Fiorello La Guardia arguing for the Wagner-Steagall Act

In this photograph, taken on August 3, 1937, New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia speaks before the 75th United States Congress on behalf of the United States Conference of Mayors, urging the passage of the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act. La Guardia forcefully argued that thousands of residents of New York City were living in “firetraps” and “dangerous surroundings,” conditions that housing reform could prevent.