The Meat Ax (Part 2 of 2)

Core idea

The second half of The Meat Ax introduces the Cross-Bronx Expressway as one of thirteen expressways Moses rammed across NYC. The expressway ran seven miles east-west across the Bronx — through working-class Jewish, Italian, and Irish neighborhoods that had been settled for fifty years. The displacement was massive; the engineering was unimaginative; the alternative routes that would have spared the neighborhoods were available and ignored. The topic sets up the One Mile sequence (New York City Before Robert Moses (Part 3 of 3) through To Power in the City (Part 1 of 2), our 89-93) where Caro will examine one mile of the Cross-Bronx in agonizing detail.

Why it matters

The Cross-Bronx as one of thirteen

Moses built thirteen expressways across NYC. The Cross-Bronx was one of them. It ran seven miles east-west across the Bronx, displacing tens of thousands of residents from working-class neighborhoods. The engineering was straightforward but the alignment was destructive; alternative routes that would have spared neighborhoods were rejected on cost-and-time grounds.

The unimaginative routing

Caro is precise: the Cross-Bronx routing was not the only feasible one. East Tremont's working-class Jewish neighborhood could have been spared by a route slightly to the north; the trade-off was a few months of additional time and a few million in additional cost. Moses chose the cheaper, faster route through East Tremont.

Key takeaways

Mental model

Copy sourceZoom

Practical application

Example

Modern pipeline routings (Dakota Access, Keystone XL) routinely show the same pattern: alternatives existed that would have avoided indigenous lands or water sources; the chosen routes were slightly cheaper or faster. The Cross-Bronx is the mid-century template.

Related lessons