The power broker : Robert Moses and the fall of New York

by Caro, Robert A

  The Oral History Project of Columbia University was a source of immensely helpful material.

  R.A.C.

  New York City

  January 31, 1974

  A NOTE ON SOURCES

  From its inception, Robert Moses did his best to try to keep this book from being written—as he had done, successfully, with so many previous, stillborn, biographies.

  After I had been researching it for more than a year, however, he apparently realized that it would be written despite him. He agreed to sit for a series of interviews with me, and, over a period of some months, seven interviews—long hours in length; one lasted from 9:30 a.m. until evening—took place in his summer cottage at Oak Beach, on the far end of the "Jones Beach" portion of the Long Island barrier beach, where Robert Moses sat talking, framed, through a picture window, by the Robert Moses Causeway and Robert Moses State Park. "Interviews" is a less appropriate term than "monologues," for Moses permitted few questions, none on sensitive subjects, and when the time came that I had no choice but to ask some (for, having interviewed others involved in the subjects in question and having examined the records—many of them secret—dealing with them, it was necessary to reconcile the sometimes striking disparity between what he told me and what they told me), the series of interviews was abruptly terminated. Nonetheless, the long hours alone with Robert Moses have enriched the book immensely, not only in the many incidents and anecdotes he related that turned out to be accurate, and in the masterful word pictures he drew of all but forgotten eras (to hear Robert Moses talk about the Legislature's "Black Horse Cavalry" of the 1920's is to see the Black Horse Cavalry), but because, as is always the case when a reporter can spend enough time with a subject, the subject reveals more of himself than he knows. All unknowing, Moses told me, I believe, much that he didn't realize he was telling me. The subject of this book is, therefore, the first source that I must cite.

  I must thank him as well. If his monologues, shying from the sensitive as they did, were in a sense lectures on the philosophy and art of Getting Things Done in a democratic society, they were nonetheless the lectures of a genius. Having been an investigative and political reporter for some years, I have naively believed that I knew something about the innermost fabric of decision-making in New York City and New York State, and not a little about government and politics in general. All that I knew was as nothing besides what I learned from this unique Gamaliel.

  During the era of cooperation, moreover, Moses relaxed the rule, hitherto rigid throughout his empire, that no one was to talk to me, and allowed certain of his aides to do so. Most importantly, he allowed Michael J. (Jack) Madigan and Sidney M. Shapiro to do so. Madigan worked hand in glove with Moses for thirty-five years. Although an engineer who headed the engineering firm most closely identified with Moses in the public mind, his real importance to Moses was in his secret role as architect of the intricately crafted bond issues that made Moses' public works possible. If the Moses empire had a treasurer, Madigan was the man. Shapiro was even more important to me. If the empire had a prime minister, it was he. General manager and chief engineer of the Long Island State Park Commission, he worked for Moses for more than forty years, the last twenty or so as his closest and most trusted aide. With Shapiro, I spent more than a hundred hours. Besides showing me what the "royal tour" for a Moses guest meant—and I am grateful for, if still somewhat incredulous at, that experience—he talked to me freely, having obtained my promise not to quote him directly or indirectly. He agreed, however, that his death would void that promise, and he died on July 20, 1972. It is thanks to Shapiro more than to any

  other single source that I came to understand Moses' attitude toward Negroes, toward "that scum floating up from Puerto Rico" that was befouling his parks, toward what "RM" called the "lower classes"—as well as Moses' reasoning on such questions as mass transit vs. highways. As to why Shapiro spoke so openly, promise or no promise, I have, after much speculation over intriguing possibilities, concluded that perhaps the primary reason was that he did so simply because he believed what Moses believed— believed it so fervently that he could see nothing wrong with it, and could not understand how anyone of "real intelligence" could see anything wrong with it. Forty years in the insulation of the Moses inner circle had taken its toll.

  One further note of detailed explanation on a particular source may be of interest to some readers. When, in the Notes that follow, I cite the "Secret TBTA Files," I refer to the secret files of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, kept under lock and key to this day on Randall's Island, barred for forty years to inspection by public or press, none of whose contents has, to the best of my knowledge, ever been revealed. It was some of those files, made available to me, that became the primary source of the information in this book on such political payoffs as insurance premium commissions to selected legislators. In those files—the legendary Moses dossiers—are the frankest of memos on who's getting what, and why.

  Several other collections of documents which, so far as I can determine, have never been consulted before by any writer, have been of use in my research.

