Robert Moses is responsible for so much of the infrastructure of New York, including parks, bridges, highways and more. And he remains a divisive figure. The first part of this two-parter covers his rise in New York government.

Research:

• “15% OF THE FAIR STILL UNFINISHED; 15 Pavilions and 3 Shows in Amusement Area Delayed.” New York Times. April 22, 1964. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/22/archives/15-of-the-fair-still-unfinished-15-pavilions-and-3-shows-in.html
• Ballon, Hilary, Phd. and Kenneth T. Jackson, eds. “Robert Moses and the Modern City: The Transformation of New York.” W.W. Norton & Co. 2008.
• Balme, Bob. “His Pen Blisters, His Voice Stings – Robert Moses, at 71, Churns Ahead.” Buffalo News. December 5, 1959. https://www.newspapers.com/image/868298578/?match=4&terms=Robert%20Moses&search-id=e5e8b520-6c56-44d0-96ef-7303b5705343&search-rank=6
• Brewer, Sam Pope. “MOSES SLUM ROLE STIRRED DISPUTE; His 'Dead Duck' Remark on Title I Projects Aroused Urban Renewal Backers.” New York Times. Feb. 28, 1960. https://www.nytimes.com/1960/02/28/archives/moses-slum-role-stirred-dispute-his-dead-duck-remark-on-title-i.html
• Britannica Editors. "Robert Moses". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Jul. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Moses
• Caro, Robert A. “The Power Broker.” Knopf. 1974.
• Caro, Robert A. “The Power Broker – I: How Robert Moses Transformed New York.” The New Yorker. July 15, 1974. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1974/07/22/the-power-broker-i-the-best-bill-drafter-in-albany?_sp=012e2621-7c64-4868-8288-8d1d8c093dfc.1788137489337
• Chronopoulos, T. (2014). “Robert Moses and the Visual Dimension of Physical Disorder: Efforts to Demonstrate Urban Blight in the Age of Slum Clearance.” Journal of Planning History, 13(3), 207-233. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1538513213487149
• Crawford, F. C. “New York State Reorganization.” The American Political Science Review, vol. 20, no. 1, 1926, pp. 76–79. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1945100
• Ellis, Robert P. “Robert Moses.” Ebsco. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/robert-moses#lifes-work
• “EX-COSTELLO AIDE BARRED BY MAYOR ON SLUM PROJECTS.” The New York Times. July 3, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/03/archives/excostello-aide-barred-by-mayor-on-slum-projects-pokrass.html
• “GOVERNOR BY MERIT.” New York Times. Nov. 7, 1934. https://www.nytimes.com/1934/11/07/archives/governor-by-merit.html
• Grutzner, Charles. “MOSES SAYS TITLE I IS A 'DEAD DUCK'; DECRIES CHARGES; 'Ruinous' Attacks Kill All but Union Slum-Clearing Jobs for Future, He Asserts MAYOR STANDING FIRM He Repeats His Opposition to Any Project That Uses Kessler as Architect.” New York Times. July 4, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/04/archives/moses-says-title-i-is-a-dead-duck-decries-charges-ruinous-attacks.html
• Gutman, Marta. “Race, Place, and Play: Robert Moses and the WPA Swimming Pools in New York City.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 67, no. 4, 2008, pp. 532–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2008.67.4.532
• “History of City–Owned Beaches.” Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/beaches/city-owned-beaches
• “History of Parks' Swimming Pools.” Official Website of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. https://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/pools
• “Jones Beach State Park - 80 Years of Service : 1929 – 2009.” https://jonesbeach.com/index.php?id=165%3A80-years&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=100054
• JONES BEACH STATE PARK.” Long Island Exchange. https://web.archive.org/web/20130121130008/http://www.longislandexchange.com/jones-beach.html
• Kaufman, Herbert. “Robert Moses: Charismatic Bureaucrat.” Political Science Quarterly, vol. 90, no. 3, 1975, pp. 521–38. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2148299
• Kaufman, Michael T. “Moses Rips Into ‘Venomous’ Biography.” New York Times. Aug. 27, 1974. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/27/archives/moses-rips-into-venomous-biography-vindictive-canards-rejects.html
• Lambert, Bruce. “One Man's Dream, Blissful Jones Beach Is Like No Other Place.” New York Times. Sept. 28, 1997. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/28/nyregion/one-man-s-dream-blissful-jones-beach-is-like-no-other-place.html
• “Moses Must Go!” Met Council on Housing. May 14, 2012. https://www.metcouncilonhousing.org/moses-must-go/
• Moses, Robert. “Public Works: A Dangerous Trade.” New York. McGraw-Hill. 1970. https://archive.org/details/publicworksdange00mose/page/n7/mode/2up
• Moses, Robert. “Slums and City Planning.” The Atlantic. January 1945. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/01/slums-and-city-planning/306544/
• Paquette, Carol. “Showcasing the Career of Robert Moses.” New York Times. Oct. 1, 1995. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/01/nyregion/showcasing-the-career-of-robert-moses.html
• Phillips, Wayne. “Title I and Slum Clearance: A Decade of Controversy; Partnership of City and U. S. Has Built 8,000 Apartments -- Disputes Involve Moses and Aims of Program.” New York Times. June 29, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/06/29/archives/title-i-and-slum-clearance-a-decade-of-controversy-partnership-of.html
• “POKRASS BAN IS ASKED; Senator Bids Housing Aides Act on Costello Associate.” New York Times. July 9, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/09/archives/pokrass-ban-is-asked-senator-bids-housing-aides-act-on-costello.html
• Rogers, Elizabeth Barlow. “Robert Caro and Robert Moses Redux.” SiteLINES: A Journal of Place. Vol. 3, No. 1 (Fall 2007), pp. 16-18. Foundation for Landscape Studies. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/24889293
• Smith, Red. “Robert Moses, the Empire Builder.” New York Times. Aug. 5, 1981. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/05/sports/red-smith-robert-moses-the-empire-builder.html
• Sokolsky, George. “Robert Moses Is a Selfless Man.” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. June 18, 1959. https://www.newspapers.com/image/524545077/?match=1&terms=Robert%20Moses&search-id=e5e8b520-6c56-44d0-96ef-7303b5705343&search-rank=2
• “Texts of Statements by Moses and Rockefeller; Statement by Mr. Moses Letter to the Governor Letter to Mr. Moses Statement by Governor 'New Phase' of Park Work Letters Exchanged.” New York Times. Dec. 1, 1962. https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/01/archives/texts-of-statements-by-moses-and-rockefeller-statement-by-mr-moses.html
• “Title I, Very Much Alive.” New York Times. July 8, 1959. https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/08/archives/title-i-very-much-alive.html
• Wallock, L. (1991). The Myth of the Master Builder: Robert Moses, New York, and the Dynamics of Metropolitan Development Since World War II: Robert Moses, New York, and the Dynamics of Metropolitan Development Since World War II. Journal of Urban History, 17(4), 339-362. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/009614429101700401