Dude, You’re Totally Not Helping . . .

If he’s shopping at the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst to “be with the people” it’s not working because, duh, no one is shopping, and if he’s trying to encourage people to shop, the image of a billionaire skimping on his girlfriend’s Christmas present isn’t doing much for my confidence, I’ll tell you that much:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg went shopping on Saturday, and all he bought his girlfriend was a pair of fleece gloves for $29.99.

Oh, and he bought them at a Modell’s Sporting Goods — specifically the one at the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst. It’s safe to say that most people who live in Mr. Bloomberg’s neighborhood, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, have probably never pulled their credit cards out at that particular mall.

Though there is a Modell’s on Third Avenue near 86th Street, a few blocks from Mr. Bloomberg’s town house, and another on Chambers Street, close to City Hall, Mr. Bloomberg chose to shop in Queens because “he is the mayor of all five boroughs,” said a spokesman, Jason Post.

. . .

Flanked by aides and police detectives, and with his companion, Diana Taylor, at his side, Mr. Bloomberg arrived at Modell’s around 10 a.m., wearing a stylish navy blue jacket over a baby blue sweater. A phalanx of reporters had come by to witness the occasion and figure out what (and how much) the billionaire mayor would buy.

“I’m going to look very carefully, but I know what I’m getting already,” Mr. Bloomberg told them.

. . .

Modell’s was nearly empty as the mayor shopped. Upstairs, Joann Rice-Daniels, 46, and Adebowal T. Kiladejo, 39, meter collectors for the city’s Transportation Department, were buying gloves. Downstairs, Boris Davydov, 38, and his 14-year-old son, David, were buying socks and dumbbells.

“The mayor is always with the people,” Mr. Davydov said gleefully as he snapped a picture of Mr. Bloomberg with his cellphone.

Mr. Bloomberg paid for his purchases in cash and outside, he joked about the gloves he bought for Ms. Taylor.

“I just got Diana’s gift,” he said.

“I have them,” Ms. Taylor said from behind a cluster of reporters, holding a shopping bag with the gloves in it.

“Look, she’s got them already,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I’ve just got to get a card to go with it.”