  The voluminous personal files of W. Kingsland Macy, State Republican Chairman from 1930 to 1934, Suffolk County Republican Chairman from 1927 to i960, and a power in New York State politics for thirty years, were discovered by the author in the cellar of the Macy mansion in West Islip, Long Island. They are referred to in the Notes that follow as the "Macy Papers."

  Other perhaps virgin collections of documents consulted include the internal memoranda of the New York City Park Department during the twenty-six years of Robert Moses' commissionership. These files, made available to the author through the cooperation of Mary Perot Nichols, are stored in the dank recesses below the Seventy-ninth Street boat basin near the West Side Highway. They are referred to as the "Park Department Files." Other collections include the letters, memos and informal diaries of reformer William Exton, which detail his battles during the 1930's against the West Side Highway and such other Moses projects as the remodeling of Washington Square Park. The "Exton Papers" are kept at his family's home in Millbrook, Dutchess County. The internal memoranda and draft reports of the State Reconstruction Commission, of which Moses was chief of staff in 1919, were preserved for half a century by commission staffer John M. Gaus at his home in Utica, together with a vast collection of forty years of unpublished reports on Moses projects by planning and reform organizations. This huge compilation—the result of Gaus's enduring fascination with his first boss long after he himself became a Harvard professor and respected political scientist—is referred to as the "Gaus Papers."

  The memos on the Title I scandals of the 1950's written by Gene Gleason and other New York World-Telegram reporters to rewriteman Fred J. Cook and various editors and kept by Cook in his home in Interlaken, New Jersey, were given to the author by Cook. These are referred to as the "Cook Papers." Various other documents relating to Title I given to the author by Stephen G. Thompson, then on the staff of the New York Herald Tribune, are referred to as the "Thompson Papers." Letters, memos and secret internal documents relating to Moses' 1964-65 World's Fair —obtained, and painstakingly filed and cross-referenced, by New York Post reporter Joseph Kahn—were given to the author by Kahn. These are referred to as the "Kahn Files."

  In 1966, 1967 and 1968 audits were made of the Triborough Authority and of Moses' Long Island State Park Commission, Bethpage State Park Authority and Jones Beach State Park Authority by auditors on the staff of State Comptroller Arthur Levitt. In addition to the published "audit reports," there were made available to the

  A Note on Sources r,<>

  author some of the unpublished—and, since the published reports were heavily edited at Moses' insistence, far more revealing—work sheets of the auditor , These are referred to as the "Levitt TBTA Audit" and the "Levitt LISPC Audit."

  Of the manuscript collections cited, the following mayoral papers are at the Municipal Archives and Refere
nce Center, 23 Park Row, New York City: La Guardia Papers, O'Dwyer Papers, Impellitteri Papers and Wagner Papers. The Alfred E. Smith Papers are at the New York State Library in Albany. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Papers and the Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Diary are at the Roosevelt Library ia New Hyde Park. The Henry L. Stimson Papers are at the Sterling Library, Yale University.

  The "Black Papers" refer to the vast collection of questionnaires and reports on displaced tenants on Moses' Title I sites compiled by Mrs. Elinor Black in her capacity as chairman of the housing committee of the Women's City Club. The "Edclstein Papers" refer to the documents collected by Mrs. Lillian Edelstein during her fight against the Cross-Bronx Expressway. They are now back in her possession at her new home near Boston. The "Gabel Papers" refer to a few documents Hortense Gabel gave the author from her tenure as Deputy State Housing Rent Administrator, the "Kopple Papers" to a collection of memoranda and files given the author by Robert Kopple, the true creator of the 1964-65 World's Fair, the "Zeckendorf Papers" to copies of letters and memos relating to the creation of the United Nations Headquarters given the author by William Zeckendorf.

  The Joseph M. Price Papers are at Butler Library, Columbia University. The Maurice P. Davidson Papers are in the possession of the Davidson family.

  The Oral History Project is at Columbia University.

  More than one hundred brochures written or edited during a period of more than forty years by Robert Moses and published by one of his public authorities or the Mayor's Slum Clearance Committee or the New York City Park Department were given to the author by Sidney M. Shapiro. There is no one location in which the numerous other Moses brochures can be found, but most are located in the New York Public Library or the La Guardia, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri or Wagner Mayoral Papers.

  SELECTED INTERVIEWS

  There were 522 interviews conducted for this book. The list below identifies persons interviewed who are cited frequently in the Notes that follow. Persons cited infrequently are identified in the chapters in which the citations occur.

  The persons on this list are described not by their most well-known position but by the role they played in their relationship to Robert Moses. Adolf A. Berle, Jr., for example, is described not as a Roosevelt Brain Truster but as Fiorello La Guardia's first City Chamberlain, the role in which Moses dealt with him.

  The dates in parentheses are the dates of the interviews. While dates are not given in the chapter notes for interviews with persons cited infrequently, all these interviews took place between March 1, 1967, and February 3, 1972.

  Adams, Dolie McWhinney: Assemblyman Thomas McWhinney's daughter (Mar. 23, 1967)

  Barnes, Henry: City Traffic Commissioner, Wagner era (Feb. 14, 15, 1968)

  Ben Scheiber, Israel: vice president of Madison House (July 13, 20, 1967)

  Berle, Adolf A., Jr.: City Chamberlain, La Guardia era (Nov. 22, 23, 1967)

  Binger, Walter D.: Stanley Isaacs' Borough Works Commissioner, La Guardia era (Dec. 22, 1967; Jan. 15, 1968)

  Blake, Harold: Moses secretary (1969, 1970)

  Carr, Mary: secretary to Al Smith and Belle Moskowitz (Feb. 16, 1967)

  Chanler, William C: La Guardia Corporation Counsel (Dec. 14, 1967)

  Chapin, William S.: Moses aide (Apr. 24, May 8, 1968)

  Childs, Richard S.: president of the New York State Association; chairman of the Citizens Union (Feb. 21, Mar. 3, 10, 1967)

  Clark, Ernest J.: long-time Moses engineering consultant; president, Andrews & Clark (May 10, 17, 1968)

  Clarke, Gilmore: long-time Moses architectural consultant; president, Clarke & Rapuano (Apr. 5, 1967)

  Coleman, John A.: financier, key adviser to O'Dwyer and Wagner (Feb. 7, 1967)

  Collins, Jane Moses: Moses' daughter (1968, 1969, 1970)

  Condello, Victor F.: city legislative representative, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri eras (1969)

  Cooney, Joan Ganz: Sesame Street producer (July 10, 1968)

  Cooney, Timothy J.: Wagner aide (Aug. 14, 1968)

  Costikyan, Edward N.: Democratic district leader, reform leader of Tammany Hall, Wagner era (July 16, 1968)

  Cullman, Howard S.: Port Authority chairman (Feb. 7, 8, 1967)

  Davison, F. Trubee: assemblyman, campaign chairman for Moses' gubernatorial campaign (May 1, 1967)

  Dewey, Thomas E.: Governor (Apr. 25, May 7, 1968)

  Duryea, Perry B., Jr.: State Assembly Speaker, president of Long Island State Park Commission, Rockefeller era (Apr. 27, 1968)

  Dykman, Jackson A.: Moses' Yale classmate and attorney for contractors, La Guardia era (July 22, 1967)

  Ernst, Morris L.: noted attorney, reformer, social acquaintance of Moses (Nov. 7, 1967)

  Evarts, Jeremiah: Assistant Corporation Counsel, La Guardia era (1968)

  Exton, William, Jr.: reformer (Jan. 25, Feb. 11, 12, 1968; May 1969)

  Notes

  1171

  Fearon, George R.: State Senate majority leader, Lehman era (May 5,

  1967) Finkelstein, Jerry: City Planning Commission chairman, O'Dwyer era (May 1, 1968)

  Gaus, John M.: noted political scientist, staffer on Moses' Reconstruction Commission (Apr. 14, 19, 26, 27, 1967)

  Goldwater, Monroe: partner, Gold-water & Flynn, behind-the-scenes Democratic power, La Guardia, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri, Wagner, Lindsay eras (Dec. 20, 27, 1967)

  Greenberg, Nettie: Moses secretary (1969)

  Gulick, Luther H.: staffer, later official at the Bureau of Municipal Research (Mar. 2, 27, 1967)

  Hall, Leonard W.: assemblyman, chairman of Republican National Committee (May 9, 1967)

  Hallett, George: secretary. Citizens Union, La Guardia, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri, Wagner, Lindsay eras (Oct. 30, Nov. 4, 1967)

  Hellman, Mrs. Hilda E.: Moses' cousin (Jan. 23, 1968)

  Higgins, Rita: Belle Moskowitz's secretary (Apr. 1, 1967)

  Hogan, Ann: Al Smith's secretary (Apr. 10, 1967)

  Hoving, Thomas P. F.: City Park Commissioner, Lindsay era (1969)

  Howells, Mrs. Elmer B.: friend of Moseses (Apr. 15, 1967)

  Impellitteri, Vincent R., Mayor (Apr.

