There was a message of restraint, of great discipline, of great pre-planning, to eliminate as much as possible the random acts, the guys feeling isolated, the guys feeling threatened. This was very different from what happened in a lot of other cities.

There was no formula. But after a year or two, seeing Lindsay walking down 125th Street in Harlem was not unusual. They understood what he was telling them: He didn't say that he could instantly make housing better, but that the person in charge of the government really did care and was doing the best he could.

You have to respond to what people are upset about. If the concern is that the place is filthy, you send in trucks and try to clean the place up.

We really have to start planning in January. It is a lot of preparation, but once it's all out here, everybody knows what they're supposed to do. And without those inmates, it would be very difficult to put this all up. They help us out tremendously.

When you are designing your plan, think not in terms of what you need to do, think in terms of what you need to achieve.

When you are designing your plan, think not in terms of what you need to do, think in term of what you need to achieve.