Robert Wagner Greenstreet

United States Senator Robert F. Wagner (1877-1953) was born in Nastatten, Germany and immigrated with his family in 1886. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1898 and from New York Law School two years later. Wagner joined the Tammany Society and became a staunch Democrat. In 1904, he was elected to the State Assembly, and was a major supporter of the reform policies of Governor Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944).

Wagner was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1926. Over the course of four terms, he co-sponsored several important pieces of legislation. These include: the Wagner-Peyser Act, which created the United States Employment Service and later became part of the Social Security board; the Wagner-Connery Act, which established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); and the Wagner-Steagall Act, which set up the United States Housing Authority (USHA), forerunner to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Wagner championed social causes in the Senate until 1949, when his health forced him to retire. He died four years later at the age of 75.

Located on the corner of South Street and Robert Wagner Senior Place, this is New York City’s 800th Greenstreet. A joint project of Parks and the New York City Department of Transportation, Greenstreets began in 1986 and was revived in 1994. Its goal is to convert paved street properties, such as triangles and malls, into green spaces. Funded by Mayor Giuliani, the project to date has enlivened the streets with 400 rosebushes and 11 blue spruces.

This property was dedicated on January 6, 2000, the birthday of Senator Wagner’s grandson Robert F. Wagner Junior (1944-1993). Son of Mayor Wagner and Grandson of Senator Wagner, Bobby (as he was called by his friends) continued the family tradition of a career in government. A graduate of Exeter, Harvard College, and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton, the youngest Wagner was elected to the City Council from Manhattan (1974-77) and afterwards Mayor Edward I. Koch appointed him successively Chairman of the City Planning Commission (1978-79), Deputy Mayor for Policy (1979-86), and President of the New York City Board of Education (1986-90). His personal library was donated to the Parks Library, located in the Parks headquarters in Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 64th Street, where it is available to the public. The library, which includes books on such subjects as architecture, political history, sports, gardening, and writing, demonstrates the breadth and depth of its owner’s interests.