Research

• Full Finding Aid
• Overview
• Arrangement
• Administrative History
• Scope and Contents
• Related Material
• Access Restrictions
• Access Terms
• Detailed Description
• subseries 1
• subseries 2
• subseries 3
• subseries 4
• subseries 5

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New York State Office of Model Cities Program Services Program Files

Some content may contain outdated and offensive terminology. See: New York State Archives Statement on Language in Descriptive Resources

Overview of the Records

Arrangement

Organized into five subseries: 1. Chronology and activity files - reverse chronological order; 2. Files on cities - alphabetical by city, then in reverse chronological order; 3. Reports - by type of report, then reverse chronological; 4. Correspondence and subject files from federal agencies and other states - roughly alphabetical by subject, then reverse chronological order; 5. Comprehensive action plans and reports from model cities - alphabetically by city.

Administrative History

The Model Cities Program was a federal program initiated in 1966 by the enactment of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act. The program was overseen by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as an element of President Lyndon B. Johnson's "War on Poverty" program. The program was designed to coordinate various existing federal urban improvement programs in a holistic approach to improving cities. Federal grants would be made to municipalities, but the disbursement of the funds would be controlled by city demonstration agencies comprised of elected officials, low-income persons, and representatives of community organizations. Originally, the program was designed to focus on a few "demonstration cities," but the program became a popular "carrot" in legislative deal-making. By 1967 there were 150 cities involved in the program, which had the effect of diluting the impact of the program's funding. In addition, the program was often unpopular with state and municipal governments, which felt that the city demonstration agencies usurped their authority and allowed for direct federal control of cities. In 1974, the Model Cities Program was merged with other urban renewal programs administered by HUD to form the Community Development Block Grant program.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains correspondence, reports, newsletters, instructional guides, and other materials created and used by the Office of Model Cities Program Services. There is correspondence within the Office of Model Cities Program Services, as well correspondence with city demonstration agency members and Model Cities program managers. Topics covered in the correspondence include the preparation of evaluation reports, the processes of reporting to the New York State Education Department and HUD, the transmission of conference materials, and the review of project proposals.

Also included are files maintained on each city involved in New York's Model Cities Program, containing field reports from Office personnel, newsletters from model cities, narratives of projects within each city, and clippings related to issues particularly relevant to individual cities, such as desegregation, occupational education, multicultural education, and continuing education.

This series also consists of reports completed by, and sent to, the Office of Model Cities Services. Included are weekly reports from Office of Model Cities Services field staff, monthly reports and annual evaluation reports from the Office to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and comprehensive action plans and reports from city demonstration agencies. Also included in the subseries are correspondence and instructional materials from HUD, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and other federal agencies involved with the Model Cities Program. Also included are correspondence and reports from staff of other state education agencies concerning their technical assistance programs for Model Cities.

Related Material

14188 Urban Education Program correspondence and project files and

14189 Division of Urban Education correspondence and subject files, contain documentation on the Division of Urban Education, which was responsible for administering the NYC School-Community Interaction Umbrella Program.

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Access Terms

Detailed Description

Subseries 1: Chronology and Activity Files

Scope and Content Note:

This subseries largely consists of correspondence within the Office of Model Cities Program Services, as well as letters from the Office to directors of city demonstration agencies. Topics covered in the correspondence include the preparation of evaluation reports, the processes of reporting to the New York State Education Department and HUD, the transmission of conference materials, and the review of project proposals.

Arrangement:

Reverse chronological order

  

Subseries 2: Files on Cities

Scope and Content Note:

This subseries includes correspondence with city demonstration agency members and Model Cities program managers, field reports from Office personnel, newsletters from model cities, and overviews and narratives of projects within each city. Also included are clippings and other materials related to issues specific to individual cities, such as desegregation, occupational education, multicultural education, and continuing education.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by name of city, then reverse chronological by year

  

Subseries 3: Reports

Scope and Content Note:

This subseries consists of reports completed by, and sent to, the Office of Model Cities Services. Included are weekly reports from Office of Model Cities Services field staff containing overviews of technical assistance provided to Model Cities projects. Also present are monthly reports and annual evaluation reports from the Office to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) containing updates on overall program administration, data analysis, evaluations of Model Cities projects, and recommendations for future action. Reports from the Office to the Deputy Commissioner of Education and the Associate Commissioner for Compensatory Education are also included. Filed with the reports are questionnaires, rubrics, and other materials used to collect and evaluate program data for reports.

Arrangement:

By type of report, then reverse chronological

  

Subseries 4: Correspondence and Subject Files from Federal Agencies and Other States

Scope and Content Note:

This subseries contains materials from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal agencies involved with the Model Cities Program, as well as materials from other states containing Model Cities. HUD materials include published guides and instructional materials on administering Model Cities projects, memoranda from HUD to city demonstration agencies, and drafts of the initial HUD grant submitted by NYSED for the creation of the Office of Model Cities Program Services. The subseries also contains materials from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), including newsletters, contact lists of educational personnel in model cities, and instructional material on relating HEW-funded projects to Model Cities goals. Also included are correspondence and reports from staff of other state education agencies concerning their technical assistance programs for Model Cities.

Arrangement:

Roughly alphabetical by subject, then reverse chronological order

  

Subseries 5: Comprehensive Action Plans and Reports from Model Cities

Scope and Content Note:

This subseries contains comprehensive action plans and progress reports from cities involved in the Model Cities Program. Comprehensive action plans cover the entirety of the Model Cities Program projects in a city, and include statements of problems, goals, detailed description of projects, charts showing annual fiscal needs for each project, and timetables for project completion. The subseries contains both the original action plans and annual amendments to action plans. Separately filed are correspondence and monthly reports from city demonstration agency staff regarding the action plans, as well as evaluations and suggested changes to the action plans submitted by Office of Model Cities staff.

Arrangement:

Alphabetically by city.