While a title insurance company’s blog is primarily a venue for business news and ideas, not politics, the fact of the matter is that for better or for worse the two are often inextricably linked!
For the purposes of this article my politics do not matter (they say that politics is one of the primary topics to leave out of any business conversation) although, to be transparent, had I lived in New York City I most definitely would not have cast my vote for now Mayor Bill de Blasio.
That said in NYC two police officers were recently assassinated, City Hall’s relationship with the NYPD has been severely and negatively impacted and the Mayor has been a central, and what many would agree polarizing and controversial, figure in the middle of it all.
Opinions run from those who will say that de Blasio has been unfairly targeted while others will say that he has done nothing to mend the fences that have been damaged between City Hall and the NYPD along with the other fences in disrepair with constituencies around the five boroughs of New York.
Living And Doing Business In New York
Now on to business!
Living and doing business in the New York City region I, along with millions of other people, look to the leaders in the various towns, cities, counties as well as in Albany to maintain and foster the best possible environment in terms of quality of life and for the economy to grow and thrive.
Naive I know but, in a perfect world, that is the way it is supposed to be.
No ego’s, no agenda’s and no quid pro quo’s that need to be fed.
Therefore, after reading an article this morning about the 2016 presidential election season, I was immediately struck by how Mayor de Blasio as the leader of New York City, has failed in his role.
Perhaps it’s because of ego and/or possibly due to bad counsel provided by his advisors he has mismanaged his political relationships, helped to foster an atmosphere of divisiveness in the City that he heads and has brought bad press to himself and to NYC apparently resulting in the powers that be who decide on the location of the Democratic National Convention, reportedly having removed New York from the short list of potential cities to be host.
‘A source with extensive knowledge of the thinking of the well-heeled and politically potent host committee seeking to bring the 2016 Democratic National Convention to New York City made a rather bold prediction last week. The “convention now is never coming to Brooklyn,” the whisperer said. [Emphasis added]
This blunt statement was part of a larger conversation about Mayor Bill de Blasio and the state of his mayoralty in the wake of the killings of Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu on Dec. 20. My informer believed that de Blasio’s tattered relationship with the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the controversy swirling around it would give the Democratic National Committee (DNC) cold feet.
This was a far cry from the attitude my source said was on display a week earlier at the mayor’s residence on Dec. 12. “All the movers and shakers of New York,” the person said, descended on Gracie Mansion for a breakfast to cheerlead the city’s latest bid to host a political convention. They were “very confident they were going to get the convention.”‘ (Source)
The result? Well according to a report concerning the DNC held in Charlotte, NC in 2012…
‘September’s Democratic National Convention injected $91 million in new spending into the local economy, for a total economic impact of nearly $164 million, according to a consultant’s report released Monday.‘ (Source)
One can only assume that the economic impact on NYC would have been much greater!
Of course winning the bid to hold the convention was not guaranteed and the final decision has not yet been made so New York is not 100% out of the running but, whatever happens, the reality is that the Mayor of New York has failed in two of his roles as the leader of what is often termed the worlds greatest city!
Unity (including between citizens and between City Hall and the NYPD) and economic growth!
He has somewhere in the neighborhood of three years left to try and do better!
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Michael Haltman, President of Hallmark Abstract Service, New York.
HAS is a provider of title insurance in New York State for residential and commercial real estate transactions specializing in the areas of New York City, Long Island and Westchester.
For anyone either buying a property or refinancing, remember that although your attorney will likely recommend a title insurance provider, you always have the right to choose your own title company (click here to learn more)!
If you have any questions you can reach Michael by email at mhaltman@hallmarkabstractllc.com.
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