The Cross Bronx Expressway is a major highway that connects New Jersey, Manhattan, Bronx, and Long Island, and the creation that Robert Moses is best known for. Despite the impact of expressways and highways, and Moses’ contribution to the bustling region that is NYC today, he absolutely could have approached the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway in a different manner. He had a better possible route to build the expressway, yet he had chosen a route that evicted and relocated thousands of families (over 60,000 residents). Whether it was a political move or simply his creative decision to choose that route, nothing can justify the movement and the unfulfilled promises to the thousands of families, and the devastating effect to Bronx. The South Bronx area had lost many manufacturing jobs due to the mass relocation of the residents. Many poorer families had to move into high-rises, the ownership of which soon fell into corrupt hands.
It does not matter how much power Moses had or if he felt it was worth it, in the end, the devastation left in the wake of his decisions did not make the construction of the expressway worth it. More thought and consideration should have been put into it, and only then should it have been built.
-Jennifer
