There is much to dislike about New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, but his worst quality is easily his “for me, but not for thee” approach to governance.
The mayor revealed this week that city officials skipped their own permitting process when they painted Black Lives Matter street art around the city, explaining that the anti-police demonstrations are too important to have to abide by the rules that everyone else must follow.
“That is something that again transcends all normal realities because we are at a moment of history when that had to be said and done, that’s a decision I made,” de Blasio told reporters.
His remarks come not long after a pro-Trump group, Women for America First, filed a lawsuit alleging its proposed mural for a Manhattan roadway was blocked even as Black Lives Matter paintings were allowed to crop up all over New York City.
De Blasio maintains that no one has been blocked, including the pro-police group Blue Lives Matter, whose request for a public display similarly has not been approved. Rather, the mayor says Women for America First and Blue Lives Matter have been referred to the Department of Transportation for approval.
“We haven’t said ‘no’ to people, we’ve said, ‘If you want to apply, you can apply, but there’s a process,’” de Blasio told reporters. “But the normal process continues for anyone who wants to apply.”
Again, no approval was required for the Black Lives Matter street art because the group was not required to go through the “normal process,” according to the New York Post.
None of this should come as a surprise. Indeed, de Blasio’s entire handling of both the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Live Matter protests shows that he genuinely believes there should be one set of laws for the little people and another set of laws for him and his interests.
In July, for example, the mayor was asked specifically why it is that the anti-police demonstrations have been allowed to thrive in a city where extreme restrictions have been imposed on businesses and places of worship.
De Blasio’s answer was simply: Because the Black Live Matter protests are more important.
“This is a historic moment of change. We have to respect that,” he said, adding, “but also say to people the kinds of gatherings we’re used to, the parades, the fairs, we just can’t have that while we’re focusing on health right now.”
Earlier, he said it is “apples and oranges” to say New York City is engaging in a double standard by granting anti-police activists the right to assembly, while places of worship remain shuttered.
“The protests were an entirely different reality,” de Blasio said. “A national phenomenon that was not something that the government could just say, you know, go away, something that really came from the grassroots. And, obviously, it had profound meaning, and we’re all acting on the meaning of those protests.”
Even earlier than that, a reporter asked de Blasio whether there is “one set of rules for protesters and another for everyone else.”
Absolutely, the mayor answered.
“When you see a nation, an entire nation, simultaneously grappling with an extraordinary crisis seeded in 400 years of American racism,” he said, “I’m sorry, that is not the same question as the understandably aggrieved store owner or devout religious person who wants to go back to services.”
Remember, de Blasio is the same guy who continued to go to the gym even after his administration urged New York City residents to do the exact opposite.
For de Blasio, the rules are for the other guy.
