Curtis Sliwa Quits WABC Radio!

Well, maybe, maybe not.

The Republican candidate for mayor and founder of the vigilante group Guardian Angels Curtis Sliwa has only ever had one real job in his life -- radio talk show host on WABC 770 AM. I've blogged a lot about this only in NYC figure and you should read my archive on him.

Anyway, now he's running for mayor a second time and he's being bullied to drop out on the belief that this will transfer his support to former Governor Andrew Cuomo and get him elected instead of the scary brown Muslim Socialist. 

Sliwa was on the air the other day and wasn't taking the ball breaking lightly so he declared that he has formally quite WABC and will never be heard on its air again.

Well, it'll be interesting to see if he makes this pledge -- the assumption is he'll lose the mayor's race and I'm sure he'll need a job but I'll give him a little bit more respect if he actually keeps his word. 

Egos Run Amok!

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Now that Zohran has won the NYC Democratic mayoral primary, former Governor Cuomo and current Mayor Adams (as well as Republican gadfly Curtis Sliwa) are still running in the general election. Cuomo is running as an independent because he's a sore loser, Adams is running as an independent because he has no reason not to, and Sliwa is running because he's a publicity hound.

It's egos run amok! And that's what makes it funny.

But what makes it sad is that the vast majority of New Yorkers do not a want any of these guys as mayor and yet they're still running because a bunch of billionaires and cryto-bros are spending a fortune, several fortunes actually, trying to stop Zohran. It's a perfect example of how the will of the people, majority of the rule, is being thwarted by the oligiarchy. 

New Yorkers want an honest, smart, hardworking guy who cares about their issues and doesn't putting his or her ego first. That's what Zohran is and that's what his campaign is about. But because a bunch of super-rich pricks don't want him the rest of us must suffer the tomfoolery of hacks, losers, and crooks.

More and more, everyday, I understand why communism happened.

Zohran Wins, Heads Explode

Now Zohran hasn't actually won the mayoralty -- he still has to win the general election in November. It looks like there's going be a cluttered and super nasty general election campaign. He'll be up against the Republican candidate, the always crazy Curtis Sliwa, and Mayor Adams himself, running as an independent.  

Expect super racist, fear-mongering propaganda to flood NYC for the next four to five months -- the NY Post will go nuts on him, and he'll get little actual support from the Democratic party. 

And you should also watch this interview from CNBC who gives you an insight into his enemies minds. This prick totally contradicts himself when he says that city hasn't recovered since COVID but there's also not enough housing to match the city's job creation. Dig the logic: "The city is in crises, people are leaving! And too many people want to live here!" The truth: NYC has a bigger population than ever before, 8.4 million. Between 2010 and 2020 over 600,000 people moved in -- that's the equivalent of the entirety of Miami moving here. The DEMAND to live here is greater than the SUPPLY to house everyone -- that's capitalism, something I thought CNBC understood. And usually demands increases, and therefore prices go up, because it's a highly desirable product.

People move in and out of NYC all the time for work, family issues, life changes, many reasons, that's been true since the time the Dutch ruled this town. This focus on how rich people feel about this town is gross -- without a vibrant middle class that can afford to live here we'll turn into a dead city. I don't know if Zohran can actually achieve his goals but the voters clearly want someone who'll try.

I strongly advise watching these two videos from the Bulwark, one that analysis Zohran's victory and the other with an interview with Zohran himself. He's a natural politician, a super talent, one of a kind. 

Something I also learned: he's another Morningside Heights kid! Zohran, George Carlin, Fiona Apple and moi are all residents of those strange streets around Columbia University. Very cool. 

Also, apparently Zohran did very well in Waterfront NYC -- Queens (Astoria, LIC) and Brooklyn (Williamsburg, Gowanus) that's now being renamed the Commie Coast. Cute. 

Showdown at Creedmoor

I've blogged over the years about the bizarre persona that is Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels and all around wild NYC media character. He's been bopping around the city ever since my childhood and, as I wrote about in 2018, I've seen him around town more than two or three times. 

In 2021 he ran for mayor as the Republican candidate and got clocked by Eric Adams. That's right -- in 2021, Eric Adams was the sane, reasonable candidate even though he says he's a lion like Ghandi or something like that -- I'm not kidding -- and hangs out with criminals.

Yes, that's right, Curtis Sliwa is even crazier than that.

Anyway, since he doesn't have a real job, Sliwa was apparently at Creedmoor out in northeast Queens leading a protest against the migrant tent city -- and he got arrested. Apparently this was a planned stunt, something the original troll Sliwa does well (unlike making child support payments). Imagine being so much of an asshole that you're protesting against helping people, you're protesting in support of hurting people? This is so important to him that he was willing to get arrested for it. 

Eric Adams: The Secrets of His Success

The vision-less, incompetent mayoralty of Eric Adams is now getting more and more attention from what some might call the "elite" media -- specifically, The New Yorker, whose big new article on him, "Eric Adams' Administration of Bluster", goes into a mayoralty that's long on narcissism, short on accomplishment. The New York Times has run a few articles on his empty yet braggadocious tenure -- as well as the fact that, while many want to see him defeated for reelection in 2025, who the Adams-slayer might be remains frustratingly unclear. 

And that, in fact, has been the secret to Adams' mayoral success thus far -- a total lack of credible challengers, a strong alternative to him.

Even though he almost lost the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary, Adams' main challengers were the smart but politically inexperienced Kathryn Garcia, the "entrepreneur"/former presidential candidate/con-man Andrew Yang, and others who were either unknown or unimpressive. In the general election, his Republican opponent was Curtis Sliwa who was, and is, in short, insane. The NYC political reporter -- and three-time Mr NYC interviewee -- Ross Barkan asks in one of his latest articles, "How did New York get Eric Adams?" and then answers it in the same vein -- Adams was the best of a very bad bunch, the strongest in a very weak field; in short, he became mayor almost by default, thanks to a process of elimination where he was viewed as the "least-worst" option.

Unlike the big-time media, this blog and Ross have been covering the oddness and misgovernance of Eric Adams ever since he took office. This is yet another example of how Mr NYC has been "ahead of his time."

And, looking ahead, it's important to remember one big thing: political survival comes down to, at the end of the day, who supports you. Political survival, sadly, is not about how good a job politicians are doing, not about whether or not they're delivering good policies or tangible benefits for the public, but whether or not they have the support for the powerful forces that can keep them in office. Besides weak or non-existent political opposition, Adams has had and retains strong support among black and Hispanic voters, the business community, Jewish voters, police and the tabloid press. These are the same constituencies (saving the black and Hispanic communities) who strongly supported Koch, Giuliani and Bloomberg back in the day, and who violently opposed Dinkins and DeBlasio -- and it's why those former three mayors remained popular despite their plutocratic and corrupt mayoralties and the latter two became hated.

Eric Adams is mayor -- and may very well continue as mayor until January 1st, 2030 -- since he has probably the most powerful aforementioned group of supporters that any mayor has ever had, he has (for now) no potent opposition, the daily horror show and threat that Donald Trump poses continues to overwhelm and distract the public from Adams's failings, plus the sharp decline in local reporting has reduced the scrutiny that NYC mayors have gotten in the past. 

Adams doesn't really have any secret to his political success, he's no genius or playing some great game, some kind of multi-dimensional chess -- he's just been lucky (so far). He's been luckier than his opponents who are either dumber or weaker or crazier than he is; and if, in 2025 and beyond, his luck holds and his opponents remain imponent and he doesn't end up getting indicted (and it wouldn't shock me if he is), Adams may be able to retire from politics on January 1st, 2030 with NYC thinking he was a successful mayor.    

It will be classic case of failing upwards. 

The Talented Mr. Adams

If, as predicted, Eric Adams wins the NYC mayoralty tomorrow, it will be the culmination of a lifetime ambition that took this son of Brooklyn from the NYPD, to the State Senate, to the Brooklyn Borough President's office, and now, we presume, to Gracie Mansion. 

And yet, in this long march to the top, the man himself remains elusive, a bit of an enigma, a living question mark. Who is he exactly, what's he all about? He seems to be whatever you want him to be -- or not. 

Whatever he is, whoever he is, without question, Eric Adams is a talented power player.

He has used his knowledge of the city and innate political skills to rise and rise -- and, tomorrow, he will either realize his ultimate goal of becoming the next mayor (and the only second black one in NYC history) or he will be dramatically upset and it will all come to nothing (plus we'll be saddled with the bizarre Curtis Sliwa as mayor, an until-now unthinkable and scary proposition).

Then we'll see just how talented Mr. Adams really is.  

Adams vs. Sliwa?

Did you know that in less than a month the very fate of NYC is set to be decided?

There's a mayoral race, an extremely consequential mayoral race, going on right now but you'd hardly know it if you look at the news. 

Democrat Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President, is running against Republican Curtis Sliwa, the radio host and founder of the vigilante Guardian Angels. The two of them are barely engaging, or attacking, each other. They're barely campaigning. Because everyone assumes Adams will win (including Adams), he's spending most of his time laying low, running out the clock, and raising money. Sliwa, meanwhile, with little money or support, is prowling around the city trying to win as many voters in person as possible. It's bizarre.

You might say, it's the mayor's race that isn't.

The media is paying it very little attention. There hasn't been a debate yet and there might not even be one since Adams isn't taking public funds for his campaign. Most candidates for high office seek to generate news to win votes. They seem to be doing the opposite. 

I can understand that, after last year's insane presidential election, a calm and low key NYC mayoral election is a welcome reprieve -- but it's a little strange, and more than a little scary, that the press and public seem indifferent to covering the race and the candidates that will guide this city for the next four years. 

And if the next mayor, whoever it is, turns out to be a disaster, we might look back at this time right before the election where the city showed and indifference to its fate -- and came to rue the day.

New York City will survice regardless, but can't we do better and pay a little more attention?

NYC Primary Wrap-Up

Well, it's over, or at least it's the beginning of the end. The final results of the NYC muncipal primaries were released yesterday, and now we know the winners. Here are the primary results for Mayor, Comptroller, Borough President, and City Council. (The current Public Advocate easily won back in June.)

Technically none of these "winners" have won anything yet -- they still need to triumph in the General Election in November. However, political reality being what it is, most of the Democratic primary winners in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn will win in the general as will most of the Republican primary winners in Staten Island. 

A few interesting observations: the Bronx will get its first female Borough President with Vanessa Gibson; former Congressman Vito Fosella, who left office in 2008 after being busted for DWI which lead to revelations that he had a secret second family, won the Staten Island GOP BP primary (the party of family values in all its glory); Brooklyn city councilman Brad Lander won the Democratic Comptroller primary which means that, if Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams (who won the Democratic Mayoral primary) wins in November, all three city-wide elected officials will be from Brooklyn. This will be an historic moment meaning, a real change in the political gravity of this town, since no one from Manhattan (or anywhere else) will hold city-wide office. 

And yes, the big news is that former cop and Brooklyn BP Eric Adams won the mayoral primary by a whisker -- something like 8,000 votes. I'd been pulling for Kathryn Garcia, and she came damn close, but here we are. Now Adams faces Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa in the General Election -- two colorful, outrageous personalities competing to run the country's largest metropolis and police force.

I can't pretend to be too excited about this choice for mayor -- both candidates seem problematic to me for many reasons -- but obviously Adams is vastly preferable to Sliwa. In some ways this mayoral election will be the battle of the tough guys, a brawl of two men who have literally patrolled the streets of this city. In some ways, they have more in common than not. 

New York City is writing its next chapter. 

P.S. Two years ago I was at an event where Eric Adams gave a speech and he "invited" the office to join him "at City Hall when I'm your mayor." Looks like he was on to something. 

NYC Mayoral Primary Update

As Bill De Blasio's days as mayor come to a close, and as he takes stock of his eight-year reign of the world's greatest city, New Yorkers went to the polls yesterday to nominate the candidates to succeed him (and for all of the other city elected offices as well, excluding three district attorneys). 

Who did they vote for? Look here:

Of course, all of these primary election results are just the raw totals of the in-person votes cast yesterday -- the early and absentee votes remain to the counted, and the process of rank-choice eliminations that will bump some candidates up needs to happen -- so some of the people currently in the lead might still lose once all these other votes are tallied.

That said, there was some big news last night -- Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams took a decisive lead in the Democratic primary showing the formidable power of the black vote, and Brooklyn in general, in NYC politics. If he gets upset by the absentee/ranked-choice votes, it will be either to Maya Wiley or Kathryn Garcia both of whom, until quite recently, barely registered in the polls and media coverage but proved to be great candidates. 

And just to prove that polls and media coverage don't translate into a great candidacy and hard votes, just look at Andrew Yang -- the early "frontrunner" utterly collapsed, coming in 4th place, and has already been eliminated and conceded. It's quite a face-plant to be the person getting all the coverage, big endorsements, and polling love only to wind up losing so badly. It turns out that being totally unqualified and saying dumb things ultimately doesn't sell with voters who care very much about the future of their city. I hope (probably quixotically) that this will spell the end of people like this, these "celebrity" candidates, from running -- at least for NYC mayor.

Also, in the Republican primary, longtime NYC media personality and vigilante (sorry, Guardian Angel) Curtis Sliwa won. I obviously hope he loses the generally election -- badly -- especially since the Democratic candidate will be strong -- but don't count this guy out. He could win. Don't underestimate his appeal Sliwa has been a public figure in this city for a long time, he's a superb media manipulator, he's tireless in getting around town (he literally pounds the pavement, I even blogged about it in 2018), and he's big personality. Don't get me wrong -- I don't want him to win -- but while many in the media and political class might think of him as a joke, we saw what happened five years ago when people thought the same of another certain candidate for high office -- and we reaped the whirlwind. It could happen again -- and it could happen here.

To be continued.  

Curtis Sliwa Stalks My World

NYC is a city of 8.5+ million people so it unusual to run into the same person, either on the street or elsewhere, multiple times. 

Any yet, for reasons that dumbfound me, I've encountered Guardian Angels founder/radio host/TV commentator/NYC character extraordinaire Curtis Sliwa more times than I can remember.

The first time I do remember: it was back in the mid-1990s, I was walking down 8th Avenue, and he walked right by me. Then I saw him in the subways a few times with his Guardian Angel compatriots.

Lately, he's been popping up in the most odd places. 

Last year, taking the LIRR, he walked into my car, looking exhausted. Then I saw him at the Douglaston-Little Neck parade where he marched (he does this every year). And then, just last week, I was in Penn Station and saw him at McDonalds.

I've seen Curtis Sliwa more than any other random New Yorker I can name. I don't see him every day but it's weird that he's just around ... here and there, popping up ... He's ubiquitous.

So yes, Curtis Sliwa (sorta) stalks my world.

And if you're reading this ... Hi Curtis!