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July 14, 2011
Mayor Bloomberg’s New York: A Model or Cautionary Tale?
BeyondChron
by Randy Shaw
Bloomberg’s approach to governance offers a complex case that requires a particularly nuanced and fact-driven analysis. Julian Brash’s new book, Bloomberg’s New York: Class and Governance in the Luxury City, addresses some components of the mayor’s leadership strategy, particularly emphasizing his effort to run the city like a private corporation.
...The use of Hudson Yards as the chief case study is also questionable because it involved a unique political obstacle, needing and ultimately failing to gain the support of state Assemblymember Sheldon Silver.
Brash had many better examples available to prove his thesis about Bloomberg’s autocratic and often elite-driven approach to governance, including Bloomberg’s support for the outrageous Atlantic Yards land grab in Brooklyn. That project had all of the features Brash found compelling in the Hudson yards struggle, including a new stadium as a “front” for a massive new office development scheme. The difference is that Silver or any other single state official lacked the power to kill Atlantic Yards, whose construction reflects how Bloomberg has almost always gotten his way.
NoLandGrab: Actually, Silver (or former State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, or any number of Governors), could have killed Atlantic Yards — had they wanted to.
Posted by eric at July 14, 2011 10:06 AM