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Robert Moses, born in 1888 in Connecticut, was a real estate entrepreneur and politician who developed public parks and swimming pools in New York City. He later focused on building freeways and bridges, but his reputation declined due to his exclusion of minorities and neglect of urban transit. He died in 1981.
Robert Moses was born December 18, 1888 in New Haven, Connecticut. His parents, German Jewish immigrants, were successful real estate entrepreneurs and active members of the local community. While Robert Moses graduated from Yale with degrees in politics and economics, his inherited passion for buildings has never faded.
After graduating, Robert Moses moved to New York City, where he tried unsuccessfully to get involved in political reform. Eventually he began working under the supervision of Al Smith, the incumbent governor of New York. The men quickly developed a good relationship, and Smith eventually made Moses both Secretary of State and New York City Park Commissioner. Robert Moses returned to his love of buildings by developing and constructing Jones Beach, the nation’s first public park system, and a series of massive swimming pools around the city.
After presiding over a few public housing projects, Robert Moses became determined to change the city’s design and shorelines. He believed that freeways were extremely important to the development of the city, and he concentrated on establishing toll booths, developing Long Island’s parkways, and overseeing the construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. In the 1930s and 1940s, Robert Moses became solely responsible for all building decisions in the city. He ordered the construction of four bridges, countless roads and 30,000 housing units. He has also organized two world fairs.
Robert Moses’ reputation began to decline in the 1960s, in part due to his obsession with developing neighborhoods and beaches that excluded minorities, but also due to his disdain for urban areas and his neglect of transit urban. He resigned from his post as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and eventually retired to West Slip, New York. Robert Moses died on July 29, 1981.
Robert Moses has been much criticized for his obsession with making room for cars, sometimes at the expense of parks and historic places. He is blamed for the downfall of Coney Island, including the closure of some amusement parks and the exodus of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Ironically, Robert Moses himself never learned to drive.
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