A History of Broken Promises

 New York mayor Bill De Blasio, who champions himself as a man of the people, failed to acknowledge the presence of 200 fourth grade students on the steps of City Hall fighting for their right to learn. De Blasio’s newest broken promise is yet another example of his poor leadership. 

The group of charter school students, who come from primarily black and latino backgrounds, had traveled to City Hall as a class in order to protest De Blasio’s evident neglect of their education. 

Rather than stopping to talk to the eager students who were exercising perhaps for the first time their freedom to protest, De Blasio quickly shuffled up the steps proving by his actions that he truly does not care about all the children of his city.

“The mayor claims to represent all kids, but he treats charter school families as second-class citizens,” said Success Academy founder and CEO Eva Moskowitz. “Two years ago, he had no difficulty finding 30,000 new pre-k seats. But when the city’s highest-performing charter school network needs space for existing students to continue their education, the mayor is suddenly unable to accommodate them.”

De Blasio chose to retreat to his comfortable office chair, while the children outside were left standing in confusion still without their own chairs to sit in for class. 

The city of New York, however, has the necessary resources to help these children. According to an analysis by the Independent Citizens Budget Commission, “More than 150,000 empty seats are in school buildings citywide.”

 De Blasio was unable to look into the faces of the children he has been depriving, so instead he sent out his spokesperson to bloviate for him. 

“The Mayor understands the power of grassroots movements and supports the right of New Yorkers to make their voices heard on issues that matter,” Jane Meyer said.

While these young “New Yorkers were making their voices heard,” De Blasio was spending his time providing guidelines for the next Democratic nominee.

“No one should be the Democratic nominee unless they’re willing to stand up to Wall Street and the rich people behind the charter school movement once and for all,” De Blasio said. “Too many Democrats have been cozy with the charter schools.”
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Mayor De Blasio’s coldness and cruelty to the children of Success Academy is abhorrent. Despite 76% of Success Academy’s students being from low income families, De Blasio believes he is standing up to the “rich people” by ignoring the children of New York.