Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Dan Doctoroff

The New Jane Jacobs vs. the New Robert Moses?

carter_doctoroff.jpg

New York Magazine talks to Majora Carter:

Janelle Nanos: Part of Moses's legacy is the idea that to get anything done in the city, it needs to be done by fiat. Do you see that happening again now? Majora Carter: Absolutely. Partially, it's a coliseum mentality, that it has to be big or it doesn't matter. The problem with the big projects of Moses and now Doctoroff is that they don't think about what the long-term impacts are of exercising that much power on people who have none. It's the idea that people are in the way.

Nanos: It's interesting that you group Doctoroff and Moses together. Do you think the deputy mayor sees himself as the new Moses?

Carter: Oh, God, yeah. Completely. He thinks he's the man.

But the deputy mayor disagreed during his sit down with the New York Observer:

I don't think that any comparison between the period that Moses was active and today is really that relevant. The biggest difference is the need for community input.

With very few exceptions, we have really made an effort to reach out to local communities and understand their needs. Moses was a believer that it was experts who were able to divine what was best for the community or the city on the whole.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Memo to Mamdani: Data Shows Massive Jump in Ridership on Bedford Avenue’s Embattled Bike Lane 

Hardened bike infrastructure increases the number of cyclists on the road — and here are the numbers to prove it.

January 15, 2026

Mamdani Must Reverse Adams Putting Cars on Park Roads: Advocates

It's time to undo Adams's car-first maneuvers, parks advocates said.

January 15, 2026

City Playing Catch-Up Amid E-Micromobility Surge on City Streets, Coalition Says

Local micromobility start-ups want Mayor Mamdani to take their industry seriously and make it easier to ride an e-bike in NYC.

January 15, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines: Affordability for Whom Edition

The honeymoon is definitely over, as you can see by the resetting of our bespoke Mamdani-O-Meter back to zero. Plus other news.

January 15, 2026

Gov. Hochul’s Uber-Backed Car Insurance ‘Reforms’ Threaten Payouts To Crash Victims

Hochul wants to limit payouts to crash victims under the guise of "affordability" and bogus claims about "staged crashes."

January 14, 2026

Cyclist Badly Injured By Truck Driver at Busy Midtown Corner

The victim may have lost her leg, one witness said.

See all posts