Notes on Mayor Wagner Annual Report for 1959 to City Council
April 06, 1960
Anthony P. Migliore
Interpretive Summary
On April 6 1960, Mayor Robert F. Wagner made his State of the City address to the City Council. Wide-reaching, Mayor Wagner touched on many aspects of the City from its economy and housing, to city/state relations and transportation. In the middle of his second term as mayor, Wagner would go on to a third term. This speech highlighted the accomplishments of the previous year, and set the stage for the next, as well as the rest of his term.
Starting with the economy, Wagner highlights how the economy nationwide is improving after the 1958 recession and how New York City was not terribly effected by it, even rebounding faster and stronger than the nation as a whole. He states how “employment continues to rise; in 1959, consumer purchases attained levels substantially beyond those of the preceding year.” He goes on, spending a lot of time talking about New York City’s manufacturing core. This is very interesting to me since I did not realize, back then, that one of New York City’s strengths was its manufacturing capabilities. Wagner states that “…New York City nevertheless remains the largest manufacturing center in the nation” and that “89 percent (of manufacturing firms in the city) employ fewer than fifty people each,” alluding to the niche-type of goods, and variety of goods produced here.
Next Wagner talks about what makes New York City unique and in an exciting position. First, he talks about how, even then in 1960, New York City was billed as a prime spot for “start-ups” and innovation: “The city is thus a maven for the small manufacturer, for the enterprising beginner with a production idea – and we welcome him.” Then, the 1964 World’s Fair is a huge event that is given a ton of fan-fare in his speech, as well as the building of the World Trade Center. The arrangement of these topics leaves a sense of excitement: everything is new and on the edge with the city about to be thrusted into the center spotlight of the world.
Later, Wagner speaks about the business of government, speaking to the size and variety of public services (police, fire, and sanitation) it provides. He then goes into how, when compared to other parts of the state and other cities with populations exceeding 250,000, New York City is not actually spending that much to provide these services: “The growth in the city’s per capita expenditure is thus seen to be relatively moderate…” Wager also notes that strides have been made in mending city/state relations on a fiscal level. He then notes that the “local home rule” has still not been addressed: the strain the city/state relations go through on the issue of city-government is noticeable, and is even still an issue prevalent today.
On housing Wagner notes progress, with 42,000 units added (23,000 net gain) and another 12,000 under construction. In this part of his speech, I noted his use of “project” and “slum” while describing public housing and areas ripe for reconversion. These terms are not used anymore due to what seems like a negative connotation. Because of this, his use of these terms bring a sense of urgency to the perceived housing crisis.
The Title I Progress section of his speech starts with describing the program as middle-income housing at which point Wagner quickly glosses over "mistakes (that) were undoubtedly made in the early stages". This may be in reference to the Manhattantown urban renewal project that had been started in the decade prior where Robert Moses had recently been linked to corruption at the development. Later, Wagner talks about "urgent slum problems" such as "single-room occupancy in multiple dwellings and the conversion of one or two family dwellings to rooming houses" as well as relocation and reconversion which also takes up a substantial portion of Wagner’s address. The relocation and reconversion programs were both aimed at identifying and remedying slum lords and buildings, and then also at relocating residents who are displaced due to these programs
Towards the middle of his speech Wagner saves some of his most drastic and forceful language for transportation, considering how the "city should not be subjected to this periodic anxiety, uncertainty and near-panic" when describing the recent transit strikes, and "I have therefore directed that top-to-bottom study be made of transportation in the City of New York" when describing the steps forward. He also talks about the creation of a parking meter enforcement division that will be employed entirely by female parking officers.
On Social Services and "home relief", Wagner talks about how the Governor vetoed a bill that would deny assistance to "those holding residence less than a year.” He goes on to describe how he “…shall always oppose such restrictions upon those who need our help for the basic necessities of life." He states how less than 10 percent of the City’s Welfare funds goes to general public assistance, and that “the greater part goes to give help to dependent children, the blind, the disabled, and the aged.
Finally, Wagner talks about his legislative and policy goals, including a revised charter for a more efficient government, dealing with the city’s transportation problems, better housing in all income brackets, a rise in the minimum wage to $1.23, and Off Track Betting among other items. He then sets forth a group of objectives, almost like a job description for the next year, using a short list of sensible goals, each time beginning with “to…” These objectives are tidied up with the proclamation that government deals with problems that are wholly human problems: “We do not make decisions in ivory towers. It is precisely a realization of this humanity, I believe, that is a distinguishing feature of our government.”
2. Describe relevant events on the life of the city and the life of the mayor which took place in the year or years prior to the delivery of the State of the City Address.
Mayor Wagner had a long and storied career in the public sector, serving in the military, local, and federal governments. He enlisted in the Army at the start of World War II after receiving his law degree from Yale Law School in 1937, and then followed the footsteps of his father (a United States Senator) into a life of politics and service initially with the help of Tammany Hall(NYC 100, n.d.) Being credited with granting collective-bargaining rights to municipal unions and infusing the city’s relocation and reconversion efforts with Federal funds, Mayor Wagner’s three terms in office helped pave the way for a long withstanding government ready to weather the next two to three decades of fiscal crisis (Clarity, 1991).
At the start of the year of this State of the City Address, the City had just begun construction of the new World Trade Center. In fact, there were many large scale projects taking place including parkways, expressways, bridges, and new housing. In the years after, the old Pennsylvania Station was torn down in 1964.
3. Describe the context in which the speech was delivered and any ceremony that surrounded it. The delivery of the State of the City speech has become progressively more ceremonial over the years.
The speech was given directly to the City Council without much ceremony.
4. If possible, describe the reaction of the press and the public to the speech. What kind of ‘spin’ was it given in the media.
The New York Times responded both positively and negatively to the Mayor’s address, leaving with a negative note advising the mayor that he “must recognize with his justified modesty that however kindly history records his efforts, today’s critics demand more of the Wagner administration” (New York Times, 1960). The same article, published during the week of his speech, contradicts him on his points of education, urban renewal funding, and police strength, while also attributing credit to Wagner’s successful points to other agencies and the Governor. Overall, the New York Times is critical of the Mayor and gives the sense that his efforts are insufficient.
5. Note the speechwriter(s) that worked on the speech.
Nicholas G. Pappas was likely Mayor Wagner’s speechwriter in 1960. A New York Times obituary states that as a visible middle-level manager, Mr. Pappas “directed safe-street programs and projects that improved street lighting” (Saxon, 1994). It also states that Mr. Pappas worked on Mayor Wagner’s first campaign and was Wagner’s and Mayor Beame’s speechwriter. During the State of the City speech, Mayor Wagner makes two references to new lighting; once when describing the new standard for brighter lighting of hallways, and again when he lists the installation of new street lighting devices as one of the steps the city is taking to address the housing problem. Mr. Pappas may have had a hand in ensuring these projects were mentioned.
6. Find 5 or 6 passages in your speech that you believe require explanation to understand. List these passages and provide the necessary explanation.
“…New York City nevertheless remains the largest manufacturing center in the nation”. This was surprising to me since I’ve never known New York City as a manufacturing center. However, in the 1950’s and 60’s New York City had 420 of the 450 industrial categories used by the Bureau of Census manufactured in the region (Joshua, 2001).
When speaking about Title I Progress, Wagner quickly glosses over "mistakes (that) were undoubtedly made in the early stages". This may allude to the Manhattantown urban renewal project in the Upper West Side that started in 1952. During this time, when the area that is now dotted with high-rises was razed, the sponsors of the renewal project were involved in corruption all the way up to the Committee on Slum Clearance (Horsley, n.d.)
“A parking meter enforcement division has been established in the Traffic Department, and will soon begin operations, employing female parking officers. This will relieve uniformed police or more essential duties.” At first it was weird to me that he pointed out that the parking enforcement unit was entirely employed by female officers, but after considering the cultural context of the time period I realized this was appropriate.
When Mayor Wagner was describing the transportation problems faced by the City, he also described the transit strikes: “city should not be subjected to this periodic anxiety, uncertainty and near-panic". There were numerous strikes throughout the 1950’s and 60’s that we never have to face today.
7. People and Places: What people and places are mentioned in the speech? What is their significance?
Mayor Wagner mentions the Governor of New York a few times. As opposed to today, it seemed like Wagner and Governor Nelson Rockefeller had a good working relationship. At first, in the speech, Mayor Wagner alludes to the disconnect between State and City on “local home rule”. But then he also talks about the successes in mending the same relations on a fiscal level. This is significant because the Mayor of New York City and the Governor don’t usually work well together.
8. Find one or two quotations from the speech that you believe represent some essential aspect of it.
“Government in New York City is never easy, nor is it a job for any one man alone. Not only is our government intricate, it is subtle in the sense that its problems are almost wholly, in the final analysis, human problems. We do not make our decisions in ivory towers. It is precisely a realization of this humanity, I believe, that is a distinguishing feature of our government.”
This quote describes Mayor Wagner’s approach to governing. I believe through this part of his speech he’s attempting to identify with the low and middle-class
9. Key terms: Provide a list of 2-5 key terms related to the speech.
Home Rule
Slum
Urban Renewal
Relocation
Reconversion
10. Recommend a few biographies and/or autobiographies, and or good articles in respectable publications.
Robert Wagner and the Rise of New York City's Plebiscitary Mayoralty: The Tamer of the Tammany Tiger by R. Flanagan
Bibliography
Clarity, J. F. (1991, February 13). Robert Wagner, 80, Pivotal New York Mayor, Dies. Retrieved from The New York Times:
Horsley, C. (n.d.). The Olmstead, 382 Central Park West. Retrieved from CityRealty:
Joshua, B. F. (2001). Working-Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II. New York: The New Press.
New York Times. (1960, April 06). The mayor's annual message. Retrieved from New York Times:
NYC 100. (n.d.). Elected Mayors of New York City 1898 - 1998. Retrieved from Centennial Classroom:
Saxon, W. (1994, December 30). Nicholas G. Pappas, New York Official And Writer, 66. Retrieved from New York Times: