Robert Wagner: One of the Most Progressive Mayors in New York History
When Robert F. Wagner was elected to become the mayor of New York City, it caused a rift in the Democratic party. Wagner was a former war veteran who had served in the New York State Assembly. He’d been born and raised in New York, but the problem came during Wagner’s third term.
Eleanor Roosevelt was a prominent democrat, but she had some disagreements with Tammany Hall. The organization was, quite literally, the mechanism for the Democratic Party in New York State at that time. When Wagner ran for his third time, he was supported by Eleanor hoping he would return some favors for her. Instead, he sided with the Tammany Hall Society, which infuriated Roosevelt and created a schism in the party.
However, Wagner’s tenure was not all scandal and hardship. Under his leadership, the city built greater amounts of public housing and created better public schools. He also barred discrimination for housing based on race or creed. He is remembered as being on the first mayor’s in New York history to hire a significant number of minorities to work under him, and his efforts led to a commission that helped bring the Mets to New York City.
In 1965, after the demolition of Penn Station, Wagner also penned an important piece of legislation that affects New York to this day. His bill created the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission, which works with developers to create projects that protect the sanctity of New York’s cityscape and identity.
He died in 1991 at the age of 80, after having served as an American ambassador to Spain, and a representative for the Vatican in 1978.
About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Samuel Phineas Upham website or Facebook.