There's a telling quote near the end of Bryan Burrough's Vanity Fair profile of the mayor, Bill de Blasio’s Battle to Save New York—and Himself:
Love him or hate him, the smart money in New York City says that de Blasio is virtually ensured a second term. “What Manhattanites in the ‘Bloomberg Bubble’ don’t understand,” says the organization head who deals regularly with the mayor’s office, “is that many people in the outer boroughs love him as much as Manhattanites hate him. But even more important is that the city’s builders love him, and they have always elected the mayor in New York City, by funneling more money than anyone else to their chosen candidate. Why do they love de Blasio? Because he doesn’t give a damn about urban planning, density, or architecture. He only cares about more affordable housing. For the builders that means they get to build an extra 20 floors and do it with fewer restrictions.”
I don't disagree. If only Burrough had actually delved into de Blasio's willingness to champion unaffordable affordable housing.
I wonder if that statement really holds. The groups, mostly in Brooklyn, that are angry over the overt aggressiveness of the real estate industry that I talk to, lay the blame squarely on deBlasio's vision. It is possible that he could be challenged by someone like Stringer or Leticia James who could appeal to these voters. Certainly deBlasio has provided some relief to the middle classes by his holding down the rent stabilization increases, but many housing activists feel that his vision to help create a more equitable New York has faiied
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