I had no idea that Robert Moses had so much influence on so many people, and was surprised to find out that he is not as well known, as he should be. I asked ten people at my job and out of the ten only one person knew who Robert Moses was. The person that did know about him said that they heard of Robert Moses Park but didn't know any of his other accomplishments. After that short tally I didn't feel that bad not knowing who he was. Another thing that surprised me was when I was talking to one of my friends about this paper, he actually knew who Robert Moses was without me telling him. He then confessed that the only reason he knew about him was because he works on bridges. Honestly I think he wouldn't have know who he was if he wasn't working on bridges.
Robert Moses, in the late 1930s
Robert Moses, American urban planner, with a model...
English: The crypt of Robert Moses in Woodlawn Cem...Even though Robert Moses has a direct affect on a lot of people in New York City he really hasn't had that great of an impact on mine. The reasons I will go into, a little later on in the paper.
So who really is Robert Moses? He is known to many as a masterbuilder and the power broker, which are two great terms to define a person such as himself. He is responsible for what New York City is today and with out his contributions New York City wouldn't be the same. Let's imagine no bridges in New York City, no parks, no beaches or no housing authorities it would be extremely hard to get by in New York City. Having to use main streets to travel around New York City would be a serious problem and would take forever. How would we get from one borough to another? If it weren't for some of Robert Moses roadways that wouldn't be possible. Robert Moses is responsible for the Long Island Expressway, better yet know to everyone as the LIE. Which is the way many people suburbs get to work in New York City, one of them is my aunt. Other creations of Mr. Moses are the Meadowbrook State Parkway and the Wantagh State Parkway, which are known to almost all teens during the summer. The one roadway that I can thank him for is the Grand Central Parkway, which is the most frequently used by myself. One thing that surprised me about Mr. Moses is that even though he was the creator behind these ideas he was also known as "The man that built more roads than anyone in New York City never learned to drive."ÃÂ(Unknown, 1999, p. 1) This seems a little strange to me but maybe he feared driving so he formed highways instead. Robert Moses is also responsible for the two biggest attractions that I visit during the summer, which are Jones Beach and Shea Stadium. He also has great to do with the idea of " the projects "ÃÂ which if weren't in existence a lot of people would be living a life of struggle. This mastermind is the base of what New York City is built upon and he has made it a lot easier to live in the city due to his endeavors. Let's imagine a hot summer day, the first thing I would think of is a trip to the beach and so would a lot of other people. My trip would start of by calling my friends and planning the event; afterwards I would pick them up and we would be on our way. One of my friends lives in Whitestone and in order to get to her house I need to take the Cross Island Parkway which was a Robert Moses creation, another one live in the woodside projects a concept created by the masterbuilder himself. From there we take the Grand Central Parkway till we reach the Meadowbrook State Parkway and then reach Jones beach; once again all three related to Robert Moses. I would do this at least three times during the whole summer and maybe even more. If Robert Moses wouldn't have done what he did I would have no where to go during the summer. Yet another place that I visit a lot throughout the year is Shea Stadium I am a pure Mets fan, and that is their home. I had no idea that one day I would be writing a paper on the person who establish the best stadium in New York City, at least through my eyes. To visit a lot of my family we have to drive through the highways, which makes it a whole lot quicker. For example I live in Jackson Heights my and cousin lives in Astoria, if I were to visit her and drive using the local route it would it would take me about a good 20-25 minutes to reach her house. If I were to jump on the Grand Central Parkway at most it would take only 15 minutes, maybe even less. That's a saving of 10 minutes that can be used to do something else.
Robert Moses has done so much, but what amazed me the most was when I read that he had built a great majority of his establishments in one year. (Starling, 1998, p. 396) He must have really wanted to make his goals a reality and that made a great impression on me. His motivation gives me hope to accomplish my goals and complete my dreams. All that Robert Moses created were dreams that he made reality. Even though there were people that tried to stop him by not granting him the necessary funds he didn't let that stop him. I could see myself in a situation that is similar to his at my job. Thinking about it I shouldn't give up and fight until the end how Robert Moses did. One thing that Robert Moses possessed was power, which put him in such a high standing in society. The only thing that was different from him and others is that he knew exactly, on what he should use his power. His concentration was focus on ""æ dedicating his life to public services, and helping the lower classes."ÃÂ(Caro, 1974, p.1) This is located on the first page of this book, so from the beginning you already know what his main concern is. Knowing this I know will now fight harder to achieve what I want and I would be able to accomplish it if I just try.
Robert Moses has affected my life in an array of ways, but one thing that he has nothing in connection with that affects me greatly is the subway system. I spend about four hours of my day on the train on a good day. If there were no trains I would really be lost, because than having to drive and find parking isn't easy. This is when Robert Moses comes into play. If the trains are not running I need to use the highways to get to work and school. So no matter how much I try to think that he doesn't effect the quality of my life I would only be lying to myself. I am really happy that I did this paper, I will now think of Robert Moses every summer while driving up towards Jones Beach. That's when I will ask my friends do you guys know who Robert Moses is?
English: Entrance to Robert Moses Playground at Fi...
A picture of the light house at Robert Moses State...
Map of Robert Moses State Parkway