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Moses' reputation has gone through several phases over the past century. He was the original whiz kid who rose to positions of extraordinary power in New York during the early-mid 20th century. He used that power to have such a great impact on the city that he is fairly put near the class of Haussmann and L'Enfant.By the late 1950s he was regarded as a near deity in New York, but as he aged his star began to fade, with his last hurrah being the rather ill-fated New York Worlds Fair of 1964-65.In 1975—by which point Moses had pretty much faded from the scene—Robert Caro came out with a book entitled The Power Broker: Robert Moses and The Fall of New York.The book was a best selling smash hit, won the Pulitzer Prize for Caro, and has not been out of print in the ensuing 40 years.The effect of the book was to catapult Moses back into the limelight, and portray him as a powerful, almost evil, figure whose impact on New York was highly negative.Moses wrote a somewhat feeble rebuttal which few people read, but died soon after as an embittered old man, reviled by most people who only knew of him from the book.In the ensuing years, as the novelty and furor surrounding the book has receded, Moses' reputation has undergone a significant rehabilitation. Today, other than some planners on the farther left end of the political spectrum, most serious, objective planners believe that Caro was significantly too harsh in his recounting. In 2007, three New York Museums mounted exhibitions re-examining (and, to a large extent, honoring) Moses' work. The book issued in conjunction with the exhibitions provides a good summary of what I believe is the majority current opinion:In these pages eight short essays by leading scholars of urban history provide a revised perspective; stunning new photographs offer the first visual record of Moses’s far-reaching building program as it stands today; and a comprehensive catalog of his works is illustrated with a wealth of archival records: photographs of buildings, neighborhoods, and landscapes, of parks, pools, and playgrounds, of demolished neighborhoods and replacement housing and urban renewal projects, of bridges and highways; renderings of rejected designs and controversial projects that were defeated; and views of spectacular models that have not been seen since Moses made them for promotional purposes.Robert Moses and the Modern City captures research undertaken in the last three decades and will stimulate a new round of debateA number of leading planning historians, particularly Kenneth T. Jackson, actuallly feel that Caro was outright wrong or disingenuous in some of his attacks, and there is a fair bit of bad blood in planning circles between the two groups.In one corner stands Mr. Caro, an adherent of the “great man” theory of history, who in The Power Broker (“Surely the greatest book ever written about a city”—David Halberstam) delved into the psyche of an idealistic civic reformer who started his city career by assembling unused city-property parcels into parks; lavished millions of dollars on state-of-the-art public bathhouses; and then, once he had mastered the manipulation of power, turned his considerable influence to building highways that destroyed neighborhoods. Moses, according to Mr. Caro, not only abandoned his idealism, but was powerful enough to impose that lack of idealism on the city.In the other corner stands Kenneth T. Jackson, the editor of The Encyclopedia of New York City (“Excellent, and as the only reference work of its kind, invaluable”—Alfred Kazin) and the author of Crabgrass Frontiers: The Suburbanization of the United States, a standard entry on university urban-planning reading lists.A popular professor who leads students on all-night bike tours of the city, Mr. Jackson—just a few years younger than Mr. Caro, who is 71—posits the more Hegelian notion that Robert Moses was just a product of the same zeitgeist that propelled cars to the top of the policy agenda everywhere in the United States. And yet, Mr. Jackson writes, “despite the many miles of roadway attributed to Moses, New York never became as hospitable to the motorcar as other American cities.”“In Caro’s book, what you need to explain is what went wrong in New York,” Mr. Jackson told The Observer. “The fact is, New York is doing very well. Its public housing is all standing; it is not being blown up like in other cities. New York has far and away the best transit system than anywhere. The question is, again, consider the larger context: If Robert Moses was out to destroy the transit system, he didn’t do a very good job.”In sum, my reading of the current feeling of objective, professional planners is that everyone agrees on the extent of Moses' impact, but many experts today would rate it as a significant net positive for the City, while acknowledging some of the personal failings of the man.

