Protecting and polishing the Bloomberg legacy

From the NY Times:

When the de Blasio administration unveiled a promotional video this summer in its bid to lure the Democratic National Convention to Brooklyn in 2016, most viewers saw a slick, breezy collage of a pulsing New York City — schoolchildren and Citi Bikes, culinary wonders and brochure-worthy parks.

Veterans of the previous administration saw something else: a rare, if silent, affirmation of the Bloomberg age from the successors who have sharply criticized it.

“V impressed w #DNCNYC video,” Howard Wolfson, the former deputy mayor under Michael R. Bloomberg, wrote on Twitter last month, ticking off six Bloomberg-era changes, like green taxis and pedestrian plazas, highlighted on screen. “Lots of great selling points!”

Asked about Mr. Wolfson’s message, Peter Ragone, senior adviser to Mayor Bill de Blasio, emailed a smiley face.

The relationship between successive administrations is rarely uncomplicated. Perceived digs fester. Legacies wax and wane. And that magic date — the point at which a mayor is expected to cease criticisms of his predecessor — is never universally agreed upon.

Yet in the more than eight months since Mr. de Blasio’s inauguration — an event at which a number of speakers, though not Mr. de Blasio, assailed the former mayor — an entirely peaceful transfer of power has proved particularly elusive. After a stinging critique of Mr. Bloomberg’s tenure helped propel Mr. de Blasio to victory last year, the mayor and his surrogates have continued to issue pointed barbs at times, while appearing less eager to highlight Mr. Bloomberg’s contributions to some well-regarded policies that have been continued or expanded.

In recent weeks, as Mr. Bloomberg’s reign has faced withering criticism over the handling of disaster relief after Hurricane Sandy and oversight at Rikers Island, among other issues, former Bloomberg administration officials have increasingly moved to defend their former (and, in many cases, current) boss.