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Brick’s next Book Club read will be ‘The New Kings of New York'

  • Sign up to receive a link to the online discussion Wednesday March 18th
By Brick Underground  | January 8, 2026 - 10:30AM
The New Kings of New York’

“It’s a truism that every New Yorker enjoys a good real estate yarn,” Piore wrote

Attention Brick Underground Book Club members! After a successful inaugural meeting, the votes are in and the next book that participants have chosen is: “The New Kings of New York: Renegades, Moguls, Gamblers and the Remaking of the World’s Most Famous Skyline” by Adam Piore.

The book is a juicy look at the real estate personalities who transformed New York City into a luxury playground for the 1 percent. It will be an easier read compared to the Brick’s first Book Club meeting: “A History of Housing in New York City” by Richard Plunz, which follows the evolution of all types of housing in the city stretching from 1850 to the current era.

‘All the dirt’

When it was first published, a vice president of a private equity firm (who requested anonymity) told Brick contributor Marjorie Cohen that he was looking forward to reading “The New Kings of New York” to find out “all the dirt” on “some of the biggest real estate deals ever made, anywhere.”

Piore, a journalist who has been writing for The Real Deal for over a decade as well as other major national publications, dissected the past three decades in NYC real estate development to create a story about oversized personalities who amass fortunes, lose them, win them back again.

When Cohen interviewed Piore he told her, “I wanted to understand the transformation of the city that I’d been coming to since I was a kid and the people who played a part in that transformation. I wanted to figure out how the city went from a bankrupt combat zone, from abandoned buildings and a burning Bronx, to one where people are willing to pay $200 million for an apartment.” 

Check out Brick Underground’s interview with Piore for more insights.

Brick’s next Book Club meeting will be held online 6:30 pm Wednesday, March 18th. Click here to sign up and receive a calendar invite with the Google Meet meeting link.

“The New Kings of New York” is available at the New York Public Library, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers.

 

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