The 1950s/1960s, Manhattan still had neighborhoods with various ethnic groups. Puerto Ricans and Jews on the Lower East Side (LES), there were still Germans in Yorktown and Irish in Hell’s Kitchen. Washington Heights was still primarily Jewish. In Brooklyn, there was a place called South Brooklyn (SB) in the middle of the boro, it was largely an Italian and Puerto Rican neighborhood. SB has now been swallowed whole by Park Slope, Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill. BTW, Park Slope was a small Irish Neighborhood that ran along the park west to maybe 6th Av. And there was no area called Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill or Gowanus. That was SB or Red Hook. Brownsville still had many Jews but it was rapidly becoming a Black neighborhood; Pitkin Ave. remained a great bustling shopping street, giving Orchard St. on the LES a run for the money. Flatbush was still a Jewish and Irish Neighborhood. Sunset Park and Bay Ridge was Norwegian; MOF, the King of Norway lead a parade down Bay Ridge’s 5th Ave in 1960.Cops wore those choker tunics with peaked caps; they looked like cops. New Years Eve was a madhouse. There were minimal controls and it was a million drunks peeing, bleeding and fighting in the street. I went once and never again. Cops had no qualms about backhanding anyone that might be thinking of getting out of line. Proto ‘Broken Windows’.People dressed. Most New Yorkers wouldn’t think of going out w/o a jacket and tie or dress. t-shirts remained under your shirt and sneakers at the gym. Those stories of sneakers hanging from telephone wires? They got there because on the last day of school we took our sneakers out of school and one guy would always grab a pair and throw them over the wire. Some got caught to live above us in perpetuity. Summers meant long days filled with awe and fun at the cities public pools and Coney Island. Subway rides everywhere. Sunset Pool, an older women (14 yo?) showed me a breast for the first time. I still remember it… and her.There was a ferry that ran from Bay Ridge to Staten Island. Staten Island still had farms and pastures. Outside the city, Long Island still had potato farms. Potato Farms! Riding the cities ferries and exploring the city was a great way to disappear while playing hooky.There were minimal Chinese in NYC. The only Chinese neighborhood was China town. Flushing came latter, BTW, little Italy was near exclusive Italian. The area around Wall St was empty after 6pm and weekends. The Fulton Fish Market was where it’s supposed to be; as was the Washington Meat Market. If you were Gay, you lived in Greenwich Village and kept it to yourself. And there was no East Village - that was the LES. If you were black, you stayed out of white/ethnic neighborhoods and vice versa. The area where the WTC was, was where the Army-Navy stores were. There were piles of Surplus military goods piled on the street: here boots; there bayonets; yonder caps or jackets. It was so much fun to wander around there as a 10 yo.It was never easy, but you could still find a place to park your car almost anywhere in the city. Whether your car would remain there unmolested is another story.Rents were still bearable. A one bedroom apartment w/o rent control was $65. to $125. depending on the area. In Brooklyn a two or three bedroom apartment was about $80. to $100. There were still many apartment buildings with the shared toilet in the hall and also many with the tub in the kitchen. FYI, the Public Baths in Brooklyn (Union & 4th) remained operational into the 1970s. My Mother and her sisters went there every Friday. Girls day?That’s some of my memories of growing up in B’klyn in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

1. Empire State BuildingThe first things that comes to the mind when people hear the word New York the city full of tall buildings and busy people and one of the famous building among those tall sky scrapers is the empire state building103 storey building with observatories 86th and 102nd floor observatories provide unforgettable 360° views of New York City and beyond. Whether you’re in town for a week or a day, no visit to NYC is complete without experiencing the top of the Empire State Building.2. Statue of LibertyAmerican icon in New York harbor made in Paris by the French sculptor Bartholdi, in collaboration with Gustave Eiffel (who was responsible for the steel framework), this towering monument to liberty was a gift from France on the centenary of American independence. Inaugurated in 1886, the sculpture stands at the entrance to New York Harbor and has welcomed millions of immigrants to the United States ever since.3. Central ParkThis is a fascinating area of relaxing, making fun, and enjoyment of life, It is located in within the New York City, in the vicinity of Manhattan. It is a national historical landmark that draws in approximately 40 million visitors from all over the world each year. It is stretched out from North 110th Street to South and from West to 5th Ave.4. Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art colloquially "the Met" is located in New York City and is the largest art museum in the United States and among the most visited art museums in the world. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among seventeen curatorial departments.5. Museum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.MoMA has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as one of the largest and most influential museums of modern art in the world. MoMA's collection offers an overview of modern and contemporary art, including works of architecture and design, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books and artist's books, film, and electronic media.6. American Museum of Natural HistoryThe American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH), located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, is one of the largest museums in the world. Located in park-like grounds across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 27 interconnected buildings housing 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library.7. Rockefeller CentreIt is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres (89,000 m2) between 48th and 51st Streets in New York City. Commissioned by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987, It is famous for its annual Christmas tree lighting.8. National September 11 Memorial & MuseumThe 9/11 