New York City already owned thousands of undeveloped acres on Long Island

Evidence

And behind him, not a quarter mile from the road but unknown to all but one in a thousand of the drivers on it—and closed to even that one—was land, a vastness of land, overflowing with the fruits they sought. Land that didn’t have to be purchased. Land that didn’t have to be condemned. Land that was owned not by the governments of Long Island, which viewed the masses of New York City as foreigners, but by the government of New York City. Land that could be opened to the city’s people merely by turning a key. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 706

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Rapid 1920s development consumed New York’s vacant land that parks would need — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 630; Both Long Island shores excluded ordinary New Yorkers from beach access by 1930. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 685; New York City faced explosive unmet demand for seaside recreation — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 687 (+1 more)