New Kid In Town

I listen to a whole lot of old music; I often talk about music on the Blog, so some of you already know that. My tastes range far and wide...the older I get, the more I like to broaden my horizons, and tap into music I've never heard before, both old and new. Last year for my Birthday, I asked my husband for a subscription to SiriusXM in the car. It was the perfect gift for someone like me, who wants less clutter and more art in her life. I've discovered I love Jazz, and I spend a lot of time rediscovering hits from the 70's, as it was the era I grew up in.
That said, we were hanging out with some friends on Saturday and one of them mentioned that you can definitely tell there's a new mayor in NYC: the homeless population has seemingly tripled overnight, and the air has become redolent of urine as you walk about NYC in the warm weather. The streets are not as tidy, and somehow, the warm air has brought about an energy that speaks to recklessness.
Out of the six adults present, five of us are regularly in the City. Four of us work full-time in NYC. Two are NYPD Officers.
And we all agreed that we had noticed a shift in the City; hearkening back to the days before the Giuliani Administration. Before Bloomberg got a big head, before Giuliani ruled with an iron fist...there was a time when our City was not as safe, or as clean...a day when people were afraid to go into the City at night...and although everyone knew the issues, no one was willing to address the problem.

As we bantered about Bill de Blasio, there was a lyric from a 70's song that crept its way into my head:
  
There's talk on the street; it sounds so familiar
Great expectations, everybody's watching you
People you meet, they all seem to know you
Even your old friends treat you like you're something new

Johnny come lately, the new kid in town
Everybody loves you, so don't let them down   

The song is New Kid in Town by the Eagles. It was released in 1976 and became a Number One Hit in 1977. And even as the song unraveled itself inside my head, I laughed, because although the song has nothing to do with modern-day NYC politics, it fits...sadly enough.
Although what did we really expect from someone who was once a junior staffer under another notoriously failed Mayor? For those not in the know, our current mayor was at one time not known as Bill de Blasio, but Warren Wilhelm, and he did not change his name legally until 2002. In 1992, when he worked under Mayor David Dinkins, he was just starting to be known as Bill de Blasio...but it's the same guy, the same person who probably thought that Dinkins was doing a good job too.
Broken Windows, you ask?
Stop, QUESTION, and Frisk?
Not so much right now in NYC.
After all...there's a New Kid in Town.