NYC Mayor Given a Handful of Defeats

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had been handed three defeats on two political fronts in less than 24 hours, and he wasn’t eager to talk about it.

 

First, he had agreed Monday to increase the size of the city’s police force by 1,300 officers, an about-face that came under pressure from New York Police Commissioner William Bratton and the City Council.

 

Then, on Tuesday, came the news from Albany: Mr. de Blasio wouldn’t be getting the immediate changes he wanted to the developers’ tax break known as 421-a to advance his affordable-housing goals.

 

Rent regulations covering more than a million apartments had been extended, but only marginally strengthened. And Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers had answered his call for permanent mayoral control of city schools by granting him just one year of control.

 

By Tuesday afternoon, Mr. de Blasio was a mayor of few words.