Bill de Blasio has been Mayor of New York since Jan. 1, and at least so far in his public announcements for his new commissioners, he has not exactly gotten to the point quickly.
Case in point - today's appointment of Dr. Mary Bassett to become Health Commissioner. 7 minutes - that's how long the Mayor stood at the podium, with Dr. Bassett by his side. 7 minutes. When he introduced NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton in December, it was more than 10 minutes, with Bratton standing uncomfortably next to the Mayor-elect, just waiting.
New Yorkers apparently aren't too bothered by his long introductions, however. Or, if they are, they're willing to overlook the. A new Quinnipiac University poll out this afternoon shows the new mayor is off to a pretty good start. 53 percent of New York City voters approve of the job he's doing so far; just 13 percent disapprove. And 2 out of 3 voters say they're optimistic about the next 4 years of a de Blasio mayorality.
But what fascinated us the most about this poll are the priorities those polled said the Mayor should focus on. 20 percent say education, 13 percent say jobs, and crime and affordable housing each had 9 percent.
Trailing as the lowest priorities? De Blasio's signature campaign issues! Income and class inequality, and universal pre-K - each got just 1 percent.
The Mayor today, getting angry after a school kid was hit by a car on his way to school. Turns out - a day after the Mayor pushed pedestrian safety as a new issue - that the crossing guard had called out sick, and wasn't replaced.
A busy day for the Mayor, and we'll follow up tonight at 11 on the crossing guard story.
Also at 11, we'll have the latest on the death of 4-year-old Myls Dobson, whose body has now been claimed and removed from the New York City morgue. He will be buried on Tuesday, and his father, in jail for bank fraud, has been released for 3 weeks to take care of arrangements. The father's transgender girlfriend, who was taking care of Myls, is facing charges of assault and child endangerment. Myls was tortured, beaten and starved. The little boy had no chance in life. And the lack of dignity afforded him in death has been appalling.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Meteorologist Lee Goldberg with his AccuWeather forecast, and Rob Powers with the night's sports. I hope you can join Diana Williams (in for Sade Baderinwa) and me, tonight at 11.
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