Robert Moses: Long Island's Master Builder

Robert Moses created over $27 billion of public works making him the world's biggest builder. His controversial "end justifies the means" credo did not endear him to the residents of the Bronx and Manhattan but Long Islanders see the good in Jones Beach and the vast network of roads and bridges that opened the island up for development and use by the masses.

[@livinginhythecenturyvillag5519]

My husband still remembers his mother talking about the low height of those bridges and stopping the buses! I guess she wasn't alone in feeling that way. Thanks for this great video, Fred!

[@Jeff-S]

As a child, I was told that the bridges were built low in order to keep out busses (and people of color) from the city. In fact, I thought it was common knowledge. The story was that Robert Moses was a racist, hence the low bridges. I'm not positive of this rumor. Although the narrator mentioned that Moses didn't want another Coney Island. What that means, I'm not sure. In any event, he did invent the modern day highway system as a way to get to these parks. I am not aware of any other place where a highway or freeway is called a parkway. The highway system was born here on Long Island. He did shape the Metro NY and Long Island as we all know it today. It is beautiful

[@patriciaowens3479]

I was born on Long Island in 1943 in Rockville Center. I have a lot of memories of going to the beach and we used to go to Tobay as well. So it was fun to see this video. Thanks a lot and God bless😊

[@marcellaricher8296]

This is extremely well done, and I have watched a lot of Moses stuff!!

[@leonardodalongisland]

Nice job. I'm a bit of a Long Island "historian" and I learn a few new things. Thanks.

[@davidkastin4240]

Wonderful video. Love all the history and my favorite place on L.I. has always been Jones Beach.

[@fredhadley]

Thanks!

[@calvinbaII]

This was really well done, thanks for all your work Queensdude!

[@diastoleny]

Great job on this video!!!!! Thanks.

[@terreckk]

im an urban planning student studying Robert Moses, his works and his failures. he was a great man and a fallible man. thanks for your insights to the historical period and the man himself. i enjoyed your video very much!

[@jinxedsphinx3600]

E Wood was a racist?

[@mdmustafaahmed3376]

I finished reading Power Broker that provides a great insight into his work. What other books do you suggest to anyone interested in learning more about Robert Moses and his work

[@leonardodalongisland]

I'm a filmmaker trying to get a Long Island history project going-could possibly use someone like you.

[@ethelmalley]

that was really fantastic! thanks for sharing!

[@petermaguire1939]

Moses destroyed the Bronx with the cross Bronx expressway

[@petermaguire1939]

Yeah 4 lanes each way you dumbass

[@davidmdyer838]

How else would you get from the mainland to LI? There are ample bridges across it.

[@BillieBluntTV]

Some people's heroes are some people's enemies.

[@henryostman5740]

Moses was also Chairman of the NY State Power Authority, they run the power system at Niagara Falls and supply power to much of NY. I believe that he was also involved in the St. Lawrence Seaway project in some capacity and the NY/NJ Port Authority and played a role in the George Washington Bridge. Very few significant new roads or parks were built after Moses retired. He got things done, not something that politicians are good at.

[@leonardodalongisland]

What wasn't he part of!???

[@ElmerCat]

Robert Moses never learned to drive a car?!! - I wouldn't have guessed that!

[@mikejones741]

He has his own pkwy

[@DrGreenBuzz]

He did learn though

[@Jeff-S]

I thought the same thing. He is the inventor of the modern Highway system.

[@anu60wds]

very well done entertaining and informative

[@CopsCourtandCommunity]

Great job! I really enjoyed this.

[@gary1094]

Nice informative video!

[@oldscool75]

Another great video Queensdude I always enjoy them...Nice Guayabera, by the way!!!

[@davidqnyc]

Fred & Bob...Another very informative and interesting video...Thanks...David from Oz Pk...

[@linlee5162]

Thanks for a Informative vid, my dad always praised RM, all the time my dad even worked for the TBTA, and always explained bridges and roads to us. Wow!! I didn't kno. Thank you again 👌

[@crazeenydriver]

you did a great job on this sir, thanks for sending me the link

[@NoirHammer]

Nice video and very entertaining. I think Moses would've excelled in a country where a person's rights wasn't respected at all. He could've gone much further. ;-)

[@snipewa4]

thanks for the short

[@abcdef-kx2qt]

MAKE A Overseas Highway LIKE FLORIDA has through the long island sound !!

[@leonardodalongisland]

"Oversound."

[@Musicradio77Network]

BTW, Othman Amman was the designer for all of the bridges in NYC. His first bridge that he designed was the George Washington Bridge where it connects the state border from New York to New Jersey, and that was opened in 1931. More bridges to be built right up until the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to be opened in 1964. The Brooklyn Bridge is still New York City’s very first bridge where it opened as far back as 1883. The following century came the Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903, and the Manhattan Bridge opened in 1909 which makes it the first three East River bridges in Lower Manhattan. The saddest part at 9:35 that there were no cameras or videos were allowed on the TBTA headquarters. It’s still the Robert Moses building which is in Warts Island.

