“I eat much less now”
Kristine Storie, 39, of Brooklyn Heights, owner of the Brooklyn Heights Xtend Barre studio, says:
“Even a fitness buff like me loves to indulge. Usually, when I go off the rails, it’s with sugar. I consider myself pretty well-informed on health issues, but thanks to Mayor Bloomberg’s initiative to add calorie counts to menus in 2006, I learned my intuition wasn’t always right.”
“Recently, I went to Le Pain Quotidien to share dessert with a friend. I had initially intended to get a warm Belgian waffle, but once I saw the 500-plus calorie count, I opted for the healthier 300-calorie carrot cake. I just couldn’t justify that big of a difference. Now, if I’m torn between two items, I always pick the healthier thing.”
“I feel empowered when I make better choices, and the more reminders you can have about it, the better. I wish that every single restaurant in the city had calorie counts in every menu.”
“He restored confidence in my profession”
Joshua Brown, 36, of Merrick, LI, financial adviser at Midtown’s Ritholtz Wealth Management, says:
“When the crash happened in 2008, Wall Street was lucky to have Bloomberg on our side. I remember it was such an uncertain time. There could have been a temptation for the mayor to pile on the criticism that year since he runs the city where the nation’s financial industry is based. But Bloomberg stood firmly on our side, and that made a huge difference in morale. Bloomberg understands business and he knows that having such a profitable industry here is important for the city. It’s a huge part of the tax base. Look at 2012 — I think Wall Street kicked in $3.8 billion to the budget, which is a 27 percent jump over the prior year. When Wall Street has a great year like that, the whole city shares in it. The profits trickle down to restaurants, services and even help the value of property.”
“I feel safer in my neighborhood”
Inez Rodriguez, 60, of Brooklyn’s East New York, president of Grandmothers LOV, an anti-crime group, says:
“I’ve lived in East New York for 40-something years. Before Bloomberg picked Ray Kelly as his police commissioner, there were shootings, robberies, a lot of drugs. Kelly gave a hot-line number to the grandmothers in my anti-crime group, which we’re able to call 24 hours a day — and the police will send someone out. We’re not alone because they back us up immediately. Now, you go to sleep, you don’t hear any carrying on. The building is quiet. The kids go to school, you can go to the store. When he was doing the stop and frisk, I felt safer. Now we have to start a whole new thing. This is going to be really missed.”
“I finally quit smoking”
Kasia Morena, 54, editor, of Park Slope, says:
“I started smoking at 18. By the end of the millennium, I was turning 40, and I wanted to quit. I tried several times but still smoked in my cubicle at work, to help me focus. Then Mayor Bloomberg passed the smoking ban in 2002. By that time, I had a window office — so every time I felt the need for a cigarette, I hung outside the window and puffed. My co-workers treated me like a pariah.
“Having to go outside helped me cut down, but the nasty New York winters got to be too much, so I chose to quit instead of freezing.
“My doctors told me for years to quit, but, in the end, Bloomberg made it happen.”
“Now I can run up subway stairs without getting winded. It used to be a heartbreak for my stepdaughter that her father and I smoked. We both quit more or less together, and it feels good not to be hurting her.”
“He gave me freedom to roam”
Robert Burck, 42, of Woodside, the performer known as the Naked
Cowboy, says:
“The No. 1 rule of street performing is: Don’t make the people do the work — go to them. The biggest help to my business was these amazing pedestrian areas in Times Square.”
“I used to be stuck in just one or two areas. People would be more hesitant to approach me.”
“Now, I can roam around, meet more people and make more money. I can’t thank Bloomberg enough for that.”
“His Citi Bike program helped me start a business”
Jeffrey Lavine, 30, of Midtown West, owner, VetCierge, says:
“I started a veterinary house-call practice in Upper Manhattan earlier this year. Having to rely on cabs and buses to get across town was frustrating. I had no space in my apartment for a bike, but this spring, I looked out my window and saw a Citi Bike station right there and I knew from the get-go that I was signing up. Citi Bike is the easiest way to cross town without battling traffic or taking a cab. It’s great for making house calls, delivering medications and running errands for my growing business. Citi Bike has had a positive influence on my business and my life. Before, I’d have to drive; I’d pay for parking, I’d take a cab, I’d be stuck in traffic. But the bikes have saved me time and money.”
“My son is getting a quality education”
Jerome Moise, 40, of East New York, bus driver, says:
“I grew up going to public school in Queens, but when I heard a charter school would be opening up in my neighborhood of East New York, I thought I would give it a try for my son, Deshone, who was entering kindergarten. That was four years ago, and I am so glad I did. Bloomberg’s support of charter schools gives students a chance to broaden their mentality, go on trips, take other classes public school doesn’t have. It has had a huge impact on my family. Deshone is in the third grade, and he’s reading at a fifth-grade level. He loves the field trips he goes on at school, like this year when they went to see the Intrepid. His favorite subject is math. It’s amazing to watch him do his homework. I would try to tell him to use his fingers, but he just likes to work it out in his head. Then he’s like, ‘Dad, Mom, this is the answer!’ And I look at him and look at his mom and think, ‘Wow.’ ”
