722 Miles
Also, there are some curious lapses in description
or historical accuracy that seem more the result of bad editing
than bad research.
These issues do not, however, dim Hood's
achievement in producing the only modern work of its kind, a
compelling and perceptive look at the way New York City
politics have interacted with perhaps its most significant
public work.
In 722 Miles, Hood places Hylan in
his proper place as the man who politicized the NYC transit
system and, in so doing, set the stage for the long
deterioration of the system which is only now being reversed.
Not only was
Hylan the man who raised the five-cent fare (and by extension,
the subway fare of any amount) to the status of holy grail, he
also set in motion the building of the IND system and the
destruction of the IRT and BMT as private companies.
There is
more than politics in this book -- Hood gives us an interesting
rendition of the physical tribulations of the building of the
first subway, as well as a description of the way the
modern-day IRT Flushing Line transformed a large part of the
borouigh of Queens from open meadow to urban landscape in one
short leap.
Still, this is not a book for everyone. It is much
more tuned for the serious scholar than the average reader: if
the idea of reading what would have made an outstanding PhD
thesis turns you off, perhaps you might look for a more popular
but less important work.
I could quibble with some parts of Hood's
work--perhaps he spends too much time on some peripheral issues
while paying less attention to others of greater moment. I
would have preferred that he give the formation of the BRT
system, eventual competitor of Belmont's IRT, more attention
than he did.
Cliton Hood is
assistant professor of history at Hobart and William Smith
Colleges in Geneva, New York. A native of Beavers Falls, PA, he
was formerly a curator of teh LaGuardia Archives at LaGuardian
College, City University of New York.
The Dyckman Street station in northern Manhattan is under construction
in this 1905 view. Largely undeveloped at the time, the advent
of the subway line would permit development and disbursion of
denser urban populations. Photo
from 722 Miles, courtesy New York Transit Museum.
|