An oldie, but a goodie, is The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro. It was published in 1974 or 1975 but it is a great read and I am sure that much of the New York City Dynamics he describes are still in place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_Broker

SRM (former resident of Da Bronx)

Thanks SRM. Will check it out!