On a cold Saturday morning, the mayor of New York warmed up sitting in his official car, over a coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. El Diario/La Prensa had arranged for exclusive access to the mayor in order to ask him questions on several different subjects, from immigration and his liking for the Spanish language to his stubborn decision to run for a third term, which has brought comparisons of the mayor to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, "whom I have never met," as he told us.
"Do you prefer to be called Michael, Mike or Miguel?" was the first question we asked him.
"For your newspaper Miguel would be best, though nobody calls me that... Mike will be fine," he answered.
The Mayor began his marathon day yesterday with a meeting at 10:00 a.m. with the Association of Hispanic Pastors in Brooklyn, where Association President Bishop Julio Mercado gave his endorsement before a group of the faithful, who gathered at the intersection of Gates and Bushwick Avenues. Bloomberg was wearing a blue sweater. The caravan – composed of three Chevrolet Suburban vans – continued later to a synagogue on Park Avenue in Manhattan, where the candidate entered dressed in a suit jacket and with the traditional Jewish yarmulke on his head.
At 11:40 the caravan headed for Schwab House, on Riverside Drive, where other officials were waiting for him to announce the installation of an ecological heating system in the luxury apartment building.
Accompanied by girlfriend Diana Taylor, Bloomberg made another campaign stop at Zabar's deli at 80th Street and Broadway, where scores of his backers were waiting for him, and where he was accompanied as he shopped by a Puerto Rican man who identified himself as "Rey." "Sure I know him and I'm going to vote for him," he declared.
While he breakfasted in his official van, Bloomberg paused to answer our questions. "We have come a long way, but there are more roads to travel," he said as his first message.
"In the schools we have cut the academic achievement gap between Hispanic and white children in half. This is something no one had done in decades; they didn't even try," Bloomberg remarked. "But the gap is still there," noted the Mayor.
Bloomberg enumerated the projects his administration has undertaken, one after another, including the process of constructing or renovating 165,000 units of low-cost housing with the capacity for 500,000 tenants, "more than the population of Atlanta, Georgia. But people are moving into the city at such a rapid rate that this is not enough, and in difficult economic times it will be a major task," he added.
"Immigration is an important subject and I will continue testifying in Washington for a comprehensive immigration reform plan," he told us, adding, "Spanish is very hard for me when people talk very fast in the street and there's a lot of noise."
"A group of citizens asked me to stand for election again... I've never met Hugo Chávez... I'm disappointed with El Diario's editorial..." Bloomberg remarked, only to add: "I don't feel like Goliath, I just want to work hard for everyone... I'm focusing on the middle class... The people will have the opportunity to choose on November 3rd whether I should continue or not."
On Juan Pablo Duarte Boulevard (St. Nicholas Avenue) his "old friend" was waiting for him, the famous Dominican fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, who announced his support for the Republican/Independent candidate.
