Any serious discussion of Mayor Bill de Blasio's legacy almost invariably begins with universal prekindergarten.
In the eyes of policy wonks, it was a so-called "big idea," an initiative in which all New Yorkers stood to benefit but which was backed by data suggesting outsized impacts on low-income children. Tying universal pre-K to his critique of income inequality, de Blasio carried out the plan in his first year and went on to trumpet New York City as a trailblazer in education. Now, President Joe Biden, the leader of the Democratic Party, wants to fund pre-K at a national level.
That may sound like a political success story that any mayor should want to replicate, but eight years later, New York City appears to have elected a very different Democrat. Eric Adams, the current Brooklyn borough president, ran awinning mayoral campaign that seized on public safety concerns amid a public health crisis. Although he and other candidates tried to introduce what they saw as big ideas, some complained that they lacked boldness and originality.
Adams, however, has repeatedly argued that Democratic politics should be rooted in pragmatism rather than progressive proposals that try to push the envelope. "We don't need a college professor," he once said of his Democratic opponent Maya Wiley, referring to her ideas on police reform.
During interviews with national media outlets the day after his election victory, the former police officer summed up his approach with an acronym. “I’m not going to be a philosophical mayor. I’m going to be a mayor that’s going to be a GSD mayor. Get Stuff Done," he quipped.
The emphasis on execution comes as the pandemic has introduced heightened urgency around managing New York City's sprawling bureaucracy. Although billions in federal stimulus funding and a successful vaccination effort have allayed some of the anxiety around the city's comeback, Adams will face a host of thorny challenges, including a rise in shootings, homelessness, small business closures, and a dampened tourist economy.
Political experts have said that this year's mayoral race turned out to be a referendum not on big ideas but on competency. During the primary Adams barely edged out Kathryn Garcia, a former sanitation commissioner with far less money and name recognition but who campaigned on her track record as a manager.
Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban policy and planning at NYU, scoffed at the notion that mayors need to come up with a big idea.
"The problems facing New York cannot be put into a nice ribbon around a single idea," he said.
Moss argued that after eight years of de Blasio, New Yorkers are most of all yearning for new leadership. "We’re electing a person, not an idea," he said. Paramount to the job of mayor, he added, is being a good manager (as opposed to a campaigner of ideas.)
"New York is the idea," he said. "It's the idea that never goes away."
Similarly, Alicia Glen, who worked as de Blasio's deputy mayor for housing and economic development, observed that one of Adams' strongest attributes is being an unapologetic cheerleader for the city. In defending his decision to party at night clubs with business leaders and celebrities (as he did after winning the general election), Adams argued he was promoting the city's nightlife and reminding people that New York City is open 24 hours.
"His personality—his joie de vivre, if you will—is his policy," Glen said. "That's his big idea."
At the polls, voters consistently cited quality-of-life concerns as well as the pandemic. Hailey Kaizur, an Upper East Side resident who works at a marketing agency, said she voted for Adams because she viewed him as being "passionate about the COVID recovery, which I think is one of the biggest things we should be focusing on right now."
Evan Thies, Adams' spokesman, said Adams would argue that he has "some pretty big ideas." He cited several plans: creating a website portal for New Yorkers to access all their benefits, providing incentives that could lead to universal childcare, and expanding the earned-income tax credit, which would direct cash subsidies to low-income workers.
Still, in his promises to solve municipal dysfunction and impose data-driven solutions, the mayor-elect increasingly appears to be setting himself up to be a technocratic manager in the vein of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire who also took over the city during a crisis, one marked by post-9/11 fears of terrorism and a battered downtown. The latter entered office in 2002 and quickly went about fulfilling his pledge to rebuild the city and restore confidence. After three terms, he racked up a series of targeted policy achievements that, while maybe not awe-inspiring at the time, were later credited as transformative—a 311 hotline for complaints, banning smoking in public spaces, letter grades for restaurants, and the expansion of green space and bike lanes, to name a few.
In a notable departure from de Blasio, Adams has sought out advice from Bloomberg, who fundraised for him during the general election.
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November 03, 2021 at 02:00PM
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Critics Say Eric Adams Lacks A 'Big Idea.' Maybe New Yorkers Don't Want One - Gothamist
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