Mugger: Bloomberg's a Blustering Bust

The front pages of last Saturday’s tabloids blasted an accurate summation of two current crises in the city, one frivolous, the other catastrophic. The New York Post, taking a break from its justifiable needling of Mayor Nanny Bloomberg, led with this headline: "Why the Mets must trade Mike," an indication that the Flushing team is headed for the inevitable sacking of general manager Steve Phillips and then a fire sale of its "stars."

Mike Piazza has always struck me as an obstinate yet timid baseball star–why he didn’t mix it up with Roger Clemens in the 2000 World Series remains a mystery–and he’d be better off with an American League team where he’d fit in well as a designated hitter. No National League team will burden itself with his horrendous defense. Piazza’s a strange cat. Last year, when some asinine gossip slipped into the press that the catcher is gay, Piazza exacerbated the sensation by assuring all baseball fans that he’s indeed heterosexual, and then the photos of him romping with models multiplied. Gay, straight, who cares?

The Mets are going nowhere this season. Owner Fred Wilpon ought to peddle every player he can–Roberto Alomar would no doubt love a return to the A.L., and Al Leiter in the Red Sox pitching rotation might earn him the keys to Boston’s city hall–even if it means eating some contracts. The team, in meltdown mode (despite two weekend victories), might benefit by starting from scratch. Let top minor league prospects learn on the job and who knows, maybe a pennant contender will emerge in three years. Keep Tom Glavine as a working pitching coach and give manager Art Howe the freedom to duplicate the success he had with Oakland. At least it’d be more fun to watch a Mets game–without Piazza’s passive-aggressive fits, dumb clubhouse dust-ups like Rey Sanchez’s haircut during a game and the pouting of Roger Cedeno.

And Cliff Floyd, the talented but injury-prone slugger the Mets acquired in the off-season, didn’t help matters on Sunday when he scolded the frustrated paying customers at Shea Stadium. After the game he told Daily News reporter Sam Borden: "I’ve never been in a situation where the home fans boo the home team. To me, it’s mind-boggling, because I’ve never been associated with that type of thing... We need more support, we need cheers, we need happiness. You want the pressure on the (the other team), not us. We need all the help we can get."

Two points here. First, Floyd probably never heard boos when he played for the Florida Marlins because the average attendance at their ballpark was about 10,000. Second, Mr. I Need Happiness has a short memory. He played half a season in 2002 for Boston, whose fans at Fenway Park routinely jeer Bosox mired in slumps. Just ask Ramiro Mendoza–the former Yankee star who, to indulge in a conspiracy theory, is probably still on George Steinbrenner’s payroll, judging by his awful start this year–or even Pedro Martinez.

Incidentally, I’ve eaten two sombreros in penance for calling New York Sun reporter Tim Marchman "kooky" when he predicted that the Yanks might set a record for victories this season. Even with a sub-par bullpen (by Yankee standards) and Jason Giambi slumping, as a Bosox fan it’s torturous to watch the Bombers on YES several times a week. It’s not only the constant sucking up to George Steinbrenner from lead commentator Michael Kay or his exhortations when, say, Robin Ventura makes a better than ordinary play at third, although that’s grating. I still think the aging Yank pitchers are going to wear out at some point, but with a lineup that hits balls over the wall with regularity, it’s fairly depressing, especially when the Sox have relied on late-inning, pack-of-Tums comebacks to keep pace.

Actually, when Kay isn’t brown-nosing his employer, he’s a lot of fun to listen to. He’s intelligent, clever, fast with a quip and puts his partners, former major leaguers, to shame with his spot-on analysis. A couple of weeks ago, Mike Mussina made an outstanding fielding play and Kay said, "Well, Mussina certainly did that with alacrity." His co-anchor, Ken Singleton, was puzzled and responded, in all seriousness, "I thought Moose did it by himself?"

Last season, when a crippling strike appeared imminent, Kay gently played devil’s advocate to Jim Kaat, who was a shill for the players’ union and its leader Donald Fehr. Kay, who earns a decent salary, couldn’t quite understand–like most fans–how baseball’s stars could wreck the game when they’re so well compensated. When the minimum salary in the big leagues is $300,000, the labor issue isn’t exactly the same as factory workers attempting to score a four-percent raise.

Anyway, the Mets’ plight is simply a rotten strawberry compared to the goblets of hemlock Bloomberg is forcing New Yorkers–of every economic bracket–to swallow. Saturday’s Daily News ran this brilliant headline: "Now, Mayor Mike Tells New Yorkers: Don’t Worry, Be Happy." During his weekly Friday WABC radio show, Bloomberg said, "If people aren’t happy now, I don’t know what would make ‘em happy." He then expressed confidence that despite his abysmal approval ratings, come 2005 he’ll breeze to reelection.

