jenna Stern as Gail Shaffer, Secretary of State of New York, chairs the Yonkers Emergency Financial Control Board Production Development Simon said that Gail Mutrux (who runs the production company Pretty Pictures), a producer Simon knew from working with her on Homicide, had sent him a copy of Belkin's book. In 2001, Simon sent Zorzi, who at that time was assistant city editor at The Baltimore Sun, a copy of the book, which he was taking to HBO as a potential project. In 2002, Zorzi quit his job at The Sun and began working on this miniseries, on what became a long-term project. The story was in developm.... Discover the Adam Zorzi popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Adam Zorzi books.