He’s told New Yorkers what to eat, what to drink and how to get around on two wheels, and now Mayor Bloomberg is taking on the tallest order of them all — the city’s elevators.
In a new health kick, the mayor yesterday declared war on the devices that get office workers to their desks by the mere press of a button.
How about taking a daily hike instead, suggested our calorie-busting mayor.
Bloomberg — who remains strikingly svelte at 71 — said he would introduce legislation forcing new buildings and those undergoing major renovations to make it easier to walk up and down between floors.
The bill, which City Council Speaker Christine Quinn quickly endorsed, would require that newly constructed stairways be equipped with glass doors to make them more appealing.
For those who don’t get the hint, signs would be posted near elevators encouraging people to skip the free ride and head to the stairs.
“What we’ve got to do is just make it cool, if you will, or the norm to exercise,” Bloomberg said during the announcement at The New School.
The new measure would eliminate a complicated process property owners now have to go through with the Buildings Department to keep stairway doors open and still maintain fire safety.
Bloomberg said he and model-slim gal pal Diana Taylor always walk the five flights of stairs in their Upper East Side town house.
“If I’m going into your building and I can’t see the stairs, then [I would] take the elevator. If I’m going into a building that I’m familiar with — I have five floors in my house. I just take the stairs. Diana and I, we wouldn’t even think about it. Stairs are much faster and more convenient,” Bloomberg said.
He said the headquarters of his foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, has centrally located stairs to discourage hops on the elevator.
New Yorkers generally appeared ready to start stepping, the latest in a long line of health moves by Bloomberg that include an indoor smoking ban, calorie-count notification in eateries and the attempted large-size-soda prohibition.
“If you sit for seven hours in front of a computer, you need to get up and walk. It’s good for you,” said Marina Pyatetski, a 40-year-old city worker at the Municipal Building in lower Manhattan.
A sign near the building elevator reads “Burn calories, not electricity. Take the stairs.”
“I work on the 15th floor. It takes me less than three minutes to get up there,” Pyatetski boasted.
Additional reporting by Lorena Mongelli and Brianna Farulla