Robert Moses initially pursued beach access on Long Island for city residents as an idealistic project, which Robert Caro characterizes as an act of genius and willpower.

“Well, when, when people say to me everything was bad that he did, what I say is, "You didn't read the book." Because certainly the first parts of the book, well, hundreds of pages, are about a young idealist who sees this great need for recreation, for beaches on Long Island for the city people, and is gonna get a way to make them accessible to the ci- to people in the city.”

“Uh, you say, and it's a act of genius and willpower the way he does it, and that's great.”