When widespread multi-borough riots broke out last year for the first time since the 1977 Blackout, the city did not mount an organized response for at least four hours. Looters took control of a 90 block area in SoHo. And on the next day they spread to the Bronx. The two nights of riots — along with the entire 11-day period of unrest last summer — will be discussed for years to come.

Read my investigative analysis for The Intercept. Shedding new light on the city’s response, and the tactics used by the NYPD, to document a monumental failure rare in New York City history.

Photo by John Bolger. Macy’s on 34th Steeet the day after it was looted.