I realized that de Blasio's accomplishments go unnoticed, primarily because affluent white people do not benefit from them. The benefits the mayor has brought are often corrections to the abuses of Bloomberg's, along with prior mayors', policies:
Policing
- The NYPD conducts fewer stop-and-frisks.
- The city dropped its stop-and-frisk appeal.
- NYPD officers are starting to use body cameras.
- New York police officers are being retrained.
- Carrying a small amount of weed will probably result in a ticket, not an arrest.
- Teenage inmates are no longer put in solitary confinement at Rikers Island.
- The city has settled with the “Central Park Five.”
Poverty
- There are 23 new homeless shelters in the city
- There's a new rent subsidy program for homeless families.
- More public housing units are available to homeless families.
Traffic
- Pedestrian deaths are at a record low.
- The speed limit was lowered from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour.
- There are harsher penalties for taxi drivers involved in accidents.
Education
- New York has universal pre-K.
- Troubled city schools are no longer being shut down.
- City schools are getting more art teachers.
- 71 percent of city employees have new contracts.
- New York has a higher living wage, and it applies to more workers.
- New York businesses must provide paid sick leave.
General
- Fourth of July fireworks returned to the East River.
- The mayor doesn't march in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
- Unused scaffolding came down at NYCHA housing.
- The Citi Bike system is expanding, and getting more expensive.
- Neighborhood parks are being revamped.
Comments