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 But first, he will have to manage a snowstorm.
A winter storm that is due to hit on Thursday, de Blasio's second
day in office, could pose the first challenge to the new mayor, as
he tries to enact a progressive agenda while ensuring the city of
more than 8 million people is well managed.
De Blasio succeeds Michael Bloomberg, who had no political
experience when he took office in 2001 but had founded and run the
successful company that takes his name. De Blasio, a Democrat, most
recently was the city's public advocate and, before that, served two
terms in the city council.
"This will be first test, and he's got to pull it off as close to
flawlessly as he can," said Douglas Muzzio, a professor at Baruch
College at the City University of New York. "He's got to send the
message, 'I can run this joint.'"
Storms have famously complicated the political lives of New York
mayors. In the winter of 1969, a storm that dropped 15 inches of
snow created a political crisis for Mayor John Lindsay, who was
faulted for the city's slow response.
In 2010, Bloomberg came under fire for his handling of a blizzard
that shut down some subway lines for days.
"If we see a situation worsening, we're going to take very aggressive
action. So it's very much on our screens," de Blasio told reporters
this week.
De Blasio, who is moving into the mayoral residence of Gracie
Mansion in Manhattan, asserted his outer-borough credentials by
mentioning that he remains a homeowner in the borough of Brooklyn.
New York City consists of five counties known as boroughs:
Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. UNPLOWED
Bloomberg, who was first elected as a Republican but dropped his
party affiliation, was criticized for letting snow pile up in Queens
and allowing large parts of Brooklyn go unplowed for days in 2010.
Regardless of what Mother Nature sends the city's way, de Blasio has
his work cut out for him as he kicks off his first week in office.
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De Blasio has said one of his first acts will be to dismantle the
horse-and-buggy industry in Central Park, which has long been a
tourist draw but has been the target of animal-rights groups.
Perhaps the defining issue of de Blasio's campaign for mayor was the
issue of stop and frisk, a police tactic that critics say has led to
racial profiling of young black and Latino men in low-income
neighborhoods.
At the height of the Democratic primary last summer, de Blasio — who
is white and whose wife, Chirlane McCray, is black — began
broadcasting an ad that featured his mixed race son, Dante, and
spelled out de Blasio's criticism of the tactic.
The ad boosted de Blasio's popularity among black and Latino voters
and helped push policing to the top of the debate.
But first, de Blasio will have to quiet critics who say he lacks the
management experience to be a great mayor.
Muzzio predicted de Blasio would rise to the occasion.
"Those types of events, they're defining in a way that a legislative
victory is not," he said, adding half-jokingly: "You'll see de
Blasio riding a snowplow. There will not be a screwup."
(Reporting by Edith Honan)
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