I Only Came Here To Do Two Things: Kick Some Ass And Drink Some Beer; Looks Like We’re Almost Out Of Beer
On the one hand, the mayor’s early campaign-style theatrics might be viewed as a matter of getting his agenda out before the honeymoon ends. Or it may just be a permanent feature:
Posted: February 5th, 2014 | Filed under: Things That Make You Go "Oy"Campaigns are typically run in sound bites and slogans and laced with words like “hope” and “change.” Mr. de Blasio, who ran his campaign vowing to end the city’s “tale of two cities,” has continued to govern in the same style, peppering his press conferences with buzzwords like “progressive” and largely sticking to broad goals, like closing the gap between the rich the and the poor and improving relations between communities and police — aside from the pre-K campaign. Largely missing thus far, some complain, are specifics for achieving those goals, along with agendas for many city agencies, including the Parks Department and Department of Health, as well as plans for specific projects in areas like economic development or zoning.
The result has been concern among some high-level staffers, many of whom are working in agencies that remain without permanent commissioners, that they’ve received minimal direction from City Hall, leaving them confused about the new administration’s agenda and what to prioritize.
One longtime deputy commissioner described a series of meetings that Mr. de Blasio’s new First Deputy Mayor Tony Shorris had with the city department’s commissioners and deputy commissioners during his first weeks at City Hall that left some bewildered.
The deputy said Mr. Shorris “didn’t want to hear about any of the agency’s problems or the details of government.”
“Shorris just said, ‘We want to deal with inequity problems and diversity issues,'” recalled the deputy, who said that Mr. Bloomberg’s right hands had been far more invested in details. He left with the impression Mr. de Blasio’s inner circle at City Hall didn’t want to know about potential problems.
“Everyone’s just being told, ‘Be progressive.’ We’re like, WTF does that mean? What’s the fire company going to do to be progressive?” the source asked. “We know stop-and-frisk and universal pre-K [are on his agenda], but what happens after that?”