When reading Robert Caro’s introduction to The Power Broker, I thought Caro was too critical of Robert Moses. As Caro points out in the end of his introduction, we do not know what New York City would have been like without Robert Moses, but we do know that it would have been very different. I also thought that Caro’s criticism of the things that Robert Moses failed to provide for the city was a bit harsh. I do understand why Caro was critical of the ways Robert Moses gained and used power, but I do think that many of the choices Moses made were necessary to improve New York City.
Without the projects that Robert Moses turned into realities, New York City would have been substantially different and may have ended up in a far worse condition. “What is an American City?” by Michael B. Katz explains how American cities have evolved while also describing what can happen to a city that fails to evolve. Cities that failed to provide assets other than manufacturing declined as manufacturing left American cities. Cities, such as New York City that provided other benefits prospered. The projects of Robert Moses greatly contributed to the evolution of New York that allowed the city to remain desirable cultural centers such as Lincoln Center as well as the numerous parks that Robert Moses supported are major reasons that people both visit and live in New York City to this day.
Considering how much Robert Moses did to benefit New York City, I thought it was harsh for Caro to complain that he should have done more for certain areas, such as low income housing. While I understand that Moses’ work related to low income housing left much to be desired, I believe that we should only expect so much of one man. It is amazing how much he was able to do for the city and I understand why this may not have been one of his priorities. Most of the projects that Moses devoted his attention to were related to making New York City a greater cultural capital and a more desirable place. Low income housing does make living in the city a reasonable option for more people but it does not make a city more desirable in the way a project such as the United Nations Headquarters does. Building a low income housing project in a declining city would likely not attract many people. I can see why Moses would not have made low income housing a priority and, although I do think it is unfortunate that more efforts weren’t made in terms of low income housing, I do not blame Moses for this.
While I do agree that some of the methods Moses used to get his projects built were wrong, I do think that they may have been necessary given the political situations during the time periods of his work. His failures early in his career due to the influence of Tammany Hall proved to Moses that he needed to do things differently. While some of his actions and uses of his power may have been drastic, they did lead to many improvements to New York City.
I thought the introduction to The Power Broker was interesting and I do think that Caro was right in wondering about the way Moses was using, and possibly abusing, his power. However, I do believe that the choices Robert Moses made ultimately benefitted New York City.
