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Henican: Hey, Mike, regarding third terms, ask Ed and Mario about how that went
Thirds terms are tough.
Ask Ed Koch. Ask Mario Cuomo.
Both men were riding two-term waves of public appreciation — Koch at City Hall, Cuomo in Albany — when they asked themselves, “Why stop now?” The polls were with them. The jobs were fun. And truly, they’d both learned some things about governing New York.
There are many theories for why their third terms stunk.Koch’s exhausting exuberance. The governor’s brooding soul. Tougher economies and harsher race relations.
But I’ve always been convinced it was more elemental than that: They’d just hung around too long. People got sick of looking at them.
No one can say for certain how four more years might turn out for Mike Bloomberg. He’s been an undeniable success for eight. He certainly appears likely to win on Tuesday.
So what does history say?
History says that in the 1985 mayor race, Koch got a whopping 78 percent of the vote against Carol Bellamy and Diane McGrath, and things went immediately downhill from there. He picked petty fights with Jesse Jackson, got dragged into the gay-bathhouse disputes, refused to let the 1987 Super Bowl Giants parade in Manhattan (“If they want a parade, let them parade in front of the oil drums in Moonachie”) and had his popularity shaken by Donald Manes’ suicide. He had a small stroke and even then couldn’t stop himself, getting beaten by David Dinkins in 1989.
“How’m I doin’?” Koch was fond of asking.
“Oh, shut up,” the people eventually replied.
Cuomo’s third term wasn’t any more fun.
No longer was he the governor of soaring oratory and moral strength.
It’s hard to remember what his actual third-term accomplishments were. Those were the years Cuomo perfected his “Hamlet on the Hudson” routine.
Would he run for president in 1992? Would he like to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court? Third-term Cuomo could never quite decide.
And when George Pataki ran against him in 1994, the 12-year governor was easily caricatured as an out-of-touch, bummed-out liberal.
Mike Bloomberg, take notice: After a third term like that one, Cuomo lost, of course.
E-mail ellis@henican.com.
Follow him at twitter.com/henican.Tags: Henican, Michael Bloomberg, Ed Koch, Mario Cuomo, mayoral election, 1989, 1985, 1980s, New York City, politics, history, old school
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'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' takes back the city
In a scene from 1974’s "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," Walter Matthau's lovably gruff Zach Garber shushes a loud, excitable dispatcher because he's on the radio negotiating to save the lives of the hostages on the No. 6 train.
The dispatcher fires back: "Screw the goddamned passengers. What the hell did they expect for their lousy 35 cents? To live forever?"
The classic exchange doesn't surface in the remake of the movie out tomorrow, but does capture what helped make the original such a cult classic: The gallows humor and grit that New Yorkers display when faced with adversity, and the honest portrayal of a graffiti-covered, crime-ravaged city.
Pelham, along with such period pieces as "French Connection," "drank deeply of the city," explains James Sanders, an architect and author of "Celluloid Skyline."
"What made it remembered so fondly and so strongly is that it took this kind of slightly absurd premise of a pirating of a subway train — how could that be — and rendered it in the context of such finally and carefully rendered realism," Sanders said.
(Courtesy of MGM)
Remaking a classic
Attention to detail is certainly reflected in Tony Scott's remake, which will invite endless comparisons to the original. NYC Transit offered wide access to the system — tunnels, stations, there’s even a recreation of the futuristic Rail Control Center. Still, there's the danger of a creative third rail of sorts: remaking a classic praised for getting the city of its time right.
Many observers familiar with the original reserved judgment on the new film, as they hadn't seen it. But its outsized role in city cinema lore — and accurate rendition of its out-of-control times — sets a high bar for the remake.
"I was really surprised [at the remake] because it seems to be a part of New York that in the mid or late 90s went out of existence," said Clifton Hood, a history professor and author of "722 miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York."
The new hands, of course, strove to make a movie about today. “It’s a great story, yet unknown to new generations of filmgoers. The world and New York in particular, has changed a lot since 1974,” said Scott in a statement.
They see it more as a retelling than a remake. For one, the producers saw a way to develop the relationship between Garber and Ryder, the head hijacker played by John Travolta, into something deeper than in previous films.
Devotees of the original will notice key changes — right down to the ending. In the new film, New Yorkers assume the hijacking is terrorism; in 1974, it was simply one more sign of Gotham dysfunction.
Transit veteran John Urbanski has not yet seen the film, but does not expect it to match the original in terms of realism.
“The original reflected New York basically as it was back in the '70s. I feel as though I may have worked with some of the characters, as they were played in the original.”
Power of '70s nostalgia
Today, the original seems a movie that both preserves an unimaginable New York, and one that many strangely crave to visit again.
One person who was there and remembers the bad old days is Ed Koch.
“People have a much better spirit; they were oppressed then and now there is a certain amount of anger over the losses to their personal treasuries but they are not frightened like they were," the former mayor said.
Koch has a strange personal connection to the movie. The actor who played the mayor in the film, Lee Wallace, bears a resemblance to Koch, which is not lost on Hizzoner. That casting choice was particularly curious because the film came out three years before Koch's election.
“The mayor looked exactly like me, facially,” Koch said.
The mayor in the new film, played by James Gandolfini, bears no resemblance to Michael Bloomberg — expect for the character's deep bank account. And the way New Yorkers will relate to the new film will hardly mimic what audiences felt in the 1970s.
The original Pelham, Hood said, was one of "a couple of other movies that really embodied people's sense that things were hopeless and that the subway system, literally if you go into it, you could be trapped by a bunch of thugs."
Jason Fink and Shayndi Raice contributed to this story.
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The remake of "Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" understandably takes some creative license. Here's a few things subway buffs will notice are off.
1.) The 42nd Second Street-Grand Central station fills in for the 77th Street No. 6 station.
2.) A large, Times Square-style Subway sign is added to Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street and Vanderbilt.
3.) The bad guys escape through the so-called Roosevelt Tunnel, referring to FDR's secret access route to The Waldorf-Astoria. For starters, there is no evidence FDR was ever snuck into the hotel that way.
4.) The No. 6 car with the hostages is set free and sent barreling toward Coney Island. The line ends at Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall.
5.) Denzel Washington's character, Walter Garber, is seen riding a No. 7 train back to Queens, we assume, but is shown inside a modern-day train, not the 80s-era trains still on the line.
Tags: movies, subway, denzel washington, john travolta, ed koch, entertainment, history, the taking of pelham 1 2 3, transit
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The Cover Story: Giuliani looking to make a comeback?
By Jason Fink
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani may now have his sights set on Albany and is also not discounting a second shot at the White House.
With the state Republican party badly wounded following this month’s Democratic landslide, the hard-charging former two-term mayor is emerging as the favorite to lead the GOP back to power as a candidate for governor in 2010.
“He’s an impact player, he’s a game changer,” said Assemb. James Tedisco (R-Schenectady), the minority leader. “He could put the Republicans back on the map.”
Asked about the possibility of a gubernatorial run following a speech in Dubai, Giuliani left the door open.
“I don’t know if I’d be interested in it, but I’ll think about it when the right time comes along,” he said.
“No one knows whether you’ll do something again until you come to the point of: ‘Is it possible to do it again? Would you have a chance of winning?’” he said of a second White House bid.
Even if he decides to return to public service, there are doubts as to whether Giuliani could translate his strength as a tough law-and-order mayor into votes when Americans are now more concerned about the economy and jobs than about crime and terrorism.
“It’s very clear after the last election that it’s the economy. He’s going to have to focus on that,” said John Friscia, chairman of the Staten Island Republican Party.And at a time when “change” and “unity” are the political buzzwords of the day, Giuliani’s reputation for divisiveness could hurt him as well.
“Rudy’s problem is he doesn’t like people,” said former Mayor Ed Koch, who added that he will support Gov. David Paterson for re-election.
“He divided the city when he was mayor,” said Angela Darkins of Queens. “He got all the glory for 9/11, but he was just doing his job. The whole thing of using terrorism as propaganda is horrible."
Riding a surge of popularity following the 9/11 attacks, Giuliani vaulted to the front of the pack of Republican presidential candidates last year before stumbling in the Florida primary, where he had pinned virtually all his hopes.
“His presidential primary campaign came as close as you can come to an unmitigated disaster,” said Douglas Muzzio, a professor at the Baruch College School of Public Affairs. “He became a strident pit bull against the Democratic candidate and that will come back to haunt him.”
Despite his past missteps, even Giuliani’s critics agree he is still a force to contend with should he run for governor.
“Without question he is the most formidable Republican candidate,” Koch said.
Howard Singleton, 56, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, credits Giuliani with “cleaning the city up.”
“He’s done a good job in New York City, so I’d vote for him,” Singleton said.
Amanda Magnus and the Associated Press contributed to this report
Tags: rudy giuliani, governor, ed koch, politics
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Billionaire is latest to oppose Mayor Mike Bloomberg's term limits bill
By Jason Fink
It may just take a fellow billionaire to stop Mayor Michael Bloomberg from claiming a third term in office.
Businessman and Buffalo Sabres owner Thomas Golisano announced Monday he doesn’t believe the law limiting officeholders to two terms should be changed without voter approval.
Golisano, who has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion, will even go as far as to finance an opposition campaign that will include newspaper advertisements and likely radio and television spots.
“The people have the right and deserve the opportunity to make this decision,” Golisano said.Bloomberg said he welcomes Golisano’s voice in the debate, but even his staunchest allies admitted Monday that the latest opposition would make for a tough battle.
“It’s going to be harder,” said former Mayor Ed Koch, who was among the first to support Bloomberg’s decision to run again.
City Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), an opponent of a council bill extending term limits to three terms, said Golisano’s support “helps level the playing field.”
“The discourse has been heavily stacked in favor of the haves - the billionaires and the magnates,” Liu said.
Bloomberg declared earlier this month that he wanted another four years in office and would seek to change the term-limits law so that he could run again.
Golisano praised Bloomberg’s reign but said voters must have the chance to consider any change to term-limits law. The public twice approved term-limits in the 1990s.
The City Council has fast-tracked the mayor’s bill and could vote as early as Thursday, although that was looking unlikely yesterday. Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who backs the
Bloomberg plan, told some council members that the vote was not on the agenda yet for Thursday, a possible indication that there was not enough support currently for the bill’s passage.
Douglas Muzzio, a political science professor at the Baruch School of Public Affairs, said as long as the law remains in the hands of the council he doubts Golisano’s efforts will matter.
“He would have to directly be able to influence the council members,” said Muzzio. “He doesn’t have enough reach or enough time or enough money compared to Michael Bloomberg to make a difference.”
If the council were to pass the bill, Golisano said it was possible he would help finance legal challenges.
The AP contributed to this report.
Tags: michael bloomberg, term limits, thomas golisano, ed koch, city hall dispatch
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Discovered in Greenpoint: Blast-from-the-past campaign buttons
Robert Germino sells his political memorabilia at the corner of Bedford Ave. and N. 12th. St. in Williamsburg. Photo/Lauren Johnston.Yesterday we met Bob Germino. The 71-year-old retiree has lived in the Williamsburg-Greenpoint area all his life and has a love for local politics - and the paraphernalia that goes with it.
In fact, in 1977, he ran for school board (District 14), and still keeps this campaign card in his wallet.
These days you'll find Germino at the corner of Bedford Ave. and N. 12th. in Williamsburg selling bits and pieces from his personal collection, including old magazine ads, photographs, and best - this large selection of old campaign buttons (we picked up a "Bella Abzug for Mayor" for $3).
He's also got "Ed Koch for Mayor," and "Re-elect Gerges" and "Stefanizzi in '82."
Stop by his corner for these bits of New York's political history, but also for his stories of the hot campaigns of yesteryear. Definitely worth some weekend loitering
Tags: greenpoint, bella abzug, ed koch, urban archaeology, stuff that's cool, shopping, politics, history, brooklyn
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Ed Koch on Everything
Yesterday, while walking up 8th Avenue, we saw our Favorite T-Shirt of the Summer, this little number waxing nostalgic for the 105th mayor of New York.
It comes form LES skateboard shop Shut NYC and is the brainchild of former graffiti artist Eli Morgan Gessner, who slightly altered an old campaign sign and used historically accurate Helvetica signage.
Why Helvetica? According to Gessner, at some point in his youth, the city went all-Helvetica on everything--subways, sanitation, etc.--in order to distract from what a dump it had become.
The shirt, Gessen said, is less about Hizzoner--though he hastens to add, "I love Ed Koch, he was the death of graffiti writers but I love Ed Koch"--and more about the city he presided over.
"Even when New York was at its worst and it was filthy and there were street gangs everywhere, it still had more wonderful things than most places on the planet," he said. "You had to be a certain kind of person to put up with it."
Shut President Adam Schatz said the t-shirts are becoming a phenomenon, and said he sent one to Koch's office.
No word yet on whether or not Koch will accept the t-shirt's suggestion.
--David Freedlander