[@fredhadley]

Buses were available to Jones Beach from its opening. Moses didn’t want trucks and other commercial vehicles on his parkways.

[@negroscolded3769]

He wanted to keep blacks out of long island so he built the highway 🛣 inaccessible to city buses

[@Jeff-S]

That's what I leaned as a child and young adult. @@negroscolded3769

[@JPIndustrie]

Shoutout to all the old school nyc downpore fans 🤘

[@williamrich7638]

Inscription on Robert Moses statue in Babylon, goes something like this: Not since the Pharos of Egypt has anymore overseen as many construction projects as Robert Moses.

[@leonardodalongisland]

And his name was "Moses"! How crazy!

[@fredhadley]

You're welcome. Thanks for viewing!

[@tobygoodguy4032]

An island perspective. At least its not negative. Great man ... almost superhuman.

[@indetermite]

Are you lobotomized?

[@tobygoodguy4032]

@@indetermite Shaddup

[@indetermite]

Follow your own advice.@@tobygoodguy4032

[@fredhadley]

This i from the Wikipedia entry on Ammann: Ammann wrote two reports about bridge collapses, the collapse of the Quebec Bridge and the collapse of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Galloping Gertie). It was the report that he wrote about the failure of the Quebec Bridge in 1907 that first earned him recognition in the field of bridge design engineering. Because of this report, he was able to obtain a position working for Gustav Lindenthal on the Hell Gate Bridge.

[@hurdit]

Excellent vid Robert. Though I didn't have audio at the time of viewing, still I can tell. I'm native Queens myself and recognized almost everything. I'm assuming that was Horace Harding Blvd in "Fresh Meadows" just before the LIE expansion. That was the first pic I've ever seen of it! Had to be during the Long Island Motor Pkwy time. And the Hollis Ct./GCP arch bridge was also another first. I wish I was around to see that one. Thank you for posting and the hard work to put it all together.

[@fredhadley]

Thanks, David. Anything new with Ridgewood Reservoir?

[@fredhadley]

You got it!

[@fredhadley]

Thank you for watching.

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Arm chair critics mock curse this great man... What have you built or done???!

[@MitzvosGolem1]

@Joe Curry yeah I am a civil engineer and built public projects library schools.. I find it hard to believe that you did. The greater good outweigh the individual .. Moses built public parks recreation slum clearance projects for the inner city urban poor ...

[@javin70]

mitzvah golem slum clearance? More like gentrification and displacement of poor black people

[@xandervk2371]

@@javin70 Yes, what was left after that "clearance" became ghettos.

[@vaniadobreva8620]

First of all Robert Moses is a great talent. Remember that Beethoven was not popular but was a great maestro. What Mr. Moses did is unique and monumental. As to Fred Haley's production - it is a piece of art as a documentary, has interesting personal touch, in a nutshell - I shall keep the link to watch it over and over again. The book "The Powerbroker" and this short move are inspirational. as is Robert Moses's life.

[@musicom67]

I was just saying to myself what a great documentary. The Historian rocks with his storytelling ... But as 6:30 is approaching, I'm sensing something's happening... then THAT SONG!!!! OOOO-FA! "......FROM DA BEACH AND DA BAWD-WAWK CAFE"........ I mean I'm from Long Island too, but WTF? ;-)

[@dcaseng]

Moses was a piece of shit. He is largely responsible for creating what was once called "the worst slum in America", also known as the South Bronx of the 1970's through 1980's. His biggest asset was his enormous ego and unwillingness to give a fuck about anything except getting what he wanted. Yes, certain projects are a NECESSITY, but there are better ways to go about planning for infrastructure projects, that don't have as negative of an impact on the lives of citizens. He's also quite overrated as an "architect", as he always chose to take a "meat ax" to whatever was in the way. TALENTED architects find solutions, they don't simply bulldoze through their opposition.

[@margaritaramos3393]

Old post, but we'll said.

[@ChrisDutch]

Moses's lack of a real grasp of the necessity for a balanced system of transportation (including mass transit) was a huge burden for everyone including Long Islanders. Jones Beach, among other parks he built, were impressive but restricted to only those people who drove cars. Thus his parks were restricted laregely to whites with cars and his highways did not benefit becuase they were often jammed with cars.

[@felixvikes28]

I think that was the point pal

[@carolpetersen635]

Nonsense. Trains a buses carried city residents to all L.I. Beaches from day one. Stop spreading lies.

