A SUPPORTER of mayoral hopeful Fran Reiter is charging that many New Yorkers “have not been part” of the economic boom that has swept the city in the last six years.
“We need a mayor who is a mayor of all New Yorkers – not just big-money interests,” declared Claire Haaga Altman in a fund-raising letter sent out on Reiter’s behalf.
“New York City’s schoolchildren are still failing, the ranks of the homeless are beginning to grow again, the need for affordable housing is at an all-time high, and many of our young citizens are not prepared for the jobs that have been created during this boom era.”
Those sentiments might be appropriate coming from Hillary Clinton.
But what’s Fran Reiter, a former deputy mayor and Giuliani campaign manager, doing bashing the administration?
She’s not, aides insist.
“Fran hasn’t seen the letter. She is currently vacationing in Italy. A number of people have sent letters on her behalf. She can’t control what supporters say,” said a Reiter spokesman.
Altman, who runs a non-profit housing group, said her letter is intended to point out long-term problems that go beyond any single administration.
“I think the mayor’s done a great job on many fronts,” said Altman. “I think we have problems that go back decades. It’s not something any mayor can change in four years …”
But this certainly isn’t going to bolster Reiter’s standing among the mayoral aides who already disparage her in private. *MORE fallout from the Brooklyn Museum flap:
*The mayor skipped a groundbreaking ceremony this week for the Museum of American Folk Art because Cultural Affairs Commissioner Schuyler Chapin was going to be there.
Chapin publicly disagreed with the mayor’s decision to yank funds from the Brooklyn Museum for staging the “Sensation” exhibit.
With Chapin and Giuliani in the same spot, both would undoubtedly have been pummeled with questions about the museum controversy.
*Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew, who has developed a friendship with Chapin, called him last weekend to offer words of support.
Crew said he doesn’t intend to “weigh in” on the art battle, but is certain that it has become a topic for classroom discussion.
“I can’t imagine any respectful teacher wouldn’t look at this as an opportunity to examine other aspects of the issues of art,” Crew said.
*Letters and e-mails to City Hall strongly support Giuliani’s position in the museum melee.
Officials said that as of Wednesday, e-mail messages were running 2,154 for the mayor and 1,264 against. There were 868 letters favoring Giuliani and 396 against. *LAST week, we reported that the mayor goofed when he said New York was the only city to host a post-season game between two of its baseball teams.
What the mayor actually said was that New York stood out because its two teams were the only ones to make the playoffs together.
There’s a distinction between playoffs and post-season, as Giuliani was quick to point out when he lugged a copy of the hefty Baseball Encyclopedia to a press conference.
For those keeping score, it’s Giuliani 1, Seifman 0.