He Built This City
AM New York’s piece this morning assessing Mike Bloomberg’s legacy is one of the first of many, many articles that are sure to come as the mayor enters the twilight of his term. The article positions Mayor Mike as a great post-9/11 rebuilder who’s played a big role in luring tourists, spurring development and making…
AM New York’s piece this morning assessing Mike Bloomberg’s legacy is one of the first of many, many articles that are sure to come as the mayor enters the twilight of his term. The article positions Mayor Mike as a great post-9/11 rebuilder who’s played a big role in luring tourists, spurring development and making formerly undesirable neighborhoods hot. “Places like Red Hook that were once a no-man’s land are hipster havens, and Brooklyn is now a center for culture and art for the whole country,” says Mitchell Moss, a professor of history at New York University and adviser to the mayor’s first campaign. “Whoever thought people would want to live on the Gowanus.” The article notes that the Bloomberg administration’s aggressive rezoning agenda (“one out of every six square feet in the city” has been rezoned) and drive to incentivize development on NYC’s waterfront has altered the lay of the land, and New York has much more of a “luxury” sheen than it did six years ago. The cost of all this is high, according to critics who say the city has become too expensive for the working- and middle-class and resulted in inorganic changes. “There has been a pinching of people’s sense of place, and a destruction of community identity,” says Brad Lander, director of the Pratt Center for Community Development. “They have accelerated the transformation of this place from a manufacturing city to a condo and office tower city, but a lot of people don’t feel invested in that growth.”
Bloomberg Reshapes City, Despite High-Profile Setbacks [AM New York]
Photo by CarbonNYC.
Koch and Beame were just as bad as Dinkins. Even though Dinkins was not an efficient city manager, I would not put the blame for the increase in crime on him. Crime starting increasing under Lindsay and topped off under Dinkins. The proliferation of crack/cocaine helped along by Federal policy – Remember Noriega? Iran-Contra? U.S. government aid to support the poppy seed growing Taliban in Afghanistan? Crime started decreasing under Guiliani because of his borderline civil liberty abusing tactics, a request for federal aid to hire more cops initiated under Dinkins and a decrease in the population most likely to commit crimes. Also having cronies as Commissioners worked in Rudy favor until all of the corruption was uncovered. Bloomberg is one of the best, if not the best Mayor that the city has ever had. He was able to accomplish more than Rudy without alienating whole communities and using bullying tactics. He is the first Republican Mayor that I have ever voted for.
“Also, learn how to use your browser…not even a moron like The What posts three times…lunch break is over get back to work”
YOU, daveinbedstuy are the biggest loser on this blog.
Thank you 1:40. I’m not sure what more these Bloomberg haters want!!!!
1.13 PM;
Are you for real????? Lindsay and Dinkins were the worst mayors this town has had in recent times.
I’m sure you could point to some grandiose announcements emanating from their office regarding a redevelopment plan. Plans are a dime a dozen. Nobody paid any heed to the grand plans of these two incompetents, as they couldn’t even get a grip on the basics of governance, such as controlling crime, dirt and expenditures. The murder rate almost tripled under Lindsay, and hit an all-time high under Dinkins.
Benson
and don’t forget has been supporter of AY.
DaveInBiff’sFly
What did Bloomberg do?????
– Lowered Crime to historically low levels (probably the most important job mayor has)
– Kept City fiscally sound during post-9/11 period
– Maintained ‘race relations’ at the best level in modern history
– implemented 311
– achieved Mayoral control of schools from corrupt Board of Ed
-has shown some progress on education through better test scores in lower grades
– Kept City services working pretty well
– DID NOT SCREW UP (ala Crown Height Riots / Washington Heights Riots/Lindsay Snow storm etc…)
– helped keep Employment at historically high levels
-helped get 2nd ave subway started again
-promoted NYC as a tourist locale across the globe (tourism at record high)
– achieved various rezonings in various parts of the city
– set an achievable agenda for sustained and intellegent growth for next 30 years
plus the smoking ban – which will probably result in more lives saved and more $ saved then just about any initiative in modern history.
DaveInBiff’sFly
I hate to tell you this guys, but Bloomberg did not create this idea of urban development. Urban renewal(Harlem, Bed-Stuy, Westside Highway, etc ) has been discussed and on the city agenda since I was a child in the early 1970s. For the past 35+ years there has been talk about developing the Brooklyn watefronts, Red Hook, the Altantic Yards and the area many of you now know as Metrotech, etc….. I would suggest that before you give kudos to Bloomberg you do your research on former Brooklyn Boro President Howard Golden (who was a Beep when BPs had real power) Councilwoman Mary Pinket, Mayors Lindsay, Koch & Dinkins. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but City plans are established many years before they actually come to fruition.