Bill de Blasio has good reason to want the 2016 Democratic convention in Brooklyn.
For one thing, it’s his home borough. For another, the party’s presidential nominee may well be a New Yorker, Hillary Clinton. And with President Obama leaving office, a Brooklyn convention would give the mayor a big stage as America’s top progressive.
We’re for a Brooklyn convention. Because the incentives that come with a Democratic National Convention in Gotham have the potential to bring benefits to all New Yorkers.
With his city in the national spotlight, Mayor Bill is not going to want delegates and media walking away with the impression that progressivism means a return to the dysfunctions of the 1970s.
To the contrary, he’s going to want to show off a city that is safe, prospering and friendly to investment.
Sure, already we’re hearing the usual inter-borough grousing. And no doubt many delegates will stay in Manhattan and commute to the Barclays Center.
Then again, maybe that will give the city an incentive to reach a reasonable accommodation with Airbnb, the online site that allows people to find lodging in people’s apartments instead of having to go to a more expensive hotel.
We had a taste of the positive effect a convention can have on a liberal New York mayor the last time the Democratic Party was in town to nominate a presidential candidate.
That was in 1992, when they picked Bill Clinton. Then-Mayor David Dinkins swept the homeless off the streets, boosted security around Madison Square Garden and put on a good show for the business community.
So here’s to America’s fourth largest city — and Mayor Bill’s bid for the Democratic National Convention.