New Era in New York Begins

When Bill deBlasio was inaugurated last week as the 109^th mayor of New York City there were a handful of speakers at the ceremony who took the opportunity to lambast outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg for what they believe his contribution to the widening gap between rich and poor in the city. This, like the ongoing national debate,  was  the recurring theme during the mayoralty primary and general election. And it does have merit to a degree.

Real estate developers in Manhattan have enjoyed a boom in Bloomberg’s 12 years in office and, for the most part, those developments have been high end office buildings, retail outlets, condos and apartments. Hopefully, Mayor deBlasio will be able to make the city more affordable for the poor and the attenuating middle class. But this is not just a New York City problem it’s a national problem, largely stemming from the dearth  of jobs which never materialized from the Obama White House. Certainly more jobs and training for those who want to work would be a great tonic for narrowing the gap. And  for improving a myriad of other  social problems. Laying the blame on Mayor Bloomberg seems unfair.

And  yet  during deBlasio’s inauguration we heard from a few speakers, who instead of looking forward with hope,  denounced Mayor Bloomberg who sat there flummoxed. He looked like he would have  been more comfortable in a dentist’s chair undergoing a root canal sans anesthesia.

When the Rev. Frederick A. Lucas likened New York City to a plantation, it was a travesty. And many people took offense. Rev. Clinton M. Brown, a Baptist pastor from Brooklyn came to Lucas’ defense. “I think a lot of people may not understand the symbolic use of language in the African-American experience.” (See Rev. Jeremiah Wright.) I  don’t think Robert Langdon, the fictitious  symbologist  from The Da Vinco Code, would  have recognized  Lucas’ comment for anything other than the racially charged remark that it was.

Then there was Harry Bellefonte spewing nonsense about how New York  has contributed to our nation having the largest prison population in the world. Jim Dwyer, who writes a column in The New York Times, About New York,  debunked such nonsense. I have observed Mr. Bellefonte’s musings over the years  and have  noticed he never misses an opportunity to lower the limbo bar and the image of our nation when given a forum.

Perhaps to balance out the opprobrium, former President Bill Clinton threw a few crumbs of thanks to Mayor Bloomberg . Of course with the Clintons questions of motive always rise to the fore. Was he sincere or just greasing the skids for a Hillary campaign contribution and endorsement in 2016?

But I do wish Mayor deBlasio  success  and that he keep his promise that “we will succeed as one city.” And does not follow the divisive paradigm of President Obama who also promised to bring our nation together.