Fat Jokes And Basketball Disses As Christie Comes To City Hall
New Jersey’s basketball team may be the worst in the nation, but the state’s incoming governor seems like a popular guy.
That is, at least, according to the level of excitement at City Hall on Dec. 10 preceding a meet-and-greet between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov.-elect Chris Christie. Christie’s appearance provided a rare moment of levity at City Hall in an otherwise dreary political season.
As the press corps waited in the Blue Room for Christie and Bloomberg to finish their private meeting upstairs, one impatient reporter mused, “Did you hear the pizza delivery guy just went upstairs?” Once they arrived, Bloomberg offered his initial impression of New Jersey’s leader: “I will say: likeable guy, if you want to know what I think. And he comes with a reputation of being competent.”
Christie offered similar praise of the mayor, and said they had arranged to tour a Jersey City school together in January.
For most of the session, the two parried questions on everything from the World Trade Center site to the budget deficits of both states ($3 billion in New York, $8 billion in New Jersey). One reporter even tried, unsuccessfully, to get Bloomberg to criticize Christie on gay marriage, which the new governor opposes.
But only after dispensing with the otherwise boring business of budgets and mass transit did reporters get to the more amusing topics of discussion. Rich Lamb, of CBS Radio—himself a resident of the Garden State—posed this question to both men: “Does New Jersey get enough respect?” Christie took the question as opportunity to advertise his economic agenda, discussing New Jersey’s high jobless rate and his promise not to raise taxes.
Bloomberg relayed a story about a subway rider berating him and yelling angrily, “Fix the Knicks.”
He turned to Christie and said, “Can you do the same for the Nets?”
Ulrich Milks Chance To Show Off Bipartisanship
At a mid-November hearing on the Paid Sick Leave bill currently making its way through the Council, 24-year-old Republican Council Member Eric Ulrich did not miss the chance to point out that he is the lone Republican supporting the left-leaning legislation.
“I think everyone knows I’m a Republican, so that’s one strike against me,” Ulrich admitted, in kicking off a heartfelt opening statement.
Ulrich then related how his grandmother had worked doing laundry for a living, and how she often could not get time off, even when sick. He said the Council had a “moral imperative” to pass the bill, and that it was not a partisan issue.
Response from across the aisle to Ulrich’s speech was gushing, including from the bill’s main sponsor, Council Member Gail Brewer.
“I think Council Member Brewer has a crush on Council Member Ulrich,” observed Council Member Jessica Lappin.
Council Member Letitia James joined the praise as well.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be associated with you,” James said. “Your grandmother did a really excellent job.”
After receiving his kudos, Ulrich quickly departed from the hearing, which went on after he left for several more hours.
“I think Council Member Brewer has a crush on Council Member Ulrich,” observed Council Member Jessica Lappin.
Two Comptrollers, One Rockin’ Stage
Incoming City Comptroller John Liu and State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli made their first public appearance together in early December, under the watchful eyes of Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin and the Beatles.
Sharing the stage at an event hosted by the business and labor group BALCONY at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square, DiNapoli introduced Liu as an up-andcoming force in city politics.
“John has always been known as someone who’s smart and unafraid to call it like it is,” said DiNapoli, before sharing a warm hug with his soon-to-beinaugurated new counterpart.
DiNapoli went on to say that a “strong partnership” between their two offices will be a boon for all New Yorkers.
Liu reciprocated by showering DiNapoli with praise for his watchful stewardship of the state’s finances.
“Tom is an incredibly creative public servant with the drive and energy to bring New York State out of these very difficult times,” Liu said. Liu then cycled through his well-rehearsed stump speech, touching on his humble origins, immigrating from Taiwan to Flushing, and his tenure at financial firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. No mention was made of his controversial claims of having worked in a sweat shop.
Liu also thanked his former primary opponent and outgoing Council Member David Weprin, who was in the audience. After saying he looked forward to taking office in a few short weeks, Liu plugged his transition team’s website and left the event.
There was no encore.
At DMI Book Launch, Some Friendly Disagreement With Bloomberg
When Andrea Batista Schlesinger left the Drum Major Institute earlier this year to join the campaign of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city’s progressive policy wonks were alternatively surprised and dismayed. DMI had compromised its core values, they reasoned, in order to cozy up to the city’s most powerful man.
But if those activists were looking for increased areas of ideological overlap between DMI and the administration, they were probably disappointed at the launch of DMI’s latest book, From Disaster to Diversity: What’s Next for New York City’s Economy? on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The mayor sat down for a brief questionand-answer session with Schlesinger at Trinity Church and, for the most part, rejected the premises of each of her questions.
The book, edited by the Drum Major Institute’s Dan Morris and former New York Times reporter Jonathan Hicks, is a collection of essays about the future of the city’s economy. In keeping with that theme, Schlesinger questioned the mayor on the gap between the rich and the poor in New York City.
In response, Bloomberg quoted a friend who at the time was visiting his girlfriend, Diana Taylor, from Pakistan, saying, “Anybody who complains about anything in America should get on a plane and see the rest of the world.”
And he batted down the idea that the city could lift people out of poverty by taxing the rich, saying, “You have to have some … not self-esteem, but some understanding that you are responsible.”
Later, two guest speakers, incoming Council Member Brad Lander and failed Council candidate Mark Winston Griffith—who also worked as a fellow at DMI—criticized the mayor’s agenda on green buildings and Wall Street.
Griffith went so far as to call Wall Street’s insistence that it is not responsible for community development “bullshit.”
In an interview, Dan Morris, one of the editors of the book, described the book as “an intellectual organizing effort,” which he admitted might sound “lofty.” The idea, he said, was to bring divergent viewpoints together on a common topic, and pointed to essays from Kathy Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, and liberal Rep. Jerry Nadler.
As for the Bloomberg administration, he added: “City Hall is very aware of the project and aware of what we’re trying to do.”
