Democratic Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio will face some tough questions once he’s sworn into office Jan. 1. Here are a few key questions and possible answers, graded on a scale from -4 for disastrous to +4 for outstanding. How do you think he’ll do? Use the scoreboard to tally up your numbers.
1. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly is a goner. Who will be New York’s next top cop?
a. Bill Bratton, a former commissioner of both the NYPD and LAPD +4
b. Philip Banks, the NYPD’s chief of department +2
c. Al Sharpton, a self-appointed law-enforcement expert -4
2. De Blasio opposes the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy. What would he do to keep New Yorkers safe?
a. Come to his senses and retain the policy that’s cut the murder rate to record lows +4
b. Let the city’s appeal proceed with a new federal judge on the case after Shira Scheindlin was bounced +3
c. Summon violent gangbangers to City Hall for a 60’s-style rap session followed by a chorus of “Kumbaya” -4
3. Schools Chancellor Dennis Wolcott is out. Who should replace him?
a. Andrés Alonso, ex-Baltimore school superintendent and a former deputy chancellor in New York City +2
b. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and staunch opponent of most public school reforms -4
c. Mike Bloomberg, who won mayoral control of the public schools +4
4. De Blasio has said he has mixed feelings about Times Square-style pedestrian plazas. What should he do?
a. Replace those that slow traffic on busy Midtown streets +2
b. Get rid of them all. +4
c. Give cars, trucks, and tourists equal access to the roadways and let the strong survive -4
5. Should de Blasio – unlike Bloomberg – take up residence in Gracie Mansion?
a. Yes, it’s the traditional home of New York City’s mayor and his Park Slope pad can’t compete with Bloomberg’s posh Upper East Side town house for entertaining dignitaries +4
b. No, stay in Park Slope and order delivery from Smiling Pizza when guests come over. Chirlane can pick up Uncle Louie G’s ices for dessert and fellow Sloper Patrick (Capt. Picard) Stewart can be invited to wow guests -2
c. Pitch a tent in Zuccotti Park to show solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protesters and bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots of his “Two New Yorks” -4
6. De Blasio supports plans for a transfer station on the tony Upper East Side, despite neighbors’ opposition. Should he:
a. Change his stance once he moves into Gracie Mansion and let the riff-raff shoulder the load -4
b. Stick to his guns and make Silk Stocking District residents deal with their own garbage just like the rest of us +2
c. Pack New York’s refuse on barges and send it to Chris Christie +4
7. De Blasio will face tough contract negotiations with the city’s municipal labor unions. What should he do?
a. Cut a deal that does not include retroactive pay raises, which could cost the city $7 billion by some estimates +1
b. No retroactive pay, and make sure that union members pay a fair share of their health insurance costs, like their neighbors in the private sector +4
c. Raid city coffers to give the unions what they want to guaranteed political support come re-election time -4
8. De Blasio has said that Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the holiest days of the Muslim year, should be school holidays, even though insiders say the move could cost millions. What should he do?:
a. Don’t make them official holidays but allow the roughly 12 percent of city students who are Muslims to take the days off without penalty +4
b. Make the days school holidays out of fairness to Muslim students, despite the costs -2
c. Go a step further and recognize other holidays that might be important to some students, like May Day for communists -4
9. De Blasio got $350,000 in campaign contributions from the yellow-cab industry, and has signaled opposition to outer-borough taxi service. Should he:
a. Not be swayed by the campaign cash and work to make hailing a cab easier for people in Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens? +4
b. Improve subway and bus service so those in the outer boroughs can enjoy easier commutes even without taxis +2
c. Encourage New Yorkers in far-flung neighborhoods to take up hitch-hiking to get where they need to go -4
10. De Blasio has the full support of the powerful United Federation of Teachers, and has suggested a freeze on letting new charter schools open in city school buildings, and even wants to charge existing schools rent. Should he:
a. Listen to parents of charter- school children and support their efforts to give their kids a better education than they can get in some of the city’s failing public schools +4
b. Defy the teachers’ union and reverse his plan to charge charters rent, which charter backers say could shut them down +3
c. Ban new charters and work to close existing ones in city school buildings, condemning thousands of schoolchildren to lousy schools he’d never send his own kids to -4
11. De Blasio is a big supporter of expanding bike lanes and the Citi Bike program. As mayor, should he:
a. Increase enforcement of traffic laws to make bicyclists less of a menace to pedestrians +4
b. Slow the expansion to take into account residents’ concerns about public safety and placement of Citi Bike racks +3
c. Mandate that all New Yorkers ride bicycles as a way to cut pollution and solve the obesity crisis -4
12. De Blasio supported Bloomberg’s attempts to ban large sodas and other nanny state initiatives. As mayor, should he:
a. Revive the proposed ban on large, sugary drinks in an effort to fight obesity -2
b. Expand health grades and calorie-count menus to food trucks and dirty water dog carts +4
c. Ban bars from selling booze, and burger joints from peddling beef, all for our own good -4
13. De Blasio said he would try to increase taxes on those earning more than $500,000 a year. Should he:
a. Push Gov. Cuomo to back his plan to soak the rich to pay for expanded pre-school and other liberal programs -3
b. Surprise everyone and cut taxes across the board. WOOHOO! +4
c. Raise taxes across the board, socialist-style, because “progressives” know better than the average Joe or Jane how their money should be managed -4
14. Who will be the first leader he’s going to meet with?
a. Chris Christie, for tips on fiscal responsibility and handling the teachers’ union +4
b. Gov. Cuomo, to push his soak-the-rich tax hikes -2
c. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, so the two old comrades can catch up over a couple of cold cervezas -4
15. Where will he maintain a vacation home for weekend and holiday getaways?
a. Sheepshead Bay, sticking close to home +4
b. Bermuda, where he can get an Airbnb sublet on Bloomberg’s luxe vacation pad -2
c. Havana, Cuba, so he can relive his honeymoon -4
16. Should he change the clocks to de Blasio time, to accommodate his beauty rest?
a. Yes, he’ll make sure that the work day starts later so that he won’t be known as the mayor who’s always running late. -4
b. No, he’ll just have to get a better alarm clock. +2
c. No, he should sleep in. The less time he spends on the job, the less damage he’ll do. +4
