Opinion: New mayor, same problems
This is a time of transition in New York City government. A 12-year period of relative tranquility is ending and a newly elected administration is starting in. Ideologically, from what they say, the Bill de Blasio administration wants to make a sharp turn to the left, viewing Bloomberg as a creature of the old regime. Certainly the substantial vote by which he was elected gives the new mayor a popular mandate. It is not clear, however, exactly what that mandate is for.
Mayor Bloomberg leaves office amid substantial public satisfaction with the job he has done over the last 12 years. The administration has been honest and its statements generally reasonable. Every now and then Bloomberg got into trouble for saying something, usually true, which offended people, but there has been nothing which would get him thrown off television.
He is at heart a businessman — an enormously successful one. He has taken remarkable initiatives in the field of public health. Out of public office, he plans to be a citizen of the world.