This year’s winter snowstorms with ice and high winds have cut down political meetings and social evenings in Queens, in addition to the rest of New York City. Fortunately, this is not a very active political year and the political cycle will not be as seriously threatened as it would be during 2016.
There have been comparisons of this year’s winter weather with the blizzard of 1888 when most of the large cities in the Northeast from Washington, D.C. on up were hit with the worst snowstorm we ever had.
It is interesting to note that the great storm of 1888 occurred on March 12 of that year. Most people in the Northeast considered the winter almost over. The temperature reached into the 60s a few days before the storm. The blizzard hit by surprise. Back then they didn’t have the means to fight the weather that we have now. For instance, only a handful of police precincts had the use of telephones. However, New Yorkers worked together to fight the effects of the snow.
Hopefully, the political party schedules will resume during the spring.
The issue of horses and carriages continuing to use Central Park is expected to be voted on by our City Council in late spring. The horses and carriages have been in use in Central Park since the park first opened for public use in the 1850s. It has become a tradition of New York City. It has become an attraction for visitors to New York. As far as we know, no past New York mayor before Bill de Blasio has called for the Central Park horses and carriages to be abolished.
According to polls that have been taken during the last few months, New Yorkers by a significant margin favor keeping the horses and carriages in Central Park. One more important reason to maintain this tradition is that it will save 300 jobs.
If de Blasio is able to get a majority of City Council members to support his view that horses and carriages should be removed from Central Park, then that will show that the mayor has more influence over the City Council than could be expected over this kind of issue. When the time comes, this will become a hard-fought topic. There may be legal challenges by the side that loses the Central Park vote. Regardless of the outcome, it seems that if the City Council votes to eliminate the horses and carriages, a New York tradition that goes back 150 years will be lost.
In 2017 elections for the City Council will take place. The members of the Council who have served two four-year terms will not be eligible to run for a third four-year term because of term limits. The mayor at that time will have served one four-year term, and will most likely be running for re-election to achieve a second term.
It would be helpful if all incumbent members of the City Council facing term limits could run for re-election, if they chose to, and let the voters decide.
Another aspect of City Council term limits is that the City Council speaker is now being replaced usually every four years. Before term limits the Council speaker could serve for a longer period of time.
In all, our City Council will reflect the will of the voters.
