Consider this:
You own a home, an expensive home in a very expensive neighborhood. One day a year, every year, there is a parade that goes down your block even though the people celebrating are not your neighbors. At the end of the parade, your property is trampled on and/or your or your next door neighbor's property is vandalized. Now, you don't have the power to have the parade moved or canceled. So, as a property owner you have no other choice but to put up a fence or board up your windows.
So the annual vandalism day approaches and you start taking measures to protect your property. While doing so, the local police come over and threaten to fine you, by order of the Mayor, for protecting your private property even though it is your right to do so! Outrageous!
Welcome to New York City's annual Puerto Rican day parade. The Mayor wants their votes, badly. So he intimidates private property owners with fines for violating non-existant laws to make sure the parade attendees are not "insulted".
This is coming from the same guy who is trying to end all large concerts in Central Park because his apartment overlooks Central Park and doesn't like the large crowds that turned out for Simon and Garfunkel, Dave Matthews and Garth Brooks, etc. The only concerts suitable would be the orchestras and symphonies that our mayor and his billionaire friends like.
This is coming from the same guy who banned smoking in all bars and restaurants because he hates smoking and smokers. Nothing would ruin a night at Cipriani like someone smoking a cigarette at the bar. Therefore, no smoking in any place, small businesses (
and a dead bouncer who enforced the law) be damned!
This is how a billionaire protects his self-interests. All the lifelong democrat (from Boston, no less) had to do was buy the New York Republican party off, become mayor and make rules that suit him and his friends. As F. Scott Fitzgerald observed, "The rich are different than you or me."