Our new mayor has had a bumpy ride in his first few weeks on the job. Even though Bill de Blasio has been a public figure in his roles as a city councilman and city public advocate, the rules of the road change when you’re the top dog in City Hall.
Like his predecessors, de Blasio was thrown a nasty curve when a series of snowstorms hit and stranded some New Yorkers on unplowed streets. He called out the city Sanitation commissioner and the national weather forecasters, but most Queens residents were willing to give him a pass on Mother Nature’s bad timing. This is on-the-job training in the toughest city in the world.
The mayor also took a beating from some parents and even weatherman Al Roker for keeping schools open throughout the series of winter storms. Granted this is a thorny issue, with compelling arguments to be made on both sides.
But de Blasio inherited a school system that prides itself on conducting classes under the most challenging of circumstances. Nevertheless, it may be time to revise the decision-making process so more voices are heard beyond the views of the mayor and the city schools chancellor on when school doors should close.
The still green mayor also got flak for calling the NYPD to check on the status of a Brooklyn minister, a political supporter who had been arrested for a traffic violation. De Blasio must have momentarily forgotten that as mayor he is now subject to much sharper scrutiny from the media and the public. His intentions may have been the best, but that call raised many eyebrows in Queens.
On the other hand, he made the call himself and didn’t ask a City Hall staffer three times removed from the deputy commissioner of a minor agency to dial it instead. That’s points for the mayor.
Now back to the rules of the road.
De Blasio was also nailed by a TV reporter for speeding and running stop signs in Maspeth as he sat next to the police officer driving his SUV. He was spotted two days after he came to Queens to announce his Vision Zero plan on lowering the city speed limit to 25 mph to curb pedestrian deaths.
Yes, our other mayors have sped around the city in their black SUV caravans, but this is one of de Blasio’s key initiatives. He should tell his police escorts to lighten the lead on the pedal.
We want de Blasio to succeed as mayor and carry out his ambitious agenda for the city. After a rough start, let’s hope he gets back on track.
