What inspired me to become an investigative journalist? Reading Caro& #39;s 1,300+ pages detailing the methodical, brutalist reshaping of NYC and LI by Robert Moses. 1975& #39;s The Power Broker is not some & #39;woke fantasy& #39; about & #39;racist highways.& #39; It& #39;s documented, devastating history.

(2)
A few highlights for those who haven& #39;t read it:
• Moses created the South Bronx & its requisite challenges by literally plowing the Cross Bronx Expressway through established neighborhoods
• Moses tried the same thing in Greenwich Village in his final act

(3)
• Robert Moses was at first benevolent & brilliant, but "power corrupts & absolute power corrupts absolutely"
• Mayors cowered in his presence because he could not be fired from his many jobs & had his own massive revenue stream as chair of the TriBorough Bridge Authority

(4)
• The nightmares of 20th century public housing in NYC can be directly traced to Moses& #39; actions
• Parks, highways, public spaces were designed to keep out non-white residents
• He was never elected to any position and was unaccountable to the people

Let me explain further that I decided to become a journalist at age 14. I was a news photographer, a reporter, a TV anchor. Later in my career, I was inspired to become an investigator, to hold the powerful accountable, to unearth systemic an institutional failures.