I read all 1,200 pages of āThe Power Brokerā and now I have beef with a dead man
You know how they say youāre never more than six feet from a spider? In New York City, I feel like youāre never more than six feet from Robert Moses.
I mean this both literally and figuratively. Here, for example, is Curbed deep dive about a project in my neighborhood that I read yesterday, where the infamous city planner comes up repeatedly. Heās also name-checked in a recent Atlantic article about abundance politics. Iāve also literally read the document Moses wrote making the case to build the apartment building I now live in. And looking at important, timely topics like congestion pricing, Open Streets, the MTA, and the current mayoral election, let me just tell youā¦the ghost of Robert Moses is everywhere. (If this guy had been obsessed with trains and tunnels instead of bridges and cars, weād be living in a very different America right now!)
In both New York and across the U.S., weāre still dealing with* the negative effects of his 40-year (unelected!!!) reign, which is why The Power BrokerāRobert Caroās 1200-page Pulitzer Prizeāwinning accounting of Robert Mosesās life and workāwas such a fascinating and infuriating read.
I had often heard people talk about The Power Broker because of how long it is, butā¦no one ever really talks about how good it is! And not just good in the sense of, like, āIām learning so much from this, it is Important,ā though that is also true. But itās really, really readable. Itās juicy! The stakes are so high and thereās endless drama, gossip, humor, and pettiness, coupled with the kind of epic narrative arcs that feel more like fictionāit really doesnāt feel like reading a history book. (My jaw actually dropped at times.) Robert Caro does an incredible job of making the case for why we all need to know this bastardās name, and laying out just how destructive, nasty, cruel, and prolific Moses was. One of the worst people to ever do it! I initially decided to just read the intro to see if I wanted to fully commit to the book, and by the time I finished that, I wasā¦panting. I truly couldnāt put it down. (And before you ask: Yes, Moses has replaced Samuel Pepys as my #1 historical enemy.)
Because 2024 was the fiftieth anniversary of the bookās publication, thereās been a ton of renewed interest and media coverage in it. 99% Invisible (a podcast I love!) did a multipart series on The Power Broker last year, which is definitely a worth a listen if you know in your heart that youāre never going to read the whole book. Itās very light/fun (one of the co-hosts for this miniseries used to write for The Daily Show), and does a great job of communicating the key takeaways. (At minimum, you should definitely listen to the interview they did with AOC, wherein she talks about why the federal governmentā¦is the way it is. Her interview starts at 1:51:16 and is so good and will also make you want to scream.)
One of my biggest takeaways from The Power Broker is just how much impact a single person can have. Even in a city as big and as complicated as New York, itās increasingly evident to me that a few loud NIMBYs with a bone to pick can stall progress for years. And yeah, Robert Moses didnāt do what he did aloneā¦but the book was just a stark reminder that, for better or for worse, people built the world we live in, and people can change it.
Some related content:
Iāve really been enjoying The War on Cars podcast. (I loved the free parking, Tesla, and Rick Steves episodes!)
I recently picked up City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways from the library. I also have Jane Jacobs and Wrestling With Moses in the queue.
āCan Andy Byford Save the Subways?ā I remember reading this in the New Yorker when it was published, but I re-read it after finishing TPB. And now, just this weekā¦Andy Byford is back!
āThe Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth,ā from a three-part Times series on the failures of the MTA.
Streetsblog is a great resource if you care about whatās happening in terms of transportation policy; I read the NYC edition daily and itās very in the weeds (in a good way!) about what is currently happening. š£ļø
