Late last week, Caleb Carr and a number of other notable New Yorkers were asked to comment on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s legacy. Mr. Carr’s short video feature can be viewed below, along with an excerpt from the commentary Mr. Carr contributed. The full article can be read at the New York Times website.
When Michael Bloomberg finally leaves office, we may rely on pervasive testimonials concerning the manner in which he has made the city cleaner, safer, more attractive to business and a hive of new development; and many of these assessments will even have the virtue of being true. What is less likely to be discussed is the cost of all this supposed civic improvement to the soul of the city.
The influx of wealth and the super-wealthy from around the world has meant the exodus of those creative New Yorkers who gave the city its own unique romance — and heart. This is part of the “he cleaned up crime” aspect of Bloomberg’s legacy: For it was the city’s seedy, crime-ridden neighborhoods that could offer cheap housing not only to the middle and lower classes of workers and business owners, but to artists, writers and musicians.