Memorial is located at the site of the former World Trade Center complex and occupies approximately half of the 16-acre site. The Memorial features two enormous waterfalls and reflecting pools, each about an acre in size, set within the footprints of the original Twin Towers.9. Grand Central StationCommonly referred to as 'Grand Central Station,' the historic Grand Central Terminal is a famous NYC landmark in Midtown Manhattan. Located on 42nd St and Park Ave, Grand Central is one of the busiest train stations in the world, and serves nearly 200,000 NYC commuters every day. Built in 1871, Grand Central Terminal is home to 44 train platforms, several great NY restaurants, and some of the most beautiful Beaux-Arts architecture in NYC.10. High LineThe High Line (also known as the High Line Park) is a 1.45-mile-long (2.33 km) New York City linear park built in Manhattan on an elevated section of a disused New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line. Inspired by the 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) Promenade plantée (tree-lined walkway), a similar project in Paris completed in 1993, the High Line has been redesigned and planted as an aerial greenway and rails-to-trails park.11. Solomon R. Guggenheim MuseumThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum located at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously expanding collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions throughout the year.12. Ellis IslandEllis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine.13. Chinatown, ManhattanManhattan's Chinatown is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, bordering the Lower East Side to its east, Little Italy to its north, Civic Center to its south, and Tribeca to its west. Chinatown is home to the largest enclave of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere.14. Radio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city. Its interior was declared a city landmark in 1978.15. Brooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City and is one of the oldest bridges of either type in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. It has a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and was the first steel-wire suspension bridge constructed.16. Coney IslandConey Island is a peninsular residential neighborhood, beach, and leisure/entertainment destination on the Coney Island Channel, which is part of the Lower Bay in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. The site was formerly an outer barrier island but became partially connected to the rest of Long Island by land fill.17. Madison Square GardenMadison Square Garden (often called MSG or simply The Garden) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Located in Midtown Manhattan between 7th and 8th Avenues from 31st to 33rd Streets, it is situated atop Pennsylvania Station. It is the fourth venue to bear the name "Madison Square Garden", the first two (1879 and 1890) of which were located on Madison Square, on East 26th Street and Madison Avenue, with the third Madison Square Garden further uptown at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street.18. Intrepid Sea, Air & Space MuseumThe Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is a military and maritime history museum with a collection of museum ships in New York City. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood on the West Side of Manhattan. The museum showcases the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, the submarine USS Growler, a Concorde SST, a Lockheed A-12 supersonic reconnaissance plane, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise.19. The CloistersThe Cloisters is a museum in Upper Manhattan, New York City specializing in European medieval architecture, sculpture and decorative arts. Its collection grew from that of American sculptor, art dealer and collector George Grey Barnard, whose foundations were acquired by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1925. Rockefeller extended the collection and in 1931 purchased the land at Washington Heights and contracted the design for a new building. The museum is today part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.20. Little ItalyLittle Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are shops selling Italian goods as well as Italian restaurants lining the streets.21. Lincoln Centre for the Performing ArtsLincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a 16.3-acre (6.6-hectare) complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts many notable performing arts organizations, which are nationally and internationally renowned, including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the New York City Ballet.22. Times SquareTimes Square is a major commercial intersection and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. Brightly adorned with billboards and advertisements, Times Square is sometimes referred to as The Crossroads of the World, The Center of the Universe, the heart of The Great White Way, and the "heart of the world". One of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections.23. Bryant ParkBryant Park is a 9.603-acre (38,860 m2) privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Although technically the Main Branch of the New York Public Library is located within the park, effectively it forms the park's functional eastern boundary, making Sixth Avenue the park's primary entrance.24. Staten Island FerryThe Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. It runs 5 miles (8.0 km) in New York Barbour between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island. The ferry operates 24/7.25. Yankee StadiumYankee Stadium is a stadium located in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. It serves as the home ballpark for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB), and the home stadium of New York City FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). The $2.3 billion stadium, built with $1.2 billion in public subsidies, replaced the original Yankee Stadium in 2009. It is one block north of the original, on the 24-acre former site of Macombs Dam Park; the 8-acre site of the original stadium is now a public park called Heritage Field.26. St. Patrick's CathedralThe Cathedral of St. Patrick (commonly called St. Patrick's Cathedral) is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States and a prominent landmark of New York City. