Sam Roberts: Rich as Mayor Bloomberg Is, New Yorkers Feel He Cares
Seven years ago, Michael R. Bloomberg brashly introduced himself to New Yorkers as a billionaire candidate for mayor. Since then, he has periodically upbraided them for expecting government to solve every problem. At times, he seemed to suggest that constituents bedeviled by adversity just get over it. Meanwhile, he graduated from a mere garden-variety billionaire to possibly the richest person in New York.
But a funny thing has happened: A growing number of Mr. Bloomberg’s constituents, regardless of their own income, say he cares about people like them. The gain is most pronounced among New Yorkers earning under $75,000 a year.
Early in his first term, only about 1 in 20 New Yorkers making less than $30,000 said he empathized a lot with their needs and problems. Now, according to a comparison of New York Times polls, about 1 in 4 do — nearly the same proportion as among people who make more than $75,000.
Put another way, five years ago 44 percent of those in the lower income group said the mayor cared “not at all” about their needs. Now, only 12 percent say so. (Among people who make over $75,000, the doesn’t-care proportion started at 14 percent and has declined to 9 percent.)
And this is a man who has been known to appear out of touch, insensitive and more likely to imply “suck it up” than “I feel your pain.”
He girded for a transit strike in 2002 by buying a $600 24-speed mountain bike (he later donated it for Christmas to a 16-year-old diabetic from Brooklyn). Two summers ago, he did the unthinkable and congratulated Con Edison for its expertise in sparing customers beyond western Queens from a devastating blackout.
In June, when some parents complained about sweltering classrooms, Mr. Bloomberg was quoted as replying: “This is going to come as a very big surprise to you, but people of my generation went to schools without air-conditioners. ...I think it’s fair to say that if we closed the schools, most of the kids would be out there playing in the sun, as would I if I were a teenager or an adolescent.”
Just last month, responding to complaints that black rubber mats and other playground equipment get dangerously hot in the summer, the mayor said: “If it’s hot, don’t sit on it. Air-conditioning the slide is not something we can afford to do.” He later added: “Government can only do so much. Parents have a responsibility. The fact that rubber gets hot when it’s out in the bright sun in July and August shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.”
Despite all that, Mr. Bloomberg has managed to project himself as just one of the guys. Just why that is the case remains a subject of some debate among political analysts.
Maybe, while life has gotten better for many, the mayor has succeeded in lowering expectations about how much government can deliver. Perhaps New Yorkers have become more receptive to unvarnished common sense than to political pandering. Perhaps it relates to his focus on public education, his subway riding or the fact that his fortune is self-made.
Whatever the underlying reason, his cultivated “Mayor Mike” persona seems to be sticking.
“Obviously, he cares,” Hilary Marmon, 73, a former teacher who lives in Queens on an income she said is less than $30,000, said in a follow-up interview to the latest poll. “I like what he does for the city. I like his attitude toward the arts, education.”
Kevin Flynn, 44, of the Lower East Side, a former cabbie who said he lives on disability payments of less than $15,000, said: “With just his attitude, that he does a lot with education, I think he looks out for people like us.”
Of course, there is also that 12 percent of people making under $30,000 who say he doesn’t care at all.
“Two years ago we had our food stamps cut, and with grocery prices we can’t keep food on our table,” said Sandy Lampros, 60, of Manhattan, who receives disability payments from Social Security. “Maybe he’s busy with other things to do, but we’re suffering.”...
Read entire article at NYT
But a funny thing has happened: A growing number of Mr. Bloomberg’s constituents, regardless of their own income, say he cares about people like them. The gain is most pronounced among New Yorkers earning under $75,000 a year.
Early in his first term, only about 1 in 20 New Yorkers making less than $30,000 said he empathized a lot with their needs and problems. Now, according to a comparison of New York Times polls, about 1 in 4 do — nearly the same proportion as among people who make more than $75,000.
Put another way, five years ago 44 percent of those in the lower income group said the mayor cared “not at all” about their needs. Now, only 12 percent say so. (Among people who make over $75,000, the doesn’t-care proportion started at 14 percent and has declined to 9 percent.)
And this is a man who has been known to appear out of touch, insensitive and more likely to imply “suck it up” than “I feel your pain.”
He girded for a transit strike in 2002 by buying a $600 24-speed mountain bike (he later donated it for Christmas to a 16-year-old diabetic from Brooklyn). Two summers ago, he did the unthinkable and congratulated Con Edison for its expertise in sparing customers beyond western Queens from a devastating blackout.
In June, when some parents complained about sweltering classrooms, Mr. Bloomberg was quoted as replying: “This is going to come as a very big surprise to you, but people of my generation went to schools without air-conditioners. ...I think it’s fair to say that if we closed the schools, most of the kids would be out there playing in the sun, as would I if I were a teenager or an adolescent.”
Just last month, responding to complaints that black rubber mats and other playground equipment get dangerously hot in the summer, the mayor said: “If it’s hot, don’t sit on it. Air-conditioning the slide is not something we can afford to do.” He later added: “Government can only do so much. Parents have a responsibility. The fact that rubber gets hot when it’s out in the bright sun in July and August shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.”
Despite all that, Mr. Bloomberg has managed to project himself as just one of the guys. Just why that is the case remains a subject of some debate among political analysts.
Maybe, while life has gotten better for many, the mayor has succeeded in lowering expectations about how much government can deliver. Perhaps New Yorkers have become more receptive to unvarnished common sense than to political pandering. Perhaps it relates to his focus on public education, his subway riding or the fact that his fortune is self-made.
Whatever the underlying reason, his cultivated “Mayor Mike” persona seems to be sticking.
“Obviously, he cares,” Hilary Marmon, 73, a former teacher who lives in Queens on an income she said is less than $30,000, said in a follow-up interview to the latest poll. “I like what he does for the city. I like his attitude toward the arts, education.”
Kevin Flynn, 44, of the Lower East Side, a former cabbie who said he lives on disability payments of less than $15,000, said: “With just his attitude, that he does a lot with education, I think he looks out for people like us.”
Of course, there is also that 12 percent of people making under $30,000 who say he doesn’t care at all.
“Two years ago we had our food stamps cut, and with grocery prices we can’t keep food on our table,” said Sandy Lampros, 60, of Manhattan, who receives disability payments from Social Security. “Maybe he’s busy with other things to do, but we’re suffering.”...