Reform mayor Mitchel offered a railroad waterfront control for a pittance

Evidence

Mitchel proposed giving the New York Central exclusive control of the West Side waterfront and allowing the railroad to cure the Death Avenue problem by elevating its tracks below Fifty-ninth Street, a move that would have permanently blighted a large slice of downtown Manhattan. In return for these favors, Mitchel asked the railroad to pay $300,000—an amount not even sufficient to rehabilitate Riverside Park. A furious Citizens Union called the plan a “giveaway” to a railroad owned by Mitchel’s social friends—and it was. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 364

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Mayor Mitchel prized economy over meeting the city’s human needs — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 363

Broader Connections

• Mayor Mitchel prized economy over meeting the city’s human needs #exemplifies (0.82) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 363