Valet Reader

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro

Never again will I look at New York city and state the same way.

For those of you that don’t know, I am or will be pursuing a masters degree in urban planning/development in the near future (I hope). Being a field that really interests me I thought that it was time for me to pick up the 1100+ page book The Power Broker and learn about one of the greatest/worst planners in history.

This book was, to put it simply, fascinating. Despite it’s length, at no point did I ever consider putting it down and stopping (I came across many people who had done just that). Robert Caro’s book is seriously a masterpiece. There is very little about the book itself to criticize. In terms of who the book is about though, there is much to be criticized.

What Robert Moses did to New York can never be changed. His legacy will undoubtedly live on forever. The parks he built, the roads, highways, expressways and bridges he built as well as oversaw and all the other changes he made to the skyline, shoreline, inner city and state as a whole will always serve as a reminder of one of the most influential men in New York as well as America’s history.

It’s no surprise of course that you may have never heard his name before. There are no movies (that I know of), there is maybe one other biography (that I know of) and there are very few remnants of his work outside of New York. But, if you have visited New York Mr. Moses has without a doubt impacted the way you arrived and the way you saw the city and state.

As a man, Robert Moses was unstoppable once he was provided the power he was granted. He knew how to manipulate and control everyone from the governor, mayors and public and would never take “no” for an answer. As a result of his power he got greedy, always wanting more. He was a racist and a bigot, creating parks, playgrounds and concessions for the wealthy while neglecting, isolating and displacing the African Americans, Latinos and less fortunate of early New York City. He had an ego that rivals that of the most egotistic men to have ever lived.

With the development of his expressways, which coincided with the rapid development of automobiles, he reaped millions for the authorities which were under his control by charging tolls. Tolls which made it increasingly more difficult for the poor to be able to move around the city (for those that owned a car of course). His disinterest in facilitating means for future public transportation developments severely limited options and made future developments incredibly more expensive then they should have been. By spending so much federal, state and authority monies on his roadways and parks he all but eliminated the construction of vital infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and other immensely important resources for the communities of the New York City.

Robert Moses’ political ties made him unstoppable. His blackmail and threats of quitting his posts were always met with acquiescence to whatever it was that he wanted. His manipulation and use of the press made him favorable in the public eye. Yet, as his hearing deteriorated and he misunderstood what was going on around him, the press and public eventually turned their back on him and initiated his eventual disintegration of strong political ties and his lies and misgivings were finally brought to light.

He certainly wasn’t all bad though. He was an idealistic reformer at an early age, striving to make changes in a state that he had so much passion for. He worked for free until he was 30 years old trying to change things in a government that he saw as unfit. He tried incredibly hard to reform the state civil service system to no avail. One thing is for sure, there was no conception of limited effort, for everything Moses attempted to accomplish he gave it everything he had. Sometimes, it just didn’t work but as he grew older and learned how the state functioned he made certain that everything he wanted was indeed accomplished.

He was it seems a hero at the beginning of his reign of power but by the end he had isolated himself from everyone around him by backstabbing. He destroyed his relationship with his brother in order to retain more of the family wealth, clearly a display of his true character. He simply did not know where or when to stop. He is a major reason we see New York City the way we do today but eventually his ego got the best of him and drove him into the ground.

After finishing the book I learned that Moses himself wrote a 23 page critique of the book which he felt was exceptionally biased against him. Although I have not found a copy of his critique (I haven’t really looked that hard) I wouldn’t mind reading what he’s got to say.

If you’ve got an interest in the history of NY I highly recommend this amazing look at how one larger than life man changed America’s largest city and his diabolical means of doing so.