The Office of City “Shusher”

The New Yorker’s Ben McGrath sheds some light on the mysterious office of Public Advocate by profiling some of the nine candidates running for office:

“It’s a misunderstood, maligned office that actually has huge potential, because there are already tens of thousands of public advocates,” Andrew Rasiej, a first-time candidate, said the other day, explaining his aim to “connect” New York’s countless well-intentioned citizens — busybodies, to some. The city teems with them: the old woman in your apartment building who’s always slipping notices under your door; the movie-theatre “shusher”; the guy in the drugstore who makes sure the other shoppers know that there’s only one line; Bernie Goetz. Actually, Goetz, the infamous subway gunman turned vegetarian crusader, is running for advocate himself — he’s the one who wants to institute the pay cut. Goetz’s platform includes some truly inspired ideas (he’s for midday power naps), some strangely banal ones (he’d like to see a “tall building” constructed somewhere “around Sixtieth Street”), and some that remind you why he can’t possibly win (he believes that “N.Y.C. should relax more on security”).

Having always wondered exactly what the Public Advocate did, I’m pleased to see that it’s basically exactly what I expected: Office of City “Shusher”.

Bonus Points: Bernie Goetz for Public Advocate Official Site