By COLlive reporter
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg heaped praise on outspoken activist the Rev. Al Sharpton Thursday, calling him a “calming influence on the city.”
Bloomberg, who is running for a third term, showed his reverence for the reverend before speaking at the preacher’s annual National Action Network Convention.
“In all fairness, Al Sharpton has been an awful lot more of a calming influence on the city and helper to the city than most people give him credit for,” Bloomberg was quoted as saying in the New York Daily News.
“I don’t agree with him on everything but on balance I’ve become, over the years, a Sharpton fan,” the mayor added.
In Crown Heights, residents are likely to find the mayor’s remarks highly disturbing and indelicate.
Few can forget Sharpton marching through the neighborhood and in front of 770, shortly after the 1991 riot, with about 400 protesters who chanted “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “No justice, no peace!”
Sharpton referred to the Jews as “diamond dealers” and said about the Jewish volunteer Hatzolah, “it’s an accident to allow an apartheid ambulance service in the middle of Crown Heights.”
Sharpton is expected to endorse city Comptroller Bill Thompson in the mayor’s race, but he thanked Bloomberg for speaking at his event.
Could Bloomberg forget about the Crown Heights vote too?
sharpton can do tshuva… maybe he regrets his actions from many years ago. after all we are in gulus and we need to be mekabel beahava our suffering from the reshoim and try to be nice to them as yakov did to eisav to get his mercy. i think we should stop being on the offensive or on defense mode. let nature run its course and make a kiddush hashem by being nice and respectful to everyone regardless of what happened 20 years ago. WE ARE IN GULUS! EAT IT AND WAIT IT OUT! THE END IS NEAR!!!
i think he can forget about the ch vote that shmendrik is showing that there are some self hating jews ………………………..
Bloomberg has shown today how small of a politician he is (not to underestimate his business skills).
At a time like this, when a black man was elected president, Al Sharpton and the like cannot complain and fight anymore (that is why J Jackson uttered that nasty comment about Obama).
Bloomberg had to call on Sharpton to step down and choose a new mission or occupation.
“Those days are over,’ Bloomberg should have said but didn’t and allowed the hater to keep feeding off innocent people.
For the Mayor to say that Al Sharpton has a calming effect on the city is a pitifully poor choice of words on the Mayor’s part. To the best of my knowledge, the Mayor has been a resident of New York for a long time. Being as astute as he is, has he forgotten the various nefarious activities that Al Sharpton has perpetrated upon the citizens of New York ? The Bensonhurst incident, Tawan Brawley, the Cato funeral, Crown Heights riots, and others. Al Sharpton has availed himself at every racial incident to cause dissension between the black and white… Read more »
seems like mike’s having one
Does anyone actually care who Chanina endorses?
He can forget about the Jewish vote!
Also: He raised parking tickets to 3 times as much as before – in order to collect money for the city from us working class! What a Chutzpah!!?
99.9% of politicians will sell their soul for power, money and honor. If Al Sharpton and his followers would be against Bloomberg, that would compromise Bloomberg’s authority over NYC, thus taking from his “power”.
This should not surprise you at all. Look at Ariel Sharon, whom, to my recollection was Israel’s fiercest warrior in the last century. The minute he entered politics, he sold his soul.
This is what politicians do.
In politics you need to consider the risk vs benifit from endorsing someone
Bloomberg knows that although it may anger some jews the benifit of having the black vote is pretty big and therefore he is taking this risk
He can always explain his remarks as the current Al is not the old Al
I think that Bloomberg is a good choice even after the remarks
So now you know who Chanina endorses.