The Battle to Save Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side

If Robert Moses had gotten his way, an extension of 5th Avenue would cut Washington Square Park in half, a whole swath of historic Greenwich Village would be gone, and an elevated expressway would be running through the Lower East Side (perhaps within view of the museum - assuming 97 Orchard wouldn't have been demolished to make way for the highway.)

Luckily, preservationist Jane Jacobs, author of the classic Death and Life of Great American Cities, fought tirelessly against the "power broker's" proposals. (His successful projects included the Triborough Bridge and the Cross-Bronx Expressway.)

A new book about the two adversaries - the David and Goliath, as the New York Times calls them, of lower Manhattan - was reviewed in today's paper; author Andrew Flint will be on hand for an October 8 Tenement Talk.


Moses' plans for a 10-lane highway through lower Manhattan

-posted by Liana Grey