Hizzoner's other cities

摘要

Since Michael Bloomberg became mayor of New York City in 2002, crime-already falling-has gone down by another 35%. Welfare rolls have fallen by 24%. He has helped to build 130,000 affordable housing units, with more on the way. His 311 call system, a municipal customer-service line, has received 120m calls since 2003. Granted, Mr Bloomberg's nanny-ing-he has banned trans-fats and smoking virtually everywhere, including in the city's parks—has aggravated some. There have been missteps, like his appointment of Cathie Black to head the school system; she lasted a rocky four months on the job. And he never managed to implement congestion charging. Still, most New Yorkers were pleased to see him elected to a third term. Unusually, other cities are finding him useful too.