This week, Mayor de Blasio showed voters a side of him we haven’t seen enough of. On two unrelated issues.
The first came in his clear opposition to an Albany carve-out granting retroactive tax breaks to a Bronx condo complex. The second was his disagreement with a federal appeals court claim that allowing religious groups to use city schools for services is a “subsidy” creating the impression of a state establishment of religion.
With regard to the condos, the mayor’s office declared: “It sets a bad precedent when legislation is enacted for specific block and lot numbers, or to benefit specific condo developments.” Amen to that. Among New York’s biggest problems is that tax relief is too often limited to those who have a powerful pol in an Albany back room.
The mayor also showed sense regarding a Second Circuit panel’s decision on the religious use of public-school buildings in off hours: “I stand by my belief that a faith organization playing by the same rules as any community nonprofit deserves access.”
He’s right. In his own time as president, Mr. Wall of Separation himself, Thomas Jefferson, attended church services in the House of Representatives. “The Supreme Court needs to step in and fix this mess,” says Eric Rassbach, a lawyer with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
In the meantime, we’re delighted to see our mayor coming down on the side of the angels in both these cases.