Bloomberg gave a dilly of a commencement speech at Albany’s College of St. Rose last Saturday. He told the graduating seniors, in part: "The good news, though, is that unlike the graduates of the dot-com era, you don’t have the disadvantage of thinking there’s something for nothing. You are entering the job market with realistic expectations." What hooey! I’d bet at least 90 percent of those assembled would be delirious to cash in on a boomtime economy. Not every young adult got burned by the dot-com phenomenon; despite its crash, there are countless wealthy men and women pushing 30 who played the field right.

If there’s been a more tone-deaf NYC mayor in the last 50 years, I don’t know his name. Yes, John Lindsay, as a May 9 Wall Street Journal editorial argued last week, set up the city for its disastrous 1970s fiscal woes. (It was Lindsay, the faux-Republican, who instituted the city’s personal income tax in 1966.) But he’s not a patch on Mayor Mike, who’s more concerned about smoking in bars than residents and companies leaving New York for less penurious states like New Jersey and Connecticut.

Both Lindsay and Bloomberg governed in difficult times. The former was mayor during LBJ’s massive "Great Society" spend-a-thon, and it was contagious. Lindsay also witnessed the riots of other cities during the 60s and was enamored of the broad cultural changes in the country, so much so that he bolted the Republican party for the Democrats. Bloomberg was elected in the literal wake of September 11–absent that day of infamy Mark Green would now be mayor–and inherited an economically decimated city.

Bloomberg, who can’t stomach a fight with bloated unions, has amassed an ignominious record in the last year. On his watch are the following: A massive property tax increase, increased sales tax, a tax surcharge for those earning more than $100,000 per year (as if that figure is comparable to a similar salary in St. Louis), subway and bus fare increases with taxi cabs sure to follow, an unconscionable cigarette tax that’s left delis with declining revenues, and a steady insistence on a commuter tax. When confronted with his profligate fiscal management, Bloomberg blithely counters that it’s just not possible people will leave the city since it’s the capital of the world. I agree New York’s top of the pops, but as documented in every single newspaper here, including the habitually oblivious New York Times, longtime residents can reach a breaking point.

The Journal wrote: "As for Mr. Bloomberg, he is portraying his multiple tax increases as acts of political bravery. But genuine courage would mean taking on the public unions that featherbed a bureaucracy larger than those of many states. Mr. Bloomberg’s timidity has only encouraged the unions to resist even his modest cutbacks in staffing, and now the teachers are threatening to scuttle his laudable attempt at school reform."

On May 8, the Times offered a different editorial spin. The paper sympathized with Bloomberg’s unpopularity and suggested between the lines that he enroll in a class for charisma-challenged public servants. The editorial, headlined "The Mayor’s Thankless Job," was fairly confusing. It lauded Bloomberg for his "amazing feat" in trying to close the budget shortfall, not to mention his "trademark cool reserve and unflagging confidence." Then comes the knock on residents: "The cheers from New Yorkers are deafening. No, wait. That’s whining you hear–over higher taxes and fees, layoffs, increased transit fares, rising rents and even the slow start by the Mets. The city feels pain and, fair or not, Mr. Bloomberg looks like the dentist holding the drill... New York demands more: a mayor needs to be colorful, if not likable, and empathetic, if not a little warm and fuzzy."

I think New Yorkers would sacrifice the "warm and fuzzy" for sensible leadership.

My own family, after 16 years of living in Tribeca, is moving to Baltimore this summer, and although Bloomberg’s reckless stewardship is just one of many reasons for our relocation, it’s certainly convinced me that the decision is a wise one. New York will inevitably rebound, but it appears that’ll be later rather than sooner. In the meantime, downtown crime is on the rise, the number of bums staking out street corners has tripled and, as many complacent denizens have blocked out of their minds, another devastating terrorist attack is lurking.

Three or four lunatics detonating a suitcase bomb in the subways or a tunnel, and panic will be the only word to describe living conditions here. Is such a disaster imminent? Maybe not, but even if the odds are one out of seven, that’s an ominous threat to remember when you retire for the evening each day. I was always thrilled by thunderstorms, but now when a loud boom goes off, whether it’s thunder or fireworks, I jump up and look out the window to see if a nearby building has been leveled.

Ironically, in an appearance on ABC’s This Week, Bloomberg told host George Stephanopoulos that President Bush’s controversial tax cut proposals could help out the city. He said: "[I]f the federal government reduces taxes, then that will ease the burden on states and cities who are being forced to raise their taxes… and anything that Washington can do to stimulate economic activity is good for us. Particularly things like a low dollar, which helps tourism."

If that’s really how Bloomberg feels, he could help Bush by lobbying Sens. Schumer and Clinton to cooperate with the White House.

Fat chance.

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