Stacy Horn

My new book, the Killing Fields of East New York is included in the New York Times 20 Books Coming in January! “Blending the vividness of true crime with original investigative journalism, Horn tells the story not just of one neighborhood, but of an avoidable—and tragic—crisis.”

The picture is a section of Unity Plaza. When the murder rate in East New York was at an all-time high, the housing police referred to these projects at The Slaughterhouse.

My book got a starred review from Kirkus!! I am over the moon. Maybe I will be able to relax for a few minutes and bask in the joy. “It’s a badly needed look at a societal problem that goes largely unaddressed while politicians outdo each other with tough-on-crime rhetoric … an invaluable roadmap to how, and why, urban “renewal” can go tragically wrong. Solid in-depth reporting with a polemical kick.”

A view of the area in East New York called the Triangle, where Livonia and New Lots Avenues meet. This is looking west. My book begins with something terrible that took place here in 1966.

Today I picked up the book All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. I loved the PBS series, (can’t wait for it to return) so I thought the book would be equally comforting. There have been worse times in history to live through, I will get through this. But I will follow the advice given by my choir director, and reach out to the people who are going to be hurt the most.

The first review of my book, The Killing Fields of East New York, from Booklist! Thank you, Booklist!

“East New York was once a thriving community made up of immigrants and middle-income families … By the 1990s, hundreds in that area were murdered annually, and it was dubbed “the killing fields of New York.” This book details just how East New York became that way, and it’s not what you would expect. Horn (Damnation Island, 2018) presents a thoroughly researched narrative… Her investigation uses numerous resources including extensive interviews. Readers will be drawn into the conversational style that places them in a world that illustrates just what happens when money and power fall into the wrong hands.” —Booklist

East New York in 1857.

It’s that time of year! We’re doing a lot of great pieces, but I have to point out this one piece, an arrangement of Adeste Fidelis (aka O Come All Ye Faithful) by the late, great Alice Parker. It’s glorious, gives me chills, it’s like I never really heard it until she arranged it. It made me cry the first time we sang it.

Who sang it better?

The Atlanta Symphony Chorus (conducted by Robert Shaw, who collaborated with Alice Parker)?

Or us, The Choral Society of Grace Church?

For a complete list of what we’re singing and a link to buy tickets, click here.