Well folks, I finally finished The Power Broker. It took too long, but this book is fantastic. The level of detail pursued by the author is unmatched. While this biography can get dry at times, the author does an excellent job describing Robert Moses as a complex person and taking the reader through his life and relationships. One of the most impressive aspects of this book is the writing. Reading a 1000 page biography of a man most people have never heard of is a big thing to ask, but Robert Caro makes it easy (even if it takes awhile). Taking a moment to reflect, Caro expertly guides the reader on an emotional journey through sympathy, pain with Moses, vilification of Moses, and, strangely, pity. Robert Caro's writing style works for the reader as a composer's music works for the movie goer, subconsciously signaling mood shifts.
Robert Moses, as a person, was unique unto himself. I found it personally fascinating that Robert Moses was Jewish and that his mother's vigorous philanthropy to Jewish immigrants was out of shame to be associated with poor Jews. Then again, this same theme of paternalistic condescension came up when McCarthyism took hold of Moses, knowing that, at this time, many Jews in New York were socialistic and communistic. Instead of identifying with Jews at all, Moses became an anti-semite.
This book's relevancy relies on consistency of systems and the people who run them. Robert Moses's World's Fair of 1964 actually reminds me of the Fyre Festival a few years ago- a total scam with FEMA tents advertised as luxury accommodations. With the World's Fair, people were promised government representation globally and received none. It was yet another desperate grasp at power for Robert Moses. At this point in his career, Robert Moses was so self-insulated he was delusional about logistical realities relating to the World's Fair and his position in politics. So far removed from criticism and the public eye, he avoided necessary improvements to the World's Fair. A friend of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Henry MacTavish was the only person to hold Moses accountable for his irresponsible and negligent spending habits during the 1964 World's Fair. Upon doing so, he was promptly fired and received a handwritten memo saying that, "under no circumstances" was he to attend the Fair employees' Christmas party (P1105). Shortly thereafter, the Fair totally fell apart. This is yet another example of his bitter personality.
Finally, on Moses, an integral aspect of his success was his ability to rely on his parents for financial support for his family and self. We see this today in looking at who can afford to take things like unpaid internships or go to expensive colleges without full scholarships. This is applicable today where truly great people can't achieve their full potential because of financial insecurity and we, as a society, lose real brilliance to economic inequality.
Although The Power Broker is about one person, it reveals the stagnancy in government processes and how the system never really changes. The book begins the journey in the 1920s through the 1960s and, the entire time, nearly 100 years later, I felt like I was reading a report from only the day before. In so many ways, still, there is so little communication between departments; complacency rules. In truth, one of the motivating factors for me to finish the book was the hope that, after all the roads were built, people evicted, natural places destroyed, the author would give a play-by-play on how to get rail (didn't happen). I find myself, today, feeling driven up the wall at the number of miles paved and the cost of it. I won't derail this book review to a road rant, but it would be easy to do so. Roads are how Robert Moses killed so many communities in New York City. Like East Tremont. Looking at the battles fought between planners and Robert Moses then and those between planners and public works now is disheartening and, frankly, comical.
East Tremont was like any other neighborhood that we see in urban environments- connected physically through a grid system, with intergenerational housing, affordable rents, and public meeting spaces (parks). The people in East Tremont didn't have much, but they had each other- until Robert Moses's haphazard Title I "Slum Clearance" Program. This portion of the book was the most effective in proving how cruel Robert Moses was. He needlessly evicted hundreds of families who put up an excellent fight and made them homeless. The author actually tracked down the displaced residents of East Tremont to hear their stories. The author did the same for every character, big or small, in Robert Moses's life.
This book keeps you wide-eyed learning the political finesse of so many of its characters, yet disgusted by the undemocratic nature of its power. The book also demonstrates how far "reform" has come and its deep ties to urbanism. Robert Moses's power came from parks. It came from providing safe public spaces for our urban populations. With the rise of cars, Moses's visceral classism showed, building bridges that could not fit public buses, systematically defunding mass transit, and using his roads as a means of beauty for motorists only. It is fascinating and validating to see these struggles repeat themselves.
Overall, I think this book teaches fantastic lessons for the public servant in all departments and drastically enriches the experience of going to or living in New York. In general, I learned: to reject complacency at every opportunity, use power for the people, call out those who try to undermine democratic processes, NO MORE ROADS, creative financing opportunities, the unique relationship between governments and media, and much much more. There are so many more aspects I could dive into from this book, but I'll leave it here for now.
Many thanks to my brother, Jeremy, for encouraging me to read and finish this book!