( JFK Library )
Listeners try their hand at a ten-question quiz about New York City mayors from recent -- and more distant-- history.
[MUSIC - Marden Hill: Hijack]
Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. All during this membership drive, we've been doing a daily 10-question quiz to break things up, have some fun, and make the drive days a little more palatable. We wrap up the ten-question quiz series today with a ten-question quiz about New York City mayors. Who wants to play? 212-433-WNYC. As with all the quizzes this week, get two in a row right and you win a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap. Who thinks you know some things about New York City Mayors past and present? Who wants to play? Now, lines are already full, so as people finish up, you can call 212-433-WNYC, 433-9692. We will start with Michael in Queens. Michael, you're on WNYC. Hey there, ready?
Michael: Yes, I'm ready.
Brian Lehrer: Question number one, where do mayors of New York City live? What's the name of the home they've lived in since 1940?
Michael: Gracie Mansion.
Brian Lehrer: Absolutely right. For the hat, Mayor Michael Bloomberg got City Council to exempt him from a basic law that voters had passed in a referendum. What was that?
Michael: The law that limited-- a term limited law for mayor.
Brian Lehrer: Absolutely right Michael, hang on, we're going to take your address and send you a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap. Term limit of two terms, one reason was that in exempting Bloomberg, they were also exempting many of themselves because the two-term limit law also applied to City Council. Maybe that made it a little easier and self-interested, but that let Bloomberg run for his third term in 2009, which he won. He claimed he needed it because of the financial crisis. He claimed the city needed it because the financial crisis had just started at that time and he thought he was uniquely qualified, some people disagree, uniquely qualified to lead the city through that, but he did well. David in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, David ready to play?
David: Yes, I’ve been wearing my Brian Lehrer cap, so can I get this hoodie?
Brian Lehrer: Sure, I guess so since you asked for it. If you win, tell the screener when we put you on hold. This is a follow-up to the two-term limits thing. Question number three, true or false, Mayors Ed Koch, Robert Wagner, and Fiorello LaGuardia had all served three terms too even before Bloomberg got that exemption.
David: True.
Brian Lehrer: That is true, because the two-term referendum wasn't passed until the 1990s after all those other mayors had served. All right, question number four.
David: I think Wagner served four terms if I remember right.
Brian Lehrer: Maybe that's right, I'm not sure. I thought three, but we could double-check that. Maybe you’re right. Question number four, Mayor David Dinkins, New York City's first Black mayor, only served one term because he lost to Rudy Giuliani in 1993. What well-known Republican did Dinkins defeat to get elected in the first place in 1989?
David: Cuomo.
Brian Lehrer: Ooh, David, I'm sorry. You don't get that hoodie. Cuomo is not a Republican, neither of them. Neither Governor Cuomo was a Republican. The question was what well-known Republican did Dinkins defeat to get elected in '89. The answer was, yes, it was also Rudy Giuliani in that case. All right, next contestant. Allan in Brooklyn. Allan, you're ready to play?
Allan: Okay, Brian [unintelligible 00:04:10]
Brian Lehrer: All right, question number five. True or false, Mayor Bloomberg imposed the no smoking in restaurants ban primarily to protect customers from each other’s secondhand smoke.
Allan: I believe that's the reason.
Brian Lehrer: I'm saying that that is not the reason. The answer is false. Sorry, Alan. It was primarily a workplace safety measure for the restaurant workers who had no choice but to be exposed. Rose in Bayside, you're on WNYC. Ready to play?
Rose: Yep.
Brian Lehrer: Question number six, true or false. Mayor Bill de Blasio was the first mayor chosen via ranked choice voting, true or false?
Rose: True.
Brian Lehrer: Sorry, Rose. That is false. Mayor Adams was the first mayor chosen by ranked choice voting. Oh, look, here's going to be the furthest from New York City contestant of maybe anywhere in the United States who wants to take a shot at answering questions about New York City mayors. It's Lawrence in Anchorage, Alaska. Lawrence, you're on WNYC. Hey, are you a former New Yorker?
Lawrence: I am a former New Jerseyite.
Brian Lehrer: Okay, so formerly local to the area and now in Anchorage.
Lawrence: Yes.
Brian Lehrer: All right, question number seven, what elected position did Mayor Eric Adams hold immediately before becoming mayor in 2022?
Lawrence: Wasn't he involved with the Police Department, I believe.
Brian Lehrer: He was earlier, but the job that he held for a good number of years immediately before becoming mayor.
Lawrence: Was he City Council?
Brian Lehrer: He wasn't in City Council. Sorry. Sorry, Lawrence. Let's give Axle in Brooklyn a shot at that question. Axle, you're on WNYC. Ready to play?
Axle: Hi, yes.
Brian Lehrer: Do you know what Mayor Adams’ job immediately-
Axle: I do.
Brian Lehrer: -before becoming mayor was?
Axle: Borough president, Brooklyn?
Brian Lehrer: Brooklyn Borough President is right. I took you because I saw you around the board from Brooklyn, and hey, I want to give away a hat, so there you go. That's one. Now, question number eight. Mayors John Lindsay, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg, and Bill de Blasio all tried and failed to do what after their terms as mayor?
Axle: Run for president.
Brian Lehrer: Yes, tried to get elected president of the United States. Of course, they all failed, but Axle, you win yourself a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap. Hang on. Let's go next to Anna in Linden. Anna, you're on WNYC. Hi, ready to play?
Anna: Good morning, yes.
Brian Lehrer: Good morning. Okay, so this one is a follow-up to the last one that we had. It's a bonus question because I'm considering it fairly hard. If you get this one right, you get credit, if you get it wrong, no penalty. We're calling it question 8A, a bonus question. We just established that those four previous mayors tried to run for president. They did run for president, they failed to get elected president. The question here is, Lindsay and Bloomberg, of those four, changed something pretty basic in order to make those presidential runs. What did they change?
Anna: Their party?
Brian Lehrer: Their party is right. They were both elected as-
Anna: Yay.
Brian Lehrer: -Republicans and they ran for president as Democrats. For the hat, question number nine, true or false, in 1861, 1861, Mayor Fernando would propose that New York City should secede from the nation in order to continue doing business with the South?
Anna: That's interesting. I'm going to say that's true.
Brian Lehrer: That is actually true, and you win a hat. It has been written up as maybe the low point in proposals of all time of New York City mayors proposing that New York City secede from the nation during the Civil War so that he could continue to do business with the South. Anna, hang on, we're going to take your address for a baseball hat. All right, we have one question left, question 10. Since it shook out that way, Nicola in Harlem, you're on WNYC. All you have to do is answer one question right, and we'll send you a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap. Hi, Nicola, ready to play?
Nicola: Yes, I am.
Brian Lehrer: The question is which mayor has a performing arts high school and a Broadway musical named after him?
Nicola: La Guardia?
Brian Lehrer: Fiorello La Guardia is right. Nicola, hang on. We're going to take your address for a Brian Lehrer Show baseball hat, and yes, that is our mayors of New York ten-question quiz.
Copyright © 2024 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.
New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.