Photograph collection on Robert Moses

Robert Moses (1888-1981) was a public official who served in the New York City area for over 40 years. Moses was born in New Haven, CT on December 18, 1888. He graduated from Yale College (now Yale University) in 1909, received a jurisprudence degree from Wadham College, University of Oxford in 1911, and finally earned a PhD in political science from Columbia University in 1914.Though never elected to a public position, Moses was appointed to numerous public positions during his long career including as President of the New York State Parks Council and as Chairman of the Long Island State Park Commission by New York Governor Alfred E. Smith in 1924; and as the first Commissioner of the Department of Parks' newly consolidated five-borough parks system in 1934 by New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. In 1941, La Guardia also appointed Moses to New York City's planning commission. Between 1924 to 1968, Moses held 12 different City and State positions, often concurrently.

Though not trained as an architect or a planner, the built environment in New York City was dramatically influenced and altered by Moses, much of which is still visible today. From highways to hospitals, to large-scale public housing, parks, and bridges, much of today's New York City infrastructure was built under Moses. While Moses served for 26 years as New York City's parks commissioner, park acreage within the City's five-borough park system more than doubled, reaching 34, 673 acres by 1960. Conversely, he was also responsible for leading the construction of major roadways and superhighways in the New York City metropolitan area, many of which cut through entire sections of neighborhoods, often displacing longtime residents. Moses retired from his last position at the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority when the agency was abolished by Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller in 1968. He died in 1981 in West Islip, N.Y. at the age of 92.