Do you have to be a New Yorker to understand the cosmic shift that has taken place with our newly elected leadership? Probably not. But you might have to be a liberal to understand the sense of hope that has swept through a city where so many voices have been silenced for the last dozen years.
Today we did something very unusual for us. We went to the inauguration of Gale Brewer as Manhattan Borough President. Gale has represented us Upper West Siders on the City Council for the last 12 years. In fact, for those of you that know our neighborhood, her office was on Columbus, next to the Momofuko Milk Bar, right at the corner. Gale could often be seen there, working early and working late, and the stories of her helping her constituents are legend.
Neither we nor the dozens of elected leaders who spoke about Gale could imagine a better person to lead all of Manhattan.
It was so stirring to see one of our Congressmen, one of our Senators, our new Comptroller, new Public Advocate, and our new Mayor all speak so warmly of Gale. All of them represent a heritage of progressive thinking, and all came up together over the last many years, fighting for causes that need strong fighters.
Gale herself started with the women’s movement, working with Bella and Gloria and all the women who made so much happen. From there to rights for all – it was an easy transition.
Congratulations, Gale. You and your colleagues give us hope. May you have the strength to fight on for all of us.
I wondered how you felt about the end of the Bloomberg era–and I meant to ask you about Gale (since we walked past her office several times whilst pretending to be New Yorkers). Good to know that you have a representative to be proud of–and that you actually know your representative. That’s rather extraordinary in itself. Can’t wait to see what DeBlasio does!
And would you please this woman and her husband have also fostered 35 children over the years? She is truly a force of nature…