The Projects, a gritty crime drama revealing the dark side of the New York City boroughs, is base on a number of true events from the author's twenty-seven year career as a lieutenant in the N.Y.P.D. The novel is set in the violence-battered streets and housing projects of East New York, Brooklyn.
The characters provide somber, yet sometimes hilarious, depictions of lives of heroism and cowardice, gallant struggle and abysmal indifference. In particular, the novel tells the story of one young man's dilemma, as he is urged to join the N.Y.P.D. by his drug-dealing boss. We follow Linc, along with many other characters, through the labyrinths of struggle and decision-making, ending in triumph, tragedy, or sometimes just mediocrity.