Is Mayor Bloomberg's secret strategy "no publicity is bad publicity?" At NYU's commencement, he called fellow honoree Joe Torre "Joe Torrez." Jeez, even Gothamist knows that's wrong. Newsday also reports that a "handful of graduates stood and turned their backs on the mayor as he spoke protesting a gaggle of issues, from homeless policies to social-service cutbacks to certain university investments." Gothamist would like to know if anyone was smoking.
Lest you think NYU is only about the Yankees, Mets owner Fred Wilpon also received an honorary degree.
NY1 on the ceremony and the "chilly" reception the Mayor received.
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I was there, sitting towards the back of the Tisch section with my fellow Cinema Studies MAs, and I can tell you that not only did students smoke through the mayor's speech, but a number of them got up and left the ceremony to grab a coffee, a Diet Coke, whathaveyou. And they booed him at the end -- in particular the graduates from the social work school, with good reason in my book. Also, I could have sworn Mike called his fellow honoree "Jay" at one point. How did this guy get to be our mayor again?
In fact, the cold shoulder was part of an organized email campaign, and only a few of the attendees followed through.
Bloomberg has made mistakes, but I'd refer you to Clyde Haberman's article in todays New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/nyregion/16NYC.html. Haberman notes that Mike was "dealt the worst fiscal hand any mayor has seen in a generation," but still gets it from the right when he raises taxes and from the left when he cuts spending, both of which are required to pull the city out of deficit -- which is required by law -- and to keep the city solvent.
Smoking ban not withstanding, Bloomberg is make decisions that aren't politically motivated. He's not worrying about being popular or getting reelected; he's worrying about running the city the best way he knows how.
Bloomberg got to be our mayor via popular election, because in the last minute of a financially record-breaking campaign he received the endorsement from Rudy, who was enjoying godlike status despite his unsuccessful bid to repeal term limits and become el Presidente-For-Life.