The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

During the early 20th century, the progressive movement took hold in America. To counter the rampant corruption and disenfranchisement in the country, “reform movements sprang up in almost every large city in the United States” (60). The administrative chaos, particularly in New York City, led to the foundation of the Bureau of Municipal Research, which launched studies into governmental corruption. Moses applied to the Bureau, and because his mother was a cousin of one of the Bureau’s trustees, he was given the job. At first, the idealist Moses was popular with his colleagues. They admired his intelligence, idealism, and wealth, as he was always generous.

Privately, Moses studied derelict parts of the city such as Riverside Park and dreamed about how he would reshape the city. His impatient desire to change the city impressed people at first, but he began to criticize the Bureau’s procedures as slow and ineffective. He stopped showing up to his job, and as rumors of his impending dismissal circulated, one person was sympathetic to him: Mary Louise Sims, a secretary with ideas and ambition far beyond her limited station. She had a natural flair for politics, and Moses fell in love with her.

In 1913, John Purroy Mitchel was elected as mayor.