The Metropolist

So Absurd It Makes One Want to Blog

After a hiatus, The Metropolist is returning to regular commentary. What atrocity finally tipped the balance? The President standing above the law? The Court nominee ducking beneath the questions?

No. Just NYPD having no sense of humor.

The Fifth Annual No Pants Subway Ride should be lauded as fine piece of urban guerilla theater. Its glory should be sung in the pages of travel guides so tourists giddily hope to be on the lucky subway car that greets the spontaneous arrival of pantsless riders. Its organizers, Improv Everywhere -- with the slogan "We Cause Scenes" -- should, and will, become urban legend.

Instead, eight of them were taken into custody and issued tickets for disturbing the peace. And that's what our police spent their day doing.

It reminds me of when the police jailed Gameboy musicians for postering for for their performance at The Tank. Or when the Mayor threatened to shut down a street fair that featured mock graffiti because it would incide subway vandalism (the judge who overruled the Mayor scornfully asked whether an outdoor performance of Hamlet would incite revenge murder).

You'd think this prank would be welcomed by the cops: its much easier to conduct a random search when your subject's not wearing any clothes.

An Ineffective Way to Clean our Parks

Mayor Mike has an easier time controlling the spin when he has 100 million to spend and every City agency ready to act as an outreach arm of his campaign.

Yesterday, Ferrer went to East Harlem to one of the most poorly-maintained parks in the City. New Yorkers for Parks has rated Harlem Ballfields the lowest scoring neighborhood park in Manhattan in its annual Report Card on Parks. It is an example of the two-tiered system in our city parks that leave neighborhoods that rely on limited public funding in unacceptable condition.

But does the press coverage tell the story of park spending? No -- it tells the story of a crew of 12 parks employees hustling to clean up the park right before the conference...and makes Freddy sound like a complainer for calling out the Mayor.

This is how Mayor Mike cleans our parks. the Parks1 campaign has seen it before. New Yorkers deserve better. (Disclaimer: I no longer work for the Parks1 campaign.)

The Parks Department spokesman is just wrong when he says that the park gets cleaned every day. I have been there to watch little league teams level the field before their game with tools and dirt they have brought themselves because of the unsafe ditches around the bases.

I have spoken to the football coach who says some parents won't send their kids to practice because of the drug dealers who hang out unmolested near the park.

I have heard from the neighborhood residents -- when Speaker Miller held a press conference there in July -- that they were happy to see someone from the City show interest.

Even The New York Post, while emphasizing the story of the crew more than the condition of the park, described the ballfields as "a barren ball field without a blade of grass, ditches near home plate, damaged bleachers and a bent fence near the entrance."

The articles in The Times and Daily News missed their chance to promote a conversation about our two-tiered park system. Freddy tried -- and as keeps happening, he's shouted down by a 100 million dollars.

Only Newsday got it right, leading with the issue and then later mentioning the "minor intrigue.

I don't know where the line should be drawn in an incumbent Mayor using tax-payer-funded City staff as his campaign's advance team. But I know the papers should do a better job of calling this out as a cynical, inefficient and ineffective way to get our parks cleaned.

Corporate Welfare - Alive in NYC

When The Tank was torn down, the city also lost the 199-seat Fairbanks Theater, the 299-seat Houseman, and 6 smaller studio theaters.

But don't worry, developers are encouraged in this city to support theater. Right?

The behemoth developer Related is taking advantage of the "theater bonus" (which allows it to build taller and multiply profits in return for creating theater space) NOT be encouraging emerging artists, non-commercial work or creative risk-taking...but by building a home for the global, successful and extraordinarily wealthy Cirque du Soleil. The Times covered it, as did local site Curbed.

"Taking advantage" is exactly what Related is doing -- of the City, the bonus and the residents of Hell's Kitchen.

As critics say in The Times: this is just greed.

And for both Related and Cirque, it's offensive corporate welfare.

But they are all friends of Dan Doctoroff, Mayor Mike's dutiful deputy. So I'm not surprised.

Bloomberg: "I Support the President"

Mayor Mike supported George W. Bush for President. Remember this speech at the Convention? That wasn't just welcoming him to our town. That was giving him the run of the place.

He maxed out his contributions to W. Some claim, "Well, he had to cover New York." In that case, he should've maxed out to Kerry as well, who could've been in the White House in charge of federal dollars.

This is a real issue. It's what Dems should be talking about it, and they have started -- both nationally (at MyDD) and locally (on The Politicker).

Because we don't support the President. And we shouldn't support a Mayor who did.

Bloomberg Arrests Musicians

It's Bloomberg time.

Remember back when the Mayor tried to stop a Chelsea block party because it was going to have graffiti artists painting a fake subway side?

The judge who dismissed City Hall's objections ruled that saying that graffiti art would encourage vandalism would be like saying an outdoor production of Hamlet would encourage revenge murder.

Did Mayor Mike learn his lesson to stop harrassing artists?

No. And thus two Gameboy musicians who performed at The Tank last Saturday first spent 3 hours in jail for hanging posters.

Good thing they documented it with their camera phone.

The Partisans That Drink Together

I don't have a lot of sympathy for the reasons Democrats are working for the Bloomberg campaign. My objections to the Mayor have been documented on this page, and I believe that there is a real value in party loyalty if you are ultimately trying to use that party as a vehicle for progressive change.

So Democrats in the Bloomberg camp don't find me to be their cheerleader...in general...

But if they are willing to come to Drinking Liberally and engage in animated (and intoxicated) debate, if they are willing to hang out and have a drink at our social gathering for progressive politics, then they will find the cheerleader side of me.

Neil Giacobbi. Republican campaigner. Liberal Drinker. Good guy.

It is frustrating to those of us trying to win one for the Dems that DL sees more Bloomberg staffers than Ferrer campaigners. That says something too.

A National Eye on New York Traitors

There are two significant frustrations for grassroots progressives that want Democratic energy to click in for Fernando Ferrer.

1. The party-traitors (or traders) who are going over to the Bloomber campaign, often in spite of their glaringly hypocritical record of criticizing him (Moskowitz, Ellner, Lopez).

2. The lack of interest around the nation -- and in the liberal blogosphere -- about this race.

So, it made me smile to see this "Roll of the Disloyal" posted at Daily Kos, the big board of liberal readership -- it means someone else is as bothered by these disloyalists, and that somewhere in our liberal conversation the City's story is getting told.

It helps -- and hurts -- to see their names listed out just like that. Now somebody should make a list of the major donors who have gone over, and the Democratic campaigners who have jumped ship for a bigger paycheck.

And maybe a list as well of the Loyalists -- like Luther Smith who, it was noted in The Politicker, went from his long-time position with Fields to help out Ferrer in spite of inducements to cross over.

Thanks, Luther, for staying true. And anonymous Kos poster for making a list.

Bloomberg Set to Launch Surprise Anti-Bloomberg Attack Campaign

Check out BloombergBlows.com. Go ahead.
Now BloombergBlows.org. Try it. Then .net.
They all lead to MikeBloomberg.com -- the official site of Mayor's Mike's re-election bid.

And BloombergSucks.com leads to Bloomberg's business.

The creator of Truth On Bloomberg -- a sharp site much-needed in this race -- had to choose the somewhat non-obvious name because hundreds of more obvious anti-Bloomberg domains are already owned by the campaign (even ones less juvenile than "sucks" and "blows").

So, to quote a fellow Liberal Drinker when he learned of this news:
"Maybe Bloomberg just wants to present both sides of the issue."
or: "Is Bloomberg about to launch a surprise anti-Bloomberg campaign?"

At least we now know that Mike Bloomberg Agrees: Bloomberg Blows.

Terror is Popular

Today's poll shows Bloomberg's lead over Ferrer increased after the terror alert.

Even though the terror threat wasn't credible. Either it was willful manipulation, dysfunctional miscommunication or gross overreaction. It cost us money. It cost us time. It cost us our confidence.

And his numbers went up?

Well, terror is popular. I mean, Bush knows that, as we are reminded by the Commons.

One more play out of the Bush playbook?

Welcome to New Bush City

Today I walked past camo-clad soldiers with assault rifles on the streets of my neighborhood.

I turned on NY1 and learned that there may not have been a credible terror threat.

Either willful manipulation, uncoordinated interagency communication or just faulty intelligence scared New Yorkers and dominated the news cycles last week.

Then I found out Justice Antonin Scalia -- rabid right-winger -- would be leading a parade down Fifth Avenue.

When did I wake up in New Bush City?

Hey, apologists who keep saying that Bloomberg is nothing like Bush...just keep sleeping. It's better than what you'll see if you open your eyes.