The best answers and biggest ducked questions of the de Blasio AMA

Bill de Blasio plugged himself into internet hive mind reddit yesterday for an Ask Me Anything, to appear hip to the youth or because he really does believe in the kind of transparency that still lets you pick how transparent you are. Unlike most things given over to the whims of the internet, there were a lot of good questions asked, some of which de Blasio answered well, and some of which he declined to answer. Let’s take a look!

Paying attention to a voter from Staten Island while he’s not actually on Staten Island? Maybe de Blasio really does care about every community in the city.

Look at this frothing at the mouth Marxist Sandinista asking for more “market rate housing.” What kind of market, Bill, the kind you find in Soviet Russia?

Well OK, this is actually kind of left wing. But also awesome, from the use of the phrase “corporate welfare” to the recognition that subsidies should come with enforceable provisions, this is something people should keep an eye on. Mostly because it probably doesn’t turn out to be true.

On the one hand, it’s cool that we’d have a mayor who’s sympathetic to indie filmmakers. On the other, sorry everyone who wants to murder Hollywood productions swapming up your block, looks like you’ll also want to murder art film students two years into a de Blasio administration. Also, why is he following random 25-year-olds on Twitter? Is this something Benny Johnson should be looking into?

Of course, just because de Blasio did an AMA doesn’t mean he was open to answering every question. Here are a couple we wish he’d answer.

Hey everyone: pay your goddamn interns

This isn’t just about cyclists, it’s about pedestrians too. Having a mayor who gets on the record saying that the way the NYPD and the city treat non-fatal traffic accidents is absurd and unhelpful would be happy. Or really saying something, anything about it.

So yes, de Blasio is on record as saying “There is no Plan B.” But at least give us some kind of clue as to how you’ll work better with Albany. Mayor Bloomberg being a dismissive jerk to state legislators about congestion pricing when congestion pricing fever first gripped the city made it politically toxic, so how do we avoid that?