Robert Moses was quoting as having said, “If the ends don’t justify the means, then what does?”. This outlook is very consistent with his character, and the analysis of his impact on New York City. After reading the first chapter of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, one cannot overstate the impact Robert Moses has had on the formation of New York. He was undoubtedly the primary driving force behind bringing New York to the level of eliteness it maintains when discussing cities. Growing up, I knew him as the guy who made the Southern State. Now I know that Long Island, New York City, and the area immediately North of the City was sculpted by him during a forty year dictatorship. He was never elected to an office, but led government operations in terms of developing New York City and the surrounding area, at an astonishing rate. One stat that I found stunning was that when his reign was over, New York accounted for about 45% of the nations acreage of state parks. This was attributed to the fact that he was actively pushing his visions to become a reality, before most other cities had begun considering their next public project.

Unfortunately, although Robert Moses did form New York into the phenomenal metropolis it is today, this didn’t occur without high expenses to the lives of many citizens inhabiting the City at the time. Amongst those displaced by his projects, many were black and Puerto Rican, and were given no option but to move to already densely populated and poorly constructed areas. He also contributed to the topic of last class, regarding the migration of white people from New York City to Long Island, which is described, in this book, similarly to a resort, with Jones Beach being the grand attraction. Moses also was very manipulative and abusive of his power. Aspects of how he conducted himself and made his projects become a reality, and how he apparently lived a very luxurious life, reminded me of multiple mob bosses that were also very relevant during this time period in New York. Altogether, Robert Moses is considered one of the most influential characters on the city we are lucky enough to live in today, but like many public figures of his time, his methods of doing so weren’t ethical, and have altered the reflection society has on his life today.