  22, 1968) Ingraham, Joseph T.: New York Times

  reporter, transportation editor (Apr.

  18, 24, 25, 26, 1968) Israels, Carlos: Belle Moskowitz's son

  (Feb. 20, 21, 1967)

  Johnson, Elias A.: Moses' Yale roommate (July 21, 22, 1967)

  Kaplan, H. Elliot: head of State Retirement System and civil service expert (July 7, Aug. 16, 19, 1967)

  Kaplan, Saul: counsel to Assembly minority leader Irwin Steingut, Lehman, Dewey, Harriman eras (i9 6 9)

  Kern, Paul J.: La Guardia law secretary and later President of the Municipal Civil Service Commission, La Guardia era (Jan. 19, 23, 1968)

  Latham, William: Moses aide (Nov. 1, 2, 1967; Jan.

  Lazarus, Reuben A.: New York ( legislative representative, Smith, Ri sevelt, La Guaidia eras; counsel ind municipal affairs consultant to Senate majority leader and other Albany posts thereafter (Feb. 6, Oct. 20, Nov. 7, 8, 1967; Apr. 21, 1968)

  Levitt, Arthur: State Comptroller, Rockefeller era (1968, 1970)

  Lutsky, Jacob: Assistant Corporation Counsel, La Guardia era; legal aide to the Mayor, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri, Wagner eras (May 8, 15, June 25, 1968)

  Madigan, Michael J. (Jack): long-time Moses engineering consultant; president, Madigan-Hyland (May 2, 9, 16, 1968)

  Marconnier, Emily Sims: Moses' sister-in-law (June 29, 1967)

  Mayes, Richard: Democratic leader of Oyster Bay Town (June 2, 1967)

  McGoldrick, Joseph D.: City Comptroller, La Guardia era (May 2, Dec. 17, 18, 20, 1967; Jan. 19, 20, 1968)

  McMorran, J. Burch: superintendent, State Department of Public Works (Apr. 29, 1968)

  Meyers, General Harry L.: Moses aide (Sept. 25, 1968)

  Milbank, Jeremiah: Moses' Yale classmate, GOP financier (July 21, 1967)

  Moloney, Edward J.: State Department of Public Works official, Dewey era, later a Moses consultant (July 2, 5, 19
68)

  Morse, Mrs. Harold: Mary Moses' friend (Feb. 21, Aug. 11, 1967)

  Moscow, Warren: New York Times reporter, La Guardia, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri eras; Wagner aide, executive director, City Housing Authority, Wagner era (Dec. 3, 1967; Jan. 14, 15, 1968; Mar. 15, 1970)

  Moses, Paul Emanuel: Robert Moses' brother (Dec. 30, 31, 1966; Jan. 16, Feb. 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, Mar. 16, 29, 30, 1967)

  Moses, Robert (May 26, June 11, 16, July 25, Sept. 21, 1967; Apr. 20, 27, 1968)

  O'Keefe, Paul: Deputy Mayor, Wagner

  era (1969) Orton, Lawrence M.: City Planning Commission member and vice chairman, Smith, La Guardia, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri, Wagner, Lindsay eras (Apr. 21, Dec. 22, 1967; Oct. 3, 8,

  Selected Interviews

  1172

  1968; Mar. 15, 1971; Nov. 17, 18, 19, Dec. 27, 1972; Mar. 8, Apr. 17, June 3, 1973)

  Palmer, Arthur E., Jr.: Lindsay transportation administrator, Lindsay appointee to Triborough board (June 23, 27, 1968)

  Price, Robert: Lindsay strategist and Deputy Mayor (June 25, 1968)

  Proskauer, Joseph M.: member of Smith's "Kitchen Cabinet" (Feb. 24, 1967)

  Rabinowitz, Aaron: realtor, State Housing Board member, Al Smith era; Democratic financier (Feb. 27, 1967)

  Reid, Lloyd B.: City Traffic Commissioner, O'Dwyer era (June 16, 1968)

  Rodriguez, Charles F.: various positions under James J. Lyons in Bronx borough president's office, La Guardia, O'Dwyer, Impellitteri, Wagner eras (May 1, 20, 1968)

  Rosen, Richard M.: city legislative representative, Lindsay era (June 25, 1968)

  Screvane, Paul R.: Deputy Mayor, City Council President, Wagner era (Oct. 21, 1968)

  Shapiro, Sidney M.: Moses aide (nineteen interviews, 1968-69)

  Singstad, Ole: general manager, New York City Tunnel Authority (Jan. 10, 17, 1968)