Ugh. New Yorkers.

posted by The Vidiot @ 4:44 PM Permalink

Or rather, I should say "New York Politicians"

We've had a little tizzy of late here in the Big Apple. Our illustrious Mayer Bloomberg wanted to run for a third term, something the citizens of this great city have voted no to twice when they voted for term limits. So, instead of taking it to the voters again, and using rhetoric like "these are extraordinary times in the financial world and we need Bloomberg at the helm" (Echoing Giuliani's post-9/11 rhetoric to be sure) They rushed it through the City Council because, and I kid you not, they actually said this, they could feel public opinion swinging the wrong way on it and wanted it voted on and decided before the public opinion was too strong. It just passed, 29-22.

Why do I hate Bloomberg? Well, he's wrecked the public school system. He's handed NYC to his big developer buddies and people have died and the city's appearance has been irrevocably altered, and not all of it for the better. Giuliani sucked the fun out of this town and Bloomberg made it look like an old lady's boudoir.

It's Tamany Hall all over again, only with flowers, chintz and gold flecked chocolates.

Update: My mother thinks I'm too nasty when it comes to Bloomberg. I obviously don't think I'm nasty enough.

When I moved here in the 80s, you could still be poor here. You could still make a living as a waitress, go out on auditions, and live IN THE CITY, and not some forlorn section of outer Brooklyn. Hell, back then, ARTISTS still lived IN THE CITY. Can you imagine that? On the island of Manhattan! Not Williamsburg, or Bushwick or soon, Brownsville. IN THE CITY! Sure, the rich were starting to take over the place. But they feared the Lower East Side (now known as LES) and the East Village (EV). We had that and they had, well, whatever it is they had, I'm not really sure what they had. But I'm sure they had something. Hell, Little Italy was where you went for pizza, not where you lived. Now, it's NOLITA. Times Square was fascinating and exciting, and by fascinating and exiting, I mean seedy and a bit dangerous. Now, it's Disney New York. BOOOORing.

Giuliani 'cleaned' up the criminal element, or rather, he further marginalized the already marginalized. He built the foundation to make the environment comfortable for the wealthy. Bloomberg justd opened the doors and ushered them in. Who cares that the only people who can afford to live in the city anymore are boring, boring, boring. Now, it's all organized fun. Nothing spontaneous happens here anymore.

{sigh}

Maybe it sounds like sour grapes. I don't care. But I really don't like what Giuliani or Bloomberg have done to this town. Still, THAT's nothing compared to the reality of what just happened:

The city council of the City of New York, voted down an amendment that would have given the chance to vote on a referendum on the term limits issue AND they negated not one, but TWO referendums, in 93 and 96, that supported term limits. That's an overt subversion of democracy. The people spoke in 93 and 96. Period. End of story. What Bloomberg did, with the help of the City Council, is to do a run-around the voting public. They used the rhetoric of fear and pressure to push their agenda through. They used procedural tactics and subverted the will of the people. And additionally, the folks who voted on it stand to BENEFIT from the vote because some of them will now be eligible to run again.

Wait a minute! Voting yes on something that benefits you personally, hmmmmm... Using fear tactics to strong arm your preferred policies through the system, hmmm.....

Methinks Bloomie wants to be el presidente!

Labels: bloomberg, New York