NIAGARA FALLS —
If it’s half as interesting as the 1974 book, “The Power Broker,” the HBO film about Robert Moses should be a solid hit.
The network has announced it plans to produce a movie on Moses, based on Robert Caro’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography.
The book, by the way, was required reading for many years in leading journalism schools.
Although never elected to office, Moses managed to wield powerful influence through his public authorities, creating what appeared a fourth branch of government.
He is best known in this area as the former chairman of the New York Power Authority, the driving force behind the $720 million Niagara Project which produced its first power in February 1961. In that same era, he served as State Parks Commissioner.
Today, Moses is also often denounced for building a 22-mile scenic parkway — ultimately named for him — between the North Grand Island Bridges and Lake Road in Youngstown.
Years before he became involved with the power project here, he worked for several Empire State governors and New York City mayors.
During those administrations, Moses gained a reputation as a polarizing figure, constantly clashing with officials often had different views about public works costing more than $27 billion.
Opponents often blamed Moses for displacing hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers by building a highway through major neighborhoods of the Big Apple. His refusal to give ground on one massive project was cited as a prime factor in the Brooklyn Dodgers moving to Los Angeles.
At Niagara, he found himself embroiled in sharp exchanges with the Tuscarora Nation during negotiations to acquire Indian-owned lands for the Niagara Project Reservoir and Pump Generating Plant in Lewiston. Again, Moses got his way although the Tuscaroras were awarded millions of dollars in their collective action suit against the state. Moses died in 1981.
The Hollywood Reporter, the trade newspaper, stated earlier in the week that Oliver Stone would direct the film.
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HOT BUTTON ITEM: That proposal to build a recreation center with three indoor tennis courts behind the Lewiston Red Brick School sparked strong reaction from village residents earlier in the week.
It was obvious that most people living close to the site were opposed to Gary Hall’s plan to privately finance the $2 million project.
In a message released to the media, Eva Nicklas, a village resident and longtime member of the Lewiston Council on the Arts, stated in part: “Look at any successful town or city that uses their historic ambiance to attract visitors. You won’t find a sports complex in the middle of their historic district,” she added.
Maybe not a recreation facility but the City of Niagara Falls had no qualms at all about approving the Teletech Holdings call center downtown, a short walk from the nation’s oldest state park.
No one could ever figure out the company’s impact on the local economy because of its roller-coaster employment levels.
It also was strange that a sign was never placed on top or in front of the building.
•••
FINAL EXIT: Overheard at Player’s Lounge, Niagara Street: “I couldn’t believe how many people were at his funeral. I just think a lot of people wanted to make sure...”
Contact reporter Don Glynn at 282-2311, ext. 2246.
Columns
HBO to focus on Robert Moses
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CONFER: The reality of rationed health care
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CITY DESK: A regrettable error
We owe Carol Sensabough an apology.
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BRADBERRY: Red, white, blue, black and Brown
With graduation season in full bloom, I am watching with a chest full of pride as another handful of nieces, nephews, and a few friend’s children don their caps and gowns to march across the stage, but much of this crop is heading directly into unemployment lines and their old rooms back home with their parents, they’re the fortunate ones.
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