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, and a parish church, located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in Midtown Manhattan, directly across the street from Rockefeller Center and specifically facing the Atlas statue.27. Whitney Museum of American ArtThe Whitney Museum of American Art – known informally as the "Whitney" – is an art museum located in Manhattan. It was founded in 1931 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), a wealthy and prominent American socialite and art patron after whom the museum is named. The Whitney focuses on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Its permanent collection comprises more than 21,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, films, videos, and artifacts of new media by more than 3,000 artists.28. Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park.Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1891, it is one of the most prestigious venues in the world for both classical music and popular music.29. Chrysler BuildingThe Chrysler Building is an Art Deco-style skyscraper located on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in the Turtle Bay neighborhood. At 1,046 feet (319 m), the structure was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931.30. Governors IslandGovernors Island is a 172-acre (70 ha) island in Upper New York Bay, approximately 800 yards (732 m) from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel, approximately 400 yards (366 m). It is part of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The National Park Service administers a small portion of the north of the island as the Governors Island National Monument, while the Trust for Governors Island operates the rest as a public park.31. One World Trade CentreOne World Trade Center is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the sixth-tallest in the world. The super tall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was completely destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center.32. Frick CollectionThe Frick Collection is an art museum located in the Henry Clay Frick House on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City at 1 East 70th Street, at the northeast corner with Fifth Avenue. It houses the collection of industrialist Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919).33. 42nd Street42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection. The street has held a special place in New Yorkers' imaginations since at least the turn of the 20th century, and is the site of some of New York's best known buildings, including (east to west) the United Nations, Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.34. Madame Tussauds New YorkMadame Tussauds New York is a wax museum located at 42nd Street close to Times Square in New York City. Madame Tussauds was founded by the wax sculptor, Marie Tussaud, and is now operated by the United Kingdom-based entertainment company, Merlin Entertainments. The Madame Tussauds New York location opened its doors in 2000 with 5 floors of attraction space and over 200 figures; it has quickly become a popular destination in New York City.35. Battery ParkBattery Park is a 25-acre (10 ha) public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Barbour. The area and park are named for the artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years to protect the settlement behind them. Battery Park City was named after the area.36. New York Hall of ScienceThe New York Hall of Science, also known as NYSCI, is a science museum located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens, in the section of the park that is in Corona. It occupies one of the few remaining structures from the 1964 New York World's Fair, and is New York City's only hands-on science and technology center. The more than 400 hands-on exhibits focus on biology, chemistry, and physics.37. Brooklyn Botanic GardenThe New York Hall of Science, also known as NYSCI, is a science museum located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens, in the section of the park that is in Corona. It occupies one of the few remaining structures from the 1964 New York World's Fair, and is New York City's only hands-on science and technology center. The more than 400 hands-on exhibits focus on biology, chemistry, and physics.38. Bronx ZooThe Bronx Zoo is a zoo located in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, within Bronx Park. It is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States and among the largest in the world. On average, the zoo has 2.15-million visitors each year and is world renowned for its large and diverse animal collection, and its award-winning exhibitions.39. New York Botanical GardenThe New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden and National Historic Landmark located in the Bronx, New York City. The 250-acre (100 ha) site's verdant landscape supports over one million living plants in extensive collections. Each year over one million visitors visit the garden's remarkable diversity of tropical, temperate, and desert flora, as well as programming that ranges from exhibitions in the Haupt Conservatory to festivals on Daffodil Hill.40. New-York Historical SocietyThe New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan, founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. The New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs, and research that explore the rich history of New York and the nation.41. Lower East Side Tenement MuseumThe Lower East Side Tenement Museum, located at 97 Orchard Street in the Lower East Side neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York City, is a National Historic Site. The five-story brick tenement building was home to an estimated 7,000 people, from over 20 nations, between 1863 and 1935. The museum, which includes a visitors' centre down the block, promotes tolerance and historical perspective on the immigrant experience.42. Prospect ParkProspect Park is a 585-acre (237 hectare) public park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The park is situated between the neighbourhoods of Park Slope, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Ditmas Park and Windsor Terrace, as well as Flatbush Avenue, Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Prospect Park is run and operated by the Prospect Park Alliance and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway.