Can de Blasio match Bloomberg’s improvements?: OPINION

Say what you will about Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s legacy, Steve Cuozzo wrote in a New York Post opinion piece, but the former mayor’s material improvements to the city are “extraordinary.”

One such example is this weekend’s opening of the third phase of the High Line, which will run from Gansevoort Street to West 34th Street.

“It will be very interesting to see if (Bill) de Blasio attends Saturday’s dedication,” Cuozzo wrote, “as a tangible testament to Bloomberg’s vision, it might be too much for the new mayor to stomach.”

The High Line was recently featured in an promotional ad by the de Blasio administration to try to bring the 2016 Democratic National Convention to Brooklyn.

“Although the park’s inspiration and basic conception are legitimately credited to Friends of the High Line founders David Hammond and Joshua David, it’s actual creation is mostly a product of Bloomberg’s muscle,” Cuozzo wrote.

This doesn’t mean the former mayor’s planning record is without blemish, Cuozzo wrote, pointing to “the mess he made of Tavern on the Green” and the “failure to rezone East Midtown.”

Cuozzo challenged de Blasio to complete similar projects.

“Let’s see,” Cuozzo wrote, “if he shows his face at the park dedication with its implicit, but unmistakable challenge: Match this!” [NYP] — Claire Moses