Bill de Blasio won the NYC election in a landslide victory, taking over from Michael Bloomberg who had served for 12 years. He was sworn in on New Year’s Eve and will become the 102nd mayor of New York City, making him one of few mayors to be elected without being previously Mayor.
On December 28, Mayor-elect Eric Adams addresses in Brooklyn Borough Hall in New York.
Lev Radin/Zuma Press photo
This New Year’s Eve, New Yorkers have an unique cause to rejoice, as it marks the end of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s eight years of progressive failure. Everything in the city is worse than it was when Mr. de Blasio took office, which means that incoming Mayor Eric Adams inherits a disaster but also a chance to fix it.
Mr. Adams faces three major difficulties, all of which have positive ramifications based on his early actions. The first is to restore public order, something the incoming mayor knows well as a former police captain. He came out of the crowded Democratic primary with a promise to lessen the crime wave that has risen while Mayor de Blasio, the City Council, Democrats in Albany, and prosecutors have maligned cops and let criminals off the hook.
One promising indicator is that Mr. Adams has mentioned resurrecting an enhanced version of the plainclothes anti-crime squads that were so successful in removing firearms from criminals’ hands. Restoring public order will need a return to the policies of Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg, which removed the homeless from the streets and subways. He’ll also have to reopen the Rikers Island prison, which Mr. de Blasio sought to shut without providing a viable replacement.
The second task of making New York more appealing for business is to reduce crime. Mr. Adams made it obvious as a candidate that he understands that New York’s high taxes risk driving his tax base to Florida.
If New York does not take steps to dissuade workers from leaving, it would face a financial disaster during the next downturn—especially given the large contracts Mr. de Blasio negotiated with the city’s public unions, which have resulted in unmanageable long-term pension commitments.
Though tax policy is established in Albany, a mayor who advocates for reduced taxes would benefit all New Yorkers. Meanwhile, Mr. Adams can work to minimize the burdensome rules that too many municipal companies are subjected to.
Then there’s the education system, which has deteriorated since the Bloomberg years. At the demand of the teachers union, Mr. de Blasio conducted a war against charter schools, as well as a war on merit in the name of social justice. His fixation with racial justice drove him to slash selective high school admissions, phase out gifted and talented programs in elementary schools, and penalize charter schools at every opportunity.
Mr. Adams should make pressing Albany to increase the charter ceiling, which is capped at 290 in the city despite a 48,300-person waiting list.
The de Blasio era has shown how quickly the Giuliani-Bloomberg years’ hard-won victories may be destroyed. Mr. Adams ran for president as a pragmatic liberal who was more concerned with outcomes than with progressive pieties. He’ll need all of his attention to get New York back on the right track.
As voters in Virginia, New York City, Buffalo, New Jersey, and Minneapolis strike back against leftwing overreach, ineptitude, and bigotry, Wonder Land has gone from progressive ideal to democratic nightmare. Images courtesy of Getty Images Mark Kelly’s composite
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The print version of the December 31, 2021, was published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is New Yorks new mayor?
A: Christine Quinn.
Does NYC have a new mayor?
A: At the time of this writing, New York City is still governed by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
How much is the mayor of NYC paid?
A: The Mayor of New York City is paid a salary of $258,338 annually.
