Swagger Time
I guess I whacked the politicians pretty good last week. The mooks deserved it. But I gotta say, I see some hope with Eric Adams, the new mayor of New York City. This guy is a former NYC cop. He rides the train to work. He showed up at a firehouse in Queens and slid down the pole. And in his first week, he’s been seen riding around the City on one of those Citi rental bikes yabba-dabba-doing it up with the locals.
Adams was sworn in at midnight on New Year’s Eve, as the ball dropped in Times Square. He held up a framed portrait of his mother floating in a brandy snifter. I guess those photos were popular in the 80s and 90s as a symbol of luxury and success. Adams said he was lifting her up as she lifted him up. Nice move.
He can also be seen at nightclubs around the city. “This is a nightlife city,” Adams says. “We used to be the coolest place on the globe. We’re so damn boring now, man. When a mayor has swagger, the city has swagger.”
Leadership should have that swagger, especially today, to fight back against all the dreariness. Adams believes you can’t run New York City from home. He wants people out and about again. Kids back in the schools, workers back in the offices. He sure as hell ain’t staying home. The guy’s everywhere. No question he’s the most stylish and flamboyant mayor New York City has seen in a while. No question he’s a cocky bastard. But goddamn it Jimbo, that’s just what we need now. Keep your dukes up.