Charles Abrams


Charles Abrams was a Polish-born American lawyer, author, urbanist, and housing expert who created the New York City Housing and Development Administration in the 1960s. He was one of the first to use the expression "Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor."
In 1936, the US Supreme Court established, in New York City Housing Authority v. Muller, the Authority's right to employ the power of eminent domain for slum-clearing purposes. The decision gave a broader meaning to the term public use and represented a victory for Abrams, the Authority's first counsel.
From 1955 to 1959, Abrams served as head of the New York State Commission Against Discrimination, afterwards serving as president of the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing from 1961 to 1965.

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