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Edward J. Logue

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Edward J. Logue
Logue working in Boston during the 1960s
President of the South Bronx Development Organization
In office
1979–1985
Appointed byEd Koch
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJorge Batista[1]
Head of the New York State Urban Development Corporation
In office
1968–1975
Appointed byNelson Rockefeller
Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority[2]
In office
October 20, 1960 – August 4, 1967
Appointed byJohn F. Collins
Preceded byKane Simonian
Succeeded byFrancis X. Cuddy
New Haven Redevelopment Agency
In office
1954–1960
Personal details
Born(1921-02-07)February 7, 1921
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJanuary 27, 2000(2000-01-27) (aged 78)
West Tisbury, Massachusetts
ProfessionUrban planner and public administrator

Edward Joseph Logue (February 7, 1921 – January 27, 2000) was an American urban planner and public administrator who worked in New Haven, Boston, and New York State.[3] Commentators often compare Logue with Robert Moses - both were advocates of large-scale urban renewal in the United States from the 1950s through the 1970s.[4]

Logue headed the New Haven Redevelopment Agency, Boston Redevelopment Authority, New York State Urban Development Corporation, and the South Bronx Development Organization. Logue is best known for overseeing major public works projects, such as Faneuil Hall-Quincy Market and Government Center in Boston, and the re-development of Roosevelt Island in New York City.[5][6]

Logue was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1967 Boston mayoral election.

Early life, education, and career

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Logue was born on February 7, 1921, to Edward J. Logue and Resina Fay Logue in Philadelphia. He attended Yale University, graduating in 1942, and served as a lieutenant in the United States Air Force during World War II. For his service in the war, Logue was awarded an Air Medal with clusters. After the war, he found work for Chester Bowles, the governor of Connecticut, as a legal secretary.[7]

Head of the New Haven Redevelopment Agency (1954–1960)

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Logue worked as development administrator for New Haven, Connecticut, from 1954 to 1960.[4] He worked to redevelop New Haven's downtown area.[7]

Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (1960–1967)

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Logue (far right) presents plans for the redevelopment of Boston to mayor John F. Collins (center) and Cardinal Richard Cushing (far left)

Logue was made director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) in 1960 at the by then-mayor John F. Collins.[2][4][8] As head of the BRA, Logue sought to develop a "New Boston". One of the agency's major projects was a housing development in South End, known as Castle Square.[9] They also oversaw construction of the Government Center, redevelopment of the Prudential Center as well as the cities waterfront. While Logue was at the BRA, the Faneuil Hall-Quincy Market redevelopment was planned, though it was not completed until 1976. He remained at the BRA until 1967, when Logue resigned to run an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Boston.[8][10]

1967 Boston mayoral candidacy

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Main article: 1967 Boston mayoral election

Logue ran for mayor of Boston in 1967, but failed to advance past the nonpartisan primary election.[10] Prior to launching his campaign, Logue had been speculated as a candidate that would run if Mayor Collins did not seek reelection, and had indicated interesting doing so if the mayor declined to run. Collins ultimately announced in early June 1967 his decision not to seek reelection.[11][12][13] Logue ran as Collins' preferred successor.[14]

A first time candidate for public office, Logue claimed to have declined urban renewal positions in New York and Washington, D.C., in order to instead run out of a love for the city of Boston. A non-native to Boston, he was disparaged by opponents as an "intruder". It was claimed in an article published by The Reporter that many of his opponents had privately expressed that Logue was the best-qualified candidate.[14]

On the eve of the nonpartisan primary election, The Boston Globe reported that most private opinion polls conducted shortly before the vote showed Kevin White with retaining his comfortable lead, but showed Louise Day Hicks to have slipped in support, with Logue supplanting her as the second-place candidate. The newspaper cautioned that these private polls could very probably be inaccurate, however. A WNAC-TV poll released two days before the election found Logue in a close third-place behind Hicks, with a chance to overtake her as the second-place finisher if a favorable share of vast amount of undecided respondents supported him.[15]

Logue ultimately place fourth in the primary, well behind White and Hicks (who placed first and second, respectively) and only 53-votes behind third-place finisher John W. Sears[16] Sears' candidacy, which centered its extensive and well-funded advertising campaign on solving neighborhood-related matters, was seen by The Reporter as overlapping with Logue's strength of experience in neighborhood revitalization. The Reporter speculated that the two candidates hurt one an others' chances by competing for similar voters. Logue placed first in the city's sole black-majority ward, which was located in the Washington Park area of Roxbury. This neighborhood was the site of a significant neighborhood revitalization effort overseen by Logue.[14]

After losing his mayoral bid, Logue was named a professor of urban affairs at Boston University.[17]

Head of the New York State Urban Development Corporation (1968–1975)

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Logue left Boston to head the new New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC) from 1968 to 1975 that was created by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. During his tenure, the organization undertook projects at a quick pace. The organization largely forwent the processes of underwriting and due diligence that private projects typically had to undergo in order to ensure that revenue can be generated sufficient for long-term financing and operations. The agency anticipated that it would be able to rely upon continued federal government funding that would allow for it to sustain its finances. In 1975, the UDC defaulted on its debts (going bankrupt) in 1975 as consequence of factors that included a Nixon administration restructuring of housing programs, rising interest rates, and declining confidence of investors in the ability of the agency to pay back bonds.[18] Logue resigned from the UDC after it went bankrupt.[4][8] His reputation was greatly damaged as a result of the agency's bankruptcy.[18]

As head of the agency, Logue oversaw the construction of various housing projects, notably on Roosevelt Island. 33,000 units were constructed under Logue. He also supported a failed plan to construct 900 low-income housing units in Westchester County, New York. In the late 1960s, he led a project to design a neighborhood in Fort Lincoln, Washington, D.C., for 25,000 people as requested by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson. However, nothing came of the planning.[4][8]

President of the South Bronx Development Organization (1979–1985)

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From 1975 until 1985, Logue worked to revitalize the South Bronx,[4][8] considered at the time a symbol of urban decay. On October 5, 1977, President Jimmy Carter walked on Charlotte Street, a desolate section of the area, drawing attention to its neglect and abandonment. Overall unemployment was estimated by several nongovernmental agencies to be around 25 percent.[19] The area had been negatively impacted, in part, by an oversaturation of housing that resulted from the construction by the UDC of an excessive amount of new subsidized housing at a time when the borough's population was actively declining.[18] Logue's work in the South Bronx culminated in a term as president of the South Bronx Development Organization from its creation in April 1979 until 1985,[1][4] having been appointed to the position by New York City Mayor Ed Koch.[20] During this period he initiated work that would vastly improve the area. The New York Times in a March 1987 Metro Matters column called Charlotte Street “a metaphor for urban renaissance.” President Bill Clinton, upon visiting Charlotte Street in 1997, declared the South Bronx to be a model for inner-city renewal.[21]

Later life

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Logue died on January 27, 2000, in West Tisbury, Massachusetts. The mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino said of him: "Ed Logue was a guy who reinvented Boston".[4][22]

Electoral history

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1967 Boston mayoral election
Candidates Primary election[16] General election[23]
Votes % Votes %
Kevin White 30,789 19.83 102,706 53.25
Louise Day Hicks 43,722 28.16 90,154 46.75
John W. Sears 23,924 15.41
Edward J. Logue 23,766 15.31
Christopher A. Iannella 18,343 11.82
Stephen Davenport 9,016 5.81
Nicholas Abraham 2,295 1.48
Albert L. O'Neil 1,471 0.95
Peter F. Hines 1,091 0.70
John J. McDonough 830 0.54

References

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  1. ^ a b Lewis, John (January 14, 1985). "Batista Replacing Ed Logue". New York Daily News. Retrieved 30 October 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "BRA History | Boston Planning & Development Agency". www.bostonplans.org. Boston Planning & Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  3. ^ Friends of Edward J. Logue, Biography, retrieved 2008-08-27
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Dunlap, David (April 23, 2000), "Edward Logue, Visionary City Planner, Is Remembered", The New York Times
  5. ^ Bermon, Sharon (February 5, 2000), "Ed Logue, Who Conceived Roosevelt Island and Served as its Midwife, is Dead at 78", The Main Street WIRE, archived from the original on September 30, 2011
  6. ^ Cohen, Lizabeth. Saving America's cities : Ed Logue and the struggle to renew urban America in the suburban age. ISBN 978-0-374-72160-2. OCLC 1121594185.
  7. ^ a b Honan, William H. (2000-01-29). "Edward Logue, 78, Dies; Fought Urban Decay". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Urban Planner Edward J. Logue, 78". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  9. ^ "Logue finds his dream castles crumbling in Boston". The Boston Globe. 1972-05-25. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-10-30 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  10. ^ a b Tuttle, William (December 7, 1968). "Model Cities Called 'A Fraud' by Logue". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 30 October 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Healy, Robert (May 24, 1967). "Sears Could Hurt Someone". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 30 October 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Keblinsky, Joseph A. (June 6, 1967). "Mayor Not Talking About Successor". The Boston Globe – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Logue Praises Mayor; Mum of Self". The Boston Globe. June 6, 1967 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b c Nolan, Martin (October 16, 1967). "A Profile of Boston's Election". The Boston Globe (originally printed in Reporter Magazine). Retrieved 30 October 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Healy, Robert (September 25, 1967). "Ribbon-Cutter As a Mayor Not for Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 30 October 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ a b Annual Report of the Election Department. Boston [Election Dept.] 1968. p. 46.
  17. ^ "Logue to Speak at County Scout Banquet". The Berkshire Eagle. November 13, 1967. Retrieved 30 October 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b c Kober, Eric Kober (21 February 2020). "The Death and Life of Ed Logue's Cities". City Journal. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  19. ^ Fernandez, Manny (2007-10-05). "When Presidents Visited the South Bronx". City Room. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  20. ^ Gratz, Roberta Brandes (January 26, 2020). "The Ambiguous Urban Legacy of Ed Logue". Common Edge. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  21. ^ Rollins, Bryant (1975-05-04). "To Most Americans, the South Bronx Would Be Another Country". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  22. ^ "Edward J. Logue, 78, planned 'new' Boston". South Florida Sun Sentinel. 2000-01-29. p. 17. Retrieved 2020-10-30 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  23. ^ Annual Report of the Election Department. Boston [Election Dept.] 1968. p. 107.
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