Time Was . . .

. . . you could be an “arrogant” mayor in New York. Maybe no longer. This criticism seems to be a trend, what with the congestion pricing debacle, that third term thingy, mayoral control of schools and now apparently the DC37 Thompson endorsement:

“He’s arrogant, too arrogant,” said Robert Ajaye, president of Local 2627, which represents data processors, some of whom are facing possible layoffs.

Less Pedestrian Mall Than State Fair Pavilion

Like a big outdoor state fair pavilion with pitchmen hawking all sorts of great stuff — paint, for example:

. . . [T]he plazas have also found a role that was never publicly trumpeted by the administration: They make money for the city.

All or any of them can be rented by private companies, which pay substantial fees to the city — the highest is $38,500. Commercial requests that have been approved have included a Glidden Paint promotion, as well as promotions for “Top Chef,” the cooking competition on the Bravo network, and “The Great Debate,” a series on VH1. The car-free streets have also been the scene of Hula-Hooping classes and a simulcast of the Tony Awards.

. . .

The fees go to the city’s general fund. Street permits, which are also charged for the use of sidewalks and open streets, bring in “a significant amount” of revenue, said Evelyn Erskine, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bloomberg.

City officials would not say whether they considered the plazas’ moneymaking potential while planning the changes to Broadway.

. . .

At 23rd and Broadway last weekend, one public space was focused on paint. Just behind the planters that separate the plaza from traffic stood four large purple cylinders, each stocked with brochures and color swatches from Glidden Paint. Three young men and women in bright T-shirts stopped passers-by to hand out paint chips and chat about colors.

“Paint usually gets a good response,” said Kristina Hurlburt, a Glidden representative who said she had sold all types of products. About one in every 15 pedestrians stopped to talk or glance through brochures filled with steel blue and deepest aqua.

The company paid about $2,600 per day for the right to erect its barrel-shaped displays.

Sarcasm And Bitterness Are Symptoms Of A Populace That Is Beaten Down

First Haberman, now Patrice O’Shaughnessy:

Yes, 10 years from now, we’ll be looking back at former Mayor Bloomberg’s absurd remaking of a city of unique character to one big homogenized mall, where the tourists feel right at home because it is exactly the same as their hometown.

Oh, wait. Bloomberg will probably still be in office, trying to close off E. Tremont Ave. to all but tourists in horse-drawn carriages.

Let’s get it all out now before it starts eating away at us later . . .

Smart Strategy!

Wow people with Frank Gehry designs, thus building support — either explicit or tacit (i.e., “looks nice . . . maybe that eminent domain battle is worth it”) — then pull out the rug from under everyone only after you start tearing stuff down, thus making Nicolai Ouroussoff cry:

The recent news that the developer Forest City Ratner had scrapped Frank Gehry’s design for a Nets arena in central Brooklyn is not just a blow to the art of architecture. It is a shameful betrayal of the public trust, one that should enrage all those who care about this city.

Location Scout: Atlantic Yards.

More Bloomberg Legacy

Push through a crazy new media-ready initiative and not anticipate what work would need to go into it:

The cheapo tables and chairs set up in the pedestrian-only sections of Times Square have become a magnet for nightcrawler slobs who carelessly toss hot-dog wrappers, empty soda bottles and McDonald’s bags on the street.

“Especially speaking of weekends, like Saturday and Sunday morning, it looks like a bomb hit,” said Tim Tompkins, the president of Times Square Alliance, the group responsible for keeping the plazas clean.

Officials said they were caught off-guard by the crowds drawn to the newly car-free section of Broadway, and that the trash is one of the growing pains of the setup.

On Saturday night, the Department of Sanitation was called in to do an additional garbage-truck run just to clean out overflowing trash cans, Tompkins said.

The alliance, which gets its funding from business owners to keep the area spruced up, is revamping its cleaning staff’s hours to fill a late-night gap in service from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

I’m sure the BID is excited about that . . .