Duck, duck…ball of light? Photograph by Margie Smith Holt.
By Carol Tannenhauser
Monday, May 23, 2022 Early morning clouds followed by sun. High 76 degrees.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events! (Click on the lady in the upper right corner.)
News
This weekend, the news yielded two questions to ponder: What is the point of a city?; and, Can Bill de Blasio be popular?
“In the age of Zoom, when white-collar workers are increasingly untethered to the office, cities need to be more than skyscrapers,” writes Mark Sappenfield, editor of The Christian Science Monitor. “They need to be livable. In other words, if you can live where you want, then cities need to be a place you want to live.”
Through the centuries, public health crises have played important roles in making cities more livable, Sappenfield points out. “A 2021 United Nations report notes that during the bubonic plague, Lucca, Italy, required all its residents to clean the street in front of their houses every Saturday. In the 19th century, concerns about tuberculosis in the United States led to a demand for more open spaces. The result was public parks like the Emerald Necklace in Boston and Central Park in New York.”
We are still at the point of recognizing and analyzing the changes COVID-19 has made to New York City, and their effects on livability. What of the dining sheds, with their advocates and detractors? Or the rise in bicycle riding and ownership, leading to more bike lanes and less parking spaces? Or the continued push for more open spaces, such as open streets. Will we one day say that COVID-19 challenged the pre-eminence of the automobile in New York City, and led to a re-evaluation of the use of public space, including sidewalks and curbsides, in the name of livability?
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De Blasio never had the support of two-thirds of the people. Most people just don’t vote. And his opponent in that election was Nicole Malliotakis. De Blasio barely broke 40 percent in the 2013 primary and that might have been his high point.
Concerned
4 years ago
I think that in time de Blasio’s term as mayor will not be looked at with such hate and hostility as it has been while he was in office and while he was exiting. I’ve already missed him and it’s only been 5 months of the celebrity Mayor we have now who does not live here and does not care about this city at all, only photo ops at events and the possibility of running for President. I thought he was going to clean up the subway, but I haven’t seen any reduction in the homeless on there, in fact it’s only gotten worse and now we have two shootings under his belt. I guess that’s his version of “Law and Order”.
Peter
4 years ago
Overarching vision for the future, huh? How about “clean, safe, prosperous, easy-to-live-in city”?
Here. Took all of 5 seconds.
Get back to work. Oh wait… too late.
Sally
4 years ago
Joe Pinion is a great option too – let’s get rid of Nadler.
Pedestrian
4 years ago
DeBlasio still thinks it was just a PR problem. Hey Bill it was a policy problem, a scandal problem and a billionaire developer problem and a results problem.
Judith Norell
4 years ago
I wouldn’t vote for Bill DeBlasio even if he were the only candidate on the ballot. I felt he totally coasted – and disappeared – in is second term, didn’t show up at the office, was bored so decided to run for President. Your comments are more considered than mine, but I don’t trust him anymore. Why would I want him as a Congress person? He’d probably get bored again and disappear.
Bob A
4 years ago
De Blasio and all his progressive claptrap. What an embarrassment to a world city! Anyway, I’m glad the carriage rides remain.
SMT
4 years ago
Say it however he wants to, our former Mayor single-handedly took a prosperous, thriving, safe city and ran it into the ground.. with what we are left with today. When less than 10% of people voted in the last mayoral election, stating he won by 3/4 doesn’t qualify for bragging rights either. Sounds like he is a legend in his own mind as they say.
Jean Luke
4 years ago
DeBlassio was the worst mayor in modern NYC history and probably all of NYC history. Everything that worked to get crime to low levels he eliminated. His run for the Presidency was delusional and he was funded by contributions from the Hotel Lobby as payback for his getting rid of Air BnB.
Also he was a Red Sox fan and was never a part of the fabric of the city, going to restaurants, theater etc. Just a horrible mayor and almost universally despised.
De Blasio never had the support of two-thirds of the people. Most people just don’t vote. And his opponent in that election was Nicole Malliotakis. De Blasio barely broke 40 percent in the 2013 primary and that might have been his high point.
I think that in time de Blasio’s term as mayor will not be looked at with such hate and hostility as it has been while he was in office and while he was exiting. I’ve already missed him and it’s only been 5 months of the celebrity Mayor we have now who does not live here and does not care about this city at all, only photo ops at events and the possibility of running for President. I thought he was going to clean up the subway, but I haven’t seen any reduction in the homeless on there, in fact it’s only gotten worse and now we have two shootings under his belt. I guess that’s his version of “Law and Order”.
Overarching vision for the future, huh? How about “clean, safe, prosperous, easy-to-live-in city”?
Here. Took all of 5 seconds.
Get back to work. Oh wait… too late.
Joe Pinion is a great option too – let’s get rid of Nadler.
DeBlasio still thinks it was just a PR problem. Hey Bill it was a policy problem, a scandal problem and a billionaire developer problem and a results problem.
I wouldn’t vote for Bill DeBlasio even if he were the only candidate on the ballot. I felt he totally coasted – and disappeared – in is second term, didn’t show up at the office, was bored so decided to run for President. Your comments are more considered than mine, but I don’t trust him anymore. Why would I want him as a Congress person? He’d probably get bored again and disappear.
De Blasio and all his progressive claptrap. What an embarrassment to a world city! Anyway, I’m glad the carriage rides remain.
Say it however he wants to, our former Mayor single-handedly took a prosperous, thriving, safe city and ran it into the ground.. with what we are left with today. When less than 10% of people voted in the last mayoral election, stating he won by 3/4 doesn’t qualify for bragging rights either. Sounds like he is a legend in his own mind as they say.
DeBlassio was the worst mayor in modern NYC history and probably all of NYC history. Everything that worked to get crime to low levels he eliminated. His run for the Presidency was delusional and he was funded by contributions from the Hotel Lobby as payback for his getting rid of Air BnB.
Also he was a Red Sox fan and was never a part of the fabric of the city, going to restaurants, theater etc. Just a horrible mayor and almost universally despised.
Eric Adams makes me miss De Blasio
please vote against deblasio make that man go away