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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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| Name | Robert Van Wyck |
| Address |
New York, New York , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
July 20, 1849
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| Died | November 13, 1918
(69 years)
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| Contributor | nystate63 |
| Last Modifed | RBH
Feb 05, 2013 01:43am |
| Tags |
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| Info | A graduate of Columbia University Law School and chief judge of the city court, Van Wyck rose through the ranks of Tammany Hall to become the first mayor of Greater New York after consolidation. In 1897, he fought a bitter campaign against political reformer and one time Brooklyn Mayor Seth Low. Although Van Wyck failed to deliver a single formal speech during the campaign � a result of his deep disdain for public speaking � he prevailed over Citizens Union candidate Low by a margin of 80,000 votes. The election signaled the reemergence of Tammany Hall, still tarnished from the scandals of "Boss Tweed."
Despite the historical significance of the occasion, Van Wyck's inauguration ceremony was hardly an elaborate affair. The mayors of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island City, stripped of their positions by consolidation, joined Van Wyck on the podium. As a crowd of spectators 3,000 strong anxiously awaited his remarks outside City Hall, the new mayor uttered just two sentences. Manhattan Mayor William Strong offered his congratulations, to which Van Wyck replied: "Mr. Mayor, the people have chosen me to be mayor. I shall say whatever I have to say to them."
Van Wyck's tenure as mayor was beset by administrative failures and political scandals, including charges he participated in an Ice Trust scam that artificially inflated the price of fresh milk. In 1899, the state legislature conducted an investigation into corruption in New York City, and concluded Van Wyck was a "dictator" who had "abdicated" his powers to the Tammany Hall bosses. Although then Governor Theodore Roosevelt was petitioned to remove him from office, Van Wyck was able to serve out the remainder of his term. On the inauguration day of his successor, Van Wyck reportedly left City Hall out the back and walked among the crowd outside, unrecognized.
Perhaps his greatest accomplishment as mayor was the awarding of the city's first subway contract, valued at $35,000,000. After leaving office, Van Wyck amassed a small fortune as an attorney and moved to Paris with his wife, where he died on November 13, 1918. Upon his death, The New York Times remarked: "Van Wyck became involved in probably more scandals than any mayor in the city's history."
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