When I first started reading Caro’s article, I could not deny the massive impact that Robert Moses had on New York City. While I could not fully appreciate the extent of his works as an immigrant who isn’t as familiar with the many places he contributed to creating, I definitely got the impression that no other builder came close to what he was able to achieve, and that no one can deny that Moses immortalized his works and left his mark on not only New York City, but also the rest of America. His influence was certainly far-reaching and New York City would not be the same without him.

But at the end of the day, the ends may not justify the means. His development efforts were controversial and revolved around lies, as a lot of taxpayer money was lavishly used to the favor of him and his advocates. Further, Moses employed tactics that circumvented oppositional views, which can be detrimental to a democratic society (Both the assigned articles seem to hint at how the urban renewal process can put our democratic values at stake). His corrupted methods also ended up contributing to the ghettoization of New York City and displaced a lot of minorities into already-crowded slums. While New York gained a lot in gaining the reputation of being a leading state in engineering under Moses’s era, neighborhoods ended up getting transformed. And as previously discussed in classes, our neighborhoods and surroundings have huge implications to our livelihoods and upbringing, which was sadly the price to pay for many dispossessed peoples. The question of whether New York City would be better or worse off without Moses is a challenging question to answer as there has definitely been gains and losses. I think that in attempting to assess this, all we can possibly do is merely speculate.