Towards A New Moses

How bad has it gotten? (And to tell the truth, I’m not exactly sure what “it” is.) It’s so bad that some people are starting to reconsider Robert Moses’ legacy:

He was a nasty son-of-a-bitch, perfectly happy to screw the little guy who stood in the way of his grand projects. Eventually, Moses, who at one point held twelve city and state jobs (but never held elected office and was crushed in how one run for governor), came to believe his own massive hype. The powerbroker was more than willing to displace ordinary people who got in the way of his public works projects. “If the ends don’t justify the means,” he asked, “what does?”

It’s a good question, especially in a city like ours, where little gets built and no one—certainly not the mayor or his Democratic rivals—has offered a city-sized vision.

(Sure, sure, it’s the contrarian New York Press, but still . . .)