traingang

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Post as many train pictures as possible.

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LANDLORDS COWER IN FEAR OF MAOTRAIN

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The network news coverage of congestion pricing in NYC pisses me off to no end (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 year ago by PKMKII@hexbear.net to c/urbanism@hexbear.net

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It’s all hyper focusing on the psychotic minority of people who drive into Manhattan and how hard it is for them, despite having commutes that could easily be done with public transit. There’s a scant few soundbites from strap hangers, the people who are the vast majority of commuters. One of the networks had a long interview with a tourist from Philadelphia who drove in for a Broadway show. She’s going on about how tough it’ll be for commuters, like, shut the fuck up, you are out of your element, you don’t live here, you don’t work here, stop opining on things you know nothing about.

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[–] darkmode@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I think it's due to the fact that, since the book attempts to limits itself to the definition of 'biography', Caro can't (or wouldn't) examine the the conditions that allowed Moses to act as he did. It just so happens that all of Moses's grand plans align entirely with capital. Making parks out on Long Island connected by parkways built only to accommodate small vehicles, demolishing public housing, forcibly relocating immigrant neighborhoods to build highway. The way the book presents a lot of these problems, to my memory, gives the reader the impression that he was some exceptionally brilliant negotiator/bully whose extraordinary drive to create a legacy and earn respect caused him and his ill conceived plans to 'destroy new york' out of hubris instead of describing him as a particularly effective bureaucrat who did everything in his power to ensure the suburbs and cars became a fact of life in america according to the will of the biggest companies at the time.

All that said it's a good read or listen. It's called 'The Power Broker'

[–] PKMKII@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It’s been a bit since I’ve read it, but I think there were a few throw away lines about the Moses projects dovetailing with the interests of the automobile industry, as well as real estate interests. But yes, it mostly focuses on the bureaucratic machinations Moses employed to carry out his vision.

Probably the biggest acknowledgement of the influence of capital in the book comes at the end with the dismantling of the Moses empire. The thing that allows that to happen is the convergence of a Rockefeller governor and his family’s bank, Chase, being the bond representative for all the Triborough B&T Authority bonds. So it does present capital as having a power that most of the politicians, civic leaders, and bureaucrats that Moses opposed didn’t have.

[–] darkmode@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

You're correct. It's been awhile since I'd read/listened to it too and have j ust been firing from the hip loll