The chapter offers a striking and immersive look at New York City in the early 1930s, a time when the Great Depression’s harsh realities collided with the lingering effects of decades of political corruption. The story begins with a bleak snapshot of daily life: construction sites abandoned mid-project, breadlines snaking down city blocks, and desperate families searching for scraps in garbage heaps. Jobs were scarce, and those lucky enough to find work often had to settle for part-time hours or meager pay. Children bore the brunt of these hardships, many suffering from hunger and fatigue, with countless kids leaving school because their families simply couldn’t afford the basics.
Against this backdrop of widespread suffering, the city’s government—firmly in the grip of Tammany Hall—was exposed for rampant corruption. Judge Seabury’s investigations pulled back the curtain on officials who diverted public funds and twisted relief programs for their own political advantage, all while doing little to actually help those in need. Years of reckless spending had left New York deeply in debt, crippling its ability to respond to the growing crisis.
The chapter traces the roots of this fiscal disaster to the administrations of Mayors Hylan and Walker. Under their watch, the city’s payroll ballooned as jobs became rewards for political loyalty, often paying far more than similar positions in the private sector. For a while, booming real estate masked the city’s financial troubles, but as the Depression worsened, tax revenues dried up and unpaid bills piled high. Tammany Hall refused to cut patronage jobs or lucrative construction budgets—except for schoolteachers, who fell outside their sphere of influence—making real cost-cutting impossible. Corruption riddled construction contracts, driving up costs and leaving public works unfinished or poorly built. The Independent Subway System, for example, was both overpriced and incomplete, while new schools were shoddily constructed. Despite extravagant spending, the city made little headway in building public housing, hospitals, or essential infrastructure. The failure to invest in new highways left traffic snarled as more and more cars crowded the streets.
Transportation woes are explored in depth. Robert Moses’ ambitious plan for a parkway through Riverside Park stalled, and key highways and ramps never materialized, forcing drivers onto already congested roads. Queens and Brooklyn, both rapidly growing, were especially hard hit by the lack of through routes. Meanwhile, grand bridge and tunnel projects were abandoned halfway, leaving behind expensive, unfinished skeletons. Existing bridges were outdated, dangerously narrow, and poorly maintained, leading to frequent accidents and endless delays. All of this highlighted the city’s chronic inability to turn big plans into real improvements.
The chapter also paints a grim picture of New York’s parks and recreation spaces. Under Tammany Hall, parks became dumping grounds for patronage jobs, resulting in widespread neglect. Playgrounds and green spaces fell into disrepair, with crumbling paths, dying trees, and vandalized facilities. Bribes determined who got park concessions, and many amenities were either filthy or closed altogether. Central Park, once a jewel of the city, had fallen into disrepair, and the Central Park Menagerie was home to a sad collection of sickly animals living in squalor. Recreational facilities were few and overcrowded, beaches were dirty or off-limits, and park staff were often unqualified or corrupt. The Depression only made things worse, as homeless men set up shantytowns in parkland.
Despite years of effort by reformers, the city’s poorest neighborhoods—places like the Lower East Side and Harlem—remained almost entirely without parks or playgrounds. Political opposition, high costs, and a lack of civic will blocked any real progress, while city leaders poured money into lavish projects for the wealthy, such as the Central Park Casino, instead of addressing the needs of children in the slums.
The chapter draws a sharp contrast between the glittering nightlife enjoyed by the city’s elite and the tireless work of reformers like Robert Moses, who dreamed of transforming New York’s infrastructure and public spaces. Moses unveiled sweeping plans for a network of parkways and bridges that could have revolutionized city life, but his vision ran up against political roadblocks, logistical headaches, and a city treasury that was all but empty.
With Herbert H. Lehman’s election as Governor, Moses gained new authority and access to federal funds for public works. Still, opposition from the Tammany-controlled Board of Estimate and the city’s ongoing financial woes continued to slow progress. The chapter ends with Moses feeling hopeful that change is finally within reach, even as New York remains mired in crisis and dysfunction.