Leadership from the top
We’ve noticed some new pep in Mayor de Blasio, including showing up at his own press conferences on time. Maybe it’s the fact we’re climbing out of COVID, vaccinations are growing, or that Donald Trump is no longer president, or that spring is coming.Maybe it’s that, in a little more than 300 days, de Blasio will no longer be mayor. He’s made no secret over the years of his dislike for certain aspects of the job. The past year has probably been the most difficult of all.
We’re not annoyed that the mayor — a man who too long took for granted the well-oiled functioning of the private sector economy that helped keep city coffers full to the brim, who sneered at Manhattan and the High Line, who seemed allergic to the kind of sincere cheerleading for restaurants and arts and cultural institutions that other politicians practiced — has belatedly changed his tune. Perhaps the prospect of his fast-approaching future absence has made his heart grow fonder for the entire city. Better late than never!
He’s been seen around town, dining outdoors and recently, indoors, to promote the city’s restaurants. He touted news of the potential return of discount retailer Century 21. City social media accounts are promoting local bookstores.
Last week, he named Lorraine Grillo as the city’s “recovery czar,” to “coordinate across government agencies, non-profits and the private sector to ensure everyone is working together for New York City’s recovery,” and tasked retiring NYPD Chief of Department Terry Monahan as the city’s “senior advisor for recovery safety planning,” to liaise with business leaders, convincing them the crime rates will remain low enough to ensure their employees’ safe return to offices.
We guess that the 13 different COVID recovery advisory councils and commissions de Blasio created last May were just window dressing, buying time until de Blasio enthroned Czar Grillo whose reign will be but 10 months long.
The real recovery czar will actually be the man or woman who wins the June 22 Democratic mayoral primary, less than four months away. That person will inherit enormous obstacles: the city’s once-bustling tourism economy isn’t expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025, and widespread adoption of remote work during the pandemic may fundamentally reshape office culture, leading companies to scale back their expensive office footprint in Manhattan.
De Blasio is planning to balance his final budget in office in part by pushing off planned pay increases and labor savings until future years, making them his successor’s problem. The next mayor faces an estimated $20 billion tax revenue shortfall through the year 2025, and projected multi-billion dollar budget gaps for the entirety of their first term.
Addressing those problems will require a mayor with incredible management skills and optimism, with undying love for the city and its people. We’re glad to see de Blasio trying his darnedest at the 11th hour to fit the bill, and hope for all our sakes his successor is someone perfectly matched for this perilous moment in our city’s history.
Torrington, Conn.: It seems to me that Donald Trump or his Republican minions are bringing up charges against all Democrats at this time. First, it was the nursing homes and now sexual harassment. Give me a break. Gov. Cuomo was a hero with all he did about COVID-19. Now he is a villain? Donald did nothing. It is a way to change the subject for him now that he is no longer president and all of his woes are about to come to bite him. He deserves what he gets and as far as Cuomo is concerned, tell him not to worry about it. This woman he hired just can’t wait to mention all this. Why did she hang around so long if he did what she said? It makes me wonder about her motives. Lucille Johnson