[@Jeff-S]

No. Not to Tobay, Gilgo, Oak Beach, Robert Moses State Park and especially Fire Island communities and beaches. They were all Long Island beaches and still are. Tobay means "Town of Oyster Bay"@@carolpetersen635

[@fredhadley]

Another citation, this from AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS (ASCE): "In 1912 he started working for the renowned bridge designer Gustav Lindenthal , as assistant chief engineer, to guide the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge and the Sciotoville Bridge." www.asce.org/othmar-hermann-ammann/

[@fredhadley]

Try the Archives of the Queens Public Library in Jamaica (formerly Long Island Division) or "Castles in the Sand" at the Jones Beach East Bathhouse, a museum dedicated to Moses.

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

I'm curious, did he link with the mob in some way to get some of the projects done ?

[@LazlosPlane]

Are you kidding? You can't do a major project in NYC WITHOUT the mob!

[@HayastAnFedayi]

He was part of government therefore he is the mob😉😂jk but seriously like has already been said nothing in NYC gets built without the mob, especially during the active period of Moses.

[@fredhadley]

This is a from the New York Panorama in Flushing Meadows Park. It was commissioned for the '64-'65 NY World's Fair by Robert Moses and is the world's largest architectural model and shows tiny planes taking off and landing on a string that penetrates the model and allows the single plane to land, pass under the model and re-emerge as a departing flight. Cool, no?

[@donovanlazaro7512]

Sorry, but you cannot glorify this man's work. Absolutely disastrous consequences for cities throughout the United States due to the influence he had. We are now reeling the pain caused by over-adoption and reliance on the automobile and any change that we make is extremely difficult and costly. Despite all this, there is some credit due. Moses was a hell of a doer, in an era of American history when people got things done. Unfortunately he lacked vision and genuine appreciation for what a city is and what makes people drawn to urban environments.

[@wayne6066]

We called the water tower the pencil. The first round-a-bout on LI.

[@kewgardensstation]

Ammaan did not work on the New York Connecting (Hell Gate) Bridge. His later colleague, Gustave Lindenthal, was the Austro-Hungarian designer of the Hell Gate Bridge. Ammaan would, however, go on to compete with his former mentor and win the design bid for the automotive bridge that would finally span the Hudson River in 1931, The George Washington Bridge, as well as the Triborough, The Bronx-Whitestone, The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, etc. Otherwise, GREAT documentary and I love Robert Miller. He's an awesome historical resource. And a cool guy who knows his local history. :-)

[@fredhadley]

Kew Gardens Station please see documentation for Miller's claim re: Ammann. Thanks for the praise.

[@kewgardensstation]

Queensdude I stand corrected. Awesome video.

[@matthewatwood1060]

If Roosevelt didn't like him, I bet there was a good reason.

[@carolpetersen635]

The reason was that Moses was a Republican … smh

[@apollocobain8363]

Why are the underpasses to Jones Beach too low for buses to go under? Hmmmmm...what kind of people ride on buses?

[@ohno2112]

Who killed the brooklyn Dodgers ! Coney Island !! ETC !!

[@stuartlee6622]

BLM. That's who!

[@mage1900]

Por favor subtítulos en español

[@Bozewani]

WOW a personal hero of mine Southern State Parkway Brooklyn Queens Expressway Staten Island Expressway Cross Bronx Expressway Triborough Bridge Veranzzano Bridge Lincoln Tunnel holland Tunnel jones beach UN headquarters

[@josephtolisano9746]

But he also left 500,000 people without homes due to him building expressways… let alone he kept bridges low to keep buses out of Long Island. And again now our roads in nyc and Long Island can’t handle traffic and they couldn’t when it was built…

[@gisellesinclair6811]

The song is unbearable - was that actually a legit recording? So bad. But love the video.

[@barneybowler4695]

Al the Robert Moses haters are obvious ideologues. Robert Moses was as much a necessity as Jane Jacobs. Jane described her self not as an ideologues but as someone with a scientific mind who approved of observation and a seeker of how things work. She had a different perspective of the inner city that worked. Robert Moses was a champion, a mover and shaker that got things done helping to make New York a greater city. His vision for New York state is for the most part to the benefit of it's residents. Looking back in hindsight is the great advantage of intellect but Moses had to be a visionary and a risk taker. It was the automobile that brought America to greatness in the 20th century.

[@andrewfojas4810]

Delusional take

[@malcolml309]

Try telling that load of bullshit to the people and/or families whose lives had been displaced by Robert Moses.

[@Musicradio77Network]

Joe Curry Robert Moses was the guy who invented the NYC highways, and it traveled billions of vehicles each day. I saw it on the news about BQE’s future about putting a tunnel underneath like Boston’s Big Dig and Seattle’s SR 99 tunnel that replaced the Alaskan Way Viaduct last year. The viaduct in the BQE next to the Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Brooklyn Promenade on top is starting to deteriorate overtime due to its age. I hope the DOT needs a wake up call. It’s going to be the worst than the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Fix the viaduct on both the BQE and the Gowanus Expressway, and it should be a lot better. This highway used to have 6 lanes with 3 lanes in each direction, why not add a 4th lane on the Gowanus and it will be 8 lanes like the one in Florida which is the I-95 and it’s going to be a super highway.

[@ap70621]

I wish he was able to get the expressway across midtown Manhattan built to connect the Lincoln and Midtown Tunnels. Crossing Midtown is a nightmare.

[@sw5114]

Oh my goodness, no. What a dreadful concept this plan was. Most people would never have wanted something to cut Manhattan in two.

[@dino47]

15:55 / near utopia and LIE / merry twins area

[@stuartlee6622]

Horn Construction Co.?? Moses Hornstein.

[@davidhollingsworth1723]

Well, the comment up above says it all. In L.I. you need a car. When I was a kid we could make it on our bicycles but....Public trans sucked! LIRR or Schenck Bus Co. Fugeddabout it!

[@13orrax]

robert moses could have connected the nissequogue and connetquot rivers

[@MindHunger]

They don't come more corrupt than Robert Moses.

[@mitzvahgolem8366]

He was a hero and champion builder who took on the rich to get lands for parks...Ignorant comments from losers. שלום

[@kingellis3916]

Spoken like a person whose family didnt lose anything as a result of his actions....good for u....fuck your hero though

[@malcolml309]

While I will give Robert Moses credit for transforming what was essentially a 19th century City and adapted it for 20th century use, your hero, did some vile, racist shit to people. He was an arrogant, power mad tyrant, who had no moral qualms about riding roughshod over people who had the LEAST power in New York City. Your hero, was responsible for the urban blight and decay that the Bronx became infamous for.

[@javin70]

Malcolm Lewis don’t waste your breath sir. You can’t change someone’s mind who has never been negatively affected by this monster racist.

[@davidqnyc]

*King Bloomberg...lol

[@davidmdyer838]

Great video. Jones Beach is the Greatest is one lame song!

[@SharonGrant-rr7ni]

Robert Moses is disturbing at the very least.

[@yasminamccorkle2657]

So basically he didn't want black ppl at jones beach

[@yasminamccorkle2657]

Lol ignorant how? Don't like too hear the truth huh?

[@carolpetersen635]

Please don’t be ridiculous! Buses and trains brought New York City residents no matter what their race or ethnicity out to the beaches! They used sunrise highway. And they ran buses from the train station and the bus depot’s to Jones Beach. Stop lying and educate yourself.

[@matthewatwood1060]

Were black people able to use Jones Beach? Or were they kept out?

[@yanncatt]

Robert Moses was not for poor people, he designed his parkways to have low bridges so that buses (which poor people took) could not reach the beaches to which his parkways brought you. You needed a car to go to his creations. Poor people, of all color, were essentially barred from entry

[@mattyian1208]

In the 1940's and 50's when Levittown was being built they didn't allow black people to buy houses in Levittown. The people who designed Levittown houses were racist and the houses were poorly designed. I live in Levittown and trust me it is a bad neighborhood.

[@yanncatt]

@Kilo Byte are you under the impression that there was one back then?

[@yanncatt]

@Kilo Byte Well my teacher lied to me then :/

[@carolpetersen635]

Buses and trains from New York City, Brooklyn, and queens ran to the Long Island beaches from day one! Every New Yorker was welcome there without restriction. That is easily verified. If Robert Moses had not created state parks Like Jones beach, the new York sure would be like Malibu in California, with mansions and used only by the rich and the famous. Get a grip!

[@mikejones741]

He was politically connected

[@EdDunkle]

A perfect example of how power corrupts

[@mikehunt8997]

Thanks RM 4 the noise in Bay Ridge Brooklyn, relocating the Dodgers to Los Angels and the destruction of pristine land on Long Island. You can also thank RM 4 the slums he created by building highways, the displacement of people in neighborhoods because of the destruction of perfectly good homes, the destruction of historical monuments, and all the overbuilding he did along with the aggravation he caused. Confiscation of homes from citizens that didn't want to move. Why wasn't that included in the video? One of NY's nastiest men ever!!!

[@carolpetersen635]

See if you can survive without using a single road, bridge, park, or tunnel that Moses built. You couldn’t leave your house.

[@dannygreen5477]

His beach sucks, Other dude Jones has the better beach.

[@marcphillips3460]

This guy was a RACIST. Do your own research Don’t just soak in this dribble.

[@larry1824]

Think of the farms he stole the land he paved often shadily

[@carolpetersen635]

Nonsense. Educate yourself. State owned lands, marshland etc. were used.

[@larry1824]

@@carolpetersen635 he didn't own Penn station

[@user11mc]

🤮