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Still, the largest property-tax hike in the history of New York City was passed last Monday — with phantom spending cuts, if any. At 18 percent, the tax hike was dropped on New Yorkers with no public debate. Mayor Michael Bloomberg simply cut a weekend deal with City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, which was then rubber-stamped it, 41-6.
As a measure of the Politburo-like aspect of raw political muscle, the New York Times reported that the six council members voting against the deal — three Republicans and three Democrats — were likely to face retribution from Bloomberg and Miller, up to and including leaving them in more vulnerable districts during the next round of city redistricting. Meanwhile, a Manhattan Institute study estimates that the city will lose 68,000 private-sector jobs because of the tax increase. In a word, this is madness. Unfortunately, it is something that is becoming all-too-familiar in Michael Bloomberg's New York. It is a world where petty squabbles and personal tiffs seem to crowd out the very important questions of how to keep the world's greatest city from falling apart during a national recession exacerbated by the hangover of the 9/11 attacks. Conservatives can't truly be said to be disappointed by Michael Bloomberg considering he was never one of them to begin with. Bloomberg had been a lifelong Democrat until switching parties shortly before he announced his candidacy. However, Bloomberg stressed his business credentials during his mayoral race. Many businessmen — black, white, and Hispanic — endorsed his candidacy. A little more than a week before Election Day 2001, outgoing Mayor Rudy Giuliani — a man who had gained near-mythic status following the attacks — formally endorsed Bloomberg as his preferred successor. The endorsement was turned into a memorable campaign ad which ran practically 24/7 for the rest of the campaign. Bloomberg overtook his hapless Democratic opponent Mark Green (a man whose personality compares unfavorably with Al Gore). While most conservatives despised Green, they didn't fully warm up to Bloomberg (the New York Post pointedly endorsed neither man). Yet, at his inauguration, he said all the right things. He noted that the city was in a fiscal crisis, yet observed that it had to "learn from the lessons of the past" and avoid raising taxes in the middle of an economic downturn. Because of 1990 and '91 city and state-tax hikes, New York took a whole lot longer to experience the '90s economic recovery than the rest of the country. However, Bloomberg's honeymoon continued here in the city when he doggedly worked and finally succeeded in gaining mayoral control of the city school system — something that his predecessors had been trying to do for nearly three decades. One of his first major decisions in exercising this authority was hiring Joel Klein (the Clinton administration's antitrust litigator) as schools chancellor. The pick was a little odd, because Klein had hardly any education experience. However, conservatives thought: "Let's give the guy sometime to see what he can do." And, fairly, Klein has been as engaged a schools chancellor as New York has had. No, there hasn't been any talk about school vouchers or anything like that. But, that's not exactly a surprise in New York City (indeed, one interpretation of the state constitution even suggests that vouchers are illegal). However, that's been about it for the mayor — a few appropriate words in his inaugural address and getting control of the school system. And so, little more than ten months into his first term and a recent poll (taken before the tax increase was voted in, but after Bloomberg first announced it) shows that for the first time in five years, New Yorkers are unhappy with the direction of the city by a margin of 44-54. Bloomberg's own approval/disapproval is 41-46. He received similar failing grades for both his handling of the budget and, surprisingly, even the schools. This is the result one might expect because, nearly eleven months in office, Bloomberg has allowed himself to be dominated by tax increases and rumors of more tax increases. Worse, when the budget and restoring economic activity should have been up there with education as his major priorities, Bloomberg has permitted himself to be distracted by petty public squabbles and ill-advised decisions that, collectively, have left the man with hardly any political capital. Smoking. Bloomberg is obsessed with banning smoking in just about every possible public venue in New York City. This includes, in particular, in restaurants and bars — even outside restaurants. Ostensibly, the reason is to protect the health of employees who have to work in these environments. Of course, Bloomberg accepts as faith that secondhand smoke poses such a danger that a total ban is a necessity. What is remarkable, however, is that Bloomberg refuses to compromise on the ban. The aforementioned city council, which has been itching to pass a sweeping anti-smoking initiative for years, has remarkably attempted to be a moderating influence by suggesting exceptions such as cigar bars and certain other specialized establishments. Bloomberg will hear none of it. It has to be his way or no way. Amazingly, the leftist city council actually behaved in a similar way with the property tax. The mayor's original proposal was a 25-percent tax increase! The council countered with 20 percent. Cigarette Tax/Bodegas. Related to his war on smoking, Bloomberg earlier this year raised the city tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.50. That means the average pack of cigarettes in New York City costs about $7.00 (the state had raised its own tax on the not-yet-illegal substance last year). Yet, two months ago, the association that represents bodega (Puerto Rican deli) owners, protested on the steps of city hall to say that the cigarette tax was killing their business. Bloomberg stunningly responded to the protests, "I just find it inconceivable that you could equate people's lives — particularly children that buy cigarettes in bodegas — with a minor economic issue…Let's get serious!" The statement in
itself was remarkable — all the more so coming from a onetime businessman.
It was also profoundly disingenuous: He waved the "children's lives"
flag, when he knows — or should — that no one under the age
of 18 is legally permitted to purchase cigarettes anyway. Now, it can be easily said that those running the parade are overly sensitive and that The Sopranos is only a TV show. However, Bloomberg's reaction was bizarre, to say the least. He decided he wouldn't march and would just have lunch "with his friends" Bracco and Chianese. What started out looking like an action of principle, in the end looked like Bloomberg got miffed because he couldn't be seen in public with his big-time actor friends. Silly as the parade organizers might have been, they represent a sizeable slice of the Italian-American community that shouldn't be dismissed by the mayor so cavalierly. Bloomberg even hinted that he might also blow off the St. Patrick's Day parade next year if his guests aren't invited. Every year, there is a battle between organizers and gay activists over allowing openly gay groups to march. Politicians are usually pressured to demonstrate their "solidarity" with gays by boycotting the parade. Most politicians choose to march anyway — even such gay-friendly types as Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer. Traffic. The
Bloomberg administration decided — again, with hardly any public
comment — to label a half-dozen cross-town streets "thru"
streets. Anyone driving on these streets between 8 A.M. and 6 P.M. —
including taxis — is not permitted to make a right or left turn on
any of the major roadways between Third and Sixth Avenues. That obviously
includes Park, Madison, and Fifth Avenues. Curses in multiple languages
and accents will greet any passenger who steps into a cab and asks the
driver how they feel about the so-called "thru" streets and
their impact on the cab driver's livelihood. Of course, the plan has failed
in its central goal of making traffic flow better. In many cases, it has
made cross-town traffic worse. The homeless situation went from the sublime to the ridiculous a week or so ago as word got out that the commissioner of homeless services was scouting mothballed cruise ships as possible shelter venues. You can't make this stuff up. As Eric McErlain of the Off-Wing Opinion blog points out, this sounds like the late '80s Saturday Night Live skit where artist "Leroy Neiman" visits the pad of "Michael Dukakis" and shows him a mural that imagines the nuclear-aircraft carrier Nimitz turned into "a floating shelter for the homeless." Can Capt. Steubing and Isaac the bartender be far behind? Is this New York in 2002? Apparently so. No wonder that a recent New York Times poll discovered that the public feels less safe than they were five years ago — even though actual crime has gone down. Yes, this sentiment is partly grounded in post-9/11 fears. But, there is also a feeling that the mayor seems caught up in himself in a different way than his predecessor. Did Rudy Giuliani have an ego? Of course. Could he be imperious and dismissive at times. Absolutely. But did the average
middle-class New Yorker believe that Rudy was "one of them"?
Yes, and, notwithstanding the awful Amadou Diallo shooting, a fair section
of the black community undoubtedly felt that way as well. As a politician,
Rudy had an instinct as to who the core of his constituents were and he
strived to stay connected to them, even, especially, when he got involved
in high-profile (though, ultimately losing) public fights, such as the
"Sensation" exhibit in the Brooklyn Museum. This administration will be a long one for New York City — for conservatives, taxpayers, everybody. — Mr. George is an editorial writer for the New York Post. |
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t's
very tough times in the Big Apple these days. The Big Apple faces a $1
billion gap in the current budget and another $6 billion deficit in next
year's. 
