From The New York Observer, as we approach the end of the Bloomberg mayoralty, it is stunning to realize the scope of his impact on the city. From The New Yorker, John Cassidy on Bill de Blasio’s liberalism. The 99% Mayor: Bill de Blasio’s promise may also be his problem. From Brooklyn Magazine, Kristin Iversen on the economics of being a Brooklyn writer: or writing has become a privileged profession; on ten Brooklyn writers and how they write; on 10 of the best places to write in Brooklyn; and on 10 books to read in 10 Brooklyn bars; here is a real life tour of 10 fictional Brooklyn places and a look at the 10 most classic Brooklyn novels; and Virginia K. Smith on 30 essential literary Twitter feeds and on how to eat (and drink) your way through Literary Brooklyn. New York’s foremost java expert Oliver Strand explains how we got to $5 single-brews and $75-a-pound beans, and just where the heck we’re going next. Jim Russell on hipster demography and gentrification: Stop blaming young people for rent hikes in Brooklyn. From Narrative.ly, from an unassuming Midtown Manhattan office, seventy-eight-year-old conservative thinker John Leo challenges the left wing's dominant grip on American universities; and Alex Wilkinson on the conservative next door: Unabashedly proud Reaganite Rosanne Klass retires to the Upper West Side, and revels in scaring the neighbors with her contrarian political views. Sune Engel Rasmussen on the rise and fall of New York imam Shamsi Ali.
