It’s been nearly eight years since we urged then-Mayor Bill de Blasio to “use your listening skills” and start doing radio call-ins and town-hall meetings.
Now it’s Mayor Eric Adams’ turn.
Mayors David Dinkins, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Bloomberg and (eventually) de Blasio all regularly took public calls on a radio show. Adams should, too.
Every mayor starting with Ed Koch also did regular town-hall-style meetings in every borough (even if de Blasio often stacked the audience).
It’s a fine way to get your message out, Mr. Mayor (far better than 10-minute radio call-ins where you only chat with a host or reporter), and an excellent way to hear from members of the general public without “helpful” staff interference.
And, no: Hosting your own podcast doesn’t do it.
Any effort to obsessively control the news and narrative coming out of City Hall is doomed: New Yorkers think for themselves, and the press doesn’t react well to being managed.
After decades in public life, Adams knows how to handle the public, even the occasional “hater.”
His staff may panic when he says something “unprogrammed” like speaking up for faith, but plenty of us appreciate it.
And if he’s really to be a “Get Stuff Done” mayor, he needs to hear from regular people what “stuff” they want done.
Otherwise, it’s all lobbyists, politicians, donors and favor-seekers.
New Yorkers elect a mayor, not a king.
They expect a chance to tell him directly what they think.