Rediscovering the New Deal in New York City

New York City received more money for New Deal construction, employment, and art projects than any other city, yet the knowledge of that sponsorship has been lost as projects were renovated or demolished, art work was destroyed through ignorance or bias, or became inaccessible to the public, and dedication plaques were removed or never installed in the first place. Robert Moses, who oversaw the dispensation of many New Deal dollars, hated President Roosevelt for disagreements traceable to the years when Roosevelt was governor of New York and to the first years of the presidency when FDR attempted to exclude Moses from control of New Deal funding from the Public Works Administration. Moses’s revenge was to eliminate mention of the New Deal in public statements, to block signage about federal programs funding on project sites, and to block the placement of plaques with similar information. This matters because it obscures and even suppresses the mission, or presence, of the New Deal accomplishments to enhance the lives of citizens, and “the public good” that was added to every facet of their lives, from health to education, to employment and banking, to recreation and housing, to transportation and conservation. It obscures the capital investment in public works and the social investment in people through employment, health care, education, and more, that were the hallmarks of the New Deal. Knowledge of these could be productive in current policy initiatives which reference the New Deal, such as recent infrastructure funding and discussions of a “Green New Deal.” Having knowledge of the tangible results of the New Deal’s legacy could help New Yorkers, and all Americans, envision what public engagement can accomplish.