New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is preparing to enter his final year in office. He’s limited to two consecutive terms so he can’t run again next November. Judging by a recent interview he gave to local media outlets, Hizzoner is really just phoning it in at this point. When confronted with questions about the current, dismal state of affairs in the Big Apple and what he planned to do about it, he didn’t have a single specific plan he could point to. But he assured everyone that there was little to worry about. If Joe Biden is elected President, all of these issues will magically go away next year. (New York Post)

Mayor Bill de Blasio confessed his utter incompetence this week in interviews with local media, admitting he has no plan to deal with the city’s mounting fiscal nightmare, surging violent crime or anything else — except to hope for a safe vaccine and a bottomless federal bailout.

When NY1’s Errol Louis asked what he planned to do about murders (up 37 percent) and shootings (up 94 percent), the mayor simply recited his usual litany of excuses: “global pandemic,” “perfect storm of negative factors,” yadda yadda. But if Joe Biden wins, “we get a major stimulus,” and “that’s going to turn things around.”

Huh? How will a bailout reverse the crime spike? He’s surely not going to reverse his NYPD cuts. Nor does a one-time bailout do a thing about the existential challenge to the city’s business model: Even with a vaccine, lots of folks no longer see New York as safe. A real mayor would start dealing with such problems on his own.

When you’re the mayor of one of the biggest cities in the world and you’re asked what you’re going to do about soaring crime rates and new virus outbreaks, your first reaction shouldn’t be to make excuses. Blaming the shootings on the pandemic is a complete copout. Even if he’s facing a “perfect storm” of negative factors (as he put it), that’s not the problem of the city’s residents. Bill de Blasio asked for this job twice and it was given to him. He’s the one who is supposed to come up with the answers.

This is pretty pathetic, to say the least. The Mayor expects us to believe that a bigger relief bill is going to address the city’s many, mounting problems? The number of murders and other violent crimes across all five boroughs is skyrocketing. In response, de Blasio has cut funding to the NYPD and reduced the number of officers on the streets. Sending more money to New York isn’t going to undo any of that.

The “bail reform” initiatives that de Blasio endorsed ensure that more criminals stay on the streets and those that the cops do manage to arrest are released in a matter of hours. His supporters actually want more initiatives of that sort put in place, not fewer. So any new federal funding coming into New York City’s coffers isn’t going to change that situation.

The city’s response to the pandemic was just about as bad as it could have been, particularly when it came to the situation in the nursing homes. Shutting down all the schools hasn’t produced any measurable results, nor has restricting attendance at churches, synagogues and mosques. The Mayor has delivered one gut-punch to the economy after another and he still hasn’t managed to figure out an effective response.

Bill de Blasio’s entire tenure has been marked by endless investigations (and arrests and convictions) of his political cronies over campaign finance irregularities. The influence-peddling going on around his office has been obvious. He’s allowed his wife to take over significant programs in the municipal government, none of which produced any measurable results. He will be leaving New York City a less safe, less populated and more economically gutted place than when he found it. And the worst part is that the denizens of Gotham are 100% guaranteed to turn around and elect another Democrat just like him, if not even worse.

Good luck, New Yorkers. You’re going to need it. This is the guy you chose to lead you and the responsibility rests on your collective shoulders.