Lew's View: Mayor Bill de Blasio 2016 Report Card

Lew Leone is the vice president and general manager of WNYW-FOX 5. He is taking to the airwaves with his thoughts on current affairs. It's called "Lew's View."

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Mayor Bill de Blasio has already begun his reelection campaign and he wants to tell us what a great job he has done. But, before  we get to 2017 let's look at his failing report card for 2016 because it is certainly a year he wants us to forget about.

Let's start with the good news. Even though he has tried his best  the Mayor has failed to be indicted. -with roughly half a dozen investigations into campaign finance improprieties along with pay to play allegations we should know soon if the Mayor will face any charges.

From here on out the news is all bad.

He gets an F on Education. His School Renewal plan to rescue failing schools instead of closing them is a complete Flop. And he has continued the ill-advised war on Charter schools which have a proven track record of success.

He gets an F on the Homeless problem. First, for not admitting we have one which allowed the situation to escalate into a full blown crisis. Secondly, for not having a plan to attack the problem. And third, for wasting money by spending large sums by tripling the number of homeless in pricey hotels.

De Blasio admits he is waging a war on cars by purposefully causing traffic congestion. He wants to force more people to take mass transit and ride CitBikes. The problem is that the subways are already too crowded and his plan makes the busses even slower and it is really bad for business and tourism. I give him an F for making it harder for all of us to get around.

The mayor's management skills have also not shown any improvement and here I give him a big fat D for Defection. Top members of his team continue to head for the exits including the police commissioner and the commissioner for child services, as many of his employees can't stand to work for an indecisive and ineffective leader.

The mayor really hasn't accomplished anything this year and one reason may be the F he gets for effort. With a daily routine the New York Times called one "most busy New Yorkers can only dream of," de Blasio continues to sleep in late, go to a gym 12 miles away, and head to the office around 11 a.m.

Unfortunately despite his failing report card, de Blasio is poised to be socially promoted to another term as mayor of New York City. Unless he gets indicted, it will be difficult for anyone to unseat him.

New York really deserves a more competent mayor but it will take more than just media outlets holding him accountable.