Nothing stays fashionable forever.
The wave of dissatisfaction that swept Bill de Blasio into City Hall wasn’t a criticism of Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure – but rather a sign that perhaps he’s gone out of style, the mayor said Friday.
“I liken it to hemlines. You know, hemlines are fine [one year] but next year they move ‘em up or down – because people want a change,” he said on his weekly WOR radio appearance.
“This campaign was an anti-… not so much anti-Bloomberg or anti-establishment, it was a change,” Bloomberg said of his successor’s candidacy. “And you say, ‘Well, change what?’ ‘I don’t know, I want a change.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Just time for change.’”
Yet de Blasio had promised not just to change the general look and feel of the administration – but he specifically blasted many of Bloomberg’s signature policies.
During his come-from-behind campaign, de Blasio hit the mayor on the overuse and misuse of stop and frisk, on his educational policies of shuttering struggling schools, and on the city’s growing income inequalities.
The public advocate won in a historic landslide over GOP nominee Joe Lhota, who had promised to continue many of Bloomberg’s policies – including strong support for charter schools.
Among the few issues where de Blasio and Bloomberg see eye-to-eye are health and environmental initiatives.
Bloomberg tried to sound a positive note about the city’s changing future toward the end of his John Gambling Show appearance, but he let some underlying concerns creep in.
“The future for the city, I could not be more optimistic,” he said. “That doesn’t mean everybody’s going to do things right — and it doesn’t mean that you couldn’t screw it up.”