Robert Moses spent $150 billion building New York City. Most known for roads, it was his parks that helped get him the power needed to shape the city.

During his career, Robert Moses built a large part of New York City. According to the New York Sun, he spent $150 billion (in today’s dollars). He was most known for building highways and housing in grand scale. But it was the popularity of his parks that helped get him the power needed to shape the city and influence urban form across the continent.

Friends and Enemies in high places

In the early 1900s, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s stock was rising in the Democratic party. But Governor Al Smith was still the king of New York State politics. Through a large part of his career, the Governor leaned on two people – Robert Moses was one of them. Moses was 12 years old when Theodore Roosevelt became president of the United States. But it was Theodore’s distant cousin, Franklin D., who Robert Moses would be a pain. Before FDR himself became President during the Depression, the king of New York state politics, was Al Smith. And under Smith, Moses was able to flourish (although Robert Caro articulates it was mutually beneficial).

Sneaking power through State law

Educated at in New York (Columbia), Oxford, an Berlin, Robert volunteered for some time in New York for reform initiatives looking to clean up city government. [It was the early 1900s and Tammany (a political organization with a strong reputation of corrupt practice) was largely in control of the city.] Robert’s reputation soared and he eventually went to work in the state capital, Albany. And it was Albany where the bond between Al Smith and Moses would start to blossom. During his time there, he became known for his bill drafting skills. He would ultimately return to New York City – appointed by Al Smith as the city’s Parks Commissioner. Through his bill drafting in Albany, Moses managed to sneak in a few provisions that would give him sole responsibility over final parks related decisions. Decisions that would normally be voted on through a committee.

Fighting the Robber Barons & Parks for the Common People

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Manhattan experienced an unprecedented urban growth rate. People from all over the world were flooding onto the island and the city could barely keep up. It took some time before the lack of green space took its toll. Manhattan wasn’t the cleanest place and families had very few options. There were so few parks that kids would line up to get access to the few small playgrounds that existed. With Long Island so close and with so much land, Robert Moses would undertake the biggest park development program the country had ever seen. The problem was, most of that land was owned or controlled by the wealthy robber barons unwilling to share. It was through his fights with them that Moses gained immense popularity of the masses in the city desperate for access to green space.

Popularity for Power

With his already vast and increasing popularity, he continued to expand his powers of responsibility into other realms such as parkways (or highways) and public housing. On the political side of things, it became difficult for politicians and officials to control Moses’ actions or disagree with his decisions for fear of upsetting the general public. Fiorello La Guardia (former Mayor of New York City) and Franklin D. Roosevelt are just a few of the powers that would but heads with Moses throughout his career – many times Moses would win.Over time, things would change and his projects would become increasingly unpopular. Still, the powers that the public had given him would take some time to be stripped away. It was during this time where he would use his power to push through his more unpopular projects.

Many are familiar with the fall of Moses’ in the latter part of his career and question how he was ever able to build so much in the face of stiff opposition. With the power he gained through the legislative process and his immense popularity in early years, it would take decades before the public could strip his power. For better and worse, it is likely that his legacy will continue to leave its mark on the city for the foreseeable future.

The American Experience – The World that Robert Moses Built

For more, check out this PBS article or consider reading Robert Caro’s, The Power Broker.

[Literature Reviewed / Sources: PBS, The Power Broker (R.Caro), ]