FAQ NYC Episode 458: Fear, Trash and Love in a Drop Dead New York City
Nov 16, 2025
Michael Rohatyn, a filmmaker and son of financier Felix Rohatyn, teams up with documentary filmmaker Peter Yost to explore New York City's precarious fiscal crisis in 1975 through their documentary, Drop Dead City. They discuss Michael's emotional interviews with his father as he faced Alzheimer's, uncover the significance of the Municipal Assistance Corporation, and reveal how archival footage shaped the film's narrative. The duo reflects on civic commitment, the evolving perception of public service, and the lessons this historic crisis imparts for today's policymakers.
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Crisis Rewrote The City's Governance
- Drop Dead City revisits NYC's 1975 fiscal crisis to show how the city nearly collapsed and was transformed.
- The crisis led to new financial oversight that shifted accountability toward lenders and reshaped the city's future.
A Son's Attempt To Interview His Father
- Michael Rohatyn recounts failing to interview his father Felix multiple times because of Alzheimer's before he died in 2019.
- One lucid moment yielded Felix's lasting line: "New York, New York is everything."
MAC Restored Market Trust
- The Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC) was created to restore market trust by issuing MAC bonds in place of unsaleable city paper.
- The core problem was loss of trust: auctions failed and short-term borrowing collapsed, forcing the MAC solution.