A city without leaders

"It's time Mayor Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta stopped ducking and dodging."

This is how Juan Gonzalez begins asking tough questions about the tragic Deutsche Bank blaze and other incidents. He continues in "Where have you gone, Scoppetta & Bloomy":

Both men have gone into virtual hiding since Saturday's tragic Deutsche Bank blaze that killed hero Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joe Graffagnino.

How do you face a catastrophic fire at one of the most scrutinized buildings in this city, watch two of the men under your command get killed, and then refuse to speak?

Clearly, Bloomberg and Scoppetta realize the city and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., owners of the Deutsche Bank site, face enormous liability problems now for their failures to properly monitor safety at the tower.

For those of us who have seen the LMDC and other public authorities in action, their inaction is no surprise. Here's how the Downtown Express describes the LMDC in "Early Warnings":

Kathleen Moore asked officials last year what they would do if the former Deutsche Bank building caught fire after the painstaking demolition work began next door to her.

“That’ll never happen,” she remembers Charles Maikish telling her at a Community Board 1 meeting. Maikish, who until recently was the executive director of the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, came up to reassure her, but to Moore it sounded like he was saying “don’t worry little lady, we’ll take care of you.”

The meeting was one of dozens the community board had over the years in which officials with the building’s owner, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, or its subsidiary, the construction center, told residents their fears and concerns about the project were unfounded.

But telling residents their concerns are unfound does not make it so. The NYC Economic Development Corporation takes the same attitude with evidence that there was Underground Railroad activity on Duffield Street- any evidence contrary to theirs is considered baseless. The opinions of experts (historians, neighbors or engineers) is not really important.

The LMDC and the EDC have brazen in their disregard for environmental concerns, and Bloomberg and Spitzer have proven themselves part of the problem, not the solution.

Brooklyn Star: Duffield hard to ignore

The Downtown Brooklyn Star wrote an opinion piece, which does not seem to be online. The piece was probably written after Bloomberg announced a new panel to commemorate Brooklyn Abolitionist history, and before it was revealed that Bloomberg had issued an RFP for the destruction of the Duffield Abolitionist homes.

Nevertheless, the Star sums up its position in the title "Homes on Duffield & Gold Will Be Hard for Panel to Ignore" (published 8/16/07, page 9):

It seems very unlikely this latest panel [will] come back in favor of condemning Duffield and Gold Streets. Thanks to the AKRF debacle, [the Bloomberg] administration has already lost too much credibility.

Whether Bloomberg has realized it or not, many in New York City and beyond recognize the importance of the Duffield Abolitionist homes.

Michael Bloomberg, Surrealist

One of the great powers of art is to make the viewer question assumptions. Surrealists are specialists at shaking up reality, and undermining the assumptions of objectivity.

What a great description of Michael Bloomberg! Under his administration, firms like AKRF have undermined assumptions about objectivity, as in the recent installation where a judge ruled that AKRF lacked neutrality in the Columbia expansion.

Bloomberg has been working hard to upend the assumptions of the bourgeoisie. For instance, some people think that government should serve the people. Wrong! The Bloombergian art movement shows that by recycling consultants for private interests and public entities, the old-fashioned distinctions between the two are obliterated. A wonderful example of Bloomberg’s artistry is that Jim Stuckey is now the Art Commissioner [editors note: this is not a joke]. His most recent job was working as the spokesperson for Forest City Ratner.

The coup de grace of the Bloombergian revolutionary movement is in his ability to turn historical assumptions on their heads. He has expounded upon the need for turning Downtown Brooklyn into a creative center, and his means of doing this is by turning Abolitionist homes into parking lots. What a bold stroke! Would that Marcel Duchamp or Andy Warhol had the ability overturn conventions!

We can only guess what the next step in Bloomberg’s creative oeuvre. He has been an entrepreneur, a subway rider, mayor, and an artist. Maybe underwater dance choreography? The possibilities are endless.