In a bruising profile of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New Yorker tackles his 12 years in office, describing him as "a plutocrat" who used his sizable wealth to remain in power. The article paints him as being out of touch, especially regarding minorities and low-income residents.
His remarks on the subject of stop-and-frisk have sometimes come across as callous. Earlier this summer, on his weekly radio show, Bloomberg said, "I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities too little." An uproar ensued. When I spoke to Bloomberg, he conceded, "If I had a son who was stopped, I might feel differently about it, but nevertheless. Maybe I was inelegant, but I don't think anybody thinks I am anything but—I hope not, anyway—supportive of trying to help all people. With my own money as well as time, thank you very much. I've spent twelve years of my life doing this."
The business community is anxious about Bloomberg's departure. "Bloomberg has his finger on the pulse of business and the economy," Kathryn S. Wylde, the C.E.O. of the Partnership for New York City, the city's major business organization, told me as we sat in her office, overlooking Battery Park.
Read more at the New Yorker.