Sorry Mike

Mayor Drops Off Time’s 100

Challenge for Bloomberg: Vacancies at the Top

The Mayor is running for a third term but the third time has rarely been the proverbial charm. Mayors LaGuardia, Wagner, and Koch all had troubled third terms and they were all succeeded by people who were their political opposites (O'Dwyer, Lindsay, and Dinkins) and who all had really rough Mayoralty's and the city suffered as a result.

Are you still sure you want this, Mike?

Jack Kemp, RIP

Mr NYC was sad to hear of the death of Jack Kemp, the former Congressman, HUD secretary, and 1996 Republican VP nominee. Unlike so many politicians today who are more interested in their careers or some ideology, Kemp was actually interested in public service above and beyond everything else.

Besides politics, Jack Kemp was a great NFL star and his football career is strongly identified with New York State. His glory years were with the Buffalo Bills and he also played briefly with the New York Giants. After football, he was elected to Congress from the Buffalo area.

I saw Jack Kemp speak at my college in 1996, just a few months before he was nominated for Vice President. You could tell he was a masterful politician - he roamed the stage, had a boyish enthusiasm, and told us what kind of country he thought America should be. I'm afraid to say that I didn't vote for the 1996 Dole/Kemp ticket but was glad that I saw him that time and got to hear what he had to say.

My best wishes to his friends and family.

Gotta Love New Yorkers ... but not the MTA

So I'm in the subway, rattling on up to 14th street, minding my own 'bidness, when the robot voice comes over the PA and says, quite voice-of-God-like: "Please be advised: a crowded subway car is no excuse for unwanted sexual contact."

And it gets better: not only were these lovely words blared throughout the train but they also flashed above the passengers on the same screen that announces the subway stops!

Like this wasn't an uncomfortable moment! All of the passengers got a "What the hell?" look.

My only thoughts when I heard this were, "What about wanted sexual contact?"

Then, naturally, I thought of the children. Imagine, some little girl might hear this and ask, "Mommy, what's sexual contact?"

How should mommy respond?

Probably her best response would be, "Don't worry honey, you'll find out in high school ..."

Just in case you were wondering ...

... but NYC is fortunate to have a great guy handling the swine flu problem: Health commissioner Tom Frieden. He sounds exactly like the kind of person who should be handling a problem like this.

New York Radio Guide

Mr NYC strives to be a public service whenever possible. Thus I direct all New York City radio fans to the New York Radio Guide.

It lists all the stations in the city along with radio news and ratings info, etc.

Interesting factoid: did you know NYC has nine college radio stations?

Home is wherever you want it to be

Native New Yorkers are kind of cheated. Growing up here, many of us take the city completely for granted. For me, it wasn't until I was older that I began to understand that this was a particularly special place, a place that people who live far away from NYC view not only as a city but also as the end of the rainbow, a kind of mythic place, an Oz if you will.

A state of mind. Make it here, etc.

I feel cheated because I'll never know what it's like to come to New York for the first time. The city was already here when I bumbled my way onto planet Earth.

So what is it like to move here from middle America? What's the transition like? And how does this affect the transplant's relationship with their place of origin?

I direct you to this short but insight column from the New York Press by a recent Michigan emigree who addresses these very questions: My Own Private Michigan.

As the column's title suggests, even when you move to NYC, you never entirely leave home behind. It transforms into another place, a place that stays with you.

P.S. I've met a number of Michigan transplants and they really are some of nicest people I've ever met.

Okay, so this wasn't very cool ...

Fortunately it turned out to all be a big nothing.

John J. Marchi, RIP

A State Senator for almost 50 years, John J. Marchi was the King of Staten Island, representing his beloved borough with absolute dedication. And even though he said that he wanted Staten Island to secede from NYC, he was one of the people who helped save the city from bankruptcy in the 1970s.

He also ran for Mayor twice, beating John Lindsay in the 1969 Republican primary but losing to him in the general election (Lindsay ran as an independent/Liberal instead). He ran again in 1973 but lost to Abe Beame. That said, he never lost his love of public service and continued on until 2006.

One of the old timers, a real New York legend (although he'd probably disagree), and he will be missed.

All Tomorrow's Parties

"All Tomorrow's Parties" is from that album and is one of its best songs.

Condolences to New York's Greatest Reporter

Jimmy Breslin's daughter, Kelly, dies at 44

Apparently she was having dinner with friends last week when she suddenly collapsed. Last night, after almost a week in critical condition, she passed away.

I can only imagine the grief and acute feelings of loss that Jimmy Breslin and his wife, former City Councilwoman Ronnie Eldridge, must be feeling right now. Losing a child must be the hardest, most excruciating experience in the world. Kelly was one of Jimmy Breslin's six children. He had another daughter who passed away in 2004 so to go through this twice must be unbearable. My heart and greatest sympathies go out to them.

Kelly's father, of course, is a legend in the New York news world. He's written for almost every paper in town, a real shoe-leather, on the beat reporter. He covered the Mob and literally has the scars to the prove it (apparently Henry Hill, he of Goodfellas fame, beat him up at the same bar where they also killed Billy Bats in the movie. Of course Henry Hill eventually went into witness protection and Jimmy got the Pulitzer Prize). Most famously Jimmy Breslin broke open the Son of Sam case back in 1977.