President of The Board of Aldermen and Acting Mayor 1918-1920
As president of the Board of Aldermen, Mr. Moran was acting mayor on many occasions. During his tenure, Moran organized the League for the Preservation of Sunday Recreation and presided over the amending of the New York City Code of Ordinances to allow for the playing of baseball games and showing of movies on Sunday. He made possible the condemnation and acquisition by the City of the principle street-surface railroad companies and he opposed the introduction of "transfer charges" and higher subway fares. He created the Bureau of Steam Heat Supply and established a municipal steam heating plant to supply heat at reasonable prices to the citizens of New York. Moran was also instrumental in approving construction of the 125th Street Bridge in Harlem, the construction of a public boathouse at Central Park, as well as public bathhouses at Pelham Bay Park and Coney Island;
He retained the Daylight Saving Law in New York City after it was repealed as a federal measure, amended the code of ordinances relating to prices charged by public carts and cartmen, prevented the erection of a garbage disposal plant in The Bronx and played a significant role on the Committee Appointed to Welcome Homecoming Troops of the American Expeditionary Force and to ensure the re-employment of returning servicemen.
In addition, Moran led numerous attempts to dismantle the monopoly in milk production and distribution held by the upstate Co-operative Association of Farmers and Dairymen and advocated for the establishment of a Municipal Department of Milk Supply and Distribution to be run by the City. He also testified before the Lockwood Committee of the Senate to relieve the housing situation and endorsed Governor Alfred E. Smith’s proposed legislation for the protection of workers, among them, for the establishment of a Minimum Wage Commission for women and minors and the creation of a health insurance system.
While an alderman, Moran served on the Finance Committee, Rules Committee, Markets Committee, Salaries and Grades Committee and the Legislature Committee. In the Board of Estimate, he was the chairman of the Transit Committee, the Assessment Committee, and the Salaries and Grades Committee, and was a member of the Finance and Budget Committee, Franchise Committee, Sinking Committee and Armory Board.
Read more about this topic: Robert L. Moran (politician)
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