New York City's Unequal Housing Becomes a Stage for Public Art

Late last October, a developer threw a Halloween party in the South Bronx with a peculiar theme: “The Bronx Is Burning.” The now-famous happening was curated by Lucien Smith, a Forbes-anointed artist, and scored celebrity guests such as Baz Luhrmann, Carmelo Anthony, and Kendall Jenner. Kool Herc performed. But some of the thematic appointments—bullet-riddled cars and burning trash-can fires—sparked outrage among residents.

The #BronxIsBurning party coincided with a new South Bronx development deal by Somerset Partners, the party’s host, and followed on the heels of a Somerset Partners billboard declaring a new name for the Port Morris neighborhood: the Piano District. Bronx residents responded with a hashtag: #WhatPianoDistrict. Four months later, the hashtag still serves as a Twitter flagpole for discussions about everything from luxury condominiums to Bernie Sanders.