Thirty years ago,
near the end of his infamous career as a developer and planner in New York, an aging
Robert C. Moses devised one final and glorious transportation project: a mammoth freeway
that would bisect Lower Manhattan. Moses planned to construct his elevated road through a
swath of tightly-knit communities within the urban island, notably Greenwich Village and
Chinatown. His project would thereby destroy neighbourhood historic buildings, homes, and
parks. Having previously mastered over sixty projects in the city of New York, ranging
from imposing bridges to snug recreation areas, he threatened to evict residents and
demolish treasured structures without consideration of the ramifications of his actions.
His plan ultimately resulted in an unprecedented uprising by the people of New York, those
in the neighbourhoods slated for demolition.
Moses was familiar with angry protesters. Dozens of his
creations spawned demonstrations by disgruntled residents and concerned activists, but
they were promptly squelched by him and the laws he drafted throughout his tenure in New
York. Moses was never elected to public office, yet he wrote favourable legislation and
received its approval from the elected colleagues that supported his goals for the city.
He governed almost all of the entities that he created, especially the Triborough Bridge,
and he collected the revenues that came from them. From those funds, Moses was able to
expand and strengthen his own empire and develop more projects. At the reached the apex of
his career, he used those resources to prepare the assembly of the glorious network of
highways he envisioned. Furthermore, he used his political jurisdiction to declare the
endangered neighbourhoods "slums" and thereby permitting their demolition.
However, he and his allies were not prepared for the onslaught of well-organised and
well-spoken citizens from Greenwich Village, a neighbourhood that was slated for
annihilation in the name of Moses’ dream highway.
Led by a prominent urban activist and local resident
named Jane Jacobs, citizens of the Village and adjacent neighbourhoods organised a
campaign to prevent the highway from being built. Jacobs had recently become famous after
the publication of her masterpiece book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities,
in which she wrote that commonplace items in different neighbourhoods, from miniscule
lampposts to brownstone buildings, are essential to the urban landscape. They provide a
sense of attachment and belonging for people that reside within those communities, she
said. By removing those simple entities from a setting, as well as displacing thousands of
residents, Jacobs and her supporters believed that the advent of the automobile, embodied
by projects such as Moses’ highway, would ruin the essentials that supported the
urban lifestyle. Autos, she felt, would remove people from the street and end the
interaction so vital to urban neighbourhoods. In order to have a healthy and happy
populace, they felt, people must remain interlaced in the urban setting, and the arrival
of the highway would crush this ideal. This was an important rallying point in the
campaign against the highway and finally in 1962, after a year of protesting, rallying,
and writing letters, Jacobs and her neighbours successfully won support of the New York
City Assembly, and Robert Moses’ expressway plans were discarded. The notion that
people are the ultimate key to a successful urban environment triumphed.
This concept – that people are what make cities
great – is a central theme in New York: A Documentary Film, a marvelous,
fourteen hour documentary by documentarian Ric Burns. The series, which ran on the Public
Broadcasting System's American Experience programme, premiered nearly two years ago
and aired its final two episodes last month. The documentary begins almost four hundred
years ago, when a young explorer named Henry Hudson established a trading post on the
island of Manhattan. It then proceeds to discuss the arrival of the Dutch and other
settlers, the role of the city during the American Revolution, and the subsequent
completion of the Erie Canal. The series intensifies with wonderful interviews and
narration about corruption in the city under the rule of "Boss" Tweed and his
associates, as well as intriguing discussions pertaining to the development of two polar
classes in the city – the wealthy businesspeople who made fortunes following the
Civil War and the poverty-stricken workers who toiled at the whim of their bosses, often
in unbearable and hazardous conditions.
As the Progressive Era in the early 1900’s reached
its climax throughout the United States, the arrival of immigrants in New York City
skyrocketed. New York details their arduous journeys, their hopes to someday arrive
before the Statue of Liberty. It also shares the heart-wrenching stories of those who were
turned away from the republic. From there on, New York continues to build
enthusiasm with its superb examination of the Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age. When
those eras came to a close at the dawn of the Great Depression, the mood of the film
appears to actually descend from the carefree exuberance of the Roaring Twenties and
settle into a realm of frugality and desperation. As the economic crisis progresses, and
the state of the city crumbles, a young and talented Robert Moses begins his career with
the governments of the state and city of New York. Promising to create miles of roads to
connect the people and communities of New York City, Moses unveiled an elaborate
transportation blueprint that employed thousands of jobless citizens and contributed to
the growing wealth of his infant empire. As the documentary concludes, Burns focuses on
post-war sprawl and Moses’ creations, explaining how they paralysed the city and
nearly bankrupted it. Exceptional coverage about race riots and urban dilapidation in the
Bronx also adds depth to the struggles of the other boroughs within New York. Finally, the
series ends with a retrospective of the city's ascension from near impoverishment in the
1970’s to its present day status as a thriving metropolis filled with a variety of
peoples and places.
One of the most poignant episodes featured the rising
socioeconomic disparities that plagued New York during the late 19th century.
This specific section of the series struck me with great sorrow, for the episode in which
it was showcased shouted out the horrors and destitution in immigrant tenements, and the
indifference displayed by upper class industrialists and investors. Jacob Riis, a Danish
immigrant who obtained a camera and photographed the atrocious living conditions of newly
arrived residents, was (and still is) regaled as a prominent social reformer for his
efforts to reduce poverty in the slums of nineteenth century New York. New York
portrays Riis and his fellow reformers as noble citizens that championed a neglected cause
in a city of polarised poverty and wealth.
The technical aspects of the film are also noteworthy.
They support the gripping story over its broad duration with impressive finesse. David
Ogden Stiers provides an excellent narration for the series and when compared with other
Burns documentaries, his diction and recital throughout the fourteen hour picture stands
unmatched in excellence and quality; his voice projects words like that of a minister who
preaches enthusiastically to his congregation. The musical score, as well, is entrancing.
Blending elements of both genre films and documentaries, it successfully intertwines with
the picture without sounding awkward or overly dramatic.
New York is that rare documentary that can
encompass a broad range of topics over a long duration without irritating the viewer.
Indeed, such a feat seems improbable in a fourteen hour film, but even documentaries of
shorter lengths fail. New York succeeds in entertaining and informing viewers with
appealing interviews, excellent writing, and stunning images on a diverse range of
historic issues. Yet the predominant theme linking common people with the growth and
well-being of the city remains the strongest notion presented in the series. Beginning
with the early cohabitation of native populaces and European settlers and closing with a
compelling analysis of the diverse present-day population, the documentary deeply examines
the interrelationships of different communities and how they have contributed to the
evolution of New York City. For urbanists and sociologists, this is a common idea, yet for
people who are unfamiliar with the study of city and society, the concept that interaction
improves the urban atmosphere can be quite foreign. New York helps its viewers
understand this notion with remarkable ease.
Burns returns to the battle between Jacobs and Moses in
the final episode of the series. He illustrates Jacobs' argument with so much affection
and compassion that it defines the whole point of the documentary: that the interactions
of people are a necessity to the urban setting and by living, playing, and working in
tandem, they propel not just New York but any city into a new realm of